‘Best of’ Book List
Best Leadership Books
- HBR’s 10 Greatest Reads on Leadership – Harvard Business Review
- Note: Without dispute, the best set of articles from leadership thought leaders, every leader should have this book on their shelf, with key lessons marked
- Leadership Challenge – Kouzes and Posner
- Note: What the book lacks in theoretical explanations, it makes up for in application
- Leadership and Self-Deception – Arbinger Group
- Note: One of the fable books that holds a reader’s attention and carries a relevant message
- Good to Great – Jim Collins
- Note: While the companies used as examples suffered terribly during the financial collapse, the leadership ideas stand the test of time
- Please Understand Me II – Keirsey & Bates
- Note: The MBTI analysis is a great foundation for self-awareness leading to self-leadership, and this book clarifies the application
- Leadership in Organizations – Yukl
- Note: A densely written compendium of leadership theory. Great as a reference book for all things leadership.
- The Wisdom of Wooden – Coach John Wooden
- Note: Coach Wooden’s leadership track record is unsurpassed
Best Management Books
- The Essential Drucker – Peter Drucker
- Note: Best management book ever. Pardon his use of ‘he’, the book was written in the ‘60s when the use of ‘he’ made sense
- What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
- Note: Good ideas for individuals who rely on others to be successful
- GE Work-Out – Ulrich, Kerr, & Ashkenas
- Note: Great template for getting buy-in and generating ideas for efficiency and effectiveness
- Skunkworks – Ben Rich
- Note: A real life example of how to get big things accomplished
- The Goal – Goldman
- Note: A novelette that shows how lean operations works
- Execution – Bossidy and Charan
- Note: Good formulaic approach to strategic approach and direction
Best Persuasion / Influence Books
- Switch – Chip Heath and Dan Heath
- Note: An approachable yet well-researched book that will show you how influence works
- How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies – Dale Carnegie
- Note: A timeless approach to working well with others
- The Heart of Change – Kotter
- Note: The importance of buy-in in order to influence behavior and create change is emphasized
- Learned Optimism – Martin Seligman
- Note: Before positive leadership and primal leadership, there was learned optimism. It works.
- Becoming a Skilled Negotiator – Reardon
- Note: A book that breaks out how to use negotiation to achieve influence
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Cialdini
- Note: The first and last word on persuasion. Geared toward sales.
Inspiring Books
- The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin
- Note: Author has a self-deprecating style of writing that keeps things light, yet thoughtful
- The Story Factor – Annett Simmons
- Note: A different way to look at connecting and communicating
- The Alchemist – Coelho
- Note: There is a reason this book has sold over 60 million copies around the world.
- The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
- Note: This book is fine but the video is spectacular
- Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do – Robert Schuller
- Note: We’ll all face hard times in our lives, this book is full of ways to deal with the inevitable tough times
Marvelous Memoirs
- In Pain We Trust – Kevin Whiting and Vicki Whiting
- Note: Everyone who has read this book notes the significance of the story and the listening and advocacy lessons held within
- The Unforgiving Minute – Craig Mullaney
- Note: Everyone in the US should read this book to understand the commitment of our troops. It’s not a war book as much as a boy to man book
- The Heart and the Fist – Eric Grietens
- Note: Brings humanitarian efforts together with war efforts in a manner I had not considered
- It Worked For Me – Colin Powell
- Note: An individual who has influenced many to achieve much
- My Stroke of Insight – Jill Bolte Taylor
- Note: Interesting and engaging insight into how the brain works
Important Reads on Social Entrepreneurship
- The End of Poverty – Jeffrey Sachs
- Note: Brilliant ideas from a brilliant scholar
- Half the Sky – Kristof & WuDunn
- Note: An important book. Describes the heartbreaking plight of women throughout the world … and how to fix their plight
- Creating a World Without Poverty – Muhammad Yunus
- Note: While Yunus didn’t create micro-enterprise, he did popularize the approach to poverty eradication
- Social Entrepreneurship – Bronstein
- Note: The classic and foundational framework for social entrepreneurship
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Great Reads
- The Fault In Our Stars – John Green
- Note: Profound, poignant, captivating.
- The Life of Pi – Yann Markle
- The Help – Katheryn Stockett
- Note: Don’t rely on the movie to dive into this story
- The Giver
- Note: Different lessons when read at different times in life.
Best Travel Books
- For Europe: Rick Steve’s Guides
- Note: Author provides ideas for tours beyond traditional high traffic tourism spots
- For Southeast Asia: Lonely Planet Guides
- Note: Recommendations are reliable
- 1,000 Places to See Before Your Die – Schultz
- Note: Start brainstorming and dreaming
Best Books to Bring on a Journey
- The Tennis Partner – Abraham Verghese
- Note: While I couldn’t make it through Cutting for Stone, this memoir captured my attention
Best Books if You Are Stranded on an Island
- Darwin Awards – Wendy Northcutt
- Note: Your plight might not seem so bad in comparison
- Game of Thrones
- The Bible – Various Philosophers
Best Books to Make You Smile
- All Creatures Great and Small – Jame Harriot
- Leaving Home – Garrison Keillor
- Erma Bombenck