Recommended Reading

The following are books I have read since 2006 that you may consider as you become a successful leader, individual, and/or business owner. I needed a lot of help! The books with an *  and ** denote the ones I enjoyed and benefited from the most. It takes time to create success and build humility as a servant leader. My suggestion is to take a hard copy of a selected book monthly and make notes on each page as you read it. I have read some of these books several times and I often pull them from my library to refresh important points the authors were making as I publish articles. Others may want to listen to audiobooks. One of the greatest achievements in my life has been to challenge the way I think, learn, and grow! That meant a re-wiring of my brain to think outside the box about how I treated myself or others to become a better person and leader in the future!

*13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin

*107 Ways to Stick to It (And Achieve Success) by lee Colan

*100 Ways to simplify Your Life by Joyce Meyer

*7 Measures of Success by The Center for Leadership

*4E’s of Leadership of jack Welch by Jeffrey Krames

*A Game Plan for Life by John Wooden and Don Yaeger

*A Hand to Guide Me by Denzel Washington

*Authentic Leadership, Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value by Bill George

Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton

*Better than Good by Zig Ziglar

*Breaking the Fear Barrier by Tom Riger

*Built to Last (Successful Habits of Visionary Companies) by Jim Collins

*Coaching Successfully by John Eaton and Roy Johnson

*Collective Genius by Hill, Brandeau, Truelove, and Lineback

*Connecting with Customers by Harvard Business School

*Common Sense Business by Steve Gotty

*Confidence by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

*Contented Cows Give Better Milk by Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden

*Crisis Leadership: Planning for the Unthinkable by Ian I. Mitroff

*Crisis Management: Master the Skills to Prevent Disasters by Harvard Business Essentials

**Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable by Steven Fink

*Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell (10 Leadership Strategies Learned at Disney)

*Crucial Conversations by Patterson, Grenny, McMillian, and Switzer

Customer Service for Dummies by Karen Leland and Keith Bailey

*Cut to the Chase by Stuart R. Levine

*Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni

*Delegating Work by Harvard Business Press

*Delivering Happiness (At Zappos) by Tony Hsieh (A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose)

**Deming Management at Work by Mary Walton

*Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Dr. Richard Carlson

*Drucker on Leadership by Dr. William Cohen

*Effective Communication by Dr. James O’Rourke

*Enough Already! By Peter Walsh

*EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey

*Essentials of Management by Koonntz and O’Donnell

*Escaping the Stress Trap by Mary Southerland

*Everyone Communicates Few Connect by John C. Maxwell

**Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bassidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck

*Finding Your Element by Ken Robinson

*First Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

*Fish! By Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., Harry Paul, John Christensen

*Full Steam Ahead by Ken Blancarh and Jesse Stoner

*Game-Changer by AG Lafley and Ram Charan

*Getting Things Done, The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

**Good to Great, Jim Collins (This book changed my life!)

*Go Put Your Strengths to Work by Marcus Buckingham

*Great Business Teams by Howard Guttman

*Great by Choice by Jim Collins

Guerilla Marketing in 30 Days by Jay Conrad Levinson, Al Lautenslager

*Habits Die Hard (10 Steps to Build Successful Habits) by Anderson and Murphy

*Crisis Management by Harvard Business Review

*Hesselbein on Leadership by Frances Hesselbein

*High Five: The Magic of Working Together by Ken Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles

*How Full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Dr. Donald Clifton

*How to Lead and Still Have a Life by H. Dale Burke

*How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins

*Inspired Marketing by Craig Perrine

*Interviewing People by DeeDee Doke

*It Worked for Me In Life and Leadership by Colin Powell

*It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For by Roy Spence, Jr.

*It’s Not How Good You Are by It’s How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden

*It’s Not About Coffee by Howard Behar (Story of Starbucks)

*Jack Welch and the 4 E’s of Leadership by Jeffery A. Krames

*Killer Customer Care by George Colombo

*Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

*Less is More Leadership by H. Dale Burke

*Lessons in Loyalty by Lorraine Grubbs-West

*Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffery Gitomer

*Living the Seven Habits by Stephen R. Covey

* Make Today Count by John C. Maxwell

*Make Your Bed (Little Things That Can Change Your Life) by Admiral William McRaven

*Managing the Unexpected by Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe

*Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff

*Making Smart Decisions by Harvard Business School Press

*Making It All Work by David Allen (Balancing Work and Personal Lives)

*Masters of Success, Proven Techniques for Achieving Success in Business and Life by Ivan R. Misner, Don Morgan

*Meetings: Do’s, Don’ts, and Donuts by Sharon Lippincott

*MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, and How to Get It Back if You Lose It by Marshall Goldsmith

**Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell

*My Inspirational Favorites by Norman Vincent Peale

Negotiating for Dummies by Michael C. Donaldson, Mimi Donaldson

*Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham, Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.

*Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter

*Outstanding: 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional by John Miller

*Pass the Baton: The Miracle of mentoring by Dale Carnegie Bronner

*Patton on Leadership by Alan Axelrod

*Peaks and Valley (Making Good and Bad Times Work for You) by Spencer Johnson, MD

*People Can’t Drive You Crazy If You Don’t Give them the Keys by Mike Bechtle

*Reality Therapy by William Glasser, MD

*Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

*Satisfaction by Chris Denove and James D. Power IV

*Six Disciplines of the Execution Revolution by Gary Harpst

Small Business is Like a Bunch of Bananas by Jim Blasingame

*Small is the New Big by Seth Godin

*Starting Your Own Business by Jan Norman

*Strategic Thinking by Andy Bruce and Ken Langdon

**Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (one of the best books I have read)

*I, Steve by Steve Jobs

Successful Presentations for Dummies, Malcolm Kushner

*Tell Me The Truth Doctor by Richard Besser, MD

*The Culture Secret by Dr. David Vik

*The Customer Service Revolution by John Dijulius III

*The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

*The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time by Veerne Harnish with Jim Collins

*The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle (How to Become a Servant leader) by James C. Hunter

*The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (Fulfilling Your Dreams)

*The Leader’s Compass by Ruggero and Haley

*The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

*The 10 Rules of Sam Walton by Michael Bergdahl

*The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John Maxwell

The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople by Stephen Schiffman

*The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

*The Elements of Style by Strunk and White (English Writing Manual)

*The Search for Satisfaction by David McKinley

*The Secret by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller (Leadership)

*The 60 Second Organizer. Sixty Solid Techniques for Beating Chaos at Home and at Work by Jeff Davidson

*The 100 Greatest Sales Tips of All Time by Leslie Pockell, Adrienne Avila

*The Greatest Coach Ever (John Wooden)  by Dungy, Robison, and Osborne

The E Myth Manager by Michael E. Gerber

*The Effective Executive In Action by Peter Drucker

*The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

*The Heart of a Leader by Ken Blanchard

**The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner (The best book on leadership!)

*The Life-Changing of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

*The One Thing You Need to Know by Marcus Buckingham (Leadership and Success)

*The Leadership Wisdom of Jesus by Charles C. Manz

*Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

*Thinking for a Change by John Maxwell

**The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

*The One Minute Entrepreneur by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson

*The One Thing You Need to Know About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Successes by Marcus Buckingham

*The One Time, On-Target Manager by Ken Blanchard and Steve Gottry

**The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler, Robin Kova

*The Power of Many by Meg Whitman

*The Present by Spencer Johnson

*The Real Life MBA by Jack and Suzy Welch

*The Right to Lead by John C. Maxwell

The Sales Bible by Jeffery Gitomer

*The Small Business Bible by Steven Strauss

**The Servant by James C. Hunter

*The Search for Satisfaction by David McKinley

**The Small Business Bible, Steven D. Strauss

*The Starbucks Experience by Joseph Michelli

*The Ten Commandments for Business Failure by Donal Keough

**The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, Hans Finzel (Another great book!)

*The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln by Anthony Gross

*The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principles by James C. Hunter

*The Wisdom of Failure by Laurence Weinzimmer and Jim McConoughhey

*Thinking Creatively by George Boulden

*There’s No Such Thing as Business Ethics But Only One Rule for Making Decisions by John Maxwell

*Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

*Turning Outsiders into Insiders by Frank Sennett (Workforce Secrets)

*Turn Your Dreams into Realities (101 Ways to Make It Happen) by Sue Augustine

*Vital Factors by Lee Froschheiser and Paul Chutkow

**Whale Done- The Power of Positive Relationship by Ken Blanchard

**What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

*The Japanese Way by Kaoru Ishikawa

What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles

*What’s Total Quality Control by Kaoru Ishikawa

Where Have All the Leaders Gone? By Lee Iacocca

**Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson, M.D.

*Winning with People John Maxwell

*Working with Purpose by Jane Kise and David Stark

**Why Smart Executives Fail, And What You Can Learn from their Mistakes, Sydney Finkelstein

*Winning by Jack Welch

*Winning: The Answers by Jack and Suzy Welch

**Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden

*Working with Purpose by Jane Kise and David Stark

*You Changed My Life by Max Lucado

**Your Possible Life by Dr. Kathy Murphy

* Your Life Calling and Reimaging the Rest of Your Life by Jane Pauley