Essential Reading List

Never complete…Last Updated 25 November 2018

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)
• Managing Oneself and Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker

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
• Everyday Bias by Howard J. Ross
• Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

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

• Sales EQ by Jeb Blount. What’s amazing about this book is that it consolidates concepts from about 12 other books you will find on this page, all in the context of seller-buyer relationships.
• 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
• Thomas Lah: Technology-as-a-Service Playbook

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, also Five Dysfunctions of a Team
• Requisite Organization by Elliot Jaques
• Strategic Speed by Jocelyn Davis
• The War for Talent by Michaels et al
• High Output Management by Andy Grove

Improving a business through Change

• Jim Collins: How the Mighty Fall, Good to Great, Built to Last
• Leading Change by John Kotter
• A Culture of Rapid Improvement by Ray Floyd

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
• Mindtools – quick reference library of continuous improvement techniques
• 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
• Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
• Gratitude by Oliver Sachs
• The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann

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