President Harry S. Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” And I agree with him. Effective leaders read. Therefore, every so often I’m going to share some of the books that I have been reading and have found to be instrumental in my leadership journey.

A few months ago, I shared my top 5 leadership books of all time (you can find those here and here.) And over the next two leadership training sessions, I am going to expand upon that list to give you my top 10 leadership books of all time. Today, we’re talking about books number 6 and 7.

 

 

 

Session Recap

• Book #6: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • Carnegie marvelously gets down to the heart of effective influence and, therefore, effective leadership.
  • If I had to sum this book in one sentence it would be the “Golden Rule”: “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” This is an obvious and maybe even overused statement, and yet one that most leaders in this world don’t live by.
• Book #7: 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
  • In this book, like many of Maxwell’s other books, he gives key takeaways and practical steps on how to apply each law or principle to your leadership. This approach works great for spending a week or even a month focusing on just one of the laws. Then afterward, you can focus on the next one.
  • One of my favorite quotes from this book: “The proof of leadership is found in the followers.”

 

Game Plan

Here’s the plan for today: Choose one book that will help you along your leadership journey (it doesn’t have to be on this list.) Just any book on leadership. Then, make a goal to finish it this next month.

Let’s make that a little easier to break down: If you select a 200 page book and read only 7 pages a day you will complete it in less than a month. At that rate, you could read at least 12 books in a year.

Last, let me know how you’re doing. Leave a comment here or on social media and tell me what you’re reading. I’d love to encourage you along the way. Or, if you need a recommendation, send me a message or an email. Now, let’s get reading!

 

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