Excellence University Journal

My Top Recommended Reading List

by John Spence

August 18th, 2006

The following is a list of ONLY my top reading recommendations. I know the list looks long, but I assure you these are just the very best out of my library. I have put the symbol ** behind my absolute favorites. If after you go through the list, if you notice that I am missing a book that you really love – please send me a note with the title, I am always on the look out for excellent books!

Top books on leadership

• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
• The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner **
• Primal Leadership by Goleman
• Leader to Leader by Hesselbin from the Drucker Foundation
• The Leader of the Future by Hesselbin et all, from the Drucker Foundation
• Flight of the Buffalo by James Belasco **
• Servant Leadership by Greenleaf **
• Leading People by Rosen and Brown **
• Authentic Leadership by Bill George **

All of these are superb — I have another 50 when you finish these!

Top books on ability to generate sales

• SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham **
• The SPIN Selling Fieldbook by Neil Rackham (very powerful)
• Integrity Selling by Ron Willingham **
• Relationship Selling by Jim Cathcart
• Changing the Game by Wilson
• Consultative Selling by Hanna **
• The Little Red Selling Book by Jeffery Gitomer (not the one on sales answers)
• Stop Telling – Start Selling by Linda Richardson
• How To Be A Rainmaker by Jeffery Fox (not his other How to… books)
• Getting In to Your Customer’s Head by Kevin Davis
• Customers as Partners by Chip Bell
• Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith ** (great for selling services or virtual products)
• Question-Based Selling Thomas Freese **
• Bottom-Line Selling by Jack Malcolm (superb for understanding a customer’s financials)
• Again – there are another 20 to add to this list – but these are a great start

Top books on running a great company / general business knowledge

• Good to Great by Jim Collins **
• Built to Last by Jim Collins
• Results Rule! By Randy Pennington **
• Think Big – Act Small by Jason Jennings
• Great Places to Work by Levering
• What Really Works by Joyce
• What the Best CEO’s Know by Krames
• In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters
• A Passion for Excellence by Tom Peters
• Liberation Management by Tom Peters
• Lessons in Excellence from Charlie Trotter by Clarke **
• The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack **
• The Ten day MBA by Steven Silbiger
• Teaching the Elephant to Dance by James Belasco
• If Aristotle ran General Motors by Tom Morris
• Touchstones by William Band
• The Knowing-Doing-Gap by Pfeffer and Sutton
• The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
• The Goal by Goldratt
• Tough Management by Martin
• Small Giants by Burlingham
• Warfighting by U.S. Marine Corps Staff – Gen. Gray **

Top books on customer service

• At America’s Service by Karl Albrecht **
• Service America by Karl Albrecht **
• Customers for Life by Carl Sewell **
• Quality is Free by Philip Crosby
• Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service by Bell & Zemke
• Managing Knock Your Socks Off service by Bell & Zemke
• The Service Edge by Zemke
• Lesson in Excellence from Charlie Trotter by Clarke (also above in general business books)
• The Customer Driven Company by Richard Whiteley **

Top books on negotiation

• Negotiate THIS by Herb Cohen
• Think Before You Speak, by Lewicki
• Getting To Yes, Fisher, Ury
• Negotiating Rationally by Bazerman and Neale
• Gain the Edge by Martin E. Latz
• The Intelligent Negotiator by Craver

Top books on team building

• The Wisdom of Teams by Katzenbach and Smith**
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Lencioni

Top books on dealing with conflict

• Crucial Conversations by Patterson
• Difficult Conversations by Stone
• Crucial Confrontations by Patterson
• Effective Communication Skills for Scientific and Technical Professionals by Chambers
• The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense by Elgin

Top biographies of people who have built successful businesses

• Nuts — about Southwest Airlines
• Pour Your Heart into It — about Starbucks – by Howard Schultz
• Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance — by Lou Gerstner
• Moments of Truth by Jan Carlson**
• Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove
• Augustine’s Laws by Norm Augustine

Top books on life balance, self-motivation, happiness and success

• A Strategy for Daily Living – by Ari Kiev **
• Quantum Leap Thinking by James Mapes
• Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders (yes, this is a business book)
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• As a Man Thinkth by James Allen **
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey **
• Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
• True Success by Tom Morris
• Learned Optimism by Dr. Martin Seligman
• Taking Responsibility by Nathaniel Brandon
• The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz
• You Can Be Happy No Matter What by Richard Carlson **
• Living, Loving and Learning by Leo Buscaglia ********
• Managing Your Mind by Butler & Hope
• Awareness by Anthony De Mello **
• Empires of the Mind by Dennis Waitley
• The Breakthrough Factor by Henry Marsh
• Getting Things Done by David Allen

Top biographies

• Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Last Lion by William Manchester (Churchill)
• John Adams by David McCullough
• Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
• Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
• His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis

I also do a lot of reading on advertising, marketing and branding – so if you want a book recommendation on any of those topics, just send me a note.
» jkspence@aol.com

Article Filed under: I. WATER (Team/Group Excellence)