My Top Ten Books I Read This Year

Each year, I post a list of my favorite books from the previous year, ones that changed me along the way. This year, I chose ten of the best books I read and why they may just be relevant for you. I tend to read on leadership, the next generation, emotional intelligence, strategy and faith. I hope you enjoy!

10 to 25 David Yeager I got to meet Dr. Yeager while I was reading this book on understanding younger populations, specifically during their development stage between 10 and 25 years old. This book is research based yet practical in its application, containing primary research on students (and young team members) and the science behind motivating them. This is a really helpful book. Buy Now ➔

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection Charles Duhigg Duhigg was already a best-selling author, and I expect this one to have a long shelf-life. The greatest take-away for me was how to recognize the kind of conversation you’re having with others: is it a practical conversation (what’s going on?), a social conversation (who are we?) or an emotional conversation (how do we feel?). It benefited me greatly with my family. I’m learning to be more discerning. Buy Now ➔

The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt I have read four books by Haidt and loved them all. This is his latest iteration explaining the research behind what the smartphone has done to our youth. The book offers four rules to follow: no smartphones before 13 years old; no social media before 16 years old; no phones at school and how we must create a play-based, not a phone-based, childhood. Buy Now ➔

This Is Strategy Seth Godin This book’s key idea is that effective strategy isn’t about competing with everyone else but about identifying and serving your smallest, suitable market based on who you are. The book felt like a sequel to his book, Tribes, as he tells you to choose your own competition and focus on creating meaningful change for a specific, passionate group of people. Buy Now ➔

Hidden Potential Adam Grant I love organizational psychologist Adam Grant. This book offers counterintuitive ideas on how to spot and cultivate human capability. It contains science you can apply to yourself or others. I loved the case studies on how work can be fun instead of a drudgery, how perseverance is more important than talent and how progress depends on learning not hard work. You’ll enjoy the captivating stories he tells. Buy Now ➔

Unreasonable Hospitality Will Guidara I heard about this book on Simon Sinek’s podcast, “A Bit of Optimism.” Will Guidara is a restaurateur in New York who set out to become the finest restaurant in the world. He discovered it was very hard to differentiate yourself based on your food, but you could based on how you served your customers, especially if you served extravagantly and sacrificially. Inspiring book! Buy Now ➔

Fathered by God John Eldridge John Eldridge has been challenging men to lead for years now, especially men who’ve lost their way or become passive at home or work. This book unlocks the spiritual journey of how boys become men, including the stages of favored son, cowboy, warrior, and sage. It was eye-opening. As Eldridge says if males don’t experience certain stages, they may look for them later in life, often through artificial methods. This book is helpful and heartful. Buy Now ➔

How to Know a Person David Brooks David Brooks has been one of my favorite journalists and authors for years. He usually addresses matters of the heart but in an intelligent manner, covering issues like character, values, and in this volume, how to understand the people in front of you. You don’t have to be an academic to understand his ideas of sociality and you’ll enjoy Brooks’ practicality. Buy Now ➔

High Road Leadership John Maxwell This book is vintage John Maxwell. I worked for John right out of college for twenty plus years, and have heard these principles for over forty years. This book is a collection of his best values-based leadership principles, and you can benefit from them whether you are a person of faith or an atheist. I enjoy knowing John actually practices these ideas in his own life. Buy Now ➔

The Upswing Robert Putnam This book responds to the millions of people who say we’re living in the most polarized time in U.S. history. Putnam argues it is not; the most polarized era was the Civil War over 150 years ago. He then reveals how a century ago we came out of our division, ready to face World War I, the Spanish Flu, and later the Great Depression. He explains how under the leadership of Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson, America grew out of her polarization and how we can do it again today. It offers a historic perspective offering a hopeful future. Well worth it. Buy Now ➔

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