Book recommendations for business leaders: 1/17/19

Jan 17, 2019 | Reading Lists

Stephen King says that if you want to be a writer, there are two things you must do: read a lot and write a lot. This is about the “read a lot” part. I include reading lists and book reviews that will help you do business more effectively and write better for business.

In this post, I point you to reviews of Would You Do That to Your Mother? The “Make Mom Proud” Standard for How to Treat Your Customers, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Legacy in the Making: Building a Long-Term Brand to Stand Out in a Short-Term World, Leadership Skills that Inspire Incredible Results, and The Leader Architect.

From Wharton: Would You Do That to Your Mother?

“There was a time when most companies followed the Golden Rule out of the belief that treating customers right created brand loyalty and repeat business. But many firms have lost their service component, especially as automation replaces human contact. As a customer service expert, Jeanne Bliss has spent her career helping major companies learn how to behave in the best interests of the consumer. She’s put her expertise into a new book, Would You Do That to Your Mother? The ‘Make Mom Proud’ Standard for How to Treat Your Customers.”

From Bill Gates: A guide to worrying in the 21st century

“In his fascinating new book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the historian Yuval Noah Harari creates a useful framework for confronting these fears. While his previous best sellers, Sapiens and Homo Deus, covered the past and future respectively, his new book is all about the present. The trick for putting an end to our anxieties, he suggests, is not to stop worrying. It’s to know which things to worry about, and how much to worry about them. As he writes in his introduction: ‘What are today’s greatest challenges and most important changes? What should we pay attention to? What should we teach our kids?'”

From Bob Morris: Legacy in the Making

“Mark Miller and Lucas Conley wrote this book in order to explain how to build a long-term brand to stand out in a short-term world. They take a direct approach by illustrating a key insight with a mini-profile of a real-world company. For example: ‘Contribution Before Extraction’ (The Tribeca Film Festival), ‘Empower Your Believers’ (The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company’), ‘Share Your Secrets’ (The San Diego Zoo), ‘Ask Deeper Questions’ (Lexus), and ‘Let the Past Inform the Present’ (The Championships, Wimbledon).”

From Michael McKinney: 5 Distinguishing Traits of High-Performing Leaders

“Through his experience as an executive coach, Fred Halstead has defined in Leadership Skills that Inspire Incredible Results, seven skills that when practiced yield meaningful results. You may not be an expert at all but you can get better at every one of them.”

From Skip Prichard: 5 Steps to Reduce the Leadership Power Gap

“Recently I read The Leader Architect by business leader Jim Grew. It was a practical guide written by someone who has clearly wrestled with the issues facing many leaders. In one section of the book, he discussed the need to reduce the power between leaders and followers. I reached out to ask if we could excerpt that section with his permission as I believe it is insightful:”

Reading recommendations are a regular feature of this blog. Want more recommendations about what to read? Check out my Three Star Leadership blog, Michael McKinney’s LeadingBlog, and Skip Prichard’s Leadership Insights.