It is time to present what is my reading list for this quarter. These group of books have become one of my most popular quarterly posts as I hope to point you to some quality resources.
As 2020 came to a close, I was looking for a new stream of leadership learning. Because of its high-stakes leadership and indescribable level of passion, intensity, and excellence, I settled on European soccer. As a result, two books on the topic are included below. I cannot recommend Melissa Reddy’s book (listed #1) enough.
There are also books from the business, sociology, and Christian leadership included as well. In other words, something is here for anyone to enjoy.
The following are 10 Books Every Leader Should Read In The Winter Of 2021. All are in alphabetical order by author with the exception of the first two.
- Believe Us: How Jürgen Klopp Transformed Liverpool Into Title Winners by Melissa Reddy. I’m going to make a strong statement – This is the best book I’ve read on creating a winning culture in probably three years! Liverpool Football Club’s stunning 2020 Premier League title victory deserves a place in the official record of great sporting achievements. The Reds became the first team in British history to hold the European Cup, Super Cup, World Club Cup and domestic league title simultaneously in a masterclass of free-scoring, full throttle footballing prowess. Reddy reveals the inside story of Jürgen Klopp’s astonishing revival of Liverpool, culminating in the club’s first domestic league trophy in thirty years.
- BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company by Jim Collins and Bill Lazier. This is what I’m currently reading. BE 2.0 is a new and improved version of the book that Jim Collins and Bill Lazier wrote years ago. In BE 2.0, Jim Collins honors his mentor, Bill Lazier, who passed away in 2005, and reexamines the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship with his 2020 perspective. The book includes the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship, as well as four new chapters and fifteen new essays. BE 2.0 pulls together the key concepts across Collins’ thirty years of research into one integrated framework called The Map. The result is a singular reading experience, which presents a unified vision of company creation that will fascinate not only Jim’s millions of dedicated readers worldwide, but also introduce a new generation to his remarkable work.
- Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos, With an Introduction by Walter Isaacson by Jeff Bezos. In this collection of Jeff Bezos’s writings—his unique and strikingly original annual shareholder letters, plus numerous speeches and interviews that provide insight into his background, his work, and the evolution of his ideas—you’ll gain an insider’s view of the why and how of his success. Spanning a range of topics across business and public policy, from innovation and customer obsession to climate change and outer space, this book provides a rare glimpse into how Bezos thinks about the world and where the future might take us.Written in a direct, down-to-earth style, Invent and Wander offers readers a master class in business values, strategy, and execution:
- The importance of a Day 1 mindset
- Why “it’s all about the long term”
- What it really means to be customer obsessed
- How to start new businesses and create significant organic growth in an already successful company
- Why culture is an imperative
- How a willingness to fail is closely connected to innovation
- What the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us
- 2030: How Today’s Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything by Mario Guillen. According to Mauro F. Guillen, the only way to truly understand the global transformations underway―and their impacts―is to think laterally. That is, using “peripheral vision,” or approaching problems creatively and from unorthodox points of view. Rather than focusing on a single trend―climate-change or the rise of illiberal regimes, for example―Guillen encourages us to consider the dynamic inter-play between a range of forces that will converge on a single tipping point―2030―that will be, for better or worse, the point of no return. 2030 is both a remarkable guide to the coming changes and an exercise in the power of “lateral thinking,” thereby revolutionizing the way you think about cataclysmic change and its consequences.
- Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard by Jim Gray. In Talking to GOATs, award-winning broadcaster Jim Gray looks back at his four decades of sports reporting from the unparalleled perspective of one of the world’s most respected and skilled interviewers. A journalist who many iconic athletes have trusted to tell their stories (of both triumph and disgrace), Jim has had unprecedented access to the people, places and extraordinary events in the world of sports. Asking tough but fair questions, he has broken numerous stories, and landed squarely in the middle of others, from the Ben Johnson and Barry Bonds steroid scandals, to Michael Jordan’s surprise retirement, to the off-the-court Kobe/Shaq feud which led to their on-the-court break up, to being part of the live broadcast for twenty-two Super Bowls. He’s climbed into the ring to interview Mike Tyson after he bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear, and stood next to Ron Artest when the “Malice at the Palace” melee erupted, and was on site at the bombing of the Atlanta Olympics.
