What do Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Mark Cuban have in common? They are avid readers, with a robust daily habit of reading. Leaders read. Author Michael Hyatt identifies 5 benefits of reading for leaders:
1. Makes us better thinkers
2. Improves our people skills
3. Helps us master communication
4. Helps us relax
5. Keeps us mentally young and sharp
I personally know the benefits (and the joy) of reading. Recently, a client decided to start a business library, and asked me for my recommendations. Here are my top 20 picks:
- The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier – my #1 most recommended book to my clients. It’s an easy, read that shares a simple, practical yet high-impact technology for empowering team members to solve their own problems
- The One Thing by Gary Keller – overwhelmed by stress and distractions? Do you want focus? Read this book, and apply the exercises. They will change your life
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek – how do you inspire the people you lead? By making sure everyone is clear on the WHY, before you delve into the HOW and WHAT
- The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande – in our increasingly complex world, checklists help us to minimise failure and catastrophic situations. Sounds simple? That’s the beauty of this book!
- The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger – this book helps us ask new and better questions. In so doing, we get new and better answers.
- First Things First by Stephen Covey – this is one of my classics, that I keep returning to. Getting clear on our priorities is the most important thing we can do to live a life of purpose and joy. This book shows us how
- The Loooooong Game by Dorie Clark – we live in a world that demands instant results. But there’s value to playing the long game – not just to our results, but also in the journey
- Dare to Lead by Brene Brown – leadership requires courage and vulnerability. This is a new frontier in leadership, boldly reframing vulnerability as a strength, not a weakness
- Looptail by Bruce Poon Tip – my favourite read about organizational culture. “Culture is your brand”, he writes, based on his experience building a company that operates in well over 100 countries
- The Complete 101 Collection by John Maxwell – anything by John Maxwell is worth reading – he’s a leadership sage. And this collection has it all
- Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh – perhaps the first book that placed happiness as core to a company’s strategy
- Uncommon Service by Frances Frei and Anne Morrissey – how do you consistently give great service to your customers whilst reducing costs? The answer may surprise you!
- Blue Ocean Shift by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne – my #1 book on strategy. Its premise is to “create uncontested market space where the competition is irrelevant”. And it shows you how to do it
- The Balanced Scorecard by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton – the BSC is used by over 50% of companies in the world. It’s a tried and proven strategy articulation and management tool
- Winning on Purpose by Fred Reichheld – what’s the fundamental purpose of a business? The creator of the universally utilised Net Promoter Score (NPS) says its to enrich the lives of its customers, and deepens our understanding of the NPS so that we can get full benefit from it
- Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman – this book teaches the skills for each stage of Emotional Intelligence – it’s a how-to book will help you deepen your understanding and practice
- Unleashed by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss – helps us learn how to empower our team on a daily basis when we are present, but also when we are absent. That’s the true test of leadership – what happens when we are not around?
- A Sense of Urgency by John Kotter – this is also one of my most-recommended books. It’s invaluable in helping us understand how to get real change in our organizations. Now more than ever, a sense of urgency is indispensable
- Deep Work by Cal Newport – the ability to focus and concentrate is a key factor for success. But it’s not easy in our increasingly distracting world. Apply the 4 simple rules in this book and you will be well on your way
- Chief Joy Officer by Richard Sheridan – humans have a fundamental need for joy. But for too long, we have view joy as antithetical to the workplace. Richard Sheridan shows us how we can be joyful leaders, and create a culture of joyful leadership
Which books would you add to my client’s library?
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