What is the most influential book on your career?

Posted January 28, 2021 in
Book Readers and Book Clubs Book Readers and Book Clubs

Connor DeLaney

"If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original."

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Many of us have read lots of books throughout our careers, but I'm sure we all have that one book we always think of and recommend. What's that book for you? 
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Rachael McNerney
Great question, it's hard to choose just one! Looking forward to seeing what others suggest. Here are some I found memorable:

Heart to Start - Derek Handley
Around the World in 80 Trades & Unfair Trade - Conor Woodman
The Freakonomics Series
Books by Richard Branson
Books by Simon Sinek
Jason Silva's Philosophical Shots of Espresso videos are also noteworthy.
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Connor DeLaney
I hear so much about Freakonomics! There are books, podcasts, I don't know where to start. What would you recommend as the first piece of content regarding Freakonomics, Rachael McNerney ?
Rachael McNerney
Their first book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything might be a good place to start. Though now that you mention the podcasts I want to listen to those as I had yet to discover them. 
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Connor DeLaney
That's actually where I first heard of Freakonomics then I discovered there is a whole library to check out. Moving this up the list!

Also, if you want to find the podcasts, this page should have all the different ways to find them. 
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Kaitlyn Petro
Similar to  Rachael McNerney , I have trouble choosing just one! But if I had to, one of my favorite books I've ever read is How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Besides that, really any book John Maxwell has written has been extremely valuable in helping me progress in my career and become a better leader.
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Connor DeLaney
You definitely were the reason I visited this book and it's definitely a great one! What's your favorite single takeaway if you can name just one,  Kaitlyn Petro ?
Sharon Warttig
So many books to list here that helped me professionally and personally through the years. The few that stand out are:

Limitless by Jim Kwik: https://www.limitlessbook.com/

Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachael Hollis: https://thehollisco.com/pages/girl-stop-apologizing-book

Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss: https://toolsoftitans.com/
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Connor DeLaney
Love this list,  Sharon Warttig ! I've only heard of Tools of Titans and this has me excited to dive in. 
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Morgan VanDerLeest
Hard to name just one, so here's a few that have been influential for me:

Badass: Making Users Awesome by Kathy Sierra
Totally changed the way I think about building products and really all aspects of the customer experience.

Atomic Habits by James Clear
I've developed much better habits after learning how to support the right ones and break the bad ones.

No B.S. books by Dan Kennedy
Dan Kennedy (RIP) is a legend, and he has a lot of interesting books, videos, etc. This series is particular useful, and each book is a pretty easy read.

Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Read these over a decade ago so they've become foundational for me. These aren't going to teach new ways to do things or help with a breakthrough, but they helped shape the mindset I have about business and creating value.
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Connor DeLaney
Sounds like Badass is a book I outta read as well  Morgan VanDerLeest , adding to my list!
Bernie Mitchell
That book is 12 Week Year ever week for four years my friend Karen and I have had a 'WAM' call - "Weekly Accoutnablily Meeting" to share progress. 

By committing to this process more and more overall that time I've got to know myself better.

I've had a few reality checks about how much focus and commitment is needed to keep on track! 
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Connor DeLaney
That's fantastic  Bernie Mitchell ! I appreciate the link too, gotta add this one to my list. Not only do WAMs have an awesome ring to it, but they also sound super helpful and insightful! 
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