Six Books for Comms Leaders
Looking for a gift for the communicator in your life or for your own next read? Here are some of our favorites.
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Principles by Ray Dalio
Blub: “Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.”
Why we love it: We love Dalio’s leadership philosophy. It’s simple and straightforward. You’ve not read a leadership book like this before. And, for the communications folks who love a nice aesthetic, the hardcover version we own is just a beautifully-designed book and looks great on your shelves.
The ONE Thing by Gary Keller
Blurb: “What’s your ONE thing? By focusing their energy on one thing at a time people are living more rewarding lives by building their careers, strengthening their finances, losing weight and getting in shape, deepening their faith, and nurturing stronger marriages and personal relationships.”
Why we love it: At the EO Report and Clarity Channels Communications, we talk often about “the why.” When we enter a room, we often find challenges are rooted to one major challenge. Understanding the root of the problem — the why — and pointing all of our arrows toward solving leads to the greatest transformation.
Chart Your Path: A 9-Step Method to Getting Unstuck by Monique Farmer
Blurb: ”Are you ready to stop watching your dreams slip away and start shaping your destiny? What if happiness and success aren't found in following the well-trodden road, but in blazing your own trail, no matter how unconventional it may seem? Imagine having a roadmap to not only overcome obstacles but to also unlock your personal growth. In "Chart Your Path," you will embark on a transformative journey through nine practical steps that will change the way you navigate life's challenge.”
Why we love it: There’s nothing worse than the feeling of not knowing how to move forward. This book, written by a communications pro we greatly admire, provides an executable roadmap (complete with worksheets and exercises) for moving forward.
The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
Blurb: ”Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can.
Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we’ll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around.”
Why we love it: When you’re a communications expert, there’s only so much you can control. Achor’s book provides context on how to find joy in what you can control and use that to influence the things you can’t.
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
Blurb: “For the past three years, Jon Ronson has traveled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made a joke on social media that came out badly, or made a mistake at work. Once their transgression is revealed, collective outrage circles with the force of a hurricane and the next thing they know they're being torn apart by an angry mob, jeered at, demonized, sometimes even fired from their job.”
Why we love it: Though a bit old now, this book is an insightful (and highly entertaining) read for anyone who has worked in crisis communications or reputation management.
Meditation for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Blurb: “Addressing the fundamental questions about how to live, Meditations for Mortals offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls “imperfectionism.” It helps us tackle challenges as they crop up in our daily lives: our finite time, the lure of distraction, the impossibility of doing anything perfectly.”
Why we love it: Have we recommended this before? Yep. But with 92% of PR pros stating that work stress had an impact on their mental health, we felt like it was worth repeating. Burkeman walks readers through embracing imperfection.