reading list

Topics
Relationships/Networking
Leadership
Productivity
Spiritual
Branding/Marketing
Self Help
Leisure
Innovation

Relationships/Networking

The Power of Understanding People: The Key to Strengthening Relationships, Increasing Sales, and Enhancing Organizational Performance
Dave Mitchell | ISBN: 978-1118726839 | 208 pages

“By understanding the concept of interactive style, we can improve all forms of relationships, leadership, selling skills, and customer service.” ~ Dave Mitchell

If you’ve ever accomplished a personality profile you know the benefits that can come from labeling your strengths. Many of us are familiar with the Myers-Briggs test, a near industry standard. In this book, Mitchell provides us with a witty and fun way to find our strengths. Unlike the clinical M-B process, this take on the personality profile works. It resonates. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Who’s Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success
Keith Ferrazzi | ISBN: 978-0385521338| 336 pages

“Success is the ability to create the results in life we truly seek and not, say, just the amount of money you make.” ~ Keith Farrazzi

This book is 336 pages and I made 305 highlights! This is a book worth reading and putting in your library. More than how to win and influence friends, this book highlights the basic fact that as humans, we are all social animals and that success and fulfillment will only come from and through people and the relationships we build. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Leadership

Leadership is Half the Story: A Fresh Look at Followership, Leadership, and Collaboration
Marc and Samantha Hurwitz | ISBN: 978-1442650138 | 272 pages

“Perhaps the most potent means subordinates have for influencing impressions of their promotability is through the use of reasoning. Results indicate that reasoning was significant and positive in its effect upon supervisors’ assessments of subordinates’ promotability.” ~ Marc and Samantha Hurwitz

Leadership is the skill that aspiring individuals the world over strive to achieve. We read books, attend seminars, and study the great leaders in an attempt to distill characteristics that we can employ in our own careers. This is all good, but it is only half the equation. None of us are free from the equally important action of following. This skill is one that is vitally important to career success and a necessity to reach ones full potential. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Simon Sinek | ISBN: 978-1591846444 | 256 pages

“It all starts with clarity. You have to know WHY you do WHAT you do. If people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it, so it follows that if you don’t know WHY you do WHAT you do, how will anyone else?” ~ Simon Sinek

This book is more than just a leadership book. It’s an inspiration book. It’s about discovering your purpose and then using that purpose to guide your actions and your deliverables. What’s more, you can apply its principles to either yourself or to your organization. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

How to Work for an Idiot: Survive and Thrive Without Killing Your Boss
John Hoover, PhD | ISBN: 978-1601631916| 288 pages

“Your success when working with difficult peers and difficult people in positions of power all comes down to attitude – yours.” ~ John Hoover

This book sat on the shelf in my office for the past two years because I was, well, both attracted and repulsed by the title. I’m glad I finally opened the cover. I expected to find a tome railing against the establishment, but instead found a cynical reminder that each of us in charge of our own reality. That sometimes we have to work for, or with, a person that is less than fun to be around, but that we must be self-aware enough to take responsibility for our own attitude. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Leaders Eat Last Deluxe: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
Simon Sinek | ISBN:978-1591845324 | 257 pages

As a veteran, many of my fondest memories come from the most adverse episodes. From the Middle East, or Africa, or freezing in the middle of January in Hungary; each holds a special place in my mind because of the people I was with. We were in it together and knew that anyone in our group would help another if needed. Is this the case in our organizations today? If not, how can it be? That’s what this book is about. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The 108 Skills of Natural Born Leaders
Warren Blank | ISBN: 978-0814433072 | 272 pages

The traditional view of leadership tells us natural born leaders are rare commodities. That only a few people own the abilities and have the right ingredients, the elusive “right stuff”, to be leaders. If this is true, then we might as well stop wasting time, money, and effort to improve leadership. We should simply acknowledge that most people just don’t have the right stuff. We should direct people to keep their heads down, hope that a few “real leaders” will come along, and muddle our way through. In this book, Blank proposes an alternate view: anyone can be a leader. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Secrets of Special Ops Leadership
William A. Cohen | ISBN: 978-0814413500 | 260 pages

