Great Books on Professionalism

As a follow-up to my previous article on building a professional development reading habit, here's a selection of the 21 now 22 professional development books I've read (not including fiction and general interest non-fiction) so far this year.

Atomic Habits

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear: At least 70% of our daily actions are done by habit. If you want to find ways to install good habits and get rid of bad habits, this is the book. Huge recommend.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith: From the godfather of executive coaching, a detailed analysis of the behaviors holding back leaders and how to fix them. Important work.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You

Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport: This was less of a wow for me because the message squarely aligns with our methodology at Bold Career. I am glad I read it as it provides extra insights and the concepts or book are something we can recommend clients.

The Anatomy of Peace

Resolving the Heart of Conflict by The Arbinger Institute: Powerful approach to understanding the root cause of conflict and how our behavior perpetuates conflict. Told from a story of parents struggling with their children.

The Big Leap

Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks: We all have a built-in thermostat to various forms of “success.” When it gets too “cold”, we take action to get things back to a comfortable level. We also have a tendency to step back from or sabotage our success when things warm up beyond our comfortable thermostat setting. (Think binge eating after a successful week of exercise and following your meal plans). This book unpacks that.

Essentialism

The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown: Great book. The principle of essentialism is so tough to follow (say no, simplify, get rid of), but oh so important to work on. Progress comes from doing less, but better.

And finally, something I try and read every day and can continue to come back to …

The Daily Stoic

366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday: This book sits open on my mantle, offering a short paragraph and the author’s interpretation from Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and other stoics on serenity, self-knowledge and resilience.

Book recommendation to share? Please let me know.