Are you constantly bookmarking things to read at a later date or wondering how you’ll ever manage to squeeze a bit of professional development into an already packed schedule? Holidays can be a great time to catch up on reading, but when time is precious, you need to make sure that what you’re reading counts. So, we got to thinking about whether there were certain must-read books that successful business people in the PaySmart network could share.
PaySmart’s National Sales Manager Colin Walker got the ball rolling and we also asked some of our industry experts to share with us a book that was a real ‘game-changer’ for them—whether is was about business, health, life, education or an autobiography—something that had a lasting impact on the way they operate in life or business. Take a look at their responses, and you may just want to throw one or two into your beach bag these holidays!
- Emotional Intelligence, By Daniel Goleman
“This book deals with increasing your emotional intelligence through five crucial skills. Self-awareness is one of the very first skills and is what I found most interesting. Goleman suggests that when you are self-aware about behaviours in particular environments, you can self-regulate (the second skill) those behaviours to achieve the outcome you desire. Once these skills are learned, they can be applied to areas of leadership with broad business applications—from HR and sales through to administration.” — Colin Walker, PaySmart
- How Full is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and Donald Clifton
“This book has been invaluable to my life for many reasons. It’s so easy to read, is relevant to private, professional and relationship personas and offers such simple strategies to have a positive impact on others—it really solidifies what I believe: positivity breeds positivity. I’ve been able to use facts and concepts from this book with my children, husband, family, clients and colleagues in education and corporate settings. Everyone I’ve shared it with has been equally inspired and it reinforces we have to surround ourselves with positivity to truly thrive and that we can take steps to overcome the negative or troubling times in our lives as we work towards the optimism ahead.” — Kathryn Taylor, Turning Point Consulting
- The School of Greatness, By Lewis Howes
“I’ve been listening to Lewis Howes’ podcasts for the last two years—between the podcasts and his book, it has helped me drive my business and personal life further.” — Samantha Ahearn, Giggletree
- Schools of Fish, By Alan Sampson
“I read this book in six hours—I couldn’t put it down. It’s an excellent semi-autobiographical book by my former practical teaching supervisor Alan Sampson.” — Dr Stephen Brown, QELI
From the author:
“I wrote this book because I believed my life’s adventure as an educator and parent would resonate with many, and in some cases, would prompt people to reflect on their own journeys and priorities. The individual should shape the system rather than the reverse. For me, the biggest challenge I’ve had to overcome throughout my career has been the limited understanding, by those who matter, regarding multiple intelligences. Every child needs a champion. I think that the best thing educators can do to remain both effective and inspirational is to develop relationships with students that are based on a genuine belief that every single child has a treasure chest of potential and our role is to find the relevant key.” — Alan Sampson, Author
- The Wife Drought, By Annabel Crabb
“This book appealed to me as for many years I declared to anyone who would listen, ‘I need a wife’. In my single days, I had many mild panic attacks at work as I subconsciously started to plan how I was going to achieve all that I needed to do at home and complete looming work deadlines. These days, like Annabel, I have a supportive spouse so while I now never declare, ‘I need a wife’, for many working women the gender divide is just as present at home as it is in their workplace. Crabb delves deep into the Australian psyche and the history of gender in the Australian workplace to question accepted beliefs. She also presents a strong economic argument to the equality of gender participation in the workplace. More women than men are graduating from our universities yet men are still leading the way in positions of management, leadership and politics. The non-participation of educated women in our workforce is at our peril. When we talk about work life balance in Australia we often make an assumption that this is a juggling act undertaken only by women. When we discuss the barriers facing women in the workplace do we not also need to look at the lack of exit lanes for men? Annabel presents a compelling case—if women need wives in order to be successful, then surely men are entitled to lives. She argues for equality—work life balance is something both genders need to achieve and strive towards together.” — Petrina Fraccaro, CHARLTON BROWN®
- Awakening the Giant Within, By Anthony Robbins
“This is an empowering book which reminds us that we can take charge of our life and its direction by taking charge of our beliefs, feelings and actions. The book gives us the strategies to do this—and is a book that is best read once and then referred to as often as needed. It’s something akin to the name of my business, Childcare by Design.” — Dr Brenda Abbey, Childcare by Design
- Five Forces model, By Michael Porter
“While my recommended reading is not a book as such, the ‘Five Forces Model’ is a tool that’s worth knowing about for business people who are keen to take a big-picture approach to strengthen their competitive position in the market.” — Chad Wright, Infinity
- Twelve Pillars, By Jim Rohn & Chris Widener
“A fantastic read for anyone who wants not only to succeed in business, but also life.” — Graham McDonnell, WA Institute of Martial Arts
- Close The Deal, By Sam Deep
“This book offers a simple, yet effective seven-step-system to put you in control of your business by removing stress and pressure and by helping you to close sales that build your profits.” — Jason Urbanowicz, Create PT Wealth
- Perspectives in Leadership: Social Justice, Equality and Empowerment, Edited by Jerry D. VanVactor
“This internationally refereed book comprises authors from a number of countries, and while I have to confess I was invited to contribute one of the chapters, when I read the book in its entirety, I was impressed by the diversity of global perspectives on leadership and organisational culture. It was an inspirational and enjoyable read!” — Glenys Drew, COACH Pty Ltd