Leaders are readers! At least that’s what I heard in 2005 during the keynote presentation Bryan Dodge gave at an American Advertising Conference I was attending. He had a compelling message that day, I hope you’ll read about my transforming experience here.
Since then, I’ve been dedicated to reading books, ebooks, and listening to audiobooks with a commitment to increase my knowledge and views of the world and business. As a reluctant reader, this was a chore to get in the habit of, but I’m happy to say that I’ve come a long long way since 2005 and have read some great books. If you are not a book reader or taken a serious look at how books can help you develop, please read this personal story it may change your perspective for the better.
What follows is a comprehensive list of books I’ve read (and re-read in some cases) and hope you’ll find something here to read yourself. Please feel free to inquire about any of these books. I hope you’ll improve your information diet, your career and daily life will be improved as you bring good information in – I promise. (if you see books repeated across years, that’s because I re-read it!)
2012 Books
As of January 7, 2013… Working on compiling the list…
2011 Books
- Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients… by Michael Port
- Free: the future of a radical price by Chris Anderson
- The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World by Chris Guillebeau
- Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone. by Mitch Joel
- Rework: Change the Way You Work Forever by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
- Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte
- Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky
- Execution: the discipline of getting things done by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck
- Love is the Killer App: How to win business and influence friends by Tim Sanders
- Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence by Tim Sanders
- Lovemarks: the future beyond brands by Kevin Robert
- Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott, Anthony D. Williams
- The Referral Engine: teaching your business to market itself by John Jantsch
- Referral Flood: How to grow your business without spending one dime on advertising by John Jantsch
- The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
- How Full is your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton
- The Radical Leap Re-Energized: Doing What You Love in the Service of People Who Love What You Do by Steve Farber
- The Art of the Start: the time-tested, battle-hardened guide for Anyone Starting Anything … by Guy Kawasaki
- The Art of War by Marc A. Moore, Sun-tzu
- The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
- 10 Ways to Make it Great by Phil Gerbyshak
- Start Your Own Information Marketing Business by Robert Skrob
- The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg
- Endless referrals: network your everyday contacts into sales by Bob Burg
- Poke The Box by Seth Godin
- We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
- Graceful by Seth Godin
- Linchpin by Seth Godin
- Tribes by Seth Godin
- Purple Cow by Seth Godiin
- Introducing neuro-linguistic programming: psychological skills for …by Joseph O’Connor, John Seymour
- Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki
- How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J Fox.
- How to Be a Fierce Competitor: What Winning Companies and Great … by Jeffrey J. Fox
- How to become CEO: the rules for rising to the top of any organization by Jeffrey J. Fox
- How to Get to the Top: Business Lessons Learned at the Dinner Table by Jeffrey J. Fox
- How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business: Unexpected Rules … by Jeffrey J. Fox
- How to become a great boss: the rules for getting and keeping the …by Jeffrey J. Fox
- Rain: What a Paperboy Learned About Business by Jeffrey J. Fox
- Secrets of Great Rainmakers: The Keys to Success and Wealth by Jeffrey J. Fox
- The Power by Rhonda Byrne
- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
- Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in … by Olivier Blanchard
- Unthinking: The Surprising Forces Behind What We Buy by Harry Beckwith
- Selling the invisible: a field guide to modern marketing by Harry Beckwith
- A whole new mind: why right-brainers will rule the future by Daniel H. Pink
- Wikibrands: Reinventing Your Company in a Customer-Driven …by Sean Moffitt, Mike Dover, Don Tapscott
- UNcommon marketing techniques by Jeffrey Dobkin, Michelle Axelrod
- ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath, Dan Heath
- Often wrong, never in doubt: unleash the business rebel within by Donny Deutsch, Peter Knoble
- The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person …by John C. Maxwell
- The 4 Disciplines of Execution (Revised Edition): The Secret to Getting Things Done, On Time, With Excellence By Covey, Stephen R, McChesney, Chris
Leisure Reading:
- Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead: Journeys Into Fame and … by Neil Strauss
- Emergency: This book will save your life by Neil Strauss
- Anthem by Ayn Rand
- Do androids dream of electric sheep? by Philip K. Dick
- Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur by Richard Branson
- The Grand Design by Stephen W. Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow
- Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided Asiain Search of the American Dream by Ben Mezrich
- When God Winks: How the Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life by Squire D. Rushnell
- Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
- Andrew Murray on Prayer by Andrew Murray
- The Ministry of Intercession A Plea for More Prayer by Andrew Murray
- Branded by Tim Sinclair
2010 Books
- Marketing 2.0 by Bernie Borges
- God is a Salesman by Mark Stevens
- Public Speaking Success by Brian Tracy, Chris Widener (audio compilation series)
- Sales Success (audio compilation series)
- Negotiate This! by Herb Cohen
- Pop! Stand out in any crowd by Sam Horn
- Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
- Outrageous Advertising by Bill Glazer
- Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah
- Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
- Get Clients Now!(TM): A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches by C.J. Hayden
- LinkedWorking: Generating Success on LinkedIn the Worlds Largest Professional Networking Website by Agin and Howes
- Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
- UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging. by Scott Stratten
- Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue by Jim Kukral
- The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising by Michael Corbett
- The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg
- Go-Givers Sell More (Your Coach in a Box) by Bob Burg
- The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
- Linchpin by Seth Godin
- Tribes by Seth Godin
- Purple Cow by Seth Godiin
- All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
- The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life’s Dreams by Tim Sanders
- Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders
- Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
- Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones by Joseph Jaffe
- The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
- How Full is your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton
- The Integrity Advantage by Adrian Robert Gostick, Dana Telford – G. Smith
- Creating customer evangelists: how loyal customers become a …by Ben McConnell, Jackie Huba
- How to Be a Fierce Competitor: What Winning Companies and Great … by Jeffrey J. Fox
- How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients by Jeffrey J. Fox
- How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J Fox.
