Leaders are Readers, 2 (#52)
As you enjoy Labor Day and your thoughts drift to thinking about improving yourself or your team this Fall, remember that great leaders are readers. Leaders like Mark Cuban, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Gates make it part of their daily habits. Reading (or listening to an audio book), even during a crisis, is a great way for you to remind yourself of an important concept, understand new ideas, and access experiences that aren’t your own. I have been a serious reader since I was a kid, checking out books from the Delaware County Public Library. And I continue to read almost every day — fiction, business, leadership, history, and science fiction.
Ten books to help build leadership, teams, culture, and processes in your organization.
Here are the ten most impactful books that I think can help small and medium sized businesses with developing their leadership, teams, culture, and processes.
Leadership:
Good to Great by Jim Collins. Deep analysis of great companies by Collins and his team discovered five things that made them great: Level 5 leaders, the hedgehog concept, a culture of discipline, technology, and the flywheel.
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. A call to action with concrete steps to increase the number of women in leadership roles in the corporate world.
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink. For the veterans out there, Extreme Ownership helped me understand the military tools I had been using and how to better translate them into the corporate environment.
Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by David Marquet. David uses his experience as a submarine captain to convey an outstanding way to empower your team by getting them to tell you the plan first.
Teams:
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by Stan McChrystal. This book discusses how to transform a hierarchical organization into a more networked organization that uses transparent communications and decentralized decision-making authority to better deal with a rapidly changing environment.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. Passion and perseverance are the keys to building grit in oneself and in an organization.
Culture:
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle. A step-by-step guide on how to build a great culture in your organization using safety, vulnerability, and purpose.
Processes:
Start with Why by Simon Sinek. The classic book that helps businesses and leaders understand their purpose or why and convey it to their organization for better results.
New Sales. Simplified by Mike Weinberg. Mike provides a formidable framework to help businesses win more sales.
Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller. Using seven elements of great storytelling will better market and grow your business.
Leaders are busy and time is precious. Spend some time with one of these ten books to take a new look at an important concept, develop an understanding of new ideas, and access new experiences.