Eight Books to Read to Boost Personal and Professional Growth

As individuals, teams and businesses set objectives for the coming year, it can be a massive boon to leverage the insights of experts, thought leaders and industry professionals to ensure success. While blogs, podcasts and articles are powerful tools for ongoing education, books are still one of the best and most sustaining ways to enhance a person’s skills and habits. In fact, research links regular reading to higher income earnings, lower stress levels and improved self-esteem.

Books to Help Boost your Skills and Success

Books offer long-form, comprehensive and immersive experiences that have the power to teach profound lessons. A single, well-chosen book can be a game-changer for personal, professional and organizational development. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, business owner or student, these books can help develop your skill sets and set the stage for creating a plan for accomplishing your goals in the new year and beyond.

1.  Atomic Habits by James Clear

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a New York Times bestseller written by one of the world’s leading experts in habit formation. It was released in 2018 but continues to top the charts for its proven, practical advice on how to form better habits by mastering tiny behaviors on a daily basis. Clear shares straightforward guidelines along with anecdotal evidence to make this a compelling read as much as a daily tool for professionals of all kinds looking to optimize their time, motivation and habits.

2.  Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy A. Pychyl

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy A. Pychyl uses the author’s psychology background and associated research to take a closer look at the science of procrastination. This short, punchy book is just over 100 pages but manages to pack in years of psychological research alongside Pychlyl’s practical guidance. The book uses cartoons and down-to-earth language to keep readers engaged. Pychyl focuses on dismantling the self-destructive ideas and habits that cause procrastination and then offers readers tools on how to overcome it.

3.  Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal

Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal is a lighthearted and evidence-packed book that offers readers advice on how to leverage enjoyment as a tool for improving productivity. “We think that productivity is all about hard work,” writes Abdaal. “The secret to productivity isn’t discipline. It’s joy.” Abdaal offers a science-based foundation for focusing on improving joy and positivity associated with work activities, so productivity takes care of itself.

4.  The 29-Hour Work Day by Ethan Bull and Stephanie Bull

The 29-Hour Work Day by Ethan Bull and Stephanie Bull is another short, hard-hitting book. This one is designed for professionals with an executive assistant, but at its core, provides a tight and effective guide for establishing effective workplace partnerships of any kind. This includes tips for effective interviewing, hiring and onboarding, as well as guidance for training, management and optimizing performance.

5.  How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a classic. Deemed one of the most influential self-help books of the last century, Carnegie’s advice on genuinely and meaningfully impacting others has been a mainstay since its publication in 1936. The book remains timeless for the way it focuses on improving interpersonal skills and fostering positive relationships, something that never loses value. A new version of the book, updated by the influential entrepreneur’s daughter, Donna Dale Carnegie, updates the material for today’s global business and interconnected society.

6.  Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy

Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy is based on an old saying: “If the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, then you’re done with the toughest thing for the day.” Tracy offers practical, hard-hitting advice on how to successfully harness time management, discipline and motivation by tackling the day’s toughest tasks first. Structured around 21 key principles and techniques, readers praise this book for its succinct and actionable advice to start achieving work-life balance.

7.  The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

The Culture Map by Erin Meyer is a powerful tool in the kit of any professional or business leader operating in today’s interconnected, global marketplace. Especially in B2B sectors, most businesses are working across national and international borders, often collaborating with teams all over the world. Cultural diversity in business is only growing, meaning that managing cross-cultural complexity sets individuals and organizations apart from the pack. Meyer filled her book with real-life stories, current research and global perspectives to help leaders and professionals effectively collaborate with their worldwide prospects, clients, colleagues, vendors and suppliers.

8.  The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Anchor

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Anchor is another take on productivity through the lens of how we achieve joy or where we derive pleasure. Like Abdaal, Anchor takes a look at the formula that if we work hard, we’ll be successful. Instead, he claims it’s backward: happiness fuels success rather than the other way around. Anchor breaks down guidance to achieve a positive mindset into seven actionable principles. Each of these principles is founded in case studies from Anchor’s own experiences working with Fortune 500 organizations in more than 50 counties, rooting his advice in real-life contexts.

Commit to Ongoing Growth

While New Year’s resolutions and annual goals are a helpful way to look positively toward the future, it’s essential to harness a way to achieve those goals after setting them. Leverage the insights of other experts to leaders to power up your skills both professionally and personally this next year. An added benefit is the compounding effect of the positive results. By giving yourself the tools for ongoing growth, your business relationships will also reap the rewards of positivity and productivity.