Recommended Reading: November 2020

In keeping with our commitment to providing resources to leaders in our business community, our November reading list has this book:

Love is Free. Guac is Extra.: How Vulnerability, Empowerment, and Curiosity Built an Unstoppable Team - Monty Moran

In this book, former Co-CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill Monty Moran explores how vulnerability, love, curiosity, and a unique understanding of empowerment builds an extraordinary and effective culture. Moran discusses the shaping experiences he had that led him to scaling Chipotle from a regional chain to a Fortune 500 Business, including befriending the homeless as a teenager, navigating the ever-challenging Co-CEO relationship, and personally interviewing 20,000 employees to understand their experiences. This is a book that showcases Monty’s humility as a a leader, and it helps us better understand servant leadership in a business context. Further, Moran also shows us how we can both be loving leaders and have a culture of excellence. At PFD, we can’t recommend this book enough for its insight to leadership development as a catalyst in creating amazing companies.

Recommended Reading: October 2020

As a part of our continued commitment to providing the best resources for leaders to better themselves and thrive, for our October Reading List, we recommend these three books: The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni, Titan by Ron Chernow, and How I Built This by Guy Raz. These books provide diverse perspectives about entrepreneurship and self-improvement through the lens of effective narrative structures.

THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER - HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND CULTIVATE THREE ESSENTIAL VIRTUES - PATRICK LENCIONI

In his book The Ideal Team Player, Patrick Lencioni provides actionable tools on how you should invest in your current team and hire going forward. At PFD, we share Patrick Lencoini’s passion for having healthy work environments. Since becoming CAPA Pro members, we have been able to share Lencioni’s foundational tools with our clients, and we have found that the ideal team player exercise has been worked well during this time of continued uncertainty. The ideal team player is a compelling framework for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players, talking about that these people are happy, humble, and aware of their impact on other people. The applications of this framework span all areas of life, from how we better ourselves, how we hire and develop our current team, how we parent, etc. It is an insightful and useful book, and we can’t recommend it enough.

TITAN: THE LIFE OF JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, SR. - RON CHERNOW

Ron Chernow’s Titan creates a captivating portrait of an entrepreneurial giant - John Rockefeller. The biography details two sides of this imperfect but brilliant figure in history: one side being the businessman whose aggressive practices created an empire, and the other of a philanthropist who donated bountiful amounts of money and was committed to educating marginalized populations. We recommend this book during this time because we find that it is important to tell stories of really strong leaders of different times and draw from the lessons that they have to share. This book is relevant today, because it shows how one leader navigated a time of political uncertainty in US. Further, by reflecting on Rockefeller’s life, we can critically think about the legacy that we are leaving behind, incorporating Rockefeller’s brilliance and commitment to philanthropy into our legacy, but also taking heed to not repeat the more infamous parts of his history.

HOW I BUILT THIS: UNEXPECTED PATHS TO SUCCESS FROM THE WORLD’S MOST INSPIRING ENTREPRENEURS - GUY RAZ

This book from Guy Raz tells stories of entrepreneurial brilliance. Raz is the mind behind and the host of NPR’s podcast by the same name, and it tells stories of innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the movements they built. This book is based off of that podcast, which is the top business podcast on iTunes, with over 200 million downloads to date. By telling these stories, this book offers insight to entrepreneurs on wisdom on how to overcome every problem, and it inspires us to strive for the same level of determination. We at PFD recommend this to our readers to broaden their perspectives and learn lessons from professionals who spent years learning these lessons themselves.

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.