07Nov 2017 by Brad

Leadership Books Make Great Gifts

I reference books about leadership, and authors who write books about leadership a lot. A LOT. And since the holidays will soon be upon us (Canada has already celebrated Thanksgiving, so I guess the holidays ARE upon us), I thought it would be the perfect time to give you my Top 10 favorite books on Leadership. Five will be introduced and explored this week, and five next week. Any one of these would be a great gift for someone in a leadership position. Or- to just sit with during the holidays and see how someone else made it (or didn’t make it) work.

I have read each of these, and have most of them in my bookcase now. Some I read and passed on to others, or have gotten misplaced during a move, but I’ve read dozens of books on leadership, so if it’s on this list, then I think it is worth your while to check out.

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These are NOT in any particular order, so rather than doing a 1-10, I will give you an A-J

This Week’s Five

A. Good to Great- Jim Collins

Good to Great, and the follow-on Great by Choice were both landmark books that are data-driven. Very little by Jim Collins (or his research team) is opinion. He uses mountains of comparative data to boil down the factors between comparison companies- one of which was successful, and one of which was not- and explains what the commonalities were that made certain companies “Great.” Several phrases that have been introduced into the lexicon of management and leadership have come from these books, including “getting the right people on the bus,” and “the flywheel effect” among others.

B. The One Thing You Need To Know-About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success

I know it’s a mouthful of a title, but The One Thing You Need To Know is a book I use and quote from as much as any book I own. I became a convert to something I had always inherently felt anyway, which was that “managing” and “leading” were two equally difficult types of getting things done. Marcus Buckingham explains the similarities, differences, and makes a compelling case (to me, anyway) that each are important professional attributes in their own right.

C. Band of Brothers

Having served thirty years in the military, you would rightly assume I have several military-themed books. Just because they have a military setting doesn’t mean they aren’t useful for you. Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose was a best-seller, was turned into an immensely popular mini-series by HBO, and is full of leadership do’s and don’ts. Read about Lt. Sobel during basic training, and Lt. Dyke during the Battle of the Bulge for lessons in cowardly leadership.

D. Team of Rivals

Another book that was made into a movie. Kind of. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin was the basis for Lincoln, starring Daniel Day Lewis a few years back. It is an amazing study (most of which was ignored in the movie, understandably, or the movie would have been 8 hours long). Lincoln consciously chose to choose the most able cabinet he could in order to prepare for the oncoming Civil War, and in doing so, incorporated many of the men who ran against him in the Presidential primary in 1860. A great historical study and a great lesson in placing ego to the side in order to build your best team.

E. 1776

I have five books by David McCullough, each of which is a masterpiece. I think he is as good as there is in compiling facts, data, educated assumptions, and creating a riveting story. 1776 is obviously about the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to our Declaration of Independence. However, it is definitely a leadership book that chronicles George Washington, and how he compiled, cajoled, cheered, recruited, begged, threatened, and eventually led a bunch of volunteer militia to victory over the world’s greatest army of its day. If you need lessons, or just an opportunity to be reminded that no matter how bad you have it, our first Commander in Chief had it a lot worse, then read 1776.