This past fall, I spent time each week with a Toastmaster’s Club at a local high school. Several times in their speeches, the students said something like this: “Nobody reads anymore; we just go to YouTube.”
That may work when you’re a high school senior, but it isn’t going to cut it in college or in the workplace. Today I want to introduce you to some of my favorite books that you need to read. All of my executive coaching clients know these well.
Reading is critical for you to grow as you learn more about business, people, communications, and building relationships. When you can reference something from Good to Great in a conversation with your boss, it shows that you are PROACTIVELY developing yourself. Good job.
Published in 1937, this classic by Dale Carnegie is still relevant and considered a guidebook to how to deal with people, which is critical if you want to be a successful leader.
Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to “the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people.” –Amazon review
The book has been updated to make it relevant to today’s readers. This is a must read.
Two books in my pile are by Jim Collins. Pay attention to what he writes. Follow him online. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
Originally published in 1994, this book, by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, looked at the successful habits of visionary companies that had been around for a long time. Key takeaways from this book are these.
Companies need to be clear on what their values are—their core values. We’re not talking about the usual wordy, almost nonsensical language that most companies trot out. We’re talking about standards that, in upholding them, would have us fire our favorite client or a favorite employee who violated our values.
Set BHAGS—Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Push yourself beyond what you think you can do and go for the bold, outrageous goals. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
Another research based book, Good to Great by Jim Collins, achieved near biblical standing in the business world after it was published in 2001. Quotes you may have heard that came from this book (or became popular due to it):
You must read Good to Great in order to hang out with people in roles you aspire to. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
Published in 1984, this epic work by Robert Cialdini is a handbook to why people do what we do. Cialdini gives six concepts that you need to know to succeed in life and certainly to be a successful leader.
Cialdini, a Ph.D., explains what these concepts are and gives numerous examples of scientific experiments that demonstrate the concepts. He tells you how to use the concept and how to make it work for you. You will find other books written by Cialdini, but this one is the most important if you want to be a leader. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
Peter Drucker is considered the father of management. This volume includes the best of his 60 years of writing about management, from a company to an individual to society. You need to read this book if you’re going to be a manager or a leader. Drucker wrote dozens of other books. This one is like a literature survey course that you had in college—bits and pieces across time. It will make you smarter and more successful. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
Jack Canfield is a cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, so if you’ve read any of those, the format of this book will be familiar. The subtitle of this book is perfect for fans of MentorLoft.com: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.
Canfield covers 64 tenets, presented in these groupings.
The book is packed with advice, tidbits, examples, and references to other sources of information. My mentor gave me this book for Christmas one year, and I’ve shared it with all of my executive coaching clients.
It’s an easy read and chock full of powerful thoughts and ideas. Enjoy. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ 
Daniel Goleman pioneered the term “emotional intelligence” in articles, then in Emotional Intelligence, published in 1997. Goleman posits that our IQ (intellectual intelligence) will only get us so far. It is our emotional intelligence (EQ) that determines whether we succeed in work and in life.
In his research, Goleman found that “67 percent of the abilities deemed essential for effective performance were due to emotional competencies.” He breaks those competencies down into five areas: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.
Get familiar with EQ. You’ll be seeing more content on MentorLoft.com to help you grow in these areas. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
I detested this book from the moment I heard the title, because I have always shied away from confrontation. However, my mentor told me I had to read it and learn from it, and I’m glad he forced the issue.
Susan Scott coached CEOs for years. She shares what she learned in this valuable book about how to have conversations that matter.
The book is full of insights and techniques about how to talk with people when there is friction. A few chapter titles should help you see the value: Master the Courage to Interrogate Reality, Come Out From Behind Yourself Into the Conversation and Make It Real, Let Silence Do the Heavy Lifting.
This book changed my thinking and ability to deal with tough conversations. You owe it to yourself and those you work with or lead in the future to read this book. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
Patrick Lencioni’s small and very readable books are part fable and part instructions for dealing with situations. 5 Temptations of a CEO, a book that thousands of CEOs have found helpful to deal with the struggles they face. Yes, CEOs have problems, too. Lencioni’s other books include
Put Lencioni on your must-read list. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
This awesome book by Simon Sinek explains why people do what they do. Thus the subtitle: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.
Companies usually talk about what, when, how, and where, but seldom do they start with why they do what they do. Sinek ties the “why” into the neuroscience of how our brains function.
From the book flap: “Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And people follow them not because they have to; they follow because they want to.”
If you aspire to play any role in business, other than sitting in a dark cubicle communicating with no one, you need to read this book. (click on book image to order from Amazon)
