Leaders Are Readers

The KK&W team feel reading is an important aspect of any leadership role and truly believe that  “Leaders Are Readers.”  The following list is comprised of recommended reading by members of the KK&W team as well as attendees at various KK&W Summits over the years and is continually being updated.

Updated April 8, 2020

  • 2 Chairs by Bob Beaudine
  • 10 Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela’s Life by Richard Bowerman
  • 10% Happier by Dan Harris
  • 12 Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter
  • 12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton
  • 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
  • 1501 Ways to Reward Employees by Robert Nelson
  • 4-3-2-1 Leadership – What America’s sons and daughters taught me on the road from Second Lieutenant to Two-Star General by Vincent E. Boles
  • A Good Time to be a Girl: Don’t Lean In, Change the System by Helena Morrissey
  • A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America’s First Female Four Star General  by Ann Dunwoody
  • A Life Well Played by Arnold Palmer
  • A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Ekhart Tolle
  • A Perfect Season by Darryl Belfry
  • A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo
  • A Slice of the Pie by Rick Sarillo
  • A Winning Team by Elmer Nordstrom
  • Above the Line by Urban Meyer
  • Against The Grain by Bill Courtney
  • All Buts Stink by Walter Bond
  • American Icon – Alan Mullaly  and the fight to save Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman
  • American Sniper by Chris Kyle
  • American Values by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
  • AntiFragile by Nassim Taleb
  • Attitude: Develop a Winning Mindset on and off the Court by Jay Wright
  • Be Our Guest by Theodore Kinni
  • Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
  • Beyond the Talent by John Maxwell
  • Big Money Thinks Small by Joel Tillinghast
  • Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
  • Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
  • Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson
  • Buffett by Roger Lowenstein
  • Built to Last by Jim Collins
  • Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story by Chris Nashawaty
  • Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
  • Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
  • Chuck Noll: His Life’s Work by Michael MacCambridge
  • Collaborate or Perish by William Bratton and Zachary Tumin
  • Coaching: The 7 Laws Of Coaching by Brian Cagneey
  • Coolidge by Amity Shlaes
  • Creativity Inc by Amy Wallace
  • Credibility by Barry Posner and James M. Kouzes
  • Crossroads by William Paul Young
  • Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
  • Dare to Serve by Cheryl Bachelder
  • Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, PhD
  • Decision Points by George W. Bush
  • Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
  • Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 by John Maxwell
  • Divine Alignment by Squire Rushnell
  • Do Big Things by Craig W. Ross, Angela V. Paccione and Victoria L. Roberts
  • Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy by William H. Janeway
  • Drive by Daniel Pink
  • Earning Serendipity by Glenn Llopis
  • Elite by Nick Hayes
  • Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry
  • Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Graves
  • Endurance by Alfred Lansing
  • Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
  • Essentialism by Greg McKeown
  • Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman
  • Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently by John C. Maxwell
  • Execution by Larry Bossidy
  • Execution Excellence by Sanjiv Anand
  • Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlett
  • Exploring Great Leadership: A Practical Look from the Inside by R. Lynn Wilson
  • Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
  • Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer
  • Eyes Wide Open by Isaac Lidsky
  • FANS! Not Customers by Vernon W. Hill
  • Fearless Leaders – Sharpen Your Focus by Cathy Greenberg
  • Find a Way by Merril Hoge
  • First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham
  • First: What it Takes to Win by Rich Froning
  • FISH by Steven Lundin
  • Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
  • Flash Boys by Michael Lewis
  • Friction by Jeff Rosenblum
  • Friends Divided Adams/Jefferson by Gordon Wood
  • Friends, Foes, and Fools by James Merritt
  • Fusion by Denise Yohn
  • Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
  • Get Rid of Performance Reviews by Samuel A. Culbert
  • Things Done by David Allen
  • George Washington’s Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager
  • Getting to Us by Seth Davis
  • Give and Take by Adam Grant
  • Golf by John Jacobs
  • Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Cullen & Dr. Bob Rotella
  • Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia by David L. Cook
  • Good Leaders Ask Great Questions by John Maxwell
  • Good to Great by Jim Collins
  • Great by Choice by Jim Collins
  • Grit by Angela Duckworth
  • Gung Ho! by Blanchard
  • Happiness – The art of living with peace, confidence and joy by Douglas A. Smith
  • HBR Guide to Coaching Employees by Harvard Business Review
  • Heart Led Leader by Tommy Spaulding
  • Herding Tigers: Be the Leader that Creative People Need by Todd Henry
  • Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
  • Hit the Ground Running by Jason Jennings
  • How Champions Think by Bob Rotella
  • How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath
  • How High Can You Bounce? by Roger Crawford
  • How to Be Like Walt by Pat Williams
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • Hug Your Customer by Jack Mitchell
  • Hug Your Haters by Jay Baer
  • Hug Your People by Jack Mitchell
  • If I Knew Then What I Know Now by Richard Edler
  • In Search of Excellence by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.