- The Big Three: Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and the Rebirth of the Boston Celtics by Michael Holley. Michael is one of my favorite authors and this book is another reason why. In 2007, the Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge made two monumental trades, bringing Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to Boston. A press conference on July 31, 2007 was a sight to behold: Paul Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen holding up Celtics jerseys for the flood of media. Coach Doc Rivers made sure the team bonded over the thought of winning a title and living by a Bantu term called Ubuntu, which translates as “I am because we are.” Rivers wanted to make it clear that togetherness and brotherhood would help them maximize their talent and win. What came next — the synthesis of the Celtics’ “Big Three” and their dominant championship run — cemented their standing as one of great teams in NBA history, a rival to Kobe Bryant’s Lakers and LeBron James’s Cavaliers. This is the team that brought excitement back to the Garden, and therefore to one of the most storied franchises in all of sports.
- Change Your World: How Anyone, Anywhere Can Make a Difference by John Maxwell. In this book, John Maxwell and Rob Hoskins guide readers through the entire process of changing your world. These two leaders have been making a positive impact for decades, transforming lives, communities, and businesses around the world with a sense of mission and high regard for human dignity. They will show you how to
- Identify your cause
- Live out the values that make a difference
- Become a catalyst for change
- Join the right or recruit one of your own
- Work together with others to make a difference
- Measure your impact and keep improving
Whether you influence only one other person or you’re the leader of a large organization, you too can bring about positive, lasting change. Throughout these pages, Maxwell and Hoskins share their real-world experiences and encourage others to make a difference based on the needs they see around them and the desires of their heart.
- The Generosity Secret: How to Get Out of Debt and Find Financial Freedom by Nelson Searcy. I love promoting books written by my friends and Nelson is a dear friend. The Generosity Secret provides a proven strategy to break free from the financial stress that’s keeping you from pursuing your passions and living a joy-filled life. This systematic approach to handling money in a God-honoring way guides you step-by-step away from a life of financial strain to a new reality of financial health and freedom. It teaches you how to get out of debt–and stay out, set smart goals for spending, saving, and giving, live and give in a fulfilling way, and much more
- Even the Defeats: How Sir Alex Ferguson Drew Inspiration from Manchester United’s Losses to Mastermind Some of Their Greatest Triumphs by John Silk. I bought this book to learn how to properly deal with failure and I was not disappointed. Even the Defeats is the story of how painful moments in Sir Alex Ferguson’s early reign inspired him to lead Manchester United to some of their greatest successes. A heavy 5-1 loss at Manchester City in Ferguson’s early tenure led pundits and supporters to question the Scot’s position, but by the season’s end he was holding aloft his first trophy at the club—the FA Cup. This trend continued when an end-of-season collapse handed Leeds United the league title in the spring of 1992, only to galvanize United to their first championship in 26 years the very next year. From struggles in Europe to winning the treble, from losing the title on goal difference to their city rivals to winning the Premier League in Ferguson’s final season in charge—rising from the depths of despair to achieve glory, and using failure to fuel success, was arguably Sir Alex’s greatest strength.
- Becoming a King: The Path to Restoring the Heart of a Man by Morgan Snyder. Journey with Morgan as he walks alongside men (and the women who love and encourage them) to rediscover this path of inner transformation. Becoming a King is an invitation into a radical reconstruction of much of what we’ve come to believe about God, ourselves, and the meaning of life. It’s an invitation to a rare and remarkable fellowship of like-hearted kings and an honest conversation about what power and responsibility look like for men in our world today.
- The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Madeby Mark Williams and Tim Wigmore. OK, one more!!! THE BEST reveals how the most incredible sportspeople in the world get to the top and stay there. It is a unique look at the path to sporting greatness; a story of origins, practice, genetics and psychology. Packed with gripping personal stories and interviews with top athletes including Elena Delle Donne, Pete Sampras, Joey Votto, Steph Curry, Kurt Warner and Premier League superstars Marcus Rashford and Jamie Carragher, it explains how the best athletes develop the extraordinary skills that allow them to perform remarkable feats under extreme pressure.
That is my list for the quarter. What other great books are you reading?
#CommissionsEarned
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