The best personal development books for business professionals

Stephen Covey’s principled approach to personal growth is not a quick-fix solution. But, says Covey, if you work hard at acquiring these principles, if you learn them well, think about them deeply, and teach them to others, they will eventually become internalised. That will lead to fundamental change because they will affect who you are – your character – for the better.

The 7 habits provide a useful, sequential framework for understanding much about the process of personal development. Many highly successful people seem to have naturally developed them. But often there are aspects of these habits that we have somehow missed. A great read and a really solid foundation for the achievement of success.

When we come to understand that successful people truly are just ordinary people, just like ourselves, who simply refused to give up on their dreams, it can provide us with the inspiration and motivation to push ourselves that little bit more, to reach higher and succeed too.

Nothing is quite as motivational as reading about the success stories of other people just like you; people who have set out to achieve some big goal, have overcome seemingly impossible obstacles, and have come through against the odds. This book is jam-packed with such stories and is a real pleasure to read.

One of the first authors within the personal development space to write about how the manifestation of success ties in with quantum laws, I found this book both interesting and enlightening in many ways. The author’s approach to personal growth is essentially spiritual, and he draws much of his teaching from Buddhist principles.

In addition to explaining how these spiritual principles affect our daily lives, he also provides practical steps to assist the reader in moving forward towards their personal and professional goals. Personally, I have this book on audio and I sometimes listen to it in the car on a long journey. Like taking a hot bath on a cold day, hearing Deepak’s soothing voice reading this ground-breaking book just feels like it is doing you good.

Learning how to deal with people effectively is often a challenge for those who are promoted by an organization into management roles, and especially those promoted from within the company. This is because conscientious people who get themselves promoted generally expect the same level of commitment from those who will report to them. However, people are complex creatures and life is never quite that simple.

An entertaining and informative book that anyone engaged in a management or leadership role would do well to read, I once used it as the basis of the management course I used to teach many years back. Within a few simple principles that may be somewhat counter-intuitive to many people, the authors outline the management style that really gets results.

Perhaps within the modern world of business, the only real constant is change itself. But big goals often require cooperation, and leaders often have to inspire others to embrace change. And yet, this is often not an easy thing to accomplish.

We all need to learn how to deal with change of course, but as leaders, we often have to engage with the process and inspire others to embrace change for the good of the evolving organisation. The story of this brilliant little book, told as a parable (i.e. a learning story) contains all of the elements we need to understand when dealing with, or managing organizational or personal change. A delightful, entertaining, and informative read.