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Top 20 Personal Development Book Recommendations

1. Leadership & Self Deception; The Arbinger Institute

One of the best books I’ve seen on seeing ourselves accurately in conflict and how to find personal peace

Walter Nusbaum

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2. The Slight Edge; Jeff Olson

This book shows the power of compounding interest in every little choice that we make every single day; we are the sum of our habits.

Walter Nusbaum

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3. Mindset; Carol Dweck

This book clearly shows the evidence from clinical studies about the fundamental difference between people who keep excelling and those who do not.  Very powerful concepts in this book.

Walter Nusbaum

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4. How To Win Friends and Influence People; Dale Carnegie

This classic book has not been improved upon; if you want incredibly relationships and influence then this is the book to read.

Walter Nusbaum

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5. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There; Marshall Goldsmith

This book will highlight many of the myths of continued success; you must continue to reinvent and grow.  Must read.

Walter Nusbaum

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6. Do You Have What It Takes; Walter Nusbaum

This is MY BOOK; Talks about the 7 critical traits of all successful people and organizations and how to develop each of those traits. Must Read!

Walter Nusbaum

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7. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People; Stephen Covey

One of the best development books ever written;  Covey’s 7 Habits will walk you through exactly what practices the most effective people do on their way to success. 

Walter Nusbaum

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8. Dare to Lead; Brené Brown

This book captures the need for courage in the world today about as well as any book I have read;  very rich in content with excellence substance, yet at the same time, extremely readable.  

Walter Nusbaum

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9. Man’s Search for Meaning; Victor Frankl

Can’t say enough about this book; one of the most influential books of the past 100 years for sure. The power of our “decisions” is the make or break fact in all of our lives.  

Walter Nusbaum

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10. Emotional Intelligence; Daniel Goleman

A pioneer in the field of Emotional Intelligence, Goleman masterfully explains the critical need to be able to identify what we feel and then manage those feelings effectively as we seek to connect with others with empathy.  

Walter Nusbaum

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11. People Skills; Robert Bolton

A pioneer in the field of Emotional Communication is one of the biggest difference makers in life between those who succeed and those who don’t.  This book is outstanding in helping you with the skills to connect deeply and authentically with others.  

Walter Nusbaum

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12. Atomic Habits; James Clear

A pioneer in the field of Emotional Communication is one of the This book gives so much great advice on habit formation and how to stop bad habits.  Honestly it’s probably the best book on habits out today. We are our habits so let’s take them seriously. 

Walter Nusbaum

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13. Persuasion; Robert Cialdini

This book might be the finest book on persuasion on the market today.  It is evidence based and accessible to any reader.  If you are looking to improve your sales or just your influence with people, this is the book you want to read! 

Walter Nusbaum

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14. 5 Gears; Jeremie Kubicek & Steve Cockram

Far too many leaders are in the wrong gears or stay in the right gears too long and don’t live a balanced life.  This book does an amazing job of explaining the 5 gears we should all be using to create balance and fulfillment in our life.  

Walter Nusbaum

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15. The Dip; Seth Godin

A quick but powerful read on what it takes to become excellent at anything that you do.  You have to get through the Dip and sometimes you have to even know when it’s best to QUIT! 

Walter Nusbaum

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16. Captivate; Vanessa Van Edwards

A very fun, evidence based book on how to captivate the people around you;  full of interesting science and psychology that will get you to re-evaluate much of what and how you say things.

Walter Nusbaum

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17. Extraordinary Relationships; Roberta Gilbert

One of the finest books on systems theory as related to relationships; Gilbert is a true master teacher and this book if you take your time through it can absolutely change your life.

Walter Nusbaum

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18. A Failure of Nerve; Edwin Friedman

One of my top 5 books of all time; Friedman discusses the utter failure of quick fixes and the critical necessity of being willing to be committed to processes over outcomes.  I cannot recommend this book enough. 

Walter Nusbaum

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19. No Excuses; Brian Tracy

An inspiring and practical book on taking full ownership of your life.  This book is well worth your time to read if you have big goals for your life.  

Walter Nusbaum

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20. The Obstacle is the Way; Ryan Holiday

Following the Stoic tradition, Holiday does an excellent job highlighting how important it is to not allow your emotions and aversion to discomfort to keep you from moving forward.  The obstacle will always create discomfort and we are wired to avoid it, but unfortunately, it’s the only way to get to where we really want to go.  Highly recommend!An inspiring and practical book on taking full ownership of your life.  This book is well worth your time to read if you have big goals for your life.  

Walter Nusbaum

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Top 20 Business Book Recommendations

1. Book Yourself Solid; Michael Port

Great sales results often require a great methodology;  Port’s book will show you a very effective and practical way to explode your business if you will stick to his advice.  If you’re in sales, I highly recommend this! 

Walter Nusbaum

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2. Edge Strategy; Alan Lewis & Dan McKone

Every business is looking to grow and therefore effective growth strategies are key.  This book will walk you through one of the most powerful and evidence based ways of expanding your business and increasing market share.

