Ten Books That Transformed My Private Practice
Devouring the wisdom of others is one of the most common traits I see among successful business owners in all industries. By devouring, I mean they take in large quantities of thought, digest it and seek to pull out at least a couple usable nuggets for personal growth or professional evolution.
In particular, they focus on the hard earned wisdom acquired during others' journeys, in the hopes of shortening their owning learning curves. They do this, not in an effort to copy them or become them, but to rely on that which is already known, while they push into their unknown and build a better business or life.
Soak that in... highly successful people look for ways to shorten their learning curves, as part of reinventing themselves or the wheel.
So, in that vein, here's my list of the best, game-changing thought from others when it came to building my six-time Inc 5000 mental health practice...
Disclosure: While I do whole-heartedly recommend every one of these books, I am also an Amazon Associate and earn affiliate fees for qualifying purchases through some of the links and recommendations provided.
The E-Myth Revisited should be required reading for anyone who has worked for someone else and been tortured by the thought that "I could do this for myself and keep all the money!" It's an objective exploration of how to avoid being part of the nearly 50% of businesses that fail within the first five years after their launch.
Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I will spread myself too thin chasing all my big ideas. Essentialism (The Disciplined Pursuit of Less), helped me learn to narrow down my focus and take care of the right things first. It taught me to focus on fixing the thing that had the biggest ripple effect on my other problems that needed solutions.
The Checklist Manifesto was another crucial read in helping me overcome my belief that a passion about succeeding somehow yields organization or structured workflow. If checklists are good enough for surgeons or Sully landing the plane on the Hudson, then they're good enough for me and my team.
Sydney Finkelstein's Superbosses probably changed the story in my head about both what it means to lead a great team and also why people leave, more than all other leadership books combined. This was a critical read that kept me from living in resentful fear as the business was scaling and employees were leaving to become my competitors.
If there's an actual textbook for working around the obstacles of expanding a business, Scaling Up, was that for me. It's not a bunch of rah-rah stuff about conquering the world, but rather the nuts, bolts and inflection points of going from one team to many teams.
If Scaling Up is the nuts and bolts of growth, then Traction is the toolbox. It's one of the single best compilations of tools and workflows for 10-xing a business. Their "Entrepreneurial Operating System" or "EOS" changed the game for me as a CEO and gave me my life back when it came to being over-scheduled due to under-delegation.
If there's anyone I've ever been jealous of, it's Brene Brown. Thanks to her books, I've mastered the vulnerability required to admit that aloud (that's a joke). Seriously though, she's amazing. Her insight into what drives success in human relationships (vulnerability), is transferred brilliantly to the business realm in Dare to Lead. It's a must read for every leader, in every type of organization (including those leading families).
An Everyone Culture was a gift to me from my Vistage chair and helped me create a truly different place when it came to my company's culture, by giving people the safety to learn through failure. It's an absolute must-read for anyone that claims their company is all about the people.
Tim Ferris - 4 Hour Work Week, Tools of Titans, and Tribe of Mentors
Tim Ferris is the king of shortened learning curves and life hacks. His 4-Hour Work Week changed the way I wanted to design my life. Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors picked the brains of some of the most successful entrepreneurs on their best hacks to get that life they wanted. These are the perfect business "devotional books" for anyone who wants to sharpen the saw in just 15 minutes every morning. You can order them as a three book set, which I highly recommend.
Never Eat Alone changed the way I networked, marketed, recruited and socialized. It helped me let go of being a salesman and shift into someone who genuinely likes helping others solve problems, especially over appetizers. I give it credit for so many of the exciting, random directions my life has seemed to take (including being the board of a $100 million company, speaking nationally to over 1,000 CEO's per year, and starring as an expert on an episode of "My Strange Addiction").
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So, what do you think? Agree or disagree? What would you add to the list?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments. I'm still (and always will be) shortening my learning curve and inevitably, many of you have recommendations I still need to read!
