10 Books Which Need To Be On Every Leader’s Bookshelf

I have a list of what I call my “Desert Island” books.  These are the ten books which if I was stranded on a desert island, I would want to have.

Each of these leadership books are or will prove to be timeless classics.  Experienced readers will be familiar with most of these.  But the following are two additional lists which will provide additional resources for you:

• The Top 10 Leadership Books I’m Reading In The Fall Of 2023
• The Top 12 Sports Books On Building Winning Cultures

Now onto 10 Books Which Need To Be On Every Leader’s Bookshelf

1. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell – Technically, if you have the Bible and this book, you don’t really need any other leadership books.  You’ll learn the key principles of successful leadership such as vision, influence, responsibility and commitment. It highlights ways to set goals for yourself and your team while maintaining emotional balance during difficult times. Each law is backed up by inspiring and practical examples from Maxwell’s personal experience.
2. Leadership as an Identity: The Four Traits of Those Who Yield Lasting Influence by Crawford Loritts – Full disclosure, I worked for John Maxwell from 2002 to 2008 and I also served as an elder in Crawford’s church for six years shortly thereafter.  In terms of self-leadership, there is no book more important than this one.  There have been hundreds of leaders in the Bible but only a few dozen who finished well.  Crawford identifies the four traits of those uniquely gifted individuals.
3. BE 2.0: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company by Jim Collins – Collins wrote four classics – Good To Great, Built To Last, How The Mighty Fall, andGreat By Choice.  BE 2.0 is the summation of these four books and ties them all together into a single leadership narrative.
4. Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A: How Faith, Cows, and Chicken Built an Iconic Brand by Steve Robinson – More full disclosure, Steve was my former Sunday School teacher and one of the top five people I admire most in the world.  This is the story of one of the most beloved brands in the world from a man who had a front row seat and greatly influenced the company’s trajectory.
5. Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth by Samuel Chand – This book written by my friend Dr. Chand brings the harsh reality of leadership.  But it’s a lesson all leaders must learn.  Leadership Pain provides a concrete, practical understanding of the pain we experience to help us interpret pain more accurately and learn the lessons God has in it for us.  Dr. Chand is ruthlessly honest and highly practical as he examines the principles and practices that make our pain a means of fulfilling God’s divine purposes for our churches, communities, and us.
6. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell – In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of “outliers”–the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?  Make sure you get in your 10,000 hours!
7. Creativity Inc.: Overcoming the Unforeseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull – The best book on creativity I’ve ever read.  For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, WALL-E, and Inside Out, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable.
8. Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin – This is an absolute classic from America’s foremost presidential historian.  Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope.
9. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear – Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.
10. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move The World by Adam Grant – Adam is one of my favorite authors and I’m looking forward to his upcoming book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater.  Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, in Originals Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent.

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BONUS – TIMELESS: 10 Enduring Practices of Apex Leaders book and Masterclass

The word Apex brings to mind terms like pinnacle, summit, peak, and greatest.