Books

The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester

Discover why attention to precision was critical to the rise of manufacturing. I’m putting this one in my reading queue!

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book. Deep work is Cal Newport’s name for work that demands focus and attention. He shows us how to eliminate distractions so we can excel.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear.

Everyone is talking about this book and for good reason. The concepts the author presents to build good habits and break bad ones can be put into practice right away.

Blog: Small effort, mighty results

Proximity Principle: The Proven Strategy That Will Lead to a Career You Love by Ken Coleman

If something inside of you is nudging you to see what other career options are out there, Ken Coleman’s book does a nice job of providing steps you can follow to investigate options and find the career you’ll love.

Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong by Kristen Hadeed

So far an interesting read! Kristen Hadeed started a cleaning service staffed by college students while she was in college. The stories are relatable and result in sound leadership lessons.

Thank you to one of our Q2 Leaders for suggesting this read!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey is my go-to resource.

I enjoy using this book as a book study. Every time I read it something different resonates with me. I find myself referencing it a lot (enough to make it the backbone of the blog!)

Blogs: Habit 1, Habit 2, Habit 3, Habit 4, Habit 5, Habit 6, Habit 7

High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way by Brendon Burchard

Burchard researched what made high performers – those people who are in the top 15% of their chosen field – perform so well. He found a high correlation among certain habits and how well a person performs.

Blogs: Habit 1a, Habit 1b, Habit 2, Habit 3, Habit 4, Habit 5, Habit 6

Turn the Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet.

I use the concepts from the book and from the author’s blog quite often. My favorites are:

• Empowerment rests on two pillars: technical competence and organizational clarity
• Change the environment, not the people

Blog: What level leader are you?

The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olson.

The gist of the book is that success happens when you consistently put in effort over time. I find myself saying this to young professionals I coach on a regular basis.

Blog: Small effort, mighty results

Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less by Michael Hyatt

This is a good resource if you have some life experience and are feeling overwhelm at work and/or at home, and want to do something about it.

Blog: Drudgery, Disinterested, Distracted, or Desire: Which Zone Do You Work In?

The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals by Sean Covey et al

Does your team have a goal that is more important than the rest? One that, if achieved, can have a far greater positive impact than other goals? If so, or if you want to learn what a Wildly Important Goal (WIG) looks like, check out The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX for short).

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Cron and Susan Stabile

An interesting look at personality types, and what we can do to be well-rounded.

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz

This book is aimed at entrepreneurs, but might be interesting to you if you wondering how revenue, operating expenses, compensation, and profit work. The author looks at running a business in a slightly different way, which results in efficiencies. Not a book on accounting by any means, just high level concepts and a framework to use in running a business (which could easily be adapted for personal use).

I know, it’s not a book 🙂 I love Post-it notes!

The Sharpies go with the Post-it notes like peanut butter goes with jelly! “Fine tip” is what I consider “traditional”. It’s just the right size to limit the number of words you can get on a 3″x3″ Post-it note.