Walter Nusbaum

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3. Scaling Up; Verne Harnish

Few books do what ths book does when it comes to learning how to scale your business.  Harnish takes the 4 pillars of scaling (Strategy, Execution, People and Cashflow) and shows you exactly how to leverage them for growth. 

Walter Nusbaum

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4. QBQ; John G Miller

It’s been said that it’s amazing how much can get done if no one cared who got the credit.  Enter John Miller’s book.  He does an excellent job of getting you to ask the more important question when it comes to getting things done.  This is the best shortest book on taking full personal accountability for things that need to get done.  

Walter Nusbaum

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5. The Sink; Walter Nusbaum & Dr. Daren Martin

If there was just one value that could change everything it would be the value written in this book based on a true account that happened in an airport bathroom at The Sink.  A very short and powerful book that can literally change everything.  

Walter Nusbaum

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6. A Company of Owners; Dr. Daren Martin

If The days of employees must be over;  if a company had nothing but “owner” mindsets working then those companies would increase their productivity and their culture in ways they never imagined.  

Walter Nusbaum

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7. SPIN Selling; Neil Rackham

One of the finest sales book I have ever read.  What makes this book so good is that it gives you an acronym for how to walk through a conversation in a very natural and organic manner.  If you can do what this book says, you will improve your sales success in remarkable ways. 

Walter Nusbaum

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8. 5 Dysfunctions of a Team; Patrick Lencioni

When you look at great teams they do certain things really well.  In this book, Lencioni does an outstanding job of laying out the foundation of all great teams and how to build on them.  As he explains each dysfunction you learn what the positive trait needs to be in order for a company to truly be healthy. 

Walter Nusbaum

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9. Blackbox Thinking; Matthew Syed

It’s amazing how small things can change everything.  The Law of Marginal Gains if applied consistently will lead any individual leader or organization to achieve their full potential.  Syed’s book gives excellent case studies to demonstrate this thesis. 

Walter Nusbaum

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10. The Talent Code; Daniel Coyle

Learning how to hire the right people and how to put people in the right place is the secret to getting the most out of your team.  Coyle’s work is an excellent contribution to understanding talent, skill and expertise and how to best attain it and utilize it. 

Walter Nusbaum

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11. Execution; Ram Charan

Although written many years ago, this book strikes at the heart of what it takes for an organization to succeed.  The practice of execution in three key areas is essential to long-term success for any company.  Read this for sure! 

Walter Nusbaum

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12. Antifragile; Nassim Nicholas Taleb

People avoid stress, they avoid disruption and they avoid chaos.  What they don’t realize is that these things actually make “antifragile” systems stronger and they are the preconditions for growth.  This is a deep and long read, but worth every page.  

Walter Nusbaum

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13. Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got; Jay Abraham

There is not a page in this book that is not filled with wisdom on how to grow your business.  This book is a virtual one stop shop with so many ideas that you cannot help but to benefit from it.  Highly recommend.   

Walter Nusbaum

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14. People Styles at Work; Robert Bolton

Personalities impact everything and this book highlights one of the most powerful personality models in the world called Social Styles.  When you can understand the 4 dominant styles of people it will allow you to understand how to be more effective with the people all around you.   

Walter Nusbaum

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15. Working With Emotional Intelligence; Daniel Goleman

Emotional Intelligence has been determined to be the biggest contributor to success in life, yet few truly understand what it is and how to develop it.  Goleman is the master at explaining and teaching.  A must read for people wanting to know how to apply EQ in the workplace.   

Walter Nusbaum

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16. Leadership & Self Deception; The Arbinger Institute

See Above in the Personal Development books for a description  

Walter Nusbaum

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17. The Leadership Push; Bob Ramsey & Daniel Ramsey

One of the more interesting and research-based books on exactly what drives human and employee motivation. Their model is excellent and easy to apply. Highly recommend for managers and supervisors looking to get more from their people.  

Walter Nusbaum

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18. Great at Work; Morten T. Hansen

There are a few traits that must exist at work in order for great things to happen.  Understanding these traits and how to develop them will make all the difference in the workplace.  Hansen does a great job giving details on how to make this happen. 

Walter Nusbaum

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19. Legacy; James Kerr

Based on the true story of the All Blacks rugby team, this book tells the story about organizational culture and the most powerful elements that comprise powerful cultures. A MUST READ if you are interested in creating a dynamic and powerful culture.  

Walter Nusbaum

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20. Executive EQ; Robert Cooper & Ayman Sawaf

The ability of executives to manage stress and tension is one of the most important tasks for them to do in order to succeed.  When leaders lack the ability to put EQ into practice their success will be greatly limited.  This book does an excellent job of explaining and applying EQ into the executive’s daily world.  Highly recommend if you have moved into this position or desire to move into this level. 

Walter Nusbaum

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