It’s that time of the year where all you want to do is curl up with some hot chocolate and a good book. If you’re like me, you like to read a mix of different genres. I might choose a business strategy book, a fiction an autobiography. And sometimes I might even have a few different books circulating all at one time if I’m feeling crazy. So in lieu of bookworm and sweatpants season, I give you my favorite books for business and personal growth.

  1. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg – This the ultimate female empowerment book and my absolute favorite business guide. The COO of Facebook encourages women in the workplace to not only pull up a chair to the table but to lean in. She walks the reader through real life dilemmas women face like choosing between a career and a family, sexism, critical conversations and how to succeed in a “man’s world”. 
  2. The Business Romantic by Tim Leberecht –  Tim outlines how we associate romance to success in business. He encourages the reader to not only “fall in love” with what they do but to devote themselves to whatever it is that makes them tick. This book provides insight to the psychology of business and the laws of enchantment to better understand the customer, business partner and employee. 
  3. Option B by Sheryl Sandberg – She hit a home run with her first book Lean In, I just HAD to read her 2nd. Sheryl walks the reader through the sudden death of her husband and how she was forced to persevere in the face of adversity. This book is a fantastic reference for how to handle grief in the workplace and how to ignite resilience. Like Adam Grant says in the book, “Since option A isn’t available, we need to kick the shit out of option B”, life rarely deals a great hand all of the time. So when it doesn’t, get creative with option B.
  4. Good to Great by Jim Collins – Who doesn’t like a good numbers book? To me, numbers don’t lie, which is why I respect the time and effort Jim Collins put into this book. The author conducts a field study monitoring multi million dollar companies that not only led in their respective markets but also sustained that lead. He depicts all of the common factors that made these companies great and the numbers that back the evidence. Jim basically gives you an outline of how to make your company successful and what the key players should look like. 
  5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey – This book is much more introspective than the title leads on. Habits are a learned behavior that become one’s nature. This book forces you into deeper thinking about yourself and how you operate…and how you operate might not be the most effective. Great book for personal reflection. 

And there you have it folks. If this doesn’t keep you busy all winter long, I’ll have to release my spring reading list early. Book reports are due on Monday. 

Written By Kristin DeBias