Here are 100 books that Welcome to Management fans have personally recommended if you like
Welcome to Management.
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I’ve seen the benefit of investing in awareness about how you can improve in leadership. I am a military veteran with two decades of experience in leading teams in high-stress environments. I’ve seen military leadership at its strongest and at its weakest. I’ve since led multi-million dollar projects and seen the value of investing in leadership and developing a culture of high-performance. For over 100 weeks, I researched and wrote a series of blog articles titled Leadership Sparks. The goal was to be able to create a spark with my words in someone else's mind. To pass the small ignition point of leadership growth to them.
Everyone loves Netflix. But I love their story more. If the conditions are right, your business could look very different. The Netflix way showed me the importance of the statement ‘hire good people and get out of their way'. Whilst that comment is simple, building a company that allows that is more complicated.
This book challenged the way I viewed organizational structure and innate bureaucracies. Reed describes some simple philosophies that provide a contrast to the status quo. I love the challenge of this book to traditional success.
Hard work is irrelevant. Be radically honest. Adequate performance gets a generous severance. And never, ever try to please your boss.
These are some of the ground rules if you work at Netflix. They are part of a unique cultural experiment that explains how the company has transformed itself at lightning speed from a DVD mail order service into a streaming superpower - with 125 million fervent subscribers and a market capitalisation bigger than Disney.
Finally Reed Hastings, Netflix Chairman and CEO, is sharing the secrets that have revolutionised the entertainment and tech industries. With INSEAD business school professor Erin…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
I’ve seen the benefit of investing in awareness about how you can improve in leadership. I am a military veteran with two decades of experience in leading teams in high-stress environments. I’ve seen military leadership at its strongest and at its weakest. I’ve since led multi-million dollar projects and seen the value of investing in leadership and developing a culture of high-performance. For over 100 weeks, I researched and wrote a series of blog articles titled Leadership Sparks. The goal was to be able to create a spark with my words in someone else's mind. To pass the small ignition point of leadership growth to them.
I’ve never had the words to describe why I knew culture was important to success or why I thought the best way to succeed in the long term was to help others succeed.
This book helped me have the words, examples, and stories to be able to communicate that. One of my most recommended books.
'A marvel of insight and practicality' Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit ____________________________
How do you build and sustain a great team?
The Culture Code reveals the secrets of some of the best teams in the world - from Pixar to Google to US Navy SEALs - explaining the three skills such groups have mastered in order to generate trust and a willingness to collaborate. Combining cutting-edge science, on-the-ground insight and practical ideas for action, it offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded.
I’ve spent a lot of my career teaching people to navigate the complex, often messy intersection of ethics, communication, and human behavior. As a behavior analyst, teacher, supervisor, and coauthor of Daily Ethics: Creating Intentional Practice for Behavior Analysts, I’ve seen firsthand how the ability to have honest, compassionate, and courageous conversations can make or break relationships, teams, and outcomes. I chose these five books because they’ve shaped how I show up in my work and life—and because I have seen their contents help others become more intentional, committed, and successful communicators.
This book made me more courageous by reminding me of the importance of showing up as a leader even when I was scared.
Brown blends research with storytelling in a way that is relatable. I learned that vulnerability isn’t a weakness in leadership; it’s a superpower. I’ve always known that it was important to admit to supervisees and teammates when I didn’t have all the answers. But this book clarified the why—being vulnerable deepens trust and facilitates collaboration. This is particularly relevant to topics that involve ethics, as there can be a lot of shame and blame related to ethical dilemmas and professional misconduct.
Dare to Lead is my reminder that the best leaders show up with courage and heart, even when it’s uncomfortable; especially when it’s uncomfortable.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.
Don’t miss the five-part HBO Max docuseries Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart!
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG
Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and…
This book is an elegiac meditation on the will to survive. Tor, a beluga whaler, and his wife, Astrid, a botanist specializing in Arctic flora, are stranded during the dark season of 1937-38 at his remote whaling station in the Svalbard archipelago when they misjudge ice conditions and fail to…
I’ve seen the benefit of investing in awareness about how you can improve in leadership. I am a military veteran with two decades of experience in leading teams in high-stress environments. I’ve seen military leadership at its strongest and at its weakest. I’ve since led multi-million dollar projects and seen the value of investing in leadership and developing a culture of high-performance. For over 100 weeks, I researched and wrote a series of blog articles titled Leadership Sparks. The goal was to be able to create a spark with my words in someone else's mind. To pass the small ignition point of leadership growth to them.
Over the last few years, I became deeply passionate about leadership, personal development, and growth. This triggered a step change in my personal happiness and my professional successes. It all started with this book. Reading this was like someone lifting the veil on successful leadership. It simply communicated what I thought was wrong with legacy leadership models.
