Here are 5 business books I liked reading recently. They cover the gamut of leadership, grit, the future of work and emotional courage.
The Mind of the Leader by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter – I really enjoyed this book. This is particularly useful for our current times with many distractions. The first tool is mindfulness which is all about focus and awareness. Self-awareness is the need of the hour for all leaders. Getting to know your strengths, weaknesses and values is critical to your success. The second tool is selflessness which is all about reducing your ego while leading. This will enable greater team work and ensure trust is enhanced. The third tool is compassion which is a requirement to lead others successfully. This also promotes greater joy and engagement. I found the tools provided excellent and practical.
The Human Advantage by Jay W. Richards – The book starts discussing about the American Dream. The first one was all about agriculture and the second was all about owning a home. The third one is creating and sharing of value itself. There are five virtues needed to thrive as a human. They are courage, anti-fragility, altruism, collaboration and finally creative freedom. It is a well written book with good food for thought.
Rise and Grind by Daymond John – I wouldn’t call this a deep book. This is more a buffet of choices on success. If you are feeling a little down this is an enjoyable book to read to get back up. Grind stands for Get on with it, Repeat, insist on the best, Navigate and finally desire, drive and determination. What I found common among all the people profiled is they all engaged in exercise, they networked well, they took care of themselves and engaged in learning.
Fail until you don’t by Bobby Bones – In a way the thesis of this book is like Rise and Grind. It is all about Fight, Grind and Repeat. This is all about going for what you want and not giving up. Again, delightful book to read to get back up with a touch of humor in it as well.
Leading with Emotional Courage by Peter Bregman – This is an excellent book on how we can play with different emotions. The thesis is to be authentic and accept differing viewpoints. One of the suggestions is to watch something you wouldn’t agree with and then see what emotions are being displayed there. You develop emotional courage by developing self-awareness. Bregman says to be a great leader you need to be confident in yourself, you need to be able to connect to others, you need to be connected to a purpose and someone who can act with emotional courage.
Check out these books and they are pretty good for you to have an even greater 2018.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.