  • Inside the Magic Kingdom by Tom Connellan
  • In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
  • In the Heart of the Sea – The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
  • Integrity Matters by James Bracher and Daniel Halloran
  • Integrity, The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality by Dr. Henry Cloud
  • Intentional Living by John C. Maxwell
  • Into the Raging Sea by Rachel Slade
  • Into the Silence by Wade Davis
  • Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger
  • It’s All About Golf – Book 2.0 by Mitchell Stump
  • It’s Not Just Who You Know by Tommy Spaulding
  • Jack – Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch
  • Jesus, CEO by Laurie Beth Jones
  • Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter
  • Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado
  • Killing Kennedy by Bill O’Reilly
  • Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly
  • Killing Patton by Bill O’Reilly
  • Killing Reagan by Bill O’Reilly
  • Killing the Rising Sun by Bill O’Reilly
  • Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
  • Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute
  • Leadership Step by Step by Joshua Spodek
  • Leading Change by John Kotter
  • Leading the Way: Behaviors That Drive Success by Paulette Ashlin
  • Leading with the Heart, Coach K by Mike Krzyzewski
  • Lead Out Loud by Vincent Ivan Phipps
  • Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
  • Legacy by James Kerr
  • Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
  • Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
  • Life and Death of a Yankee Captain Munson by Marty Appel
  • Life is a Series of Presentations by Tony Jeary
  • Life is Yours to Win by Augie Garrido
  • Lincoln and Churchill by Lewis Lehrman
  • Lincoln on Leadership for Today by Donald Phillips
  • Living with a Seal by Jesse Itzler
  • Lone Survivor by Marcus Lattrel
  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  • Love Works by Joel Manby
  • Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McCraven
  • Managing Up by Mary Abbajay
  • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel
  • Margin; Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by R. Swenson
  • Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach, and Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market Segment by Martha Barletta
  • Measure What Matters by John Doerr
  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Mindset by Carol Dweck
  • Mindside Manifesto by Dr. Bhrett McCabe
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  • Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon
  • Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell
  • More than Winning by Tom Osborne
  • Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
  • Napoleon, a Life by Andrew Roberts
  • Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if your life depended on it by Chris Voss
  • Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois Frankel
  • Nine Lies About Work by Marcus Buckingham
  • No Limits: How Craig Heatley Became a Top NZ Entrepreneur by Joanne Black
  • Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham
  • Old Path White Clouds by Thich Naht Hanh
  • On Managing Yourself by Clayton Christensen
  • One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
  • One Thing by Gary Keller
  • One Word that will Change your Life by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton & Jimmy Page
  • Origin by Dan Brown
  • Our Boys by Joe Drape
  • Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Peak by Chip Conley
  • Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness
  • Perception, Cognition, and Decision Training by Joan N. Vickers
  • Players First, Coaching from the inside out by John Calipari
  • Portfolio Life by David Corbett
  • Presence by Amy Cuddy
  • Principles by Ray Dalio
  • Prosperity in the Age of Decline by Brian Beaulieu
  • Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman
  • Quick & Nimble by Adam Bryant
  • Radiant Angel by Nelson DeMille
  • Radical Candor by Kim Scott
  • Range by David Epstein
  • Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard
  • Rebel Talent by Francesca Gino
  • Relationships 101 by John C. Maxwell
  • Relentless by Tim Grover
  • Resilience by Eric Greitens
  • Return of the King by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin
  • Road to Character by David Brooks
  • Running on Purpose by Charles Moore
  • Saban, the Making of a Coach by Monte Burke
  • Same Kind of Different as Me by Denver Moore
  • Say This by Not That by Dan O’Conner
  • Schema of a Soul by Kimberly Berg
  • Selling the Invincible by Harry Beckwith
  • Servant Leadership in Action by Ken Blanchard & Renee Broadwell
