Blog - Tom Talks

Best Books List For Leaders

I was asked by Shepherd, a group dedicated to helping others discover the best books, to share my top books for real-world business leadership. Here are the best books for practical, hands-on business leadership. Of course, I needed to include my book in the list:

Finding and Retaining Stellar IT Employees Screen Image

For additional reading, another list I found helpful is the “Best Leadership Books“ where 90 authors picked their favorite books about leadership and tell why they recommend each book.

Read The Magic of Thinking Big, Watch Ted Lasso, Stop Keeping Paper

Read, watch, stop:

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz is an excellent book for life planning and setting goals. I recommend it without reservation.

Ted Lasso is back for season three. This show is fun, a little offbeat, and has won over ten Emmys.

Stop storing paper documents. Between Scannable and Evernote, anything you need to keep track of on paper is digitized.

Read Kiplinger Letter, Watch Portlandia, Stop Closing Doors

Read, watch, stop:

The Kiplinger Letter provides weekly forecasts on GDP, interest rates, employment, and insights on industries and economies.

Portlandia is an offbeat set of skits. The executive producer is Lorne Michaels of SNL, and Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen lead the cast. If you want a quick laugh, check it out.

Stop closing doors. Several past employees have returned to the firm within the last few months. For team members who leave the firm on good terms, make it a point that the door is open. It can end up working for both parties.

Prosperity in the Age of Decline, Cosmos, Don’t Ask for Feedback Unless

Read, watch, stop:

Prosperity in the Age of Decline is a book by two economist brothers I’ve followed for years. Regardless of politics, they are worth a read.

Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos is a fun scientific dive for all. It’s available on multiple platforms. Please give it a Google.

If you have employees or team members, don’t ask for feedback unless 1) you take action or 2) you go to great lengths to explain why you can’t.

Read Give and Take, Watch Always Sunny, Make a Don’t Do list

Read, watch, stop:

Give and Take is a workshop we send our people who negotiate. This title is the corresponding book. As the author states, we don’t get what we deserve; we get what we negotiate.

If you like irreverent humor, look no further than “Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” available on Hulu and other streaming platforms.

Make a stop list. “What doesn’t need to be done?” “What things could be done by someone else?” For the unsolicited requests, “Who can I block or ignore?”