By Michael Abrashoff. This is a great book on leadership Brashoff does an excellent job making his Navy experience relevant to business. Thanks to Keith Gibbons for recommending this book to me.

By Leander Kahney. To understand Apple’s amazing success, you have to understand how Steve Jobs thinks. If you buy into the premise that extraordinary outcomes start with extraordinary thinking, you’ll want to understand how Jobs thinks and what you can learn from it.

By Patrick M. Lencioni. This is one of Lencioni’s least known books—and one of his best. It should be must reading for any senior executive or CEO. Thanks to Dan Meub for turning me onto it.

By Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. This book makes a compelling case for more recognition in organizations. It is very creative, with lots of real-world examples. It really stimulated my thinking.

By David McCullough. This is an amazing book—absolutely spellbinding. It’s easy to view the founding fathers in an idealistic way. However, McCullough shows their true humanity, warts and all. I found the leadership lessons invaluable.

By Gene O’Kelly. A remarkable book by the former CEO of KPMG. Diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer, O’Kelly figures out life only when he is faced with his own imminent death. This book reminded me that every minute counts, because we won’t live forever.

By Richard Stearns. This is one of my all-time favorite books. The stories moved me at a profound level. It will help you see poverty—and the opportunity to do something about it—in a whole new light. The book left me inspired.

By Richard Rohr. I have two books by Richard Rohr. Both of them blew me away. This book must be read in short doses. It is very potent. It is more than a book about prayer. It is a book about life.