Note: This is the second annual compilation of the books I read in the past year from September, 2013 to August, 2014.
“If you want to get to the top of your field, read an hour a day.” Brian Tracy, personal development guru
It’s September – can you feel the energy shifting? Days are shorter, the angle of the sun is lower, the heat is gone and there’s a chill in the air. And school is back in session.
I happened to hear Brian Tracy say "leaders are readers" on an audio program back in the 1980’s. Over the past decade my learning goal is to read at least 40 business-related books a year – that’s how I “home school” myself to get the ideas that help my clients succeed. Here is the list of the books I’ve read since last September. Let me know what books have helped you learn and grow in the past year.
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results Gary Keller, co-founder of ReMax, shares how to keep your focus on the ONE thing that can make the biggest difference in your business.
Think Like Zuck: The Five Business Secrets of Facebook's Improbably Brilliant CEO Mark Zuckerberg Find out how Facebook has developed into the one-billion+ member behemoth it is.
Think and Grow Rich "Stickability": The Power of Perseverance In Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill states, "Sometimes it appears that there is an invisible 'Guide' whose duty is to test men through all kinds of discouraging experiences. The hidden Guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the persistence test." In Stickability, author Greg S. Reid shares examples of people who utilized their "stickability" to plow through all kinds of discouraging experiences and achieve their dream. Reading it will help you get past the inevitable tough spots to realize yours.
Team Of Rivals If you liked the movie Lincoln, here's an even better way to learn about all Honest Abe had to deal with to first become President, then win the Civil War, end slavery and somehow stay sane in the United States' most divisive era ever. If George Washington was father of our country, Abraham Lincoln was the midwife in fulfilling the The Declaration of Independence promise that all men are created equal.
The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game A perfect late summer pennant-race read. (Maybe someday I'll know what it's like to have a team in a pennant race.)
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics An inspiring story that was waiting to be told about the University of Washington rowing team, who went from rags to Olympic riches in the 1930's. A real page turner that will take you from the Great Depression to the Dust Bowl to Hitler's Germany as a backdrop for the evolution of a Gold Medal effort. (Thanks BK!)
Perseverance: Life Lessons on Leadership and Teamwork Everything you wanted to know about the long strange coaching trip of Marc Trestman (see above). He's a quarterback coach guru who (so far) has been able to rein in Jay Cutler. A must read for Bearz fans.
The Three Laws of Performance: Rewriting the Future of Your Organization and Your Life A Landmark Education-based book for improving performance. If you "got it" at the Landmark Forum, you'll "get" this book.
Hopper: A Journey into the American Dream If you liked the counterculture classic movie Easy Rider, find out more here about its creator. It's a wild ride over the Tinseltown landscape.
Delight Your Customers: 7 Simple Ways to Raise Your Customer Service from Ordinary to Extraordinary This book is so clear on describing the "essence" of a job (to turn your customers/clients into promoters) that I wrote this month's article about it.
The Billionaire and the Mechanic: How Larry Ellison and a Car Mechanic Teamed Up to Win Sailing's Greatest Race, The America's Cup You want action on the high seas and drama on dry land? This book's got it. If Oracle founder Larry Ellison and auto radiator repair mechanic Norbert Bajurin knew how long it would take and how much it would cost (personally & professionally) to bring America's Cup back home, they might have never started. It's a real page turner that's also a case study of persistence through failure. (Thanks DB!)
Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype Want to grow your business? Go from being "hype-ful" to being helpful by giving your prospects all the useful information they need to choose you.
The Greatest Salesman in the World A short, sweet classic parable by Og Mandino that embeds affirmations into its storyline. "I will form good habits and become their slave."
And, the perfect book to read during the MLB playoffs -- The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America The late Buck O'Neil had all kinds of intriguing experiences in the old Negro Leagues that he shared from the heart. (Thanks TP!)
Self-help Messiah: Dale Carnegie and Success in Modern America This in-depth biography gives you more than you ever thought there was to know about the man who taught millions how to win friends and influence people. Carnegie ranks right along side Napoleon Hill as a founding father of the post-Depression personal success movement.
Adversaries into Allies: Win People Over Without Manipulation or Coercion Speaking of how to win friends and influence people, this book by "Dale CarneBurg "-- oops! I mean Bob Burg -- might as well be entitled "How to Win Allies and Influence Adversaries." Bob has weaved his "works like magic" people skills tips throughout to insure you become an Ultimate Influencer: A person who makes others feel good about doing what you want them to do. Since we're all in the business of influencing others, I hope my thumbs up here will influence you to pick up a copy.
The Street Smart MBA: 10 Proven Strategies for Driving Business Success Don't have an MBA? You're in good company -- neither do Bill Gates, Howard Schultz and Oprah Winfrey. Nor do authors Steve Babitsky and Jim Mangraviti, who will save you A LOT of confusion, aggravation and money if you keep the thousands of dollars you'd give to some business school in your pocket and shell out the twenty bucks for this insightful volume instead.
