This was going to start as a “highly recommended list”, but then that list would be too large to work! Instead, we’ve tried to group them into “categories” instead of just one long list. I hope it helps.
As we read more books (or remember the ones we’ve already read ????), we’ll add it to the list.
(Also note, some of the books may not be where you think they should be or could be. For some of them it has been a while since I’ve read them, so as we revisit the books, we may move them. If you have any suggestions or comments, email us at eskills@theexceptionalskills.com. Thanks!)
Where-to-start Leadership Books
If you are looking to just pick up a book or two on leadership, these are some of our top recommendations for that.
It’s Your Ship – Michael Abrashoff
Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
Leadership is Language – L. David Marquet
Leadership Strategy and Tactics – Jocko Willink
The Leadership Gap – Lolly Daskal
Great books for new leaders (and those wanting to become leaders)
Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 – John Maxwell
Leadership 101 – John Maxwell
Leading Without Authority – Keith Ferrazzi
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John Maxwell
21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader – John Maxwell
Great leadership books that could be considered geared more toward small businesses and entrepreneurs
The Emyth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber
Entreleadership – Dave Ramsey
Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 – Jim Collins & Bill Lazier
Great books for teams, team building, feedback, motivation, and culture
The Ideal Team Player – Patrick Lencioni
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
Teamwork 101 – John Maxwell
The Culture Code – Daniel Coyle
Unstoppable Teams – Alden Mills
HBR Guide to Collaborative Teams
Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars – Patrick Lencioni
Quiet Leadership – David Rock
Coaching for Emotional Intelligence – Bob Wall
Radical Candor – Kim Scott
The Truth About Employee Engagement – Patrick Lencioni
Drive – Daniel Pink
Great management books
(Note: to be a great manager, you also need to be a great leader, so don’t think none of these other books don’t apply to you ????).
The First Time Manager – Jim McCormick, et al.
The Making of a Manager – Julie Zhuo
Great books on Meetings
The Surprising Science of Meetings – Patrick Lencioni
Death by Meeting – Patrick Lencioni
Other great Leadership Books
Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek
Start With Why – Simon Sinek
Leadership & Self Deception – The Arbinger Institute
Dare to Lead – Brené Brown
Leading at a Higher Level – Ken Blanchard
The 360 Degree Leader– John Maxwell
Good Leaders Ask Great Questions – John Maxwell
The Advantage – Patrick Lencioni
Great Leaders Have No Rules – Kevin Kruse
The Infinite Game – Simon Sinek
Turn the Ship Around! – L. David Marquet
Leading With Gratitude – Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton
How Toyota Became #1 – David Magee
Start With Why – Simon Sinek
Remote Work Revolution – Tsedal Neeley
The Essential Drucker – Peter Drucker
Great company-building books
Good to Great – Jim Collins
Great By Choice – Jim Collins
Built to Last – Jim Collins
Other miscellaneous management/leadership/company-buildingish books
Managing for Results – Peter Drucker
Managing in a Time of Great Change – Peter Drucker
The Innovator’s Dilemma – Clayton M. Christensen
Great story-based books
The 5 Temptations of a CEO – Patrick Lencioni
Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive – Patrick Lencioni
The Motive – Patrick Lencioni
Getting Naked – Patrick Lencioni
Death by Meeting – Patrick Lencioni
Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars – Patrick Lencioni
The Truth About Employee Engagement – Patrick Lencioni
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
The Ideal Team Player – Patrick Lencioni
Okay, just about any Patrick Lencioni Book ???? There are other good ones similar. I’ll add them when I remember them.
Great marketing related books
Storybrand – Donald Miller
$100M Offers – Alex Hormozi
$100M Leads – Alex Hormozi
Contagious – Jonah Berger
Unthinking – Harry Beckwith
Influence – Robert B. Cialdini
Presuasion – Robert B. Cialdini
Great sales related books
To Sell is Human – Daniel Pink
The Ultimate Sales Machine – Chet Holmes
The Psychology of Selling – Brian Tracy
The Sales EDGE – Gene McNaughton
Great Problem Solving Books
Stop Guessing – Nat Greene
Think Smarter – Michael Kallet
Problem Solving 101 – Ken Watanabe
The Thinker’s Toolkit – Morgan D. Jones
Why Not? – Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres
Great Conflict Resolution Books
Crucial Conversations – Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory
When Goliaths Clash- Howard M. Guttman
Difficult Conversations – Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen
Working with You is Killing Me – Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster
Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott
The Anatomy of Peace – The Arbinger Institute
Great Time Management/Productivity/Procrastination books
Get More Done at Work – Thomas R. Harris
Organize Tomorrow Today – Dr. Jason Selk and Tom Bartow
15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management – Kevin Kruse
Eat That Frog! – Brian Tracy
Master Your Time Master Your Life – Brian Tracy
Getting Things Done – David Allen
Great Personal Goal Setting Books
Goals! – Brian Tracy
The Magic Lamp – Keith Ellis
Your Best Year Ever – Michael Hyatt
Hard Goals – Mark Murphy
Great (or Greatish) Business-specific Goal Setting Books
The 4 Disciplines of Execution – Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling
Measure What Matters – John Doerr
Great Decision Making Books
Decisive – Dan Heath and Chip Heath
Thinking in Bets – Annie Duke
Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
Smart Choices – John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa
Nudge – Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
The paradox of Choice – Barry Schwartz
Why Not? – Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres
Algorithms to Live By – Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
How We Decide – Jonah Lehrer
Great personal growth books
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do – Amy Morin
The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking – Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird
High Performing Habits – Brendon Burchard
Atomic Habits – James Clear
The Success Principles – Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer
The Bible
Other great books that we’ve enjoyed
Think Again – Adam Grant
Rejecion Proof – Jia Jiang
Cues – Vanessa Van Edwards
The Charisma Myth – Olivia Fox Cabane
Captivate – Vanessa Van Edwards
The Like Switch – Jack Schafer & Marvin Karlins
The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel
Smarter Faster Better – Charles Duhigg
The War of Art – Steven Pressfield (warning – has a bit of language in it, if that’s a concern)
Deep Work – Cal Newport
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big – Scott Adams
Principles – Ray Daleo
The Honest Truth About Dishonesty – Dan Arierly
