We take learning so seriously that intentional learning is one of our team’s core values. Our company defines intentional learning as forward-thinking – anticipating future needs and learning more, reading and asking questions, sharing our learning with others, and being coachable.
As coaches and leaders, we know business is constantly changing, as a team we are always evolving and, in turn, we use everything we learn to help our clients grow.
This week, our team is sharing the best books we read in 2018. We hope this jumpstarts your 2019 reading list and each one will give you great learning opportunities to help grow your company, too.
Beth
The best business study I’ve had this year is the Tony Robbins Business Mastery event. I have taken action and we are implementing big things around our products. We read Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller at the end of last year. It will help you have an impact on storytelling, your website, and your focus on how, why, and what you market. One more is What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. It is a great book for leaders. The biggest takeaway for me was that I needed to think less and add value to what others are saying or doing. I need to step back more.
Rosie
This was a tough question for me as there were so many wonderful books I read this year. The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni and Bluefishing: The Art of Making Things Happen by Steve Sims were both impactful from a leadership perspective. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh was profound in explaining how to create a company culture and how, no matter what, you shouldn’t stray from that. If you do stray, you are more likely to encounter struggles within the organization. When culture becomes a part of your business, you find the best people and keep them longer, your customers see that, and it results in profits.
Barbara
Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott taught me how to have a difficult conversation with an employee or a client. Its format applies to all matters in life, whether with a family member, friend, co-worker, supervisors to employees, employees to supervisors, or peer to peer conversations.
Vivian
The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni. Humble, hungry, and smart. Lencioni uses these as the keys to being a great team player. It seems like a very simple concept, but he lays out why these three virtues or qualities are so important to successful teams but are not so easy to find and cultivate. His concepts can be used in every part of our lives. In a few pages, you have a clear picture of how to build, screen, or improve a team. I found it very entertaining and an important read, especially to businesses just starting or those having recurring issues with their teams.
Janice
The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni: My biggest takeaway was how to recognize changes when taking on a new position within a company. Another book I learned from was Love Works: Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders by Joel Manby. In this book Manby talks about seven key principles to live by in leadership: patience and self-control in all situations, being kind by showing encouragement and enthusiasm, trusting with confidence, being unselfish, truthful, forgiving, and dedicated to sticking to your values in all circumstances.
Marlies
No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results by Cy Wakeman. It’s an eye opener on how much resources are spent on drama created by employees holding companies back. No Ego teaches leaders how to cut the cost of workplace drama, how to end entitlement, and how to drive big results. It’s about reality-based leadership. I recommend it to everyone in a leadership position or to anyone who would like to become a leader.
JB
Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott helps with the basic need for great (and fierce) conversations. The biggest takeaway for me was the importance of having those much-needed conversations, personal and professional, instead of letting things just lay there. I would recommend this book for anyone.
