Corsini’s Top “Read, Watch or Listen” List: Summer Reading Edition

by | May 21, 2019 | Uncategorized

Part 1 of 2

Although many people say multitasking isn’t advisable—or even truly possible—I’m convinced there’s one clear exception:  Summer reading lets you relax and learn at the same time.

Let’s call that smart downtime.  Let’s call it essential to how you do what you do better. 

As a leader, part of your job is to keep your employees happy and engaged. Many of them have lots of options these days. Smart books on leadership (traditional how-to books as well as others that illustrate the concept through narrative) can help you better connect with your people—and work smarter yourself.

To that end, I’m focusing on leadership with this summer’s reading list. Some of these books are my personal favorites. Others are recommendations from smart people I coach. Almost all of them are available as audio books. And absolutely all of them are well worth your time. 

So as not to overwhelm you, I’m giving these to you in two parts. Here’s the first part.

Enjoy!

Corsini’s Top “Read, Watch or Listen” List (especially for leadership and listed by topic):

  1. Overcoming adversity. Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities! (Think and Grow Rich) by Sharon Lechter and Dr. Greg Reid. If you liked Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, you’ll love this book because it uses the key principles in Hill’s classic book from 1937. You’ll find motivation to believe in yourself and discover your own brand of success.
  2. Family business / rags-to-riches. My Father’s Business: The Small-Town Values that Built Dollar General into a Billion-Dollar Company by Cal Turner, Jr. The longtime Dollar General CEO shares his life story and that of his father—a poor farmer turned Depression-era entrepreneur. He also explains how Dollar General went from one store to 15,000 stores in the U.S. It’s a must-read for anyone involved in a family business.  
  3. Success. Wake Up and Live! by Dorothea Brande. Written in 1936, this classic is in its 34th printing! In this amazingly successful self-help book, Brande asks the powerful question:  “What would you do if you knew it was impossible to fail?”  Expect lots of great tips on how to be successful and realize real happiness in life. Even if you don’t particularly like self-help books, I encourage you to give this one a read.
  4. Leadership. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. I’ve recommended this one before because it’s a compelling, unorthodox way of looking at leadership. Several of our clients nominated it for this 2019 list, so it’s back by popular demand. Here’s a great YouTube summary of the book: https://bit.ly/2HkZc4B. 
  5. Achieving an authentic self. Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy by Donald Miller. This book is a gem for anyone searching for their true, authentic self. Miller talks about how he lived his first 40 years trying to be the person he thought he ought to be. The result was failed relationships and needless, painful drama. Then he started his journey of self-discovery, which he shares with readers. This journey led him to discover his true self—and a strong family, a satisfying career and a love of life. Some of my clients also recommended Miller’s Building a Story Brand:  Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen. This book shows how business leaders should be talking about their businesses by relying upon seven universal story points all humans respond to.

I’ll have the rest of my list in the next blog post on Tuesday, May 28— still in plenty of time to gather your choices together for vacation reading.

Until then, keep working smart! Keep doing what you do better!