LEADERSHIP SPEAKERS’ TOP PICKS ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Every leadership speaker and futurist who gives keynote speeches and virtual speaking presentations tends to refer back to seminal books they’ve read, talks they’ve seen or articles that they’ve consumed. Often, audiences wonder what information sources they should be checking up on if they want to stay current in their industry as well. For fun, we asked leadership speakers to share with us some of their favorite volumes on business management.

• “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey – First published in 1989, this book has sold over 25 million copies and highlights key habits for personal and professional effectiveness.
• “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie – A classic from 1936 that provides advice on people skills and relationships. It has sold over 30 million copies.
• “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek – A 2009 book that focuses on defining your purpose and getting people to rally around a common vision. Per leadership speakers, the volume popularized the concept of the “Golden Circle.”
• “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John C. Maxwell – Maxwell outlines 21 principles of leadership in this 2007 book that has become a leadership staple.
• “Good to Great” by Jim Collins – Published in 2001, the work – an all-time favorite with all sorts of leadership speakers over the years – examines how companies transition from being average to highly successful. You may recognize it as having introduced ideas like “Level 5 Leadership.”
• “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni – Lencioni uses a leadership fable format in this 2002 book to outline the reasons teams fail and how to overcome dysfunction.
• “Radical Candor” by Kim Scott – On improving leadership through open and compassionate feedback. Published in 2017.
• “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek – Sinek’s 2014 book on leaders protecting and empowering their people. Draws on military principles, and is a top pick for myriad leadership speakers.
• “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown – Researcher Brené Brown applies her work on vulnerability to courageous leadership in this 2018 title.

That said, there are many excellent leadership books, but these tend to show up frequently on must-read lists and bestseller charts. The classics like Carnegie and Covey are time-tested, while more recent books apply leadership ideas to modern challenges.