After reading this book, I gave speeches at work about the importance of clarity and competence, of using the words ‘I intend’. It inspired me to write about leadership. This book changed my outlook on life and was the fuel to accelerate my career.
"Leadership should mean giving control rather than taking control and creating leaders rather than forging followers."
David Marquet, an experienced Navy officer, was used to giving orders. As newly appointed captain of the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine, he was responsible for more than a hundred sailors, deep in the sea. In this high-stress environment, where there is no margin for error, it was crucial his men did their job and did it well. But the ship was dogged by poor morale, poor performance, and the worst retention in the fleet.
I’m a lifelong student of philosophy, leadership, and principled living. Having worked with great leaders of today and being an editor-in-chief of a leadership journal (Leader to Leader), I experience how their leadership continues the principles set forth in days long past, and I publish works by authors who are keeping these principles alive in their writing. I am grateful for the opportunity to recommend books that might help others as we grapple with how to be in the world today to create value for all.
There are many of us who believe Frances Hesselbein was one of the greatest leaders of our time, including myself, Peter F. Drucker, Alan Mulally, Marshall Goldsmith, and millions more.
A leader whose focus was on humility, love, and service, Frances spent her entire 107 years serving humanity in the area of leadership. She showed us by example that who we are will have everything to do with our performance and results. For instance, if we have respect for all people, our goals will include everyone in the results.
This book is essential for anyone learning about this great leader because it is in her words, what she believed to be important to who we are and how we lead.
In a clear and compelling voice, Frances Hesselbein delivers key leadership lessons. Tracing her own development as a leader, she narrates the critical moments that shaped her personally and professionally: from her childhood in Pennsylvania, to moving up from Girl Scout troop leader to Girl Scout CEO, to founding and leading the Leader to Leader Institute, to her friendships and experiences with some of the greatest leaders and thinkers of our time. Each chapter includes an inspirational story, a key lesson and how to apply it to daily life.
No one in my family has ever owned a business, so I always believed that the best way forward was to find employment. I followed the "expected path" in life until I obtained my Ph.D. in computer science. However, I always wondered if there was a way for me to "break free" from the corporate world. After reading hundreds of business books and watching countless hours of YouTube videos about creating a business, I finally managed to achieve my goal. I began working as a self-employed freelance developer and gradually moved towards a more scalable education business, which aligns with my purpose of helping people thrive in an exponential world.
Perform from your strengths! There can hardly be a more effective success principle than this one.
The book is very tiny – you can read it in 1-2 hours. But it has had a profound impact on my life. After reading it, I decided to quit my job and focus 100% on business because I discovered that I didn’t need a corporate environment to reach success and I didn’t need a boss either.
Only after reading Druckers' “Perform from your strengths” principle I gave myself permission to do just that – and it changed things quickly for me.
Peter Drucker is widely regarded as the father of modern management, offering penetrating insights into business that still resonate today. But Drucker also offers deep wisdom on how to manage our personal lives and how to become more effective leaders. In these two classic articles from Harvard Business Review, Drucker reveals the keys to becoming your own chief executive officer as well as a better leader of others. "Managing Oneself" identifies the probing questions you need to ask to gain the insights essential for taking charge of your career, while "What Makes an Effective Executive" outlines the key behaviors you…
Tina Edwards loved her childhood and creating fairy houses, a passion shared with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old, she found him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina's mother abruptly moved away, leaving Tina with feelings of abandonment and suspicion.
One remarkable leader I've studied, Bob Davids, said that the greatest scarcity in the world is not oil or food but leadership. For two decades, I've been on a quest to uncover the essence of a transformational leader, someone who cultivates an environment where employees' needs are so well-addressed that they are eager to show up and give their best every day. This journey led me to study hundreds of leaders and books, all serving as the foundation for my thoughts and writings. I trust that these books will kickstart your own journey. Mine has guided me to play a pivotal role in the corporate liberation movement, involving hundreds of leaders who have transformed their organizations.
I love basketball and was thrilled that John Wooden, ESPN's best 20th-century coach, wrote on leadership. What intrigued me even more is that the book contains few basketball stories. Its theme is universal: How a leader builds a value-and vision-based organizational culture, resulting in perennial success.
Everyone knows that Wooden’s UCLA team won 10 NCAA championships in a span of 12 years, but I was surprised to learn that it took Wooden 15 years to transform UCLA and win the first title.
I admire Wooden’s key to leadership: “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.” As a byproduct of this success, UCLA won 10 titles. Now, I understand why my team—the Knicks—is not getting there.
