Lead Your Business Better with These 9 Summertime Reads

Whether you’re soaking up rays at lunch, have a week off, or are lounging by a lake on the weekend, summer is an ideal time to settle in with a book. If you’re a business owner, why not pick out some titles that not only entertain you but encourage your leadership to blossom? Better leadership can equate to better morale, stronger teams, better collaboration, and more profits. Check into these titles that can help take you and your organization to the next level.

ENHANCE LEADERSHIP SKILLS

There are countless books on the topic of becoming a better leader, and of course, you aren’t limited solely to books. However, these three are particularly good.

1. The Business Owner’s Playbook by BusinessCoach.com

With this book, business owners learn the foundational principles of running a thriving company. It covers topics on: transformation, commitment, drafting a business plan, budgeting and "keeping score" in business, leadership, hiring quality employees, team building, work culture & communication, sales, and customer service.

2. Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam

Leaders often wear a wide variety of hats, with a bit too much to do and not enough time to do it. If that shoe happens to fit, this book can help you adjust so you have more time for the important things and can skip the rest.

3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

A time-tested leadership book if there ever was one, the principles outlined by Covey will help you become a better leader from the inside-out.

GET REAL WITH RELATIONSHIPS

Forging real connections with your partners, customers, staff and other stakeholders is a common challenge, but these titles can change that:

4. Giftology by John Ruhlin

Giving gifts in a manner that is meaningful can reinforce your relationships, and this book will tell you how to do just that.

5. Networking Is Not Working by Derek Coburn

If you’re one of the many business leaders frustrated by fruitless networking events, dive into Coburn’s book. He explains how a smaller focus can lead to bigger results.

6. Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute

This book will teach you how to discover your true motivations, rid of self-sabotage, and how to consistently tap into and act on their innate sense of what's right, dramatically improving all of their relationships.

SPARK SOMETHING NEW

Leadership directly relates to guidance through change and progress. Where better to learn about such concepts than from the worlds’ greatest innovators? Here are some top picks:

7. Business Adventures: 12 Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street by John Brooks

Explore the circumstances that shaped iconic companies like IBM and Xerox.

8. The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen

Sometimes changes devastate businesses. This book helps you identify when a change is going to undermine your efforts so you can alter paths.

9. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

This book is the step-by-step guide to living more and working less. It explains strategies and techniques to build the lifestyle of your dreams.

LOOK FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES

As you hone your inner leader, bear in mind that you aren’t limited solely to books for your instruction. Consider these additional personal development opportunities:

10. Volunteering is a terrific way to enhance your leadership skills.

11. Advancing your education offers a wealth of opportunities in personal development, and some programs allow you to complete coursework at your own speed.

12. Even podcasts can be a terrific tool in encouraging your leadership capabilities.

This summer, lay the groundwork for growth. Just add these titles to your to-read list so you can further your business’s success.

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