5 books to read for your career dev

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” ~ George R.R. Martin

#043

Hello 👋🏼, how are you?

Trust you’re having a great week!

If you’re looking to advance your career, this week’s post is for you. For this week, I have assembled the top 5 books on career development (opinion = 100% mine)

Before we start, don’t forget to share this post with someone you care about.

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Everyone’s career development needs differ, but a good starting point is understanding that your employer won’t train you! That’s your responsibility. It’s your career, after all.

Now we’re clear on that point, the next logical question is “What resources should I leverage”?

You may go back to school to get another degree or take some professional courses but books offer a good, low-cost approach.

So, here are 5 top career development books, in no particular order.

Btw, these book recommendations are better suited to early career professionals of 0-5 years.

1. “Presence” by Amy Cuddy.

Amy Cuddy is an American social psychologist, author, and former lecturer at Havard Business School.

Her TedTalk on how your body language shapes how you feel and act has over 24M views and that’s part of what the book is about— power poses and body-mind effects. As the subtitle of the book says, “Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges” is what the book will help you achieve.

The book is based on research by Amy and her colleagues.

Fun fact: There was a point in my career when I used to watch Amy’s TedTalk in the morning and practice some power poses before starting my day.

Image credit: Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

2. “The Startup of You” by Reid Huffman & Ben Casnocha

Reid Huffman is the co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, the largest professional/career platform in the world. He knows a thing or two about career development.

To accelerate your career, according to Reid & Ben, “The key is to manage your career as if it were a startup business: a living, breathing, growing startup of you”

“Why? Startups—and the entrepreneurs who run them—are nimble. They invest in themselves. They build their professional networks. They take intelligent risks. They make uncertainty and volatility work to their advantage.

These are the very same skills professionals need to get ahead today”

The book is packed full of very actional insights. I revisit the book regularly.

Check out this previous post “Reid Hoffman's ABZ Model of Career Planning” which was inspired by the book.

3. “The Rules of Work” by Richard Templar

I was gifted this book in 2011 by the training school of the bank I joined then. It couldn’t have come at a better time.

Richard Templar talked about how he missed out on a promotion he thought was his because he didn’t “walk like a manager” and had to endure working under a moron (but a moron who acted like a manager so was made one!)

The book is made of short 2-3 page chapters or “Rules” such as

• Get Your Work Noticed- Rule 1

• Carve Out a Niche for Yourself- Rule 4

• Be Passionate But Don’t Kill Yourself- Rule 11

• Exude Confidence & Energy- Rule 17

Study The Promotion System- Rule 26

etc.

The book made a serious impact on my career and since then, I’ve read & reread it and gone on to buy other books by the same author such as The Rules of Wealth”, “The Rules of Management” & “The Rules of People”

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4. “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown

With “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” as the subtitle, you know what to expect from the book.

“Have you ever felt both overworked and underutilized”?

“Do you ever feel busy but not productive”?

The book is not about time management. It’s a book on deliberately choosing what to focus on and what to ignore to be effective.

Doing more by doing less.

“The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.”

―Confucius

5. “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

Oldie but goodie.

There is a reason a book first published in 1953 is still in circulation today.

This classic book by Dale Carnegie offers practical tips on how to make friends easily & quickly, win people over to your way of thinking, and improve your conversation skills in simple, easy-to-read prose.

Here are some of the principles in the book:

• Become genuinely interested in other people

• Show respect for other people’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong”

• Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language

• Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves

• The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

etc.

Yes, the book is a communication book. But isn’t that what work is about?

Honorary Mentions:

• Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. The book inspired me to take a 30-day social media break and I wrote about my experience here.

• Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, MD

• Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office by Dr. Lois P. Frankel

Lemme know how many of these books you have read.

The list is my personal opinion so feel free to share yours.

Until Next Week Tuesday,

With Love,

Azodo.