The acclaimed guide to leadership excellence and competitive success from one of America's greatest coaches: John Wooden "Talent to spare, or spare on talent," Wooden writes, "a leader's goal remains the same, namely, getting the very best out of the people in your organization." In The Essential Wooden he tells readers how to do this and achieve championship results, whether you lead a small team or run a corporation. When it came to managing a group of individuals and achieving world-class results, no one did it better than Coach John Wooden. This landmark leadership manual presents Wooden's own hand-picked directives…
I have always had so-called “authority problems.” It wasn’t the people; it was the rigidity that got to me. But just as much or more, I have always loved things complex, unequivocal, strange, soulful, and poetic. I have loved stories. They helped me to eventually understand the leaders and either make friends with them or avoid them. They helped me to make peace with the rebellious streak in myself. I read about leaders, mangers, and employees, I research them, I write about them and for them. Stories enable me to express all these insights in a form that is, at the same time, truthful and resonant (I hope).
I loved this collection of stories about leadership; what a page-turner! I was thrilled by the depth and imaginativeness of possible connections between fairy tales, legends, and traditional stories and management learning. I loved how the tales of Prometheus, Dædalus and Icarus, Merlin, and others are interwoven with issues important for contemporary managers.
Stories of conceit and hubris, as well as of adventurous quests for integration are spun in a way that made me feel compassion for the plight of many employees as well as of leaders, but, at the same time, they spoke to my rebellious streak. With so many glorious tales to learn from, we deserve better leaders: inspired, spirited, humane, or at the very least–human.
Leadership and Wisdom: Narrating the Future Responsibly gives business students and practitioners the opportunity to re-read tales, poems, myths and fables that have been interpreted by leading management scholars in order to translate the world's folk wisdom into insightful and actionable lessons for a more responsible leadership practice.
Most, if not all, cultures generate narratives that teach people how to make sense of the world and how to respond to challenges with wisdom. These sources provide a medium for character, as well as a guide for decision-making in ambiguous and uncertain circumstances. Management and organization scholars increasingly focus on what…
I love businesses and have been lucky enough to work for and with some great ones in my career in senior leadership positions. For me, leadership is an extraordinary privilege, so we have a responsibility to do it well and keep learning and improving ourselves and the organisations we lead. My journey into more conscious leadership began over 30 years ago, well ahead of the current movement, and it has progressively become the passion driving my work to help leaders and organisations contribute to building a better world. This passion also drives my service with a number of spiritual communities, including Sundial House and the Community of Living Ethics.
For me, the idea of leading by serving others, of helping them grow to be their best, expresses one of the core principles of leadership–releasing the potential in others. Service was the background track of my early corporate career in an organisation striving to do this globally.
The principles of servant leadership–empowering others and ethical and sustainable leadership–sit well with my spiritual values. This book has played a significant part in my journey to leading and living more consciously.
What also stood out for me was Greenleaf’s introduction of the concept of stewardship–we are, after all, just stewards of our organisation, and our world, tending and nurturing them for the next generation. This stewardship mentality is increasingly important given the climate and other crises of today.
Based on the seminal work of Robert K. Greenleaf, a former AT&T executive who coined the term almost thirty years ago, servant-leadership emphasizes an emerging approach to leadership—one which puts serving others, including employees, customers, and community, first.
The Power of Servant Leadership is a collection of eight of Greenleaf's most compelling essays on servant-leadership. These essays, published together in one volume for the first time, contain many of Greenleaf's best insights into the nature and practice of servant-leadership and show his continual refinement of the servant-as-leader concept. In addition, several of the essays focus on the related issues of…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
Joe Pardavila has produced over ten thousand hours of audio content over the course of his career in podcasting and terrestrial radio. Joe was a radio personality and producer on the legendary New York City radio station, 95.5 PLJ, where he was part of the iconic Scott & Todd in the Morning. He studied sketch and improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade and was a founding member and actor in the New York-based sketch comedy group, Clip Show. He is the codirector, writer, and producer of the award-winning horror satire, The Witches of Bushwick. Currently, he serves as the director of podcasts for Advantage Media Group | Forbes Books.
Business books tend to be stuffy and over technical, but Iger’s book was the model I was going after when writing my own book. Iger shares the hits and misses (but mostly hits) of his time running one of the most prestigious brands the world has ever seen. But even though they’re mostly showbiz and Disney-focused, any human can relate and learn from his stories.
'One of the best business books I've read in years.' BILL GATES THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 _____________________________
The CEO of Disney, one of Time's most influential people of 2019, shares the ideas and values he embraced to reinvent one of the most beloved companies in the world and inspire the people who bring the magic to life.
Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Morale had deteriorated, competition was intense, and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company's…
