5 of the Best Books I’ve Read Recently on Getting Jobs, Doing Leadership, and Presenting with Skill

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I read a lot.  I read fast.  I go through a lot of books each month.  Books help give me new ideas and ways to do things better, faster, and cheaper.   Books are one of the best ways I get the edge in work and life.

Here are the 5 of the best books I’ve read recently, along with links to my reviews:

  1. When Can You Start? How to ACE the Interview and Win the Job , by Paul Freiberger
  2. Advice is for Winners: How to Get Advice for Better Decisions in Life and Work , by Raul Valdes-Perez
  3. The Power of Starting Something Stupid: Make Dreams Happen, and Live without Regret , by Richie Norton
  4. Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations , by Martin Sykes, A. Nicklas Malik, and Mark D. West
  5. It’s Already Inside: Nurturing Your Innate Leadership for Business and Life Success , by Robert Murray

 

When Can You Start? , as the name implies, is all about turning interviews into job offers.   It’s a quick read and it tackles many of the common pitfalls you can run into during the interview process.  Best of all, it provides a methodical approach for preparing for your interviews, by using your resume as a platform for telling your story in a relevant way.   If you’re trying to find a job, this is a great book for helping you get your head in the game, and stand out from the crowd, during the interview process.

Advices is for Winners is a cornucopia of insights and actions for creating an effective board of advisors to help you in work and life.   I thought it would be a fluff book, but it was actually a very technical guide.  It's written by an engineer, so the advice is very specific, and very data-driven.  It includes a lot of lists, such as 6 benefits of getting advice, 22 questions for scoring a scenario, and 28 reasons why people resist advice.  Mentors are the short-cuts and getting better advice is how you get ahead.

The Power of Starting Something Stupid is all about how to crush fear, make dreams happen, and live without regret.   In the forward, Stephen Covey wrote: "It reminds each of us that all things are possible, that life is short, and to take action now."

Stories that Move Mountains introduces the CAST system for creating visual stories.  It’s a powerful book about how to improve your presentation skills using storytelling and visuals.   I ended up using some of the ideas in one of my presentations recently to senior leadership, and it helped me prioritize and sequence my slides in a far more effective way.

It's Already Inside directly addresses the question, "Are leaders born or made?"  The book is a really great synthesis of the leadership habits and practices that will make you a more productive and more effective leader.

Each of these books has something for you in it.  Of course, the challenge for you is to dive inside, find the gems that ring true for you, and apply them.

Happy reading.