As with the military, business can benefit from the use of commando’s to achieve disproportionate results on specific projects of set duration. To make this work, a leader must hand-select their team, choosing people that understand the demands and risks of the project or business they are entering. Special operations leadership is all about achieving “relative superiority” through the art of applying a specific set of traits. Applied correctly, a leader can achieve impossible results…if they dare to implement. Applied incorrectly, a leader will achieve only team burnout and most likely mission failure. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

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Productivity

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work
Shawn Achor | ISBN: 978-0307591548 | 256 pages

“People who put their heads down and wait for work to bring eventual happiness put themselves at a huge disadvantage, while those who capitalize on positivity every chance they get come out ahead.” ~ Shawn Achor

If you observe the people around you, you’ll find most individuals follow a formula that has been subtly or not so subtly taught to them by their schools, their company, their parents, or society. That is: If you work hard, you will become successful, and once you become successful, then you’ll be happy. This pattern of belief explains what most often motivates us in life. We think: If I just get that raise, or hit that next sales target, I’ll be happy. Success first, happiness second. The only problem is that this formula is broken. If success causes happiness, then every employee who gets a promotion, every student who receives an acceptance letter, everyone who has ever accomplished a goal of any kind should be happy. But with each victory, our goalposts of success keep getting pushed further and further out, so that happiness gets pushed over the horizon”. Does this sound like your model of happiness? (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster: Why Now Is the Time to #Join the Ride
Darren Hardy | ISBN: 978-0990798620 | 272 pages

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Being an entrepreneur is a departure from the safety and security as an employee. With the growing number of business owners in the coming years, they are driven by 2 predominant factors: desperation and inspiration. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time
Rory Vaden | ISBN: 978-0399170621 | 256 pages

“Channel your emotion into the excellence of doing something rather than the mediocrity of deciding whether or not to do it.” ~ Rory Vaden

I’m as guilty of procrastination as anyone. A week doesn’t go by that I’m not caught putting off accomplishing a task that I feel absolutely must get done… like writing this note for example! However,  after reading this book I now feel empowered to put off working on matters as long as certain criteria are met. That’s what this book is about: taking control of your time to accomplish the high-return tasks at the right time. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)
Hal Elrod | ISBN: 978-0979019715 | 170 pages

On December 3rd, 1999 Hal Elrod was hit while driving his car 70 mph, head on by a drunk driver. His car was turned sideways and then rammed from behind. He broke 11 bones in his body and was pronounced clinically dead for 6 minutes before he was revived. Eight weeks later, he was out of the hospital, and trying to get back to normal but struggling. Then he decided to try to make a change in his life so he woke up early and tried a new routine…..which transformed his life…
Hal realized some key points: (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
Gary Keller & Jay Papasan | ISBN: 978-1885167774 | 240 pages

If you’re interested in getting more done in less time, figuring out how to juggle multiple to-do lists, or seeking tips on optimizing your hectic work flow don’t read this book. If, however, you’re looking for inspiration to focus on your key tasks that above all are the most important ahead of everything else, then get this book and read it. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Greg Mckeown | ISBN: 978-0804137386 | 272  pages

We’ve been duped. Somewhere society led us to believe that to be successful we needed to say “yes” to everything. Yes to more tasks, yes to more responsibilities, yes to more stuff. But the opposite – “no” – is true despite the negative connotation that society has levied on declining requests. The problem for each of us is that the more “yes” you spread around, the less time you have to accomplish what is truly important to you, your organization, and to anyone who relies on you. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The 80/20 Principle and 92 Other Powerful Laws of Nature: The Science of Success
Richard Koch | ISBN: 978-1857886115 | 338 pages

In Koch’s previous books his focus is on the power found in Pareto’s Principle and he steps through numerous examples revealing how the principle works and how we can use it in a systematic and practical way to vastly increase our effectiveness and improve our careers and our business.