- The Power by Rhonda Byrne
- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
- Punk marketing: get off your ass and join the revolution by Richard Laermer, Mark Simmons
- The 48 laws of power by Robert Greene, Joost Elffers
- Viral loop: from Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves by Adam L. Penenberg
- Consumerology by Philip Graves
- UNcommon marketing techniques by Jeffrey Dobkin, Michelle Axelrod
- Fill-In-The-Blank Plotting: A Guide to Outlining a Novel Using the Heros Journeyby Linda George
- Often wrong, never in doubt: unleash the business rebel within by Donny Deutsch, Peter Knoble
Leisure reading:
- Kill Your Friends: A Novel (P.S.) by John Niven
- All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster by Joseph Menn
- The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neil Strauss
- Letters from dad by Greg Vaughn, Fred Holmes
- The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
- On writing: a memoir of the craft by Stephen King
2009 Books
- Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki with Sharon Lechter
- The Microsoft Edge by Julie Bick
- Tribes by Seth Godin
- Innovation by Tom Gorman
- Multipreneuring by Tom Gorman
- How Full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton
- The Big Red Fez by Seth Godin
- Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman
- All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin
- Free Publicity by Jeff Crilley
- The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott
- Unleashing the Idea Virus by Seth Godin
- Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout
- Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
- Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes
- Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
- Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz
- The New Influencers by Paul Gillin
- No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy
- What Would Google Do by Jeff Jarvis
- The Google Story by David Vise
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin
- Small is the New Big by Seth Godin
- Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
- The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
- How to Build a Complete Sales Person by Bryan Dodge
- Influence. The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
- Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven ways to be Persuasive by Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini
- 91 Mistakes Smart Sales People Make by Tim Conner
- The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Succesful Sales People by Stephan Shiffman
- Cold Calling Techniques by Stephen Shiffman
- How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J Fox.
- Strategy Daddy by Michael Kessee and Ankesh Kothari
- The Dip by Seth Godin
- What Matters Now by Seth Godin and friends (free ebook)
- Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
- The Shack by William P Young
Leisure reading:
- NEXT by Michael Chrichton
- Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout
- Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich
- People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
- The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
- No Survivors by Tom Cain
- Ghost Medicine by Andrew Smith
- The Boxer and the Spy by Robert B Parker
Between 2005 and 2008
- The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason
- Gung Ho! by Kenneth H. Blanchard, Sheldon M. Bowles
- High five!: the magic of working together by Kenneth H. Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles
- The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard, Spencer Johnson
- Self-leadership and the one minute manager: discover the magic of …by Ken Blanchard, Kenneth H. Blanchard, Susan Fowler, Laurence Hawkins
- Leadership and the one minute manager: increasing effectiveness … by Kenneth H. Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi, Drea Zigarmi
- The One-year Business Turnaround: Revolutionize Your Business from … by Mike Dandridge
- The good life rules: 8 keys to being your best at work and at play …by Bryan Dodge, Matthew Rudy
- Fundraising for non-profits by P. Burke Keegan
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins
- The New Conceptual Selling: The Most Effective and Proven Method … by Robert B. Miller, Stephen E. Heiman, Tad Tuleja
- Guerrilla P.R. 2.0: Wage an Effective Publicity Campaign Without … by Michael Levine – Collins
- Guerrilla marketing: easy and inexpensive strategies for making … by Jay Conrad Levinson, Jeannie Levinson, Amy Levinson
- Free Publicity: A TV Reporter Shares the Secrets of Getting … by Jeff Crilley
- UNcommon marketing techniques by Jeffrey Dobkin, Michelle Axelrod
- Homepage usability: 50 websites deconstructed by Jakob Nielsen, Marie Tahir
- Building accessible websites by Joe Clark
- Designing with Web standards by Jeffrey Zeldman
- Web design on a shoestring by Carrie Bickner
- A Big Life in Advertising by Mary Wells Lawrence
- Selling graphic design by Don Sparkman
- The Advertising Agency Business: The Complete Manual for Management & Operation by Eugene Hameroff
- Who moved my cheese?: an amazing way to deal with change in your … by Spencer Johnson
- Selling 101: What Every Successful Sales Profession… by Zig Ziglar
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Truth, lies, and Advertising: the art of account planning by Jon Steel
Lets Talk
Have you read any of these? Do you have any books to recommend? Any questions or need a recommendation based on a situation you are in? Let’s talk about it. Leave a comment or try me by email or twitter.
