Recommended Reading: September 2020

At PFD, we believe that continuing to grow and learn is paramount to being able to thrive as a leader. Continuing with our commitment to our business community to provide resources with best practices, for our September Reading List, we recommend these three books: Right Away & All at Once by Greg Brenneman, Personality Isn't Permanent by Benjamin Hardy PhD, and Procrastinate on Purpose by Rory Vaden. These books vary in subject matter, but they all have insights on how you can create the best version of yourself, which will liberate you to more effectively and meaningfully lead your business. 

Right Away & All at Once: Five Steps to Transform Your Business and Enrich Your Life - Greg Brenneman

At PFD, we believe that our businesses should support the lives that we want to live and the impact that we want to make on the world.

Greg Brenneman couldn’t agree more.

In this book, Brenneman writes on techniques that you can do to BOTH grow your business, AND live a rich, purposeful life. He takes his learnings from turning around growing many successful businesses, including Burger King and Continental airlines, to provide a clear roadmap on how to achieve business and personal success. Those steps include:

• Preparing a succinct “Go Forward” plan

• Building a fortress balance sheet

• Growing your sales and profits

• Choosing all-star servant leaders

• Empowering your team
   

  We found Brenneman’s holistic, proven approach to be a practical guide for any leader that has a higher calling for their business and life.

Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story - Benjamin Hardy

In this book, Dr. Benjamin Hardy uses his psychological expertise and research to completely redefine how we think about personality. He dismantles the idea that we have one “true” personality waiting to be discovered, and instead offers a more empowering, action-oriented approach. Personality, as offered by Hardy, is a result of how we can intentionally create our desired selves and achieve amazing goals

He offers science-based advice to for personal reflection, like how to design your current identity based on your desired future self, and how to become confident enough to define your own lives purpose.

At PFD, we believe that as leaders, when we are clear about the future we want to create for ourselves and others, we are then able to take the steps to live into that future. When we define what we want to create, who we want around us, and how we can be resilient in the face of uncertainty, we grow into the person we desire to be. We are actors in our own lives, and we think this book is an empowering and practical look at how we can strategically create the future we want for ourselves.
     

Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time - Rory Vaden

We all have the same 168 hours in the week, Great leaders are able to use that time more effectively. In this book, Rory Vaden has shared his wisdom and actionable tips to multiply the time we have available.

Vaden creates a simple guide to set us free to do our best work, and overcome stalled productivity. This approach takes into account the emotional aspect of productivity and it gives us a clear path forward. Vaden’s model gives us five simple permissions so we can stop wasting time and energy and engage in our most worthwhile work:

   •  Eliminate
   •  Automate
   •  Delegate
   •  Consolidate
   •  Procrastinate (yes, you heard that right)

We at PFD recommend this to our readers to multiply our time so we can focus on doing meaningful work.

Recommended Reading List: May 2020

Great leaders are capable of leading their teams through both the good and the bad times. These three recommended books below share best practices regarding how to make the most of the current challenges and opportunities, all while being a servant leader.

1.) The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

The Splendid and the Vile is a captivating read that we found nearly impossible to put down. Erik Larson tells the story of Churchill’s family life and leadership. Churchill’s story during his prime is a great example of how an individual can effectively inspire teams. This narrative shows how important great leadership is at all levels of an organization.

2.) Shackelton’s Way by Margot Morrell

By including anecdotes from Shackleton’s journey in the Antarctic, Margot Morrell shows the incredible leadership style of Shackleton and addresses how it can be used today. This novel demonstrates how to build a diverse and highly functioning team in any circumstance while navigating through uncertainty.

3.) Right Away and All at Once by Greg Brenneman

Written by one of the top turnaround leaders in the world, Right Away and All at Once provides a framework for what is important to keep in mind during uncertain times. Greg Brenneman is able to show how creating an effective life plan can translate into a successful business. This book gives a 5 step roadmap to help create their own plan that will better both their business and themselves.