Recently I attended an event hosted by my business coach Tony Jeary. It was a great way to meet new people (and explore how we can support each other) and there was one request that Tony made that really made this event special: each guest was asked to bring three of their favorite books to the event, put them on the table next to the registration area, and then take three new books. I thought that this book swap was a brilliant idea and I love that it was not for self-promotion but instead was a way to expand our thoughts and our reading lists. We all had the chance to grab a copy of a book that we have wanted to read or that caught our eye. It was a way to do some spring cleaning without mess and stress. I loved Tony’s idea so much that I thought: why not share some of this spring cleaning with others and share some of the amazing books I have read in hopes that there is one book you’ve wanted to read and just haven’t picked it up yet.
Whenever you are starting a business, adding to it, launching a product or even your own book, it is not something you can do on your own. It takes a village: lots of time, buckets of energy, and the experience and expertise of so many people. I can vouch for that personally as my last launch had me reaching out to so many of my tribe for their support as well as reading many books from those that I may not have had the pleasure of meeting…at least not yet.
In no particular order, here are the books that I would recommend you devour to support your own business. Then simply swap out some of the books on your shelves and share those with other entrepreneurs and business owners. Can you see how great this cycle will be?
Brené Brown-I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t): Making the Journey from “What Will People Think?” to “I Am Enough”– I definitely have a girl-crush on Brené. She says and writes things that we are all thinking and you will think she is talking directly to you and letting you know, that you are not alone. Isn’t that something we all search for? We are both in Texas and I know we will be meeting soon…Putting that out into the universe.
Sheryl Sandberg-Lean In-This is a staple on every woman’s book shelf. Lean In began the initial movement for women to take charge of their business lives and while some didn’t relate to everything in the book, when Sheryl released her next book on her next chapter of her life, many went back and re-read Lean In with a new set of eyes and circumstances.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter-Confidence: How Winning and Losing Streaks Begin and End-One of the biggest topics women struggle with and are now openly discussing…Confidence-How do you end the losing streaks and start creating the winning streaks in all aspects of your life? It’s not all about business, and confidence plays an important role.
Rita Gunther McGrath-The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business-Not all of us are strategists and we may not understand why strategy is so important in business. Rita Gunther McGrath breaks this concept down and shows how companies can grab onto opportunities that are in front of them quicker and with more impact in this very competitive world.
Susan Cain-Quiet Power-The Secret Strengths of Introverts-So many of the powerful speakers and thought leaders are really introverts. They listen more than they speak however, we don’t recognize that. In this book Susan Cain lets us know how much these superstars have contributed to the world we live in.
Charlene Li- Groundswell -Our world is one that is run by technology. By the time you finish this article, an app or 10 will have been created to do something that we no longer want to do ourselves. As someone who is not necessarily technologically savvy, I was fascinated by Groundswell and how it’s not only me that struggles with the power of technology and gives the path on how to mindfully and purposefully integrate it into my business.
Herminia Ibarra-Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader-Someone recently told me that one of the tasks that I am doing is keeping me in the “weeds”…I didn’t know exactly what that meant until I dove deeper into thinking and acting like a leader. In this book, Herminia Ibarra explains that leaders must take the time to work on their leadership skills, even when we are busy doing everything else that we feel is important. Concentrate on who you want to become. No more “weeding” for me.
Dr. Betty Uribe-#Values: The Secret To Top Level Performance In Business and Life -As a leader, your core values and your goals must be in alignment or you will have internal conflict that probably will never be resolved. In #Values, Dr. Betty shares her thoughts about values and leadership with questions and challenges that make you think. My mission was to “Help One Woman A Day”…Dr. Betty’s is “One Leader At A Time”…I could definitely relate to this.
Selena Rezvani-The Next Generation of Women Leaders: What You Need to Lead but Won’t Learn in Business School-Where else can you find 30 professional business women share their experiences and lessons learned. Selena Rezvani has brought this together and more. Women are our future and emerging leaders will be women. This is a great tool and resource.
Arianna Huffington-Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder-Of course no bookshelf should be without Thrive (or the namesake website ThriveGlobal.com)…a true, raw, personal and thought provoking book that challenges us to really think about what is important in our lives. I always remind my clients that we have 86,400 seconds in a day. If it was $86,400, you would know how to spend it…it’s those seconds that we struggle to spend the right way. Arianna Huffington is one of my favorites, another girl crush and a great way to round out my list.
It’s time to do your own spring business bookshelf cleaning. Start with those titles that you love and share them with your network. It’s the lessons learned, the tenacity, the trail blazing, and the passion that we need to continue paying forward. We all have experiences that should be shared…and who knows maybe the book you write will be on my next list!
Happy reading!