I love to read – ever since I was a kid, I’ve spent as much of my free time as possible engrossed in a book. Childhood me would be pretty stoked I ended up writing books! Though possibly disappointed that I’m writing business books and not legal thrillers a la John Grisham.
Books remain one of the the most incredible ways for us to grow and develop. How else can we access the life’s work of an expert for less than $40?!
Anyway, I digress. If you’ve read You Don’t Need An MBA and you’re looking for some more brain-fodder to level up your leadership and you’re the kind of person to look beyond the bestseller list, check out some of these titles. All vetted by yours truly.
Adaptive leadership
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How successful people become even more successful by Marshall Goldsmith
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world by Heifetz, Grashow & Linsky
The Strategist: Be the leader your business needs by Cynthia Montgomery
Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
Start With Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action by Simon Sinek
Flexibility
The Obstacle is the Way: The ancient art of turning adversity to advantage by Ryan Holiday
Fear Your Strengths: What you are best at could be your biggest problem by Kaplan & Kaiser
Decisions
Predictably Irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions by Dan Ariely
Moments of Impact: How to design strategic conversations that accelerate change by Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon
Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
Seeing Around Corners: how to spot inflection points in business before they happen by Rita McGrath
The Strategy Book: How to think and act strategically to deliver outstanding results by Max McKeown
Creating Great Choices: A leader’s guide to integrative thinking. by Jennifer Rield and RL Martin
Rebel Ideas: The power of diverse thinking by Matthew Syed
Systems
11/22/63: A novel by Stephen King
Think in systems: complexity made simple: the theory and practice of strategic planning, problem solving, and creating lasting results by Zoe McKey
Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein
Performance
Dual transformation: how to reposition today’s business while creating the future by Anthony, Gilbert & Johnson
Atomic Habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits and break bad ones by James Clear
Necessary Endings: the employees, businesses, and relationships that all of us have to give up in order to move forward by Henry Cloud
Essentialism: the disciplined pursuit of less by Greg McKeown
When: The scientific secrets of perfect timing by Dan Pink
Influence
Influence: Science and practice by Robert Cialdini
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
Lead the Room by Shane Hatton
Made to Stick: Why some ideas survive and others die by Chip & Dan Heath
To Sell is Human: The surprising truth about moving others by Dan Pink