The Power of Consistency: Prosperity Mindset Training for Sales and Business Professionals Take a lesson from Weldon Long, who went from prison to prosperity in only six years because he freed himself from the prison of his own negative mindset. He'll teach you to transform "FEAR" into Focus, Emotional commitment, Action and Responsibility.
Think and Grow Rich Many of you know I re-read this classic from Napoleon Hill every December before I set my goals for the upcoming year. When was the last time you read it?
How to Win Friends and Influence People Dale Carnegie's 1936 classic book on human relations skills. The ideas in it are still relevant today, especially for those involved with the selling of products or services.
Unlimited Sales Success: 12 Simple Steps for Selling More Than You Ever Thought Possible Vintage Brian Tracy -- a TON of beef on how to improve your selling skills. Question: If you're in sales, when was the last time you read a sales book? Maybe this is the one to pick up.
A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home The inspiring rags to riches journey of Steve Pemberton. If you think you've had it tough, check out his story.
Nicholson: A Biography The life and times of the greatest leading man of our generation, Jack Nicholson. There's a trade off for the kind of success and fame he's achieved -- I'm glad I'm just Da Coach, who's been highly entertained by Jack's on and off screen antics.
'Til Money Do Us Part: Financial Planning for Couples CFP Maureen Richardson (who I'm proud to say is a former client of mine) shares the reality of finances for couples, based on some of her own hard-earned wisdom. This book makes a great gift for the newly engaged, married couples struggling with debt or people about to remarry, as love can't conquer all if you run out of money.
The Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three Billion New Customers What can be done about the almost 3 billion people on planet who live on what you pay for your cup of Starbucks every day? Authors Paul Polak and Mal Warwick argue that the innovation of ruthlessly affordable products made available on a massive scale will be much more effective than charity and government agencies to address this issue.
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants Another collection of "scratch beneath the surface, there's more than meets the eye" stories from the keen social commentator Malcom Gladwell. If you enjoyed his other books you'll like this one.
Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes In the decade before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, Hank Greenberg suffered vicious slurs from rivals, fans, even teammates as the first Jewish mega-star of our national pastime. He rose above it all to become a two time American League MVP and Hall of Famer despite giving up four years of his prime to serve in the army during World War II.
You Were Never In Chicago (Chicago Visions and Revisions) Neil Steinberg, a veteran Sun-Times columnist, weaves tale after quirky tale about what makes this my kinda town. Steinberg nails the good, the bad and the ugly about Chicago -- you'll find yourself nodding your head in agreement with a lot of what he writes. (PS -- I pronounce it "Chi - CAW - go." If you say "Chi - CAHH - go," you were never really here ...)
Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Herioc Spirit of Business Capitalism sometimes get a bad rap due to greedy companies who succeed in the short term to squeeze out huge profits with less-than-reputable products/services -- hello Wall Street Banking firms. This book describes a more enlightened approach for business leaders to reap long term benefits by taking care of all its stakeholders: Customers, employees, suppliers, investors, communities, even the environment. Co-author John Mackey should know -- he's the CEO of Whole Foods Market, one of the companies profiled in this book. Although my wife Paula and I often joke that their tag line should be "Why Pay Less?" we shop there weekly because they are walking their conscious capitalism talk about providing the best overall food choices to match our generally whole-food, plant-based diet.
The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive This was the perfect book to read during the Winter Olympics. Sports psychologist Jim Afremow shares tip after tip about how we can "Think Gold, never settle for Silver." The lessons in the book, like visualization, affirmations and deliberate practice, can not only help you in your sport but can also be used to improve your business game.
Edison and the Rise of Innovation When Bill Gates writes the forward, you know a book has to be special. And this coffee table book is worth paging through just for the pictures, let alone the story of the amazing range of products Thomas Edison invented/innovated that we still use today.
Buying Customers A solid compilation of useful ideas for your small business from Brad Sugars, founder of ActionCOACH, a global coaching franchise operation.
Finding Your Piece.: 32 Principles to Help You Live Your Calling! A Maui-inspired personal development love letter from Julie Corrine, who loves helping people clearly define their purpose in life.
Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business This is the most engaging business adventure saga I've read in a while, which figures because it was written by Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures. He has created his own category of "sustainable tourism," much like disruptive business game-changers Richard Branson, Herb Kelleher, Steve Jobs and Howard Schultz did in their industries. Read it, then ask yourself, "How can I bring this much passion and purpose to MY business?"
I Can See Clearly Now If you're a Wayne Dyer fan, you'll eat up this insightful memoir.
Radical: My Journey out of Islamist Extremism If you don't know the difference between Islam (a religion) and the Islamist movement (a political cabal that wants to create a Muslim state based on the Koran), let Maajid Nawaz school you. He went from radical Islamist to renouncing it in the most public fashion by forming his own counter-extremism think tank, Quilliam.