In this book he goes beyond the 80/20 rule and makes connections between theories and laws formulated by the greats throughout the past 400 years of human history. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

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Spiritual

Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) 
Chade-Meng Tan | ISBN: 978-0062116932 | 288 pages

My journey in developing a mindfulness practice started in 2005. After nearly a decade of starting, stopping, learning, and then starting over again my practice has become an indispensible part of my day and my life. When I learned that an engineer at Google, known as the “Jolly Good Fellow”, created a course on mindfulness I was ecstatic! Finally, an engineer who gets it and does so in such an easy to understand way that anyone can tap into the power of a mindfulness practice to bring success and happiness. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

A Manuscript Found in Accra
Paulo Coelho | ISBN: 978-0385367783| 208 pages

Okay, first-off: this isn’t a book directly about goal setting, getting ahead in your current job and certainly not about how to negotiate a signing bonus for your new engineering position. It is a book about living life from purpose, making sense of the world around us, and understanding ancient wisdom. Essentially, the book will make you think about who you really are and what is of importance in life. That’s something that resonates in each of us at some level. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Branding/Marketing

The Star Principle: How It Can Make Your Rich
Richard Koch | ISBN: 978-0749929626 | 272 pages

You may know Koch from the book, The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less. In that book we’re introduced to the power of the Pareto principle, which states that a small number of items result in the majority of results. In this book, he takes the concept into the realm of business. Koch shows us how finding the right business to work for or in – the star – can yield massive returns in work fulfillment and, yes, financial rewards. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Me, Inc.: Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business
Gene Simmons | ISBN: 978-0062322616 | 224 pages

Wait, a book about business and leadership by Gene Simmons of KISS? That’s what I thought at first blush, but after digging through the pages I came away with a TON of take-aways and great wisdom. I didn’t know that Simmons was an émigré, that he pursed a “respectable” career track before devoting himself to being a rock-n-roll icon, or that he’s involved in numerous companies and philanthropic organizations. Who knew a rocker could be a business guru? (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Then at Your Own Risk!
Al Ries and Jack Trout | ISBN: 978-0887306662 | 143 pages

Although this book may come from the early 1990’s, it’s still a good one. I was referred to it from a Tim Ferris podcast and I’m not sorry I picked it up. You can speed through this content-packed read in a couple hours as each of the twenty-two laws are presented in their own bite-sized portion. Each of the laws is of value, but there are four that stand out as true gold standards. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career
Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha | ISBN: 978-0307888907 | 272 pages

It may be a stretch to consider yourself a “start-up”, but go with it for a moment. You are your own brand, your own marketing department, and your own project team. Approaching your career in this fashion, regardless if you’re working for a company, government or yourself, will protect you against downturns in economy and position you for new opportunities during upswings. Detroit didn’t just happen – it happened because the motor companies weren’t able to recognize the need to change nor willing to do so. They mistook past and current success for future success. Guess what? That didn’t work out for Detroit. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

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Self-Help

The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do
Jeff Goins | ISBN: 978-0718022075 | 240 pages

“You don’t just know what your calling is. You must listen for clues along the way, discovering what your life can tell you. Awareness comes with practice.” – Jeff Goins

This is a book about finding you purpose, or how the author puts it: your calling, vocation or life’s work. Most people at one point or another in their life will question what their purpose is for the time they inhabit earth. But many less will find what their calling truly is. From this book, I now understand that this isn’t because they never receive the spark of inspiration that unveiled the title of their life’s work. Most don’t find their calling because they never active seek it and, if they do, they fail to answer the call. I found this book to be packed with wisdom and thoughts that hit close to home for me, because I could easily identify with many of the individual examples used to illustrate the concepts. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Win More Work: How to Write Winning A/E/C Proposals
Jim Rogers | ISBN: 978-0910090643 | 72 pages

At the earliest opportunity in your proposal, answer the question, “Why now?” Your answer should describe the business problem and its urgency. This sounds like one question, but it is really a two-in-one: Why? and Why now? ~ Jim Rogers

Don’t let the size of the book fool you. What it lacks in length, it more than makes up for in quality content. My version is heavily underlined and notated and if you’re a business development expert or engineer novice looking to become a seller-doer, this is definitely a reference you want to add to your library. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Unlimited Power: The New Science of Achievement
Tony Robbins | ISBN: 978-0684845777 | 448 pages

