Book recommendation - The Fifth Discipline

02 Jun 2026

When anyone on the MoTaverse recommends a book, I add it to my read list. (I've only been reading books in the last few years because it is a weakness of mine...to be honest "English Language" is a weakness of mine...but I can spell like a demon)

Anyway, one of those books was "The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation" by Peter M Senge. These are the kind of books to me that can make a huge difference to our personal and professional growth. Its not about AI, its not about test automation or testing practices. Those books don't interest me that much, as the superpower I'm looking for is influence - which requires skills outside of my box, not inside.

It's all about using systems thinking at multiple levels. I'm still reading it and have a long way to go, but already I can align the good and bad practices in my previous organisations to real situations. I can see why certain events went wrong and why some were successful. Well worth a read.
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Gary Hawkes
Head of Engineering
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Head of Engineering who came from QE. Admirer of all humans (with a special affinity for testers). I love to bring out the best in people and help them grow. I have a very tactical view of delivery and love working to find the sweet spot so that processes are a balance between effort and value. Music nut.

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Ady Stokes
If they are not on your list, Gary, I'd highly recommend Crucial Conversations, Thinking, Fast and Slow, and Time to Think. They all gave me different perspectives on how we think.

Gary Hawkes
Thanks Ady, added to my list 👍

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