Introduction
Books are the most powerful thing in the world. They can open your mind to a whole new world – a world full of knowledge, wisdom, and possibilities. The right book can empower you with years of experience along with the ability to generate some mind-blowing ideas of your own.
Harry S. Truman – the 33rd President of the United States of America pointed out aptly, “Not all readers are leaders but all leaders are readers.” Steve Jobs had an inexhaustible interest in William Blake; Nike founder Phil Knight revered his library, so you had to take off your shoes first and then enter it. Elon Musk, the brain behind gigantic companies like Tesla Motors and SpaceX, is an avid reader. Bill Gates reads about 50 books per year. Mark Cuban reads for more than 3 hours a day.
From this, we can easily make out that reading is one of the most successful people’s daily habits. But successful people don’t read anything that comes into their hands. They are highly selective about what they read. They prefer education over entertainment.
In fact, there is a notable difference between the reading habits of the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy. They prefer educational, biographies and autobiographies of other successful people over novels, tabloids, and magazines.
There are so many books that talk about management and leadership but only a few best books for managers.
9 best must-read books for managers in 2024
1. How to win friends and influence people
Author: Dale Carnegie
Why it’s a must-read: Published in 1936, the book has survived the test of time brilliantly and is still quite relevant after 70 years. It talks about the importance of soft skills in professional as well as personal lives. This classic shares some timeless advice such as the importance of a smile, the need to avoid complaining, and making people feel important. It had a profound impact on Warren Buffett who read the book when he was 15 years old.
Best quote: “Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person’s precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses resentment.”
2. The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership
Subtitle: Follow them and people will follow you
Author: John C. Maxwell
Why it’s a must-read: Thousands of people have explained leadership in thousands of ways, making it a simple yet complicated phenomenon. However, this book entails different traits and leadership techniques in a way that is easy to read, comprehend, and apply. Maxwell offers real-life stories hidden with leadership advice and exercises to improve your leadership style.
Best quote: “Many people view leadership the same way they view success, hoping to go as far as they can, to climb the ladder, to achieve the highest position possible for their talent. But contrary to conventional thinking, I believe the bottom line in leadership isn’t how far we advance ourselves but how far we advance others. That is achieved by serving others and adding value to their lives.”
3. The art of war
Author: Sun Tzu
Why it’s a must-read: Sun Tzu was a military general who lived in an era of Chinese history that was marked by vassal states competing with each other. This book is a thorough guide to winning. The book contains 13 chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of war. The writing is aggressive and borrows references from the military to explain concepts of leadership. It is not just a book for managers but a philosophy of life that extends to every type of leadership.
Best quote: “If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking it easy, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
4. 7 Habits of highly effective people
Subtitle: Powerful lessons in personal change
Author: Stephen R. Covey
Why it’s a must-read: Late Covey is known as one of the best leadership experts even today. This managerial book focuses on the self rather than the organization. It has seven chapters of wisdom: Be proactive, Begin with the end in mind, Put first things first, Think win-win, Seek first to understand then to be understood, Synergize, and Sharpen the saw. In this manual, Covey advises that true leadership starts from within and encourages readers to create a personal vision.
Best quote: “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.”
5. Good to great
Subtitle: Why some companies make the leap… and others don’t
Author: Jim Collins
Why it’s a must-read: It is a management book that describes the transition from being good to great and how most companies fail to make the transition through a series of case studies. It has all the keys to success by which mediocre companies can achieve greatness – discipline, simplicity, and great people are a few to name.
Best quote: “Good is the enemy of great. We don’t have great schools, great government, or great companies because they are generally good – and that is their main problem.”
6. Leadership
Subtitle: The power of emotional intelligence
Author: Daniel Goleman
Why it’s a must-read: Daniel Goleman is a renowned psychologist and science writer. This volume is the author’s first comprehensive collection of his key findings on leadership and organizational excellence that includes the insights and most effective ways to inspire others. In the context of the book Goleman says,” Consider the book as your toolbox. Each chapter is a unique and useful device that helps leaders, managers, human resource officers, and educators to effectively guide and motivate others.”
Best quote: “People with well-developed emotional skills are also more likely to be content and effective in their lives, mastering the habits of mind that foster their productivity; people who cannot marshal some control over their emotional life fight inner battles that sabotage their inability for focused work and clear thought.”
7. The one minute manager
Authors: Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
Why it’s a must-read: The One Minute Manager is a concise, easily-read story that reveals three very practical secrets: One Minutes Goals, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands. That is why the book has continued to appear on business bestseller lists for more than two decades and has managed to become an international sensation.
Best quote: “The managers who were interested in results often seemed to be labeled ‘autocratic’, while the managers interested in people were often labeled ‘democratic’. The young man thought each of these managers – the ‘tough’ autocrat and the ‘nice’ democrat- were only partially effective. ‘It’s like being half a manager’, he thought. He returned home tired and discouraged and he might have given up his search long ago, but he had one great advantage. He knew exactly what he was looking for. ‘Effective managers,’ he thought, ‘manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the organization and the people profit from their presence.”
8. The effective executive
Subtitle: The definitive guide to getting the right things done
Author: Peter F. Drucker
Why it’s a must-read: Ranging widely through annals of business and government, Peter F. Drucker demonstrated the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious business situations. He identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can, and must, be learned: managing time, choosing what to contribute to the organization, knowing where and how to mobilize strength for the best effect, setting the right priorities, knitting all of them together with effective decision-making.
Best quote: “Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results.”
9. The Obstacle is the way
Subtitle: The timeless art of turning trials into triumphs
Author: Ryan Holiday
Why it’s a must-read: The author has written this management book to use philosophy as a system for being productive. Holiday writes about using the philosophy of Stoicism as a mental model for being productive, not only in work but in life itself. He has divided the book into three key sections – Perception, Action, and Will, where he has applied the view of Stoicism to hypothetical examples to relate the theory with the outside world.
Best quote: “You will come across obstacles in life- fair and unfair. And you will discover, time and time again, that what matters most is not what these obstacles are but how we see them, how we react to them, and whether we keep our composure.”
Conclusion
A successful manager is one who never stops learning and developing their skills. Managers can continue to improve their job performance by reading the right books. These books enhance managers’ ability to lead their teams and help them understand things from other perspectives. So, by staying curious and open to new ideas mentioned above in the best books for managers, anyone can become a great leader who keeps their team thriving.
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