I’m a geek and love to read. I confess that it was not always that way. In fact, I hated reading as a kid. I was competitive and driven so read what was required of me in school but never read beyond it. My parents are both avid readers and were so concerned by my refusal to read that they offered to pay me to read books. I still refused.
But something happened at the end of my freshman year. Between the end of classes and our finals, Princeton has a three-week Reading Period, in which there are no classes; students finish their reading for the semester, write their papers and study for finals. At some point, I picked up a copy of Michael Crichton’s, Rising Sun, and read it straight through. I was blown away. I literally could not read fast enough. And the light bulb went on and I realized that reading could be amazingly fun and informative at the same time. That summer I read 12 books and I’ve never stopped. When I joined the Army, I committed to alternating between one book on leadership and military tactics and one “brain candy” book. Ever since, I’ve tried to bounce between those that help me professionally and those that simply provide an escape.
Over the years, I’ve read a lot of leadership books. Its a passion of mine. So below are a list of books that I’ve read and loved. I’ll add to it over time and will take any an all suggestions for others.
I’ll start with my current Top 11 (in no particular order):
- Message to Garcia – By Elbert Hubbard. This should take you 15 minutes. You’ll think I’m crazy. But read it again. It has some profound wisdom. It was given to me by my first commander in the Army and I’ve given it to everyone who has worked directly for me since. It is who I try to be for my bosses and the type of people I want on my teams.
- Extreme Ownership – Jacko Willink. If you want to understand how I was trained as a leader, this is it. I was not in the Navy or the Seals, but cut my leadership teeth in the airborne infantry, ranger school and the world of special operations. This book is a fantastic summary of those leadership lessons, told in an entertaining way by two people who have led some of the toughest teams under the toughest of conditions.
- Good to Great — Jim Collins. A classic but still highly relevant.
- Lean In – by Sheryl Sandberg. A phenomenal story and some great leadership lessons. I think she sold herself short by aiming just at women. Everyone should read it. Its a great leadership book and I find myself quoting this book often.
- Team of Teams – Stanley McChrystal – How organizations can grow and be nimble. Military in nature, so aligns with my training in the Special Operations World
- Switch – Chip & Dan Heath. The best book on managing change I’ve ever read. Readable. Invaluable.
- Turn the Ship Around – David Marquet. Love the philosophy and empowerment story.
- Talent is Overrated – Geoff Covlin. Changed the way I think of people and high performance.
- Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss. A recent addition. Will be a classic on negotiations. A great read and highly applicable to business and life.
- The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg. Changed the way I think about self-improvement and business improvement.
- Dare to Lead — Brene’ Brown. This and one of her other books, Braving the Wilderness, have moved up my list. They changed the way I think about myself, my leadership and how I show up for people. Her writing is direct and approachable. There is a reason she’s sold a trillion copies and has two Netflix specials — amazing.