Business Books

January is a chance for new beginnings and goal setting. For most of us, a year is the timeframe in which we measure our personal and business goals, but there are some inherent downsides to planning goals due 12 months from now. The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington proposes a new way to approach your thinking toward goals and accomplishments.

The Traveler’s Gift By Andy Andrews I read The Traveler’s Gift between Christmas and New Year’s every year and have done this for the last several years. I first read Andy Andrews’ book after my business coach recommended it. We read a chapter each week and discussed its implications on my life. It is a…

Some books fly under the radar yet pack a powerful punch. Reset by Johnny C. Taylor has been one of those books for me, although I do not recall how it made it into my reading list. However, I am glad I picked it up and that I continued to read it. I almost set it aside and moved on as I was reading chapter two because the first chapters seemed too focused on human resource professionals and culture at large organizations. I was interested in the book because of the emphasis on culture shifts and optimizing company effectiveness in 2021 and beyond, but started thinking it was not going to be beneficial.

The people around us impact our success and path in life. Jim Rohn is famously quoted for saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” There are a lot of implications for your personal effectiveness and leadership in this quote. You can also think about this quote in terms of your business or company’s success. The influence from the right people can make or break a business or nonprofit.

How many meetings did you have this week? Three, eight, eighteen? Meetings are a necessary evil for any professional. Most people I speak with agree that we have too many meetings, but what can we do about them? Vital decisions and meaningful communication happen at some meetings while others are wasteful and frustrating. I’d be willing to bet that most of your meetings fall in the latter category.

Learning from great leaders is one of the reasons to read books and pursue educational opportunities. This month’s book, Lincoln’s Mentors, examines how Abraham Lincoln’s mentors guided him along his path to and during his presidency. Lincoln barely had a formal education, yet he learned a great deal throughout his life. He was always looking to learn and grow in his abilities.

Measure What Matters By John Doerr I recently started consulting for a company where I was not familiar with the intricacies and specifics of their industry. I jumped in and began examining the basics of business administration and financial management quickly. Soon after, I had to ask about certain functions within the operations unit. I…

Atomic Habits By James Clear Few things have as much impact on your professional career as the repeated tasks and mundane responses we call habits. Personal habits often turn to business or office habits as we live our professional lives. Some habits are purely professional. For me, one of those habits is walking through the…

The 7 Gears of Business By Chris McIntire Local author Chris McIntire draws on a wealth of knowledge and experience in business to help business owners and entrepreneurs find success. In his book The 7 Gears of Business, McIntire conveys many of the lessons he has learned over years of starting, running, and selling businesses.…

You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar By David H. Sandler One of the most essential business skills is the ability to sell. For some, selling is about a purchase transaction that trades money for a product or a service. This is what most people think about when they talk…