Books I Think Everyone Should Read
This page is a work in progress. Check back often as I add new books.
Last Updated November 25, 2024
Management Books
Traction - Gino Wickman
An introduction to EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System). Traction is a great book for anyone who runs a business, a department, or leads people. It’s guaranteed to change the way you think about something.
Reboot - Jerry Colonna
If you lead people in any capacity, it’s really important that you work on your own issues and demons. If you don’t, you won’t get the most from your people, you won’t make the best decisions you are capable of making, and you will limit the impact that you have.
The One Minute Manager - Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
Everyone should read this book. It’s all about getting to the point quickly, empowering your team, and making sure you are focusing on the big picture and not micromanaging.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz
There are no easy answers. It’s your job to make the best decisions, not the easy decisions.
High Output Management - Andrew S. Grove
Employee number 3 and former Chairman at Intel.
Disney U - Doug Lipp
Does your job involve customer service? (Hint - it does.) Learn some of the management principles used by one of the world’s greatest companies. Quote: Management must be diligent or the show will deteriorate. Management must be diligent or the cast will deteriorate.
Good To Great - Jim Collins.
This book had been in a pile beside my bed for a long time. I always skipped it for something else. I mean, it came out in 2001 and highlights Circuit City as a GREAT company (that declared bankruptcy only 7 years later). What would I really learn? Well, I was wrong. It’s an absolutely amazing read. Stock up on Post-It flags and highlighters. HIGHLY recommend.
Productivity Books
Deep Work - Cal Newport
It’s very easy to be fooled into thinking that we’re productive just because we’re doing a lot of things. The reality, however, is that if you’re only doing shallow work, you probably aren’t having the impact that you want.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey
You may have read this 20 years ago. While some of the language is perhaps a bit dated, the principles of the book hold true. Focus as much of your time in Quadrant 2 as possible.
The Checklist Manifesto - Atul Gawande
Some people think that checklists are for those who don’t know what they’re doing. Not so, says author Atul Gawande. Checklists can be a training tool, but they are also an important tool for busy people who have a lot going on. It’s about focus.
Getting Things Done - David Allen
I’m not a GTD’er, but this book is further proof that systems help to make everything easier. Build the right systems in your life.
Atomic Habits - James Clear
There’s nothing in here that isn’t in 20 other books about habits. But that’s actually the point - read Atomic Habits and you don’t need to read 20 other books about habits. Addicted to books on habits? My runner up is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
Books About Life
Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
I’ve heard that this book doesn’t cover anything that isn’t included in a 100 level humanities class. I have no idea if that’s true or not because I never took a 100 level Humanities class. I can say that I looked forward to every page, and I spent as much time sharing the things I learned as I did reading it.
How To Build A Spaceship - Julian Guthrie
Have you ever almost been kicked out of Harvard Medical School because you were simultaneously running a rocket company and your own university on the side? Peter Diamandis was. Suddenly my workload doesn’t feel so overwhelming.
Elon Musk - Ashlee Vance
I mean… it’s THE book about Elon Musk.
Walter Isaacson
Not the book, but the author. Just go read everything. My favorites so far? Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs. The Code Breakers was pretty great as well.
Walt Disney - Neal Gabler
Probably not the book you expect it to be, unless you knew that Donald Duck trained people how to build war machines. But… it’s also the book you expected it to be.
Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
This is the personal journal of a man who was once the most powerful person on Earth. Better yet, he was clear thinker and focusses on what was really important. There are a few different translations of this, but the one I have is by Gregory Hays. If this appeals to you, then I also recommend the works of Ryan Holiday who has is largely responsible for the return of stoicism to modern society.
Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
A fascinating and well-written book about how people think and make decisions: fast choices biased by our own history and slow decisions informed by rational thought. Amazing.
Marketing Books
Note: I’ve probably read more marketing books than any other genre. They’re all good (even the bad ones) because marketing is a practice and putting the time in is really important. That being said, the books below are must-reads.
Seth Godin
Not the book, but the author. Read them all. My current favorite? The Practice.
Ogilvy on Advertising - David Ogilvy
David Ogilvy really invented the modern era of marketing, and much of his straightforward advice still works today. It’s really easy to overcomplicate marketing and this book is a reminder that often the simpler a campaign is, the better it works.
Positioning - Al Ries and Jack Trout
“The temptation is to work on the solution without thinking through the problem. Much better to think about your situation in an organized way before leaping to a conclusion.” I mean… how many people in your organization would do well to take this advice?
Fiction
I’m not traditionally a big reader of fiction, but I’ve been making an effort lately. Here are some relatively recent reads.
Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield
This is the fictional account of the Battle of Thermopylae. Steven Pressfield is a master, and I’m most familiar with him due to his non-fiction pieces such as The War of Art and Do The Work. I found out that he wrote fiction because of an interview he did on the Spartan Up! Podcast.
Dune - Frank Herbert
People have been recommending this book to me for years. I’m only slightly ashamed to say that I waited until it was being made into a movie (again) to read it. But man, it’s really good.