Never complete…Last Updated 3 December 2015

Leadership Skills and Styles

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• True North by Bill George
• Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath
• Jack Welch: Straight from the Gut
• HBR best on emotionally intelligent leadership (Daniel Goleman)
• Management in Ten Words by Terry Leahy (yes, the title says “management” and I’d suggest he is describing leadership traits as well)

Personal Development

• What got you here won’t get you there by Marshall Goldsmith
• How to See Yourself as You Really Are by The Dalai Lama
• The Emperor’s Handbook translated by David and C. Scot Hicks
• The Anger Trap by Les Carter
• There is nothing wrong with you by Cheri Huber
• The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
• Emotional Awareness by Phillip Eckman and The Dalai Lama

Interpersonal Skills and Professional Hygiene

• Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends and Influence People
• Susan Scott: Fierce Conversations
• Simon Sinek: Start with Why
• Richard Feynman: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman
• Alan E. Fruzzetti: The High Conflict Couple

Sales Mindset and Skills

• The Art of the Sale by Philip Delves Broughton
• The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon
• Rainmaking Conversations by Mike Schultz and John Doerr
• The 12 best questions to ask customers by Jim Meisenheimer

Product-Centered Business Growth

• Marty Cagan: Inspired
• Peter Thiel: Zero to One
• Robert Cooper: Winning at New Products
• Eric Reis: Lean Startup
• Alan Trefler: Build for Change

Managing a professional services firm

• David Maister, Andrew Sobel
• How to Buy / Sell Professional Services by Warren J. Wittreich

Motivating yourself and other people

• Made to Stick and Switch by Dan and Chip Heath
• HBR best on motivation
• Drive by Daniel Pink
• When Brute Force Fails by Mark Kleiman
• Rivethead by Ben Hamper
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Influence by Robert Cialdini

Team Dynamics and Organizational Effectiveness

• A is for Accountability by Ginty Burns
• The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
• Requisite Organization by Elliot Jaques
• Strategic Speed by Jocelyn Davis

Improving a business through Change

• Jim Collins: How the Mighty Fall, Good to Great, Built to Last
• Leading Change by John Kotter

Business Strategy, Vision, and Direction

• Michael Porter’s and Peter Drucker’s works (such as What is Strategy?)
• Discipline of Market Leaders by Treacy and Wiersema

Tools and Case Studies

• Economist.com has a library of definitions and a helpful style guide
• Thebuildnetwork.com – concise, insightful articles to help grow a business
• Porter and Tiesberg on Redefining Health Care

Other Interesting Books, Mostly Non-Fiction

• Fooled by Randomness by Nicholas Taleb
• Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
• Omnivore’s Dilemma , The Botany of Desire, and others by Michael Pollan
• Liar’s Poker and others by Michael Lewis
• Salt and Cod by Mark Kurlansky
• Kitchen Confidential and others by Anthony Bourdain
• The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
• And some “ripped from the headlines” fiction: Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged

Please let me know your feedback and suggestions by leaving a comment!