100 Books Like Stand Out

By now, you might have noticed a theme: if I don’t enjoy reading a book, I don’t trudge through it for the deep insights or how-to information. The storytelling needs to be as strong as the concepts are useful.

Just like The Copy Workshop Workbook, I read an earlier edition of this book when I was just starting out – and it formed the basis for some of my thinking around how to influence – i.e., persuade – consumers and the role psychology and behavioral economics play in crafting effective marketing and brand development programs.

I also recommend this book if you are a consumer, too (who isn’t), because it will help keep you from falling into many of the traps that Cialdini identified.

I demolished this book in an afternoon. I loved the conversational tone and simple, actionable takeaways. I have several pages earmarked and phrases circled throughout my own copy.

I have taken note of many of the example questions provided in the book to take and use in meetings and events. 

This book completely changed how I think about communicating with my audience. Donald’s framework for clarifying your message is simple yet incredibly powerful. It taught me how to position the customer as the hero of the story and clarified my role as their guide—a mindset shift that has made my writing and marketing (and my strategic advice) so much more effective.

I love this book's interactivity, especially the inclusion of a StoryBrand template, which I completed as I read through it the second time. 

Taki Moore has been a huge influence on me. One of many areas in which skilled communication comes into the equation is coaching. You cannot be an effective coach if you aren’t able to regulate a conversation. This book will teach you that it’s not your mindset that needs to change; it’s your business model.

Check it out and implement Moore’s systems to take your business from surviving to thriving. Moore’s been coaching business owners since 2004 and is one of the experts when it comes to converting sales. Read up to get your blueprint for your own success.

I love getting opportunities to chat with Joey Coleman. He’s one of the biggest risk-takers I’ve ever met - and those risks have panned out! Joey is one of the world's leading experts on employee experience, and this book reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to recruit top talent, bring them on board successfully, and keep them engaged while they produce remarkable results for years to come.

In Never Lose an Employee Again, Coleman offers a step-by-step playbook for creating a retention plan with long-term success. With more than fifty proven case studies from organizations on seven continents, Coleman details how you can forge a relationship with your people during each of the eight phases of the employee journey. For each phase, Coleman walks you through the six forms of communication integral to success (in-person, email, phone, mail, video, and even gifts) so you can better… show more.

I had the privilege of teaching a class together with JD Schramm at Stanford Business School, where he was a longtime instructor and pioneered some groundbreaking classes and programs. Schramm is without a doubt one of the most effective communicators that I have ever met. He is also a great teacher. 

In this book, Schramm brings together a wide variety of frameworks and tools for leadership communication that he taught at Stanford, and he addresses some of the biggest challenges that business leaders face when speaking and writing to influence their most important audiences. He distills what it takes to journey from uncertainty to competence, to expertise, and ultimately to mastery, and along the way, he invites us to think deeply about our audience and the intention behind our communications.

If you follow his step-by-step guide, I can assure you that you’ll be more confident and more effective in any… show more.

So many of us, when we’re starting out, don’t think of ourselves as movement starters. We just want to get others on board to help us make a change at our school, in our neighborhood, or on our team. We often don’t see ourselves as leaders; instead, we are hoping to find a community with a shared perspective or explore the possibility of making things just a little bit better. But how do we get started, and how do we scale what’s working? 

My friend, Jennifer Dulski, was the head of Groups at Facebook and the former president of Change.org, and her book is all about how we can each play a role in sparking change, whether we’re trying to bring about change in our company, community group, college, or in a startup.

Dulski offers practical techniques based on real-life experience. She gives wonderful and varied examples that remind us… show more.

Like all of Seth Godin’s books, this one is crammed full of examples of people who you want to get to know because they have done something truly great. He shares the story of the Grateful Dead, who transformed music and concerts; the head of the Acumen Fund, who transformed philanthropy; and a guy named Joel Spolsky, who created a job board that attracted the most talented programmers in the world. He draws you into these leaders’ stories and then shows you how you can be just like any one of them. 

So, what is a tribe? In Godin’s definition, a tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. He posits that all a group needs to be a tribe is a shared interest and a way to communicate. He also argues that you can’t have a tribe without… show more.

Creative Confidence is a book that explores the idea that everyone has the ability to be creative, and that creativity can be a powerful tool for innovation and problem-solving.

Kelley argues that many people believe that creativity is a rare and elusive talent that only a select few possess, but in reality, everyone can develop their creative abilities with practice and effort.

Kelley provides numerous examples of individuals and organizations that have successfully used creativity to solve complex problems and create innovative solutions.

He also offers practical strategies and exercises for developing creative confidence, such as embracing failure, challenging assumptions, and experimenting with new ideas.

I have personally seen the benefits of creative confidence in my work and the work of others around me.

Pamela Slim offers a wonderful way to reimagine your life and career, build your personal brand, and share your story. Multipotentialites often struggle to describe where they’ve been and where they’re headed in an impactful way. This book argues that your career is not a linear thing—it’s a collection of different types of work that you’re proud of. Body of Work will help you see your life story from a totally new vantage point.