Ditch the Pitch: The Art of Improvised Persuasion The canned sales pitch is history -- people want to interact intelligently with someone who doesn't need to follow a script to develop a genuine conversation. If you can go with the improvisational flow, all the better to influence others.
Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products No matter what device you're using -- a computer, smart phone, music player or tablet -- the Apple Industrial Design Group led by Jony Ive inspired it. Steve Jobs' literal right hand man, Ive is the Michael Jordan of tech product innovation.
One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band If you love the Allman Brothers, put on your well-worn copy of At Fillmore East and you'll inhale this oral biography in no time. (Pun intended ...)
Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? Need some "comic relief?" Love Billy Crystal? Then go get this laugh-out-loud memoir that covers Billy's entire career with wit, warmth and even a tug at the heart in spots. (Billy's Muhammad Ali impersonation with Harry Shearer as Tom Snyder is guaranteed to crack you up.)
What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest How many of the seven does your brand have?
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life Who would have thought that creator of the Dilbert comic strip could give some great life coaching? Scott Adams' ideas on how to better manage your thoughts, your energy and your career are no joke.
Start You Up: Rock Star Secrets to Unleash Your Personal Brand and Set Your Career on Fire Think you might learn something about branding from the likes of the Beatles, the Stones, Springsteen, the Dead, U2, Fleetwood Mac and Kiss? Steve Jones shares the secrets of these iconic brands so that you can brand your business like a rock star.
The Power of Awareness This book give clear instructions on programming your mind for success: "Assume the feeling that your wish is fulfilled."
Relationship Momentum: The Secret to Making Ideas Move If "Rm = E3VS" is an equation you don't understand, it'll make sense after Brian Church explains how you can use it to create brand ambassadors for your business.
Exodus I typically don't read fiction, but this story weaves in a tremendous amount of historical facts about the formation of the state of Israel.
Wish Granted: 25 Stories of Strength and Resilience from America's Favorite Athletes You can't help but be inspired (and get teary-eyed) by these 25 remarkable Make-A-Wish Foundation tales from the likes of Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk, Evander Holyfield, Danica Patrick and the New England Patriots. Buy this book -- a portion of the proceeds go to Make A Wish, so you'll support a great cause. And you'll thank me for having it touch you like it touched me.
Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed The life and times of Eddie Rickenbacker are captured in the pages of this book, and all I can say is, what a ride! Fast cars, fast planes, fast business -- the man was a superstar in all three areas. Reads like good fiction, except no one can doubt all that happened because Rickenbacker loved to live on the edge. You'll wonder how the heck he survived all he took on.
The Hoops Whisperer: On the Court and Inside the Heads of Basketball's Best Players Do you love pro basketball like I do? Then treat yourself to the Idan Ravin story in his own words. You may not know him, but he's arguably the number one basketball skills trainer in the world. If you doubt my claim, check out the lineup of superstars he's worked with, including Lebron, KD, CP, Dwight Howard and Melo. His love of the game, hard work and persistence got him to where he is today, a lesson for all of us in any line of work.
Giraffes of Technology: The Making of the Twenty-First-Century Leader Thanks to its height, a giraffe has the advantage of far vision -- just the thing a leader needs to create his own thriving herd.
Absolute Value: What Really Influences Customers in the Age of (Nearly) Perfect Information You can put out all the slick marketing material you want but you can't hide from the democracy of reviews on the net.
A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred If you don't understand my addiction to those lovable losers -- the Chicago Cubs -- let George Will run it down to you. A perfect read for the season, especially for those of us who have waited 105 summers for a World Series miracle.
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt Michael Lewis (author of Liar's Poker and The Big Short) has done it again, revealing the secrets of people who wake up each morning determined to find ways to get rich off of naive investors. Legal? Yes. Ethical? Hardly, when predatory traders are profiting from slight-of-hand market volatility of their own making. Let's hope IEX, a new equity exchange profiled in the book, can help the rest of the high frequency trading world clean up its act.
Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success Want to build your professional services business? This book tells it all -- what to do, and what not to waste your time, effort and money on.
Agile Selling: Get Up to Speed Quickly in Today's Ever-Changing Sales World Are you in sales? (Of course you are!) When was the last time you read a sales book? If you need to ramp up your career, pick up Jill Konrath's latest for both the mindset and the skills you need to succeed.
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban Read the incredible story of Malala Yousafzai. Even a bullet in the face couldn't stop her from speaking out for girls' education world wide.
Willin': The Story of Little Feat For all of you who know that Lowell George died way too young, click on this link, turn up the volume and crack open this entertaining bio about the group Eric Clapton remarked when he took his backup players to a Feat show, "I want my band to see a proper band."
I hope some of these titles inspire your own reading habit. I am by no means a speed reader but do consider taking on ideas from books as part of my coaching job. If it seems daunting to begin your own reading habit, know that the journey of a thousand books starts with the first page. And you don’t even have to spend a dime – since I don’t have any room for more books, I get all of them out of my local library. Why wait? Go back to school TODAY so you can get to the top of your field.
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