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Business Reading Recommendations

Sometimes the greatest insight and motivation comes from a well written book.  These books have changed our thinking and approach to both business and personal life. 

The Go-Giver

Our #1 book, we consider this one a must read for anyone looking to make a positive change in both their business and personal lives.  The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann, takes the reader through a fictional narrative where we learn how to give and do things for others as a way of doing business and living a balanced life.  Want to become the best you can be at whatever you do?  Then ask yourself, "Are you a 'Go-Giver' "?  

Fortitude

Jordan Peterson's 'Twelve Rules for Life' meets Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's 'Extreme Ownership' in this tough-love leadership book from Navy SEAL and US Representative Dan Crenshaw.  Hear about how Dan's own life and death experience serving in the armed forces has brought him to address one of the biggest challenges we're facing as a nation both at work and home.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Patrick Lencioni shares with us how teams fall in and out of challenging situations.  As the reader you live each challenge as they unfolding causing you to reflect on how you would handle each situation.  Lencioni perfectly portrays the team with all the typical dysfunctions and shows us how any team can go from ruin to stellar with the right mindset and expectations.

Traction

A business strategy book written by Gino Wickman  that guides leaders of entrepreneurial organizations, startups to multi-million dollar firms, on how to gain control of their business through the Wickman's Entrepreneurial Operating System.  This book offers straightforward operational and leadership strategies which actually work.

Season of Life

One of the best leadership books we've read, Jeffrey Marx takes us through a wonderful true story of a coach's 'lead by example' tactics and how he empowers youth into becoming respectful men and women. The book provides clear direction for leadership, setting expectations and performance which we find applicable in any business environment.

The Challenger Sale

The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson argues that successful salespeople should focus on challenging customers' thinking rather than merely building relationships. The book identifies five types of sales representatives, with "Challengers" being the most effective due to their ability to teach, tailor, and take control of sales conversations.

Start with Why

Simon Sinek delivers powerful, thought provoking insight into what make some leaders GREAT.  Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty?  In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

Four Seconds

Peter Bregman, author of the WSJ best seller, 18 Minutes, brings us his new book for 2015, Four Seconds which focuses on taking a moment to breath before you go down the road of counter-productive habits, including poor decision making. An excellent read for anyone who is challenged with patience or 'jumps the gun' often.  Excellent techniques for how to remain calm under pressure, especially in a business situation.

The Dichotomy of Leadership

The Dichotomy of Leadership is the follow-up book to Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's wildly popular book on leadership, Extreme Ownership. Every leader must be ready and willing to take charge, to make hard, crucial calls for the good of the team and the mission. Something much more difficult to understand is that, in order to be a good leader, one must also be a good follower.

Authentic Leadership

In Authentic Leadership Bill George makes the case that we do need new leaders, not just new laws, to bring us out of the current corporate crisis. He persuasively demonstrates that authentic leaders of mission-driven companies will create far greater shareholder value than financially oriented companies.

Finding Ultra

Rich Roll shares with us his quest to become a top world athlete in this true life story.  Finding Ultra starts with a series of incredibly bad decisions made by Roll at an early age and how he struggled as a result of those life decisions until one day he woke and decided to make some profound life changes.  We witness his triumphant climb from couch potato to top world athlete and learn along the way that mindset and the will to succeed are indeed the most valuable commodities we have at our disposal.

Good to Great

Jim Collins and a dedicated research team embark on a five year project to understand why few companies ever make the transition from 'Good' to 'Great'.  The research speaks for itself as we learn how simplicity and discipline are some of the key attributes that have allowed companies like Walgreens to see phenomenal success while also beating the market in growth by leaps and bounds.  What we liked best about the book--it's a classic case study of what happens when you mix passion and with discipline, where anything but being the best is unacceptable.  An exceptional read for anyone starting a business or experiencing a plateau in their growth.