People are always asking me for book recommendations for learning skills. Here’s where those books go. Updated periodically. (I get a tiny kickback if you buy from the link.)
* = I have a blog summary, search for it
Leadership
- The Seven Principals of Making Marriage Work – using the Gottman method, you can learn to use this for working with peers, managers, and customers to get to what’s going on, de-escalate issues, and make people feel validated
- The Wisdom of the Enneagram – there are lots of business-focused books out there about personality types, but none serves me as well as this book.
- Portable MBA in Management* – get insights from the best business schools lickety split
- The Making of a Manager – Required reading. Specifically dictates what’s expected of you, how to get there, and how to help your team.
- The E-Myth Manager* – How to actually manage people
- Fix This Next* – A system designed to get you to stop focusing on feelings and focus on actual priorities, and help others as well
Communication
- 48 Laws of Power – I hate how bro and Machiavellian this is, but it also helps you harness the power of what real power looks like
- Never Split the Difference* – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used the skills here to get what I want.
- Influence* – How do get people to do what you want, but also how to see through other schemes.
- Spin Selling* – This is really good both for sales folks and just to get people to do what you want – proposals and the like
- Crucial Conversations* – Tools for talking when the stakes are high
- Get Scalable – I like how this book is like, “forget OKRs and 1year plans because those aren’t practical, here’s what you need to do right now. Takes a lot of what we’re already doing and makes it so much better.
Money
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad – I hate that I have to recommend this, but it’s still the best book out there on getting out of the old “no debt is freedom” mindset that holds people back
Business
- Personal MBA – After 20 years in business, I can assure that the author is correct, this is really all you need.
- The Dip* – I refer to this book all the time because it’s so important to know that the biggest part of business success is endurance and faith.
- Guerilla Marketing – I simply don’t believe that traditional advertising works and this book inspired me to make an award winning promotional video and keeps inspiring.
- Buy Back Your Time* – This book freed me from doing everything, everywhere, all at once.
- Your Next Five Moves – I was torn between this and Leadership, but I’ll put it here. Tons of good things in there for anyone looking to achieve something.
Sales
- Contagious* – What makes a thing go and how to
Self Improvement
- How to Change* – Need to break a habit or build one? This is your book.
- Outlive* – If you don’t have your health, you have nothing