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

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