My Reading List For Business Leaders
Books for Business, Productivity, Leadership, Health and Wellbeing
Reading is still one of the most efficient ways to acquire new information. As leaders, we’re always in need of new ideas and inspiration to improve our thinking and navigate change.
Reading improves our people skills, communication skills, even our ability to make sound judgements in life. As Harry Truman famously coined — “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
If you’re someone who seldom reads but would like to improve, check out this brilliant article by Michael Hyatt on the leadership science behind reading.
My reading list
The following recommendations are books that I have personally benefitted from in recent years.
To note, there are plenty of great books out there and so not all have graced this list. I’ve intentionally chosen a select few, across four key spheres of life. (One more sphere coming soon = Spirituality). I will keep this list updated over time (feel free to bookmark this page). Happy reading!
Business & Marketing
Books to build your vision from the ground up.
Building A Storybrand
Built on age-old storytelling principals, Donald Miller’s Storybrand is one of the best communication frameworks on the planet. In this book, he guides you through the a powerful solution that will help you clarify your company message. Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.
Purple Cow
What do Apple, Starbucks and Dyson have in common? How do they achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and-true brands to gasp their last? The golden age of advertising is over. Seth teaches us how to add the ‘Purple Cow’ to your business. “You’re either a Purple Cow or you’re not. You’re either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.”
Rework
In one of my favourite books, Jason brilliantly (and hilariously) reveals how anyone can start a business — and so so without working miserable 80-hour weeks or depleting your life savings. Forget everything you know about business — business plans, meetings, office space — you don’t need them!
Clock Work
Want to grow your company? Mike Michalowicz’s latest book is a game-changer. If there’s one thing I could teach business owners looking to scale — it’s to implement Clock Work. Mike challenges popular productivity and time management methods to outline a simple strategy that can help your company align around a single goal and run like clockwork.
Shoe Dog
Phil’s ‘Shoe Dog’ is an amazing tale, with plenty of thrills. I admit feeling anxious reading this until it was completed. It’s a memoir rich with insight, humour and hard-won wisdom, but this book is also studded with lessons…About building something from scratch, overcoming adversity, and ultimately leaving your mark on the world.
Productivity & Focus
Books to clear the noise and make progress.
Free To Focus
We all get the same 168 hours a week, but it never feels like enough, does it? Most people think productivity is about finding or saving time — But it’s not. It’s about making our time work for us. Michael’s book helps you be free to focus, achieving more of what matters most to you. If you want to live a happier, healthier and more full-filled life — this book is for you.
Deep Work
Cal Newport’s deep work will make you better at what you do, let you achieve more in less time and provide the sense of true fulfilment that comes from the mastery of a skill. In short, deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive economy.
Digital Minimalism
Cal’s NEW book helps us with our addiction to technology. If you loved Deep Work, you’ll love this book. He shows us how to pair back digital distractions and live better with less technology. Take back control from your devices and become a digital minimalist!
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
Timing is everything, but we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of ‘when’ decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork. Dan shows you in this book how timing is really a science. Drawing on his rich trove of research (from psychology, biology, and economics) he reveals how we can live, work and rest better.
Health & Wellness
Books to rejuvenate you.
Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep
A truly fascinating read. Sleep is one of the most important aspects of our life, health and longevity and yet it’s increasingly neglected in twenty-first-century society. A loss of sleep has devastating consequences: every major disease in the developed world — Alzheimer’s, cancer, obesity, diabetes — has very strong causal links to deficient sleep. I implore you to read this book.
Think and Eat Yourself Smart
Food effects our health profoundly, yet we give it little thought beyond taste. Dr Caroline Leaf shows us how everyone is unique, has unique nutritional needs, and has the power to impact their own health through the right thinking. There’s no one perfect solution. Rather, she shows us how to change the way we think about food and put ourselves on the path towards health.
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
This book is a much-needed antidote to the stress, burnout and compulsion to “do everything”. By applying a more selective criteria for what is essential, the pursuit of less allows us to regain control of our own choices so we can channel our time, energy and effort into making the highest possible contribution toward the goals and activities that matter.
(More books coming in this space)
Leadership
Books to shift your mindsets and lead others better.
Leadershift
John C. Maxwell, an international leadership expert teaches us how to shift our leadership to keep innovating, improving, and influencing others in today’s fast-paced world. Change is so rapid today that leaders must do much more than stay the course to be successful. If they aren’t nimble and ready to adapt, they won’t survive. The key is to learn how to leadershift.
GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
In what became an instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth brilliantly shows anyone striving to succeed — be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people — that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” I recommend this book on Audible.
Live Love Lead
30+ years ago when Brian Houston set out to pioneer a church with 30 people in a school hall, he had no idea how many highs and lows, sacrifices, and miraculous opportunities he would face. Over time, his tiny church grew into the worldwide Hillsong ministry, leading people all over the globe to follow the greatest Guide who ever walked the path of life — Jesus. This book will equip and encourage you on the journey, to navigate the inevitable twists and turns of life.
NEXT BOOK: (In the process of reading Dare To Lead)
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
Quoted in this story: What Reading Does for the Mind — by Anne E. Cunningham
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