Every leader should have a set of business reference books to help them grow and succeed
First published on Inc.com, May 20, 2025
I have two kids completing undergrad and grad school this year which first prompted some reflection on what business books would be most beneficial to gift each of them. While my library has grown, there are a few books I continue returning to for inspiration and advice. I previously wrote about part of that collection.
Here, I’ll highlight eight books about driving organization change, building industry/market presence, and aligning for continuous improvement. These books will add to your leadership library starter pack, serving as a solid foundation for early career professionals to executives. These books have stood the test of time and I continue to frequently pull them off the shelf for continued learning and application.
Drive organization change
Once leaders have confidence that they have assembled a high-performing leadership team, it is often time to consider taking on an organization transformation—or more modest changes—to close gaps in desired organization results. This set of books addresses best practices in leading change and contains practical advice for a variety of situations you may be facing, from AI’s impact, to mindset shifts around innovation, to cost cutting exercises to meet budget demands.
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath uses the analogy of an elephant (emotional side of change) and its rider (the rational side) to describe how they must cooperate to make progress. To change behavior you must motivate the elephant, direct the rider, and shape the path (surrounding environment). It’s a clever way to reinforce that change is not easy but can be made easier with the right framework.
- Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World by John Kotter is a great read by this change leadership guru. In Accelerate Kotter introduces the idea of a “dual operating system” which is helpful separation of the work that needs to happen to for more stable, day-to-day running of the business versus more innovative, agile work that facilitates change. This theory pushes the boundaries on traditional organization hierarchies and introduces the ideas of network-like structures which can respond more rapidly to changing conditions and opportunities.
- Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Joseph Grenney et al, uses many real-life examples to demonstrate how a person can increase their ability to influence their own and others’ behavior. The book introduces six sources of influence which collectively have proven power to shape positive outcomes when applied to some of the toughest behaviors to change.
Build industry/market presence
My previous article recommended books on how to measure and achieve results to deliver the organization’s strategy. This set of books focuses on setting that organization strategy, providing advice on getting clear about your customer’s needs, focusing on the most critical priorities, and taking inspiration from success cases from world class organizations.
- The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath provides a framework for crafting meaningful experiences that will leave a lasting impression on anyone engaging with your organization. This book inspires readers to transform an organization from the outside-in by considering solutions that deliver on the key tenants of “moments that matters”: elevation, insight, pride and connection.
- Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance by Felix Oberholzer-Gee is one of the newer books in this list gaining prominence due to the helpful advice to focus on the work that truly creates value. The best business strategies result in focus—not doing more. This playbook offers guidance for creating an impactful strategy that is sure to increase the organization’s performance.
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins tells the stories of organizations that figured out how to become and stay at the top of their game while others have not been able to reach the same outcome levels. Themes are explored so others can learn from and build sustainable success through disciplined leadership, a culture of excellence, and strategic focus.
Align for continuous improvement
Even when your organization reaches meteoric success, the work is not done. You must continue to evaluate and evolve to stay on top as customer demands and other external and internal dynamics are never static. The advice in this set of books suggests how to set a culture of continuous alignment in motion.
- The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox gives us a methodology for improving the weakest link in a system to dramatically improve results. The book introduces the Theory of Constraints which focuses on identifying and clearing bottlenecks to get to the highest productivity level. This is a great read for leaders looking to gain efficiencies and drive continuous improvement in their organization.
- Mastering the Cube: Overcoming Stumbling Blocks and Building an Organization that Works by Reed Deshler et al, helps leaders become skilled at aligning the organization around systemic choices to create sustainable organization change. The book covers the building blocks of change and advises against tripping over the typical stumbling blocks often in the leaders’ way. With successful case stories to lean on, the practical insights are sure to inspire action for your own career.
These eight books would serve as a good starter pack for any professional—early career and beyond. If you want to enhance your career journey or deepen satisfaction in your current role, this timeless set should provide inspiration and advice for personal growth, leadership development, and organization success.
