A Dozen Essential Books for Business Leaders

Learning is a key pillar of successful people. Of the many ways to learn, reading allows for a passive introduction to new thinking. It spurs creativity and invites you to think and act for the better—differently. There are tactical, near-term sources such as news feeds, newspapers and online aggregators but to get an in-depth creative perspective, nothing beats great books. Surprisingly, by taking just 15 or 30 minutes out of your day to read, you’ll polish off nearly a dozen books a year!

Below, I have listed my personal favorites, all of which have had a great impact on me, resonating and reinforcing my individual leadership style:

1. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
3. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
4. Good to Great by Jim Collins
5. First 90 Days by Michael Watkins
6. The CEO Code by David Rohlander
7. Coaching for Improved Work Performance by Ferdinand Foulness
8. Changing the Game: Organizational Transformations by Eric Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle
9. In Search of Excellence by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H., Jr. Waterman
10. Failing Forward by John Maxwell
11. Execution:The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
12. Getting Things Done by David Allen.