Looking for good business, entrepreneurship, coaching, or leadership books? Here’s a virtual inventory of the books shaping my journey (and links to purchase). 

Communication & Networking

How to Win Friends and Influence People – by Dale Carnegie.  I can’t believe it took me until I was 40 years old to read this book! It’s a must read for anyone who wants to make stronger connections, and have a reputation of being a ‘great person’! (Isn’t that all of us?) This book, written in the 1930’s is timeless.  It turns out people haven’t changed much.  We like to be listened to, we like when people remember our names, and we like knowing people who care about what we think.  Sound interesting?  Get the book.

How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere: The Secrets of Good Communication – by Larry King, with Bill Gilbert. If networking is part of what you do, and it doesn’t come naturally, the legend of great conversations, Larry King, lays out a number of simple strategies, told in stories, that will change the way you approach networking.

Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story – by Peter Guber. Stories have been used for 1000’s of years as a way to communicate. Yet in the business setting, we so often hold on to stats and figures like a crutch. A simple analogy can be more powerful than any slide, description, or oration that you’ve tried before.

Inspiration & Career Development

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2019: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers – by Richard Bolles. The vast majority of people wonder what skills and values we possess that can translate into a dream job or career. We should go no further without recommending this book. It’s one of the ALL TIME 100 Best Nonfiction Books listed by Time Magazine, updated annually, and dedicated to helping job hunters and career changers make a smooth transition into a dream position. Even more important than finding a ‘job’, through practical exercises and insightful teachings, this book helps you figure out who you are as a person and what you want out of life. Author Richard Bolles “reveals surprising advice on what works – and what doesn’t – so you can focus on tactics that yield results.” The Library of Congress calls it “One of the 25 best books that have shaped readers lives.”

StrengthsFinder 2.0 – Discover Your Strengths – by Tom Rath.  My recent Clifton Strengthsfinder 2.0 results confirmed that ‘Learner’ is one of my top 5 character traits, which helped me understand the following… Building a strong foundation of skills, a library of inspirational thought leaders, and entrepreneurial challenges get me up in the morning driven by an intrinsic motivation I can’t live without! Take the $20 version of the assessment, study your strengths, let go of your weaknesses, and get yourself on the path to a fulfilling and stress free life.

The Compound Effect – by Darren Hardy.  A big part of living your values, means making decisions that reflect those values, day in and day out.  Making good decisions, compounded over time, can have a profound impact on your trajectory in life’s next chapter.  Click this link to pick up a copy of the book, and change the way you view the small daily decisions you make.

Atomic Habits – by James Clear. This breakthrough book from James Clear is the most comprehensive guide on how to change your habits and get 1% better every day.

Start.: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters – by Jon Acuff. In nearly every executive coaching conversation I have, what often holds people back from big vision and incredible results is the simple act of taking the first step. In this quite and easy read, you’ll walk away thinking, “ok, just get started.”

HUNGRY: Fueling Your Best Game – by Stanley Cup Winner, 1000+ NHL game veteran, and my friend Ryan Walter. I’ve learned so much from my friend Ryan Walter over the years about internal drive.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do, and How to Change – by Charles Duhigg

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It’s All Small Stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life – by Richard Carlson, PH.D.

Entrepreneurship

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses – by Eric Ries. 

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated). – by Tim Ferris.  This book changed my life in so many ways.  Don’t think you can work just 4 hours in a week?  If you were only able to work 4 hours in a week, how would you spend those 4 hours?  How much clutter did you just clear from your inbox, your procrastination list, and all the ways you seem to overextend yourself?

The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything – by Guy Kawasaki.  Never heard of Guy? Have you heard of Apple?  Guy Kawasaki was a big deal at Apple in the early days, has millions of followers, and believes in the power of sharing ideas.

Financial Literacy

The Wealthy Barber: Everyone’s Common-Sense Guide to Becoming Financially Independent – by David Chilton.  Everyone needs to read this.  It’s sold millions of copies for decades, and changes the way its readers approach financial planning.  The path to financial freedom does not require a GPS to find it.  It just requires planning, diversity, and time.  Start early, or at the very least, start right now!

Gazelles, Baby Steps & 37 Other Things: Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt – by Jon Acuff. If financial responsibility gets you off your best game, there are some things you need to know that we should have been taught in school. If you earn money, you might as well be good at knowing how, and how not, to spend it.

Leadership & Coaching

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action – by Simon Sinek.  The Golden Circle Starts with Why, followed by How and What, which makes all the difference in leadership, and intrinsic motivation. In order to care ‘what you do’, you need to understand, and care, ‘why you do it’. ‘How you do it’ then simply a matter of creating a series of action steps to achieve it.

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way Your Lead Forever – by Michael Bungay Stanier.  This book dives into 7 simple questions that help you lead better, without giving advice.  The coach approach to leadership is the only successful way forward in today’s economy. Coaching is all about the coachee arriving at, and buying into their own conclusions.

Being On Mission: A powerful story of personal development and change based on the ’10 Principles of Leadership and Life‘ – by my mentor Mark McGregor, edited by Barbara Leslie. This parable follows the life of a stressed, slightly out of shape business person who needs to approach rock bottom before realizing what is truly important in life.  When he starts to make better decisions, his professional life, and leadership abilities also improve.  Sounds crazy right?  Not really.

The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business – by Patrick Lencioni.

Leading Change: An Action Plan from The World’s Foremost Expert on Business Leadership – by John P. Kotter.

The New One Minute Manager – by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. For more than twenty years, millions of managers in Fortune 500 companies and small businesses nationwide have followed The One Minute Manager‘s techniques, thus increasing their productivity, job satisfaction, and personal prosperity. These very real results were achieved through learning the management techniques that spell profitability for the organization and its employees.

…more added soon.