As you are thinking about the holidays and ways to improve yourself or your team, 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.

This year, I read over three dozen books. Here are the six best books I read in 2021.

Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton. Sam Walton opened his first Walmart when he was 44 years old. 30 years later, in 1992, Walmart had grown to be the largest retailer in America with 1,960 stores, sales of $43B ($81.3B in today’s dollars), and a income of $1.68B ($3.17B in today’s dollars). Although this book is older, it is a great read for anyone that is trying to scale their business or runs a company with lots of stores.

High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard. Brendon is a high performer and coaches high performers to raise their game. I enjoyed his approach with his six high performance habits: seek clarity, generate energy, raise necessity, increase productivity, develop influence, and demonstrate courage. Thanks to DDale Walls and Jay Tiegs for recommending the book. Worth a read if you are trying to raise your game in 2022.

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. Checklists are “a list of items required, things to be done, or points to be considered, used as a reminder.” They are simple but powerful tools used by pilots, doctors, astronauts, construction workers, and the military to handle complex, non-routine problems. Checklists help people balance innovation and discipline, craft and protocol, and specialized talents within group collaboration. This book got me to think deeper about checklists and how to build a better checklist.

The Hardest Place by Wesley Morgan. Imagine that your business had a reporter that followed it in detail for twenty years and covered the good, the bad, and the ugly that happened over two decades. Wesley Morgan did that for the Pech Valley, a small microcosm of the war in Afghanistan. It is one of the best books on the conflict because it captures the challenges of fighting in Afghanistan, the impact of one year tours, the difference in leadership philosophies if battalion commanders, and the evolution of the war.

We March at Midnight by Ray McPadden. Ray McPadden wrote one of the best memoirs about being a junior officer (leader) in Iraq and Afghanistan. I really enjoyed this book.

12 Months to $1 Million by Ryan Daniel Moran. Ryan Moran’s book got me to think more about seven-figure math (and even six-figure math) for small businesses, the need for both a visionary and builder, and the year-long process to grow a business to $1 Million in revenue. A great read for entrepreneurs.

Grow Your Grit

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Grow Your Grit: Overcome Obstacles, Thrive, and Accomplish Your Goals. As one reader said, “The book is very well written, with multiple real life examples from both Fivecoat's personal experiences and well known leaders of the past. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.” So take a look, raise your game, and accomplish big goals in 2022.

It is available to order via Amazon here and fits great in a stocking or under a tree.

Conclusion

Leaders are busy and time is precious. Go on the offense in 2022 and spend some time with one of these seven books to take a new look at an important concept, develop an understanding of new ideas, access new experiences, and grow your grit.