8 Great Books to Read this Summer
Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and it offers a great opportunity to relax and learn at the same time. I have shared below the 8 books I enjoyed reading recently.
The Leader’s Bookshelf by James Stavridis and R. Manning Ancell – This was an awesome read on leadership. The book consists of 50 reviews of leadership books across all genres and also summarized the leadership lessons from each of those. Some of the things I learned are all top leaders are great at delegating, they also take complete responsibility for everything that goes wrong, they never rest on their laurels, they have an inspiring vision, they include people who disagree with them in their teams and they are avid readers. It is a wonderful book and covers the whole gamut of leadership.
Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness – This is a brilliant practical take on what it takes to become a peak performer. It is well researched and has awesome examples. Set challenging goals, view stress as a friend, make time to recover, sleep at least eight hours, have a routine to follow, become a minimalist, find someone whom you are doing the work for and identify the purpose of your life. Here is my review 14 Lessons on Peak Performance.
Churchill and Orwell by Thomas E. Ricks – This is a great book on personal leadership. It is well written and defines how Churchill came back from the wilderness of the 1930’s to lead England and much of the world into victory. It is inspiring and also chronicles both of their journeys. The Inspiration Code by Kristi Hedges – This is a good book for all leaders. She says inspirational leaders are present (they are not distracted giving full attention), personal (they are authentic), passionate (they are full of life and inspire others), purposeful (they set an example on how to lead with purpose). It has great examples as well. It also gives ideas on how you can identify your values and build your personal brand.
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman – This was a refreshing book on leadership. The basic thesis is multipliers lead by engaging in five specific roles. As the Talent Magnet they attract and deploy talent to its fullest, As the Liberator Multipliers establish a unique and highly motivating work environment where everyone has the permission to think and the space to do their best work, As the Challenger they seed opportunities, lay down challenges that stretch the organization, As the Debate Maker Multipliers engage people in debating the issues up front, which leads to decisions that people understand and can execute efficiently and as The Investor Multipliers deliver and sustain superior results by inculcating high expectations across the organization.
The High-Potential Leader by Ram Charan and Geri Willigan – This is a wonderful book on leadership by one of the premier management gurus. There are some good nuggets of wisdom. Make sure your work means something to you, try to experience flow in your work and use your unique strengths. Most of the stress in life is positive and we can use it to grow as a person. Engage people in creating solutions and devote sometime each week to reflect on your purpose. This is a useful guide to getting to know yourself and your leadership potential.
The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith – This book really made me think about what life is and how we can derive meaning from whatever we do for a living. A sense of belonging, purpose, storytelling and transcendence is the key to a meaningful life. I have reviewed it here check it out. The Power of Meaning
Becoming Facebook by Mike Hoefflinger- This book really made me really understand how Zuckerberg made it big. The key is he stood by his vision in-spite of external pressure, One example is Yahoo offered him a billion dollars to take over but he made the decision not to go ahead within 10 min. That showed the confidence he had in his vision. The books outlines the challenges Facebook overcame to win. Another thing I liked is the North Star metric, Magic moment and Core Product value. This is a valuable book on building a thriving business.
There you have it the 8 books I really enjoyed reading in the last few months. Please share your favorite books below. Thanks for reading this post.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
The Leader’s Bookshelf by James Stavridis and R. Manning Ancell – This was an awesome read on leadership. The book consists of 50 reviews of leadership books across all genres and also summarized the leadership lessons from each of those. Some of the things I learned are all top leaders are great at delegating, they also take complete responsibility for everything that goes wrong, they never rest on their laurels, they have an inspiring vision, they include people who disagree with them in their teams and they are avid readers. It is a wonderful book and covers the whole gamut of leadership.
Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness – This is a brilliant practical take on what it takes to become a peak performer. It is well researched and has awesome examples. Set challenging goals, view stress as a friend, make time to recover, sleep at least eight hours, have a routine to follow, become a minimalist, find someone whom you are doing the work for and identify the purpose of your life. Here is my review 14 Lessons on Peak Performance.
Churchill and Orwell by Thomas E. Ricks – This is a great book on personal leadership. It is well written and defines how Churchill came back from the wilderness of the 1930’s to lead England and much of the world into victory. It is inspiring and also chronicles both of their journeys. The Inspiration Code by Kristi Hedges – This is a good book for all leaders. She says inspirational leaders are present (they are not distracted giving full attention), personal (they are authentic), passionate (they are full of life and inspire others), purposeful (they set an example on how to lead with purpose). It has great examples as well. It also gives ideas on how you can identify your values and build your personal brand.
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman – This was a refreshing book on leadership. The basic thesis is multipliers lead by engaging in five specific roles. As the Talent Magnet they attract and deploy talent to its fullest, As the Liberator Multipliers establish a unique and highly motivating work environment where everyone has the permission to think and the space to do their best work, As the Challenger they seed opportunities, lay down challenges that stretch the organization, As the Debate Maker Multipliers engage people in debating the issues up front, which leads to decisions that people understand and can execute efficiently and as The Investor Multipliers deliver and sustain superior results by inculcating high expectations across the organization.
The High-Potential Leader by Ram Charan and Geri Willigan – This is a wonderful book on leadership by one of the premier management gurus. There are some good nuggets of wisdom. Make sure your work means something to you, try to experience flow in your work and use your unique strengths. Most of the stress in life is positive and we can use it to grow as a person. Engage people in creating solutions and devote sometime each week to reflect on your purpose. This is a useful guide to getting to know yourself and your leadership potential.
The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith – This book really made me think about what life is and how we can derive meaning from whatever we do for a living. A sense of belonging, purpose, storytelling and transcendence is the key to a meaningful life. I have reviewed it here check it out. The Power of Meaning
Becoming Facebook by Mike Hoefflinger- This book really made me really understand how Zuckerberg made it big. The key is he stood by his vision in-spite of external pressure, One example is Yahoo offered him a billion dollars to take over but he made the decision not to go ahead within 10 min. That showed the confidence he had in his vision. The books outlines the challenges Facebook overcame to win. Another thing I liked is the North Star metric, Magic moment and Core Product value. This is a valuable book on building a thriving business.
There you have it the 8 books I really enjoyed reading in the last few months. Please share your favorite books below. Thanks for reading this post.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
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