Information abounds; we’re frankly awash in information to the point of noise.
Leadership and management are crafts – a combination of learned skills and art to create something useful and beautiful – so they are lifelong adventures along a mastery curve.
Yet there are small number of foundational concepts accessible by studying a few books. My recommendations, in no particular order, and what you learn from each:
Warfighting (Marine manual of Maneuver Warfare) Best 100 pages on strategy and tactics I’ve ever read. Far more accessible and applicable to the Western mind than Sun Tzu’s canonical work “The Art of War.” You can easily translate these concepts to business and non-profit organizations.
The 80/20 Principle (Richard Koch) Unequal distributions are ubiquitous in the universe. Learn to recognize them. Learn to work with them as allies.
Getting Things Done (David Allen) Incredibly useful practices for managing massive information flows while staying focused on your best work. Use your brain for what it’s best doing, and systems for managing everything else.
The Fifth Discipline (Peter Senge) Systems thinking is crucial in a complex world. Master the 11 Laws of the Fifth Discipline and study the archetypes in the appendix – once you recognize the common patterns you’ll diagnose problem and solution spaces much faster.
The Personal MBA (Josh Kaufman) Concise explanations of business concepts. Use it as a reference book when you need a quick refresher.
The Effective Executive (Peter Drucker) Classic text on knowledge work and the work that needs to be done to drive an organization forward. Prescient and still timely.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey) Covey invented nothing but shares old wisdom extremely well. These seven habits will serve you as you play the long game.
How to Read a Book (Mortimer Adler) Use the approach described here to dissect complex information in any medium and extract its value efficiently.
The Effective Manager (Mark Horstman) Hands-down the best information for the basic practices of managing employees: delegation, feedback, coaching, and how to run meetings.
Bare Bones Project Management: What you can’t not do (Bob Lewis) Only 56 pages, addresses key issues about working with stakeholders. This is the ideal book for people who need to manage projects as part of their regular work, not as a full-time profession.
Crucial Conversations (Joseph Grenny et al) There’s an 80/20 distribution to conversation difficulty. This book outlines effective tactics you can use in the deeper end of difficulty.
The Lean Startup (Eric Ries) The concepts of minimal viable product and carefully testing your assumptions are generally useful.
The Power of Full Engagement (Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz) Manage your energy, not your time. Manage your performance like an athlete.
Many other people have benefitted from these recommendations. I’ve listed these as being the best available in English. There are other books which touch on these concepts and practices. Find what works for you.
Final recommendation: Concentrate on books which are deep enough to yield value each time you read it.
There you go, 10 essential leadership books, none of which have the word leadership in the title.