“In the modern world, the quality of life is the quality of communications.” ~ Tony Robbins

This book is an easy read on the application of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) in everyday life. Never heard of NLP? Here’s a brief explanation:

Robbins walks us through the process for applying NLP in our lives to bring about massive success. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
Chip Heath and Dan Heath | ISBN: 978-0307956392 | 336 pages

Every person shares one common trait in both their careers and personal lives: each makes decisions. What every person doesn’t do is have a process for making decisions. Why a process? Because the path to a decision is haunted by villain’s that will sabotage you.
Decision Villains. There are four: (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime
MJ DeMarco | ISBN: 978-0984358106 | 336 pages

Get past thinking this book is about getting rich quick or easy – it isn’t. It’s a brutally honest, in your face book about how to change your choices, beliefs, and concepts about wealth creation in order to build the financial and lifestyle structures you want for your life. And before you’re too old to enjoy them. Three big concepts include: (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The 5 Laws That Determine All of Life’s Outcomes
Brett Harward | ISBN: 978-0982060117 | 212 pages

Awesome, daunting title! Just finished this book in 5 hours on the treadmill (actually 30 minute increments listening to it over the past week…I PT, but not like that!) and I definitely recommend it. In fact, I ordered the hardcopy version today. Not because the 5 Laws themselves are massive revelations, but for the plethora of questions that Brett sprinkles throughout the book. In my journey moving from letting things just happen to always making things happen I’ve found that questions have been the key. Brett doesn’t states this in his book, but based on the tens of questions he asks I’m willing to bet a round of Trappist beers in Brussels on it.

Here are the Cliff Notes for the 5 Laws along with some other items that caught my attention: (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

The Blue Zones, Second Edition: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest
Dan Buettner | ISBN: 978-1426209482 | 336 pages

This is a long review and I won’t call it a synopsis. But then again, this is a topic that’s important to anyone living. Worth the read here if not the book.

This is a follow-up to the piece I wrote on “Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way” earlier this month. I checked out the author’s Blue Zones web page and after lurking around it for a half-hour, decided to put my hands on the book and see how I measured up against the 9 lessons. This seemed like a good decision since I’d be sitting on a beach in the Dominican Republic for a week, implementing some of Dan’s tips for making happiness. The good thing for me is that after reading the book, I’m doing fairly well in meeting the grade on the Top 9…but need to refocus on others.
Key Points About Aging: (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Think and Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill | ISBN: 978-1453670118 | 162 pages

This book is one of the all-time classic personal/professional development books entitled Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Don’t let the title deceive you, it’s not about wanting to get rich, it’s about how to reach your highest potential and harness the mental magic of your mind. The book is a blueprint for self-mastery. It is also very appropriate for this community because the book very heavily based on mastermind groups which I believe this community is. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way 
Dan Buettner | ISBN: 978-1426208188 | 304 pages 

This is a book that Anthony mentioned in a post a of couple weeks ago. It caught my interest because about 5 years ago I came across research by Martin Seligman an American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help books. His theory of learned helplessness drew me into his Authentic Happiness work at the University of Penn.  There I began taking the happiness assessments, assessments about gratitude, and a number of other assessments. I’ve been visiting the site since 2008 and have witnessed a definite change in my results (for the better!) since starting a half-decade ago. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

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Leisure

The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
David McCullough | ISBN: 978-0671457112 | 562 pages

One of my goals over the holidays is to read a non self-help book. So I have started reading The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge.

My father gave it to me and honestly, I am only 50 pages in and I can’t put it down. While I do live in New York and my background is in civil, I still think all engineers would love this book. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

Innovation

The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators
Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton Christensen | ISBN: 978-1422134818 | 304 pages

The book is co-authored by Hal Gregersen is the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Chair of Innovation and Leadership at INSEAD and Jeff Dyer is the Horace Beesley Professor of Strategy at BYU’s Marriott School of Management.

This article is an interview with the two authors and I’ve added the book to my reading list. As an engineer, it looks very interesting. (For the complete book review, join The Engineering Mastermind)

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