Each quarter I list my current personal reading list which I believe will also make you a better leader. This quarter’s collection will help you with personal growth, business leadership, spiritual development, creativity, lessons from the military, and learning the secrets of championship teams.
Also, I can’t recommend enough that you become a reader and continual learner. There are issues you are facing today which can be solved in 48 hours by simply purchasing one or more of the books listed below.
The following are The Top 10 Books Leaders Need To Read In Winter 2024 listed alphabetically by author except for the first one:
- The Great Disappearance: 31 Ways to be Rapture Ready by Dr. David Jeremiah – As impactful a book as you will ever read. The rapture is the central event in biblical prophecy. But what does it mean for us today? How can this crucial end times event draw us nearer to God in a world that is seemingly on the brink of chaos? Political turmoil, economic uncertainty, an ideological divide that feels increasingly impassable—the signs of the times point us toward the end, and that can be disconcerting. But the greatest truth about the rapture is not its timing, but its reality—for blessed are all who long for His appearing. The Great Disappearance is a culmination of decades of Dr. Jeremiah studying end times throughout the Bible. In this definitive volume he will explain the meaning of the word rapture, the difference between the rapture and the second coming, and the joy of expecting our Savior to come at any given moment.
- Run To The Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear by Paul Assaiante – This book is one of the best sports book I have read in some time. For 244 consecutive dual matches over the past twelve years, the Trinity men’s squash team has gone unbeaten. No other team in any collegiate sport has achieved the same sustained level of greatness. Run to the Roar is the story of a coach who succeeds in recruiting young men from around the world, getting them to work as a team, managing personalities, calming egos, and encouraging daily effort and focus under pressure. The focus of the book is a single match-Trinity vs. Princeton at the 2009 national championships. Within this framework we learn how Assaiante drives his players to achieve unparalleled success.
- Ideas on a Deadline: How to Be Creative When The Clock is Ticking by Phil Cooke – This is one of my two creativity books this quarter. One of the most destructive myths about creativity is the idea that we need to wait for inspiration. But as artist Chuck Close said, “Inspiration is for amateurs—the rest of us just show up and get to work.” Whether you’re a creative professional like a designer, writer, musician, or filmmaker, or an executive, engineer, teacher or salesperson, this book will show you how to “prime the pump” of your creativity, overcome the blocks, and deliver great ideas when you need them the most.
- Ice Cold Leader: Leading from the Inside Out by Errol Doebler – My military book of the quarter. In Ice Cold Leader, special forces combat veteran, FBI agent, and business founder Errol Doebler reveals his unknown and silent battle with a traumatic brain injury incurred as a Navy SEAL in the late 1990s, and how he overcame emotional distress, self-doubt, depression, and anxiety to create a successful and happy personal and professional life until the day he discovered his pain was due to an injury he didn’t even know he had. Anchored in gripping tales from his time in the elite services, the author describes the unique process he created to not only survive but thrive in challenging situations.
- Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy Edmondson – After decades of award-winning research, Amy Edmondson is here to upend our understanding of failure and make it work for us. In Right Kind of Wrong, Edmondson provides the framework to think, discuss, and practice failure wisely. Outlining the three archetypes of failure—basic, complex, and intelligent—Amy showcases how to minimize unproductive failure while maximizing what we gain from flubs of all stripes. She illustrates how we and our organizations can embrace our human fallibility, learn exactly when failure is our friend, and prevent most of it when it is not. This is the key to pursuing smart risks and preventing avoidable harm.
- How to Make a Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs – During his more than four decades as a CEO and serial entrepreneur, Brad Jacobs has created seven flagship companies across different industries, delivering tens of billions of dollars of value to shareholders. In How to Make a Few Billion Dollars, Jacobs defines the mindset that drives his remarkable success in corporate America―and distills a lifetime of business brilliance into a tactical road map.
- Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes by Morgan Housel – A brilliant book! Every investment plan under the sun is, at best, an informed speculation of what may happen in the future, based on a systematic extrapolation from the known past. Same as Ever reverses the process, inviting us to identify the many things that never, ever change. With his usual elan, Morgan Housel presents a master class on optimizing risk, seizing opportunity, and living your best life. Through a sequence of engaging stories and pithy examples, he shows how we can use our newfound grasp of the unchanging to see around corners, not by squinting harder through the uncertain landscape of the future, but by looking backwards, being more broad-sighted, and focusing instead on what is permanently true.
- The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life by Sally Jenkins – This book has appeared on a number of must-read lists so I knew I needed to check it out. Sportswriter Sally Jenkins has spent her entire adult life observing and writing about great coaches and athletes. With her engaging and expert prose, she has helped shape the way we view these talented sports icons. But somewhere along the line, she realized, they had begun to shape her. Now, she presents the astonishing inner qualities in these same people that pushed them to overcome pressure, elevate their performances, and discover champion identities. Based on years of observing, interviewing, and analyzing elite coaches and playmakers, such as Bill Belichick, Peyton Manning, Michael Phelps, and more.
- MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards – My 2nd book on creativity this quarter. The unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the stunning rise—and suddenly uncertain reign—of the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our time: the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How did an upstart studio conquer the world? In MCU, beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards draw on more than a hundred interviews with actors, producers, directors, and writers to present the definitive chronicle of Marvel Studios and its sole, ongoing production, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For all its outward success, the studio was forged by near-constant conflict, from the contentious hiring of Robert Downey Jr. for its 2008 debut, Iron Man, all the way up to the disappointment of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and shocking departures of multiple Marvel executives in 2023 and where it goes from here.
- Move: The 4-question Go-to-Market Framework by Sangram Vajre – Ideation. Transition. Execution. These are the three stages of business growth every C-suite leader must navigate throughout the life of their company. Surviving each one is not good enough. You want to thrive, evolve, and, when necessary, transform. But who do you market to? What do you need to operate effectively? When can you scale your business, and in which areas can you grow the most? As the markets change, so will your answers. But these four questions will help you focus on the who, what, when, and where of your business—and they remain the same. In MOVE, B2B go-to-market experts Sangram Vajre and Bryan Brown provide you with a four-question framework that will reveal your next steps and propel you forward, no matter the size of your company or the stage you’re in.
- ***BONUS*** Revolution: The Rise Of Arteta’s Arsenal by Charles Watts – A great book for understanding how to attach your team to your vision as a leader. This is the story of how Mikel Arteta turned Arsenal into one of the most exciting, innovative and feared teams in the league. From cutting his teeth as an assistant under Pep Guardiola before joining Arsenal in the winter of 2019, through to title contenders years later – including bust-ups, Covid, disappointments, FA Cup wins, fan revolt, and eventually the rise of an extraordinary young team standing on the edge of greatness – this book will be the first of its kind to explore the workings of Arteta’s philosophy and how he transformed the club from outsiders to title challengers.
- ***2ND BONUS*** Mighty: 7 Skills You Need to Move from Pandemic to Progress – If you haven’t picked my latest book up yet, do so today! Production. Passion. Resilience. Teamwork. Contentment. Courage. Faith. These seven skills were embodied over three thousand years ago by a group of elite warriors known as David’s Mighty Men. These highly-capable individuals helped take David, the man who had previously defeated Goliath, from a wilderness experience to leading a nation.
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