Tim's Top 10 Must Reads
My first corporate job out of college was a challenge because it was a tech startup and included constant change and sometimes even chaos. Thankfully, my coach and mentor helped me create a solid, structured foundation for excellence that included a commitment to continuing my professional development. He lived what he preached and I fully adopted the discipline of expanding my knowledge every day. For the past 25 years, I have read (on average) one non-fiction book per week on topics ranging from "The History of Russia" by Nicholas Riasanovsky to Manning Marable's masterpiece "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention" to Erick Larson's "The Devil in the White City". I've read approximately 1300 books over the years.
Books don't make you smarter, but they do expand your ability to immerse yourself into someone's thoughts and mindset. For me, I have a thirst for knowledge and understanding, so the first thing I do each day (after my BAT journaling and gratefulness journal) is read between 50 and 100 pages of my book per day. Then I can take on my day knowing that I started it with a grateful and expanded mind.
This is a list of 10 of my most recommended books. These particular books have helped me develop and grow as an executive coach, business consultant and trainer. After each book title I'll give a bit of a synopsis of the book and my view as to why it's a good read. Enjoy.
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.
Former FBI hostage negotiator shares the strategies and tactics for navigating brutally important conversations where saying the wrong thing can mean the difference between life and death. He seamlessly bridges his hostage negotiating skills with negotiations in the business world.
Fierce Conversations by Susan Smith.
Many people struggle with having difficult conversations because they don’t want to hurt the other person’s feelings or they struggle with the anxiety related to conflict. Susan Smith shares the process she teaches to have direct, honest and meaningful conversations which result in the deepening of the relationship and real understanding.
Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute.
This is a wonderful book, told in story form, that explores the struggles of a leader who has failed to recognize his leadership blindspots at both work and at home that have sabotaged his effectiveness in both roles. A wise, experienced business coach shows the leader several tried and true methods to bridge those performance gaps and build a new, more effective mindset for leading others.
Insight by Tasha Eurich.
We tend to believe that we are ‘self aware,’ but the science proves that we are only partially correct. Dr. Tasha Eurich walks us through how to exercise the ‘muscle’ of self awareness, identify our personal/professional blindspots and the process for giving and getting feedback.
The Sales Coach’s Playbook by Bill Bartlett.
Training is teaching someone a new skill. Coaching is helping someone take an existing skill and apply it more effectively. Most leaders mistakenly mix the two and miss the opportunity to make meaningful connections with their team. The biggest mistake is not having a formal, professional coaching process. Bartlett leads us through a logical, formulaic process for building a successful coaching program within your organization that maximizes individual performance.
The Road to Excellence by Dave Mattson.
How does your organization stack up? There are 4 categories of businesses:
- excellent
- well-run
- average
- at-risk.
Mattson details the 15 business blindspots and the organizational excellence process to maximize performance.
Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell.
Most people spend enormous energy trying to avoid failure and assign negative emotions to the word. Maxwell challenges that with the idea that if you aren’t failing, EVERY DAY at something, then you aren’t trying…..he leads us through the process to triage ‘failures’ through a different lens and asserts that learning ONLY happens through failing.
The Art of Connecting by Claire Raines and Lara Ewing.
Ever meet someone who you instantly felt connected to? They made you feel heard and understood….like they really ‘got’ where you were coming from. They were genuine and real and your conversation made you feel great. This book demonstrates the ways to build trust, rapport and communicate effectively with anyone.
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith.
You have worked tirelessly and finally ‘made it.’ So now what? Where do you go from there? Marshall Goldsmith details the 20 ways successful people get in their own way to every greater success and how to overcome them.
75 Hard: A tactical Guide to Winning the War with Yourself by Andy Frisella.
“75 Hard” is the blueprint for how to get out of your head, clean out your head trash and get yourself mentally and physically ready to battle the challenges in from of us. It involved commitment to physical exercise, table discipline and personal development that will push your mind, body and spirit to the limit, but transform you in all three. This was tough to execute, but I’m transformed because of it.
Passionate advocate for transformative learning, deliberately developmental organizations, and positive global engagement
3 年Thank you, Timothy, for the effort you put into providing this list. I found it in searching LinkedIn for "Leadership and Self-Deception" which was one of the most immediately paradigm shifting books I have ever read. (It's also the only book I've read that didn't have an identifiable individual author). I've read works similar to the others you presented but based on your very informed recommendation I will definitely add these specific works to my reading list. Thanks again.