If being a leader was easy, then everyone would do it. What exactly sets apart those who reached the pinnacle of business achievement? What is their secret?
As an aspiring leader, your goal should be to create not just a good company, but a great one, and to do so it’s important to learn from those who have done it before you.
Here we share a list of books that might help you to be a great CEO. From management to personal inspiration, they provide a broad palette of topics to provide you with leadership insights and business knowledge.
Meetings Suck by Cameron Herold
One of the first things you’ll learn is that people hate meetings and to portray this issue, COO Alliance founder and entrepreneur consultant Cameron Herold decided to write a book on the subject. After speaking with business leaders and business owners, he analyzed why we have such strong feelings against meetings, and how companies can become better at running them and making them more efficient and worthwhile.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
This book is a classic in the genre of personal development and leadership and it shows you how to be effective and efficient with your time. Covey offers time-management advice that every CEO should take into consideration to improve the lives of everyone at the company.
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
When it comes to leadership, no one does it better than the Navy Seals. In this book, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin go into detail about what makes Seals great at what they do. The book deftly translates first-hand combat stories into life and business advice.
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
The people that surround you could be a great source of inspiration in your entrepreneurial journey. If you can tap into their creative spirit, that will be even more beneficial. That’s why Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull and journalist Amy Wallace crafted this beautiful guide to creative management. Creativity, Inc. dives deep into how to tap into creativity as a leader and will help you make the most out of your organization.
48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Robert Greene’s “48 Laws of Power” has been lauded by CEOs and rap stars alike. It’s a pretty simple (and quick) read that shows the power dynamics between people that most of us face on a day-to-day basis. This powerful book justifies its cult-like following.
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
This book takes a look at some of the most crucial questions every leader should ask: Why are we in business? Why are we inspired? According to Sinek, knowing your why gives you a filter to make choices, at work and at home, that will help you find greater fulfillment in all that you do. Whether you are an entrepreneur, an employee, or a leader of a team or division, when you discover the why of your organization, everything makes sense. When we discover our why, we are better able to find the clarity and confidence to choose the careers, organizations, relationships, and paths that are most likely to inspire us.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Another classic book on leadership and how it relates to yourself, How to Win Friends and Influence People has been a bestseller for almost a century. They are classic principles in the best sense, and the fundamentals of this book are still applicable generations later. Written in 1937 by Dale Carnegie, the tips are still relevant to today’s leaders, and this book should be on every businessperson’s shelf. Carnegie successfully pioneered the development of personal business skills, self-confidence and motivational techniques.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
“Outliers” explains to us what defines exceptionally successful people and outlines the commonalities they share. This book makes an interesting point that every CEO should take note of: success is driven by hard work but isn’t necessarily defined by it. Whether you succeed or fail, there’s a reason why those things happen to you.
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
Ferriss is the man who gave us the 4-hour work week. His follow-up, “Titans Tools”, reveals the tactics, routines, and habits of highly successful people. This book is a compilation of the best parts of the interviews that Tim Ferriss published in his podcast The Tim Ferriss Show, a long-duration talk show that features giants from various industries such as Peter Diamandis, Seth Godin, and Peter Thiel.
Good to Great by Jim Collins
For five years, Jim Collins studied various companies that became leaders and compared them with similar organizations that failed to make the leap. Here Collins does an excellent job of identifying myths and defining the path that businesses must follow to achieve greatness.
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