Below is a list of books the senior leadership team is reading each quarter. Everyone is welcome to join us in learning together.
To continue growing our leadership skill sets, the SLT reads several books each quarter. All employees are welcome to read these books at any time and submit the expense for reimbursement.
Learning is crucial to our continued success, and we encourage you to pursue knowledge independently. If there's other leadership or professional development books not on this list that you'd like to read, please contact someone on the SLT for reimbursement approval.
Tips from John:
I use leadership/business books to give everyone a foundational understanding of the concepts we are implementing here at Idea Grove. I find it very helpful to have a common language to use when talking through how we run this business.
I love to listen to audiobooks on my commute; because as much as I LOVE music, just how many times can I listen to the latest song that is played over and over until it is worn out. Plus audiobooks make the commute much less tedious.
Where it says “John & Scott Only”, those books were assigned to only John and Scott. The others were free to read them.
Q4 2019
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Get A Grip: An Entrepreneurial Fable: Your Journey to Get Real, Get Simple, and Get Results
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business (John Only)
Traction is the set of processes on which we are running the company.
Rocket Fuel - The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business (Scott & John Only)
Q1 2020
The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable
The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues: A Leadership Fable
Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable
Finish Big (John & Scott Only)
Q2 2020
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
Great Game of Business is the foundation for Open Book Management.
The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery; AKA Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Leadership Fable
Small Giants - Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big (John & Scott Only)
Q3 2020
The Serving Leader: Five Powerful Actions to Transform Your Team, Business, and Community: A Leadership Fable
Who: The A Method for Hiring
Getting Naked: A Leadership Fable
Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable (John & Scott Only)
Q4 2020
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People
Q1 2021
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities
Q2 2021
Five Temptations of a CEO Replace 'CEO' with 'Leader' when reading
The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Q3 2021
The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues: A Leadership Fable
Death by Meeting
Getting Naked: A Leadership Fable
Q4 2021
The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery; AKA Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Leadership Fable
Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable
Trust Signals
Q1 2022
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't
Q2 2022
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
Q3 2022
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
The Go-Giver, Expanded Edition: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Q4 2022
No books were assigned this quarter.
Q1 2023
No books were assigned this quarter.
Q2 2023
How the Mighty Fall (SLT Only)
5 Dysfunctions of a Team (Everyone)
Trust Signals (Everyone)