My Book List

… Leadership, Character, Getting There

The books listed here are shown because I believe they provide value to anyone who is looking to grow their career and “round” out their understanding of leadership and working with people. There are some that reference pure technology; I will leave that to the viewer to determine their level of interest. The focus of this list is to provide material that will allow any career person the ability to understand situational leadership. Whether you are a blue-collar technician or a white-collar accountant – these books provide useful guidance.

They say that there are hard skills – those that you study – like marketing, accounting, chemistry …. and then there are soft-skills or better termed – the Power Tools of skills; those that are necessary to work in organizations, to work with people, to be able to manage situations, to communicate and to learn from the past. The list that I have shown provides a well-rounded selection of books that I have learned from and read (yes each one).

As an example, people read books on Leadership – yes there are thousands of them. BUT – what I prefer, s to read some books on Leadership and to read some-more books on history. From history you can not only learn about situations today that have been shaped by the past, but you can also learn about situations and people management. Things change – but people pretty much act the same in varying situations. Today – we hear about the villain, the hero, the person of great character, the complainer, the braggart, the person who markets themselves, the person that leads a team; all these roles and types existed in the past. Learn from those situations in history. What I mean by this is that when you read about situational leadership today, you will find that the same situation was being encountered 80-100 years ago.

One thing, I’m a big baseball fan; I am a Yankee fan. But more to the point, George Steinbrenner read books on history to understand how to lead. Try it – read a few books and you will notice the “hero”, the “villain”, the political persuader of today – ….. they’re not new.

In some cases, I have shown that I would prefer (and did) to audio-listen to the book. That makes a difference, not in all cases, but in my opinion, for at least the ones that I have indicated.

Thanks again for taking the time!

Be well – Brian

Pure Leadership

If you are looking for guidance around leadership, then you can review the list below. In my view, you don’t read a book and become a leader, but rather, you read a book, consider what you read when you encounter situations and apply that information. It is a repetitive process. I have not met anyone that reads a book and becomes a leader immediatly after the last page of the book. Those people are known as braggarts.

  • Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be (Audible) – this is a great book by Frank Bruni; it deals with college and uses data to make points. It also helps to reinforce the art of critical thinking and how to form decision making.
  • Work Happy – What Great Bosses Know (Audible or PodCast) – I cannot recommend this book enough – both to aspiring managers and to those who are currently sitting in the chair. I would even state – that many “Leaders” can benefit from this book. Don’t wait until you are a manager to get this book. Get the book while an aspiring manager; it will help you to separate the good managers from the lousy ones. It will help to put you in the shoes of others and begin to build your capabilities. I recommend that this book be listened to in audio mode; it is a go-to source that contains small and easily consumable sections that allow the reader to understand situations with recommendations on how they be actioned upon. I would additionally state that the author – Jill Geisler – hosts podcasts in ethics and leadership; find them and listen to them. They make a difference – both in your own career – and spotting the “emperors”.
  • HBR ON LEADERSHIP – I go back and read theses HBR books every couple of years; they are small and cover short stories that help to reinforce aspects of solid leadership and character.
  • HBR ON MENTAL TOUGHNESS – a small pocket book that is useful source on looking at mental toughness and how people handle situations. Read it, it provides solid examples to be adopted and followed.
  • Sailing True North – another book – that through reading – you come to understand what leadership truly means. It speaks to leadership and character and discusses profiles of several individuals.
  • Thinking Fast and Slow – this is a GREAT book; it will change the way you think about thinking; I audible this book and frequently go back to listen to portions of the book.
  • Lincoln on the verge
  • Why Leaders Lie – this is a short book, but speaks to the “art” of deception. If you think you don’t work in the area of deception, then read this book. We frequently associate deception with “bad”; that is not incorrect, but after reading this book, one learns why lying occurs and comes away with a realization that “it is not always bad”.
  • Make Your Bed – by Admiral McRaven – a true and easily consumable book on discipline. Have your kids read it. If you start your day by making your bed, you have achieved your first positive outcome of the day!
  • Sea Stories – another book by Admiral McRaven – more on discipline, character and stories relating to success and dissapointment.
  • Lincoln on Leadership (Audible) – this deals with executive strategies and is a great reference book for handling situation – as Lincoln did. Listen to this book – and go back and listen again through your career. There are tons of books on Lincoln – but this one – in many ways, is unique.
  • Leaders in War
  • David and Goliath (Audible) – if you have a doubt of your confidence, then read/listen to this book. It speaks to David and Goliath, contrasts various types of individuals and personalities; discusses strengths and weaknesses. This speaks to the power of the underdog. It is a definite read for me – it helps you to think different and take advantage of situations where you are not in the front seat!
  • Crucial Conversations – this book teaches you how to be persuasive but not abrasive. I have come across so many individuals in my career; some have a professional way of speaking and delivering a message; others just really suck at it. AND, they clearly have been promoted via the “Longevity Promotion Route”. There are tools and ways and times to apply tools for having conversation. Start early and practice – it makes a difference – and gets noticed. These skills wont propel you to the top on day one, but over time –you will get noticed.