  • Serve to Lead by James Strock
  • Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer
  • Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
  • Shutter Island by Dennis Lahane
  • Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
  • Slaying the Tiger: A year Inside the Ropes on the New PGA Tour by Shane Ryan
  • Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
  • Spark by Angie Morgan, Courtney Lynch & Sean Lynch
  • Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey
  • Start with Why by Simon Sinek
  • Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
  • Stop Acting Rich by Thomas J. Stanley, PHD
  • Strengths based Leadership by Roth
  • Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
  • Stronger by Jeff Bauman
  • Take Action by Susan Bixler
  • Taking People with You by David Novak
  • Talent is Overrated by Geoff Calvin
  • Talent Magnet by Mark Miller
  • Talk Like Ted by Carmine Gallo
  • Tap Dancing to Work – Warren Buffett on practically everything by Carol J. Loomis
  • TB 12 Method by Tom Brady
  • Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
  • Team of Teams by General Stanly McChrystal
  • Telling Ain’t Training by Harold D. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps
  • The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Stephen Covey
  • The 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  • The 21 Indispensible Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell
  • The $6,000 Egg by Deb and Todd Duncan
  • The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • The American Spirit by David McCullough
  • The Art of Significance by Dan Clark
  • The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd & John Mitchison
  • The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
  • The Captain – The Journey of Derek Jeter by Ian O’Connor
  • The Captain Class – The Hidden Force That Creates the World’s Greatest Teams by Sam Walker
  • The Change Maker: The Art of Building Better Leaders by Deke Copenhaver
  • The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
  • The Churchill Factor by Boris Johnson
  • The Coaching Habit, Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way you Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
  • The Consultant with Pink Hair by Cal Harrison
  • The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
  • The Defining Decade – Meg Jay
  • The Drunkards Walk by Leonard Mlodinow
  • The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
  • The Final Race by Eric T. Eichinger
  • The First Major: The Inside story of the 2016 Ryder Cup by John Feinstein
  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
  • The Four by Scott Galloway
  • The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
  • The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn
  • The Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown, PhD
  • The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
  • The Good Jobs Strategy – How the smartest companies invest in employees to lower costs and boost profits – Zeynep Ton
  • The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack
  • The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life by Shawn Achor
  • Head Game by Philip Mudd
  • The Heart Led Leader by Tommy Spaulding
  • The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin
  • The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Innovators Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
  • The Last Lecture by Rand Pausch
  • The Leadership Code Using Life’s Lessons to Inspire Others by Ted Gregory
  • The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
  • The Little Book of Main Street Money by Jonathan Clements
  • The Lombardi Rules by Vince Lombardi, Jr.
  • The Long View by Brian Fethersonhaugh
  • The Love Dare by Stephen Kendrick
  • The Magic by Rhonda Byrne
  • The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever by Mark Frost
  • The MindSide Manifesto by Dr. Bhrett McCabe
  • The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Naht Hanh
  • The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain
  • The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business by Eric Schmidt /Jared Cohen
  • The New Gold Standard by Joseph Michelli
  • The Next Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, PHD & Sarah Stanley Fallaw, PHD
  • The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
  • The One Thing by Gary Keller
  • The Power of a Positive No by William Ury
  • The Power of a Positive Team by Jon Gordon
  • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
  • The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow
  • The Power of the Pitch by Gary Hankins
  • The Pressure Principle by Dave Alred, MBC
  • The Prosperity Paradox by Clