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