Learning to Lead from Situations and History

These books are books that I have read and speak to the human nature side of learning situational leadership. They probably weren’t written with that in mind, but after – or as – you read them, you will notice how some of the situations you find yourself in today – were going on decades ago. People and situations don’t really change; maybe technology does, but the same folks sometimes live on for 100s of years.

  • I Was There – if you are looking to understand policits of an organiztion, this book will help. This book is out of print (but you can still get a copy). It is the true story of the events leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor; it is written by a Commander Leighton who worked in Pearl Harbor and had a close working relationship with Admiral Nimitz. If you want to compare people you may run in to in your career – check out information about Admiral Nimitz and information about General MacArthur; compare their personalities and styles. You will run in to both in your career.
  • Fullness of Days by Lord Halifax end Oct 5 – this book is no longer in print, but if you are able to obtain a copy, it will provide you with value in understanding the days in which Lord Halifax lived, the issues that needed to be dealt with (professionally and personally by him); it provides great insight in to events from back then, that are also relative today.
  • Leaders: myth and reality by Stanley McChrystal – profiles 13 of history’s great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is – and never was. When you read this book, you will realize that even those who are good at some things, really suck at others. Just because you are a leader does not mean you excel in “all”. People need to realize this, but more so, a leader needs to realize this!
  • Leadership in turbulent times – Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the man make the times or do the times make the man? The best way to study leadership is to study leaders. How they exercised influence in their contexts provides examples of how we can do so in ours. For this reason, it is paramount for leaders to be well-versed in biography and history, the knowledge of people and their times.
  • The Last Palace –
  • The revenge of geography – this book deals with geography (obvious from the title); but it talks more about how cultures and civilizations have been formed as a result of the geopgraphy. Reading this book helps one to understand how sorroundings or enviornments can have influece on peoples behavior and cause and effect.
  • 1939 the war nobody wanted –
  • The Last Great Revolution –
  • 3 Women –
  • Burning Country // about Syria October 17
  • 1947 – about events following wwii
  • The future of work
  • The Splendid and the Vile
  • Intelligent thinking
  • The Longest Day –
  • No time for spectators
  • Where you are is not who you are
  • The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels – Jon Meacham helps the reader understand present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame division and fear. What you can take away from this book is the fact that although there are challenges in life today and within this country, this is not our first rodeo; we have issues like these in the past. Further, it makes you realize, that just as in the world, there are events the recur in our career and profession life that make you understand, what happened before will happen again. Having the ability to understand this, will allow the reader to be better prepared to handle the future – regarding people and events. Times change, but not so much do people.
  • 2030 – Understand how trends within the next several years will reshape the future of everything. This is on my “can’t put it down list”.

Books you should “Listen” to (e.g., Audible or Podcast)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/q-a-leadership-and-integrity-in-the-digital-age/id1074047215

Data Analytics, Visualization, Technology

  • The Perfect Weapon
  • Competing on Analytics
  • Visualization by Nathan Yau
  • 100-page Machine Learning Book
  • Architecting the Cloud
  • Gigged
  • ARCGis Pro
  • Baseball statistics

You gotta laugh as well ….

  • Still Foolin’ Em (Audible) – I took time off to paint several rooms in my home a couple years back; during the work, I listened to the audio version of this book – read by Billy Crystal – very funny and made the whole project enjoyable