All the books listed here are personal recommendations of Liz and Mark Wootton, and are guides we refer to on a regular basis. Add them to your reading list and enjoy!
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
“Brave work. Tough Conversations. Whole hearts.
Leadership is not about titles, status and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential.
When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work…
In this book, Brown uses research, stories and examples to answer these questions in the no-BS style that millions of readers have come to expect and love.”
Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
“Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you’re looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.
Rework shows you a better, easier way to succeed in business… You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need to staff up. You don’t need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don’t even need an office. All those are all just excuses.
What you really need to do is stop talking and start working. This book shows you the way. You[‘ll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank, and tons more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you.”
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Why some companies make the leap…and other’s don’t
“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools… Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good – and that is their main problem.”
“Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years… [They] contrasted the good-to-great companies with a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to make the leap… Over five years, the team analyzed the histories of all twenty-eight companies in the study. After sifting through mountains of data and thousands of pages of interviews, Collins and his crew discovered the key determinants of greatness…
The findings will surprise many readers and shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice.”
Great at Work by Morten T Hansen
“Why do some people perform better at work than others? T|his deceptively simple question continues to confound professionals in all sectors of the workforce. Now, after a five year study of more than 5,000 managers and employees, Morten T. Hansen has the answer. His extensive research has yielded the “Seven Work Smarter Practices” than can be applied by anyone looking to maximize their time and performance.”
How to Be A Great Boss by Gino Wickman & Rene Boer
“Successful companies have employees who are productive, engaged and happy. And it starts at the top!
In How to Be a Great Boss, Traction‘s best selling author Gino Wickman and business pro Rene Boer show that being a great boss comes down to creating and maintaining and environment where people excel.”