Books You NEED To Read in 2016 Selected By Entrepreneurs From Around The Globe!
Here are some of the best books you need to read in 2016:
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell
Melissa Thi
CEO of Hustler’s Box
In business, especially when you are building a startup. There are a lot of things you, yourself, will need to work on, personal and professional development wise. However, in order to scale your business, you need to learn to delegate tasks and projects, build a strong team and unite them them to work towards your mission and vision. In order to do that you must be a strong leader. This book in particular highlights and breaks down essential rules of leadership and reminds the reader of the importance of not just leadership but how to influence people to work towards a cause that is much bigger than them. Learn From John C. Maxwell’s book.
Steve Harvey’s Act Like A Success by Steve Harvey
Bonnie Booker
CEO, BonBon Parties
Steve Harvey’s book talks about pulling your wagon (your business) to the top of the mountain (success) “You are the only one who can pull your wagon to the top and you need people who have one foot in the wagon and one foot over the side pushing you”
He talks about surrounding yourself with people who support you and want to see you succeed. He also quotes Joel Osteen “ God has already lined up all the people in your path to get you to your dreams and your visions: all you have to do is get rid of the wrong ones.”
It’s important to keep evaluating where you are going and who to take with you. Read Steve Harvey’s lessons about success.
Taking Flight! Master the DISC Styles to Transform Your Career, Your Relationships… Your Life by Merrick Rosenberg
Mindy Kleinman
Marketing Manager, Camp Bow Wow of Cherry Hill
Merrick’s book talks about those 4 specific DISC personalities and how knowing and understanding the personality style of who you are interacting with both personally and professionally will help you to succeed and achieve your goal(s) faster and more effectively. Merrick’s presentation and book are a powerful and crucial tool for anyone in the business world. Each of the 4 personality types has a distinct set of characteristics and traits specific to it. Recognizing and understanding a person’s makeup helps you to interact with that person more effectively. Merrick Rosenberg’s book teaches you how to Transform your career and relationships.
The Bible
Michael Regina
CEO, Big Sky Enterprises
It’s the best business book there is. Every book that speaks on management, entrepreneurship, etc, is based on biblical principals. I would encourage you to read a Proverb everyday. There is 31 so there is one for each day.
Healing Wisdom from the Bible – Spiritual Guidance, Inspiration, and Comfort for Everyday Life by James E. Gibson PHD
Farris Fanik
CEO, Unifi Health and Wellness
I was looking through one of my father’s bookshelves for a book on entrepreneurship and I stumbled upon “Healing Wisdom from the Bible – Spiritual Guidance, Inspiration, and Comfort for Everyday Life” by James E. Gibson PhD. I felt perhaps biblical guidance could assist me in my path to starting a business. I was not expecting much but I thought I’d at least give it a glance. Reading the introduction alone, sentence by sentence, my eyes lit up and my smile widened; I was already hooked.
Every single chapter gave me insight into my personality, as well as a bird’s eye view of past conflicts. I was able to go to people I had felt wronged me, and apologized to them for my overlooked mistakes in the matters. I was also able to discover new strengths, and take leaps of faith I would be otherwise too timid to take. This book gives you a new sense of emotional intelligence and self-awareness I had never experienced before.
Everyone including entrepreneurs feels self-doubt, fear, and uncertainty. All these may be conquered through the wisdom of this book. Absolutely everyone in every profession and every point in their lives can relate to the bible and this book. This is my first time reading it, and I plan to read it several more times throughout my life. This book by James E. Gibson is a must read.
Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
Blake Jamieson
CEO, Blake Jamieson
I’ve read (listened to) 67 (audio)books in 2015 so far. Lots of long drives, plus morning ritual. Of those 67, about 40 of them were business books. There are only a few I would recommend, and Pitch Anything is the only one I’ve listed to more than once. It’s very engaging, and really interesting stuff. The strategies and principals in the book expand beyond just “selling” ..but it’s really about how to read and control social situations. There have been countless times where I’ve leveraged what I learned in the book to make conversations steer in my desired direction.
Ike’s Bluff President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World by Evan Thomas; Little, Brown
Jim Shulman
CEO, Elsinore Business Associates
I prefer histories and biographies to most business books, since the lessons of leadership are rarely reducible to a dozen bullet points and a back cover blurb (usually guided by the notion, condescending or accurate, that a businessperson is incapable of following narrative or nuance). Eisenhower was a highly complex, thoughtful, and strategic leader who avoided bombast and flash. He low-key persona, grounded with an uncommon knowledge of the military, helped to diffuse the machismo of his generals and other military advisors who would have, almost instinctively, embroiled the US in avoidable military interventions. Ike Bluff got us out of Korea, avoided engaging the US in a Middle East conflict, avoided US military engagement in Hungary, and kept atomic missiles out of the air. Contrast this with Kennedy’s inexperience managing the military (Allen Dulles’ disastrous invasion of Cuba) and the macho toe-to-toe with Khrushchev (that came harrowingly close to WWIII) and you can appreciate Ike’s management style. High profile leaders who reflexively demand immediate action might make for great book covers or web articles, but not necessarily good outcomes.
The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism by Olivia Fox Cabane
Mike Krupit
CEO, Trajectify
As an entrepreneur and techie who works with many entrepreneurs and techies, I’ve noticed that we’re disproportionately introverted. I was jealous of those I perceived to be naturally charismatic and the benefits that come with being an extrovert, wishing I had been born that way. Then I heard Olivia Fox Cabane on the radio talking about her book, The Charisma Myth. She breaks down charisma in three behaviors – Presence, Power, and Warmth. We’re not born this way, but pick up skills that combine to make us seem outgoing and approachable. Olivia says these skills can be learned. The book helps you understand the components and develop the behaviors through simple exercises. No longer do you need to be the one standing against the wall looking at your mobile phone!
True North by Bill George
Antony Muthangya
This book by Bill George has allowed me to peel back the onion my true life and has allowed me to put aside my ego and reflect internally.In doing so, I gained a level of self-awareness that I did not know I had in me. Self-awareness is a vital part in developing your leadership skills because it allows a person to find purpose in their leadership. When a person finds purpose it allows them to become comfortable in their own skin which intern allows them to lead with passion instead of goals. Also becoming comfortable within allows an individual to become vulnerable which builds a trusting connection with others.
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Ralph Ervin
The theme of the book immediately resonated with me, being a veteran (although not a Navy seal.)
In vivid detail, the book speaks to the importance of taking absolute responsibility for every aspect of your life with no excuses. In the book the authors describe their multiple tours in Iraq and the leadership qualities that were required to win the various battles they fought and get everyone home safely.
Now that they’ve both retired, they’ve launched a consulting firm that is designed to train leadership teams on how to work more effectively via more effective communication, no matter how difficult the situation.
I’m very glad that I purchased the audiobook and not the text version. Listening to these brave soldiers describe their time in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods on earth and how they’ve been able to translate that to the corporate world and translate it even further individual accountability I thought was riveting.
I was deeply impacted by the book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to make drastic improvements quickly.
The Business Fitness Revolution by Brad Tornberg
Brad Tornberg
Principal, E3Business Consultants
is a must read because as an entrepreneur and business leader both your physical well-being and health as well as your overall business health is important to be successful. This book shows how the business body like your physical body is operating at full efficiency when all of the systems are operating at 100%. Understanding how to improve both results in a better lifestyle with higher earnings. The September Harvard Business Review stated that Men who are Physically in shape earn 7% more on average and Women 12% more.
