Reading Railroad!

Imagine I said the title of this post “Reading Railroad” to the “Reading Rainbow” tune. It works and yes, rails as in tracks, as in come along this journey with me! I LOVE reading and I am constantly trying to make sure I know more tomorrow than I do today. Thankfully, there are a ton of great books out there and I’ve read quite a few. Below are some of my favorites. Click on the cover to buy them via Amazon!

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels by Michael D Watkins

This book is a no brainer. Once you’ve signed that offer letter, pick this book up now! This is a quick read because of the way it’s structured and the main takeaway is consistently reinforced: you don’t know all the answers so seek to understand first. I like to go back to this book at the 30, 60 and 90 day mark to see what I’ve already applied and what I haven’t. Also a great book to give to your new hire on your team!

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Shoutout to former boss, friend and mentor Laura Weidman Powers for this recommendation. This book helps you understand that EVERYTHING in business is a tradeoff and has an opportunity cost. The best you can do is make an informed decision but sometimes things are just a leap. To take the leap, you have to understand the risk but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth jumping. Ben does a great job walking the reader through some big decisions that leaders at all levels but especially, startups have to make to survive.

Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and Other Difficult People by Alan Willet

Not everyone you manage is going to be terrible. Heck, you might never manage a terrible person but it helps to prepare for the worst. I really liked this book because it came down to understanding your role as a manager/leader- to maximize results for the company aka enable your employees to deliver the results needed. Alan gives a lot of strategies but ultimately communication is the key. His systematic ways to deal with different conversations and types of people are helpful and applicable.

Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson

I just noted that communication is a big key for successful managerial relationships but really it’s true at all levels. Candidly, I went through this book during a workshop but have revisited it multiple times. I recommend you read this one with a peer or your whole team and implement the framework. Step one is literally calling it like it is- a crucial conversation. But to make sure it doesn’t turn into the dreaded “We need to talk” meeting, you should read the rest of the book!

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change) by Clayton Christensen

Yes we all know it, don’t be Blockbuster and don’t be Kodak but what really happened to those companies and why weren’t they able to pivot? Well innovation was probably stymied and being risk averse. Sometimes you as a company need to invest in that low margin low ROI product and yes that takes away from the high margin stuff but it could pay off. Don’t get your lunch eaten by the competition and this book talks about who’s had their lunch eaten and who hasn’t and the why’s behind both. I can admit for an innovation book it’s dry but hey, still a good read!

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink

I love this book because I’m left handed but also because it basically predicted exactly where we are today. The right brain is the part that controls creativity, empathy, innovation etc. These are the skills that computers can’t be programmed to do which means the right brain is the human’s unique value add because we’ve gone from the agricultural age, to the information age to the conceptual age. It’s an awesome fascinating read and will make you feel like by being human your possibilities are endless so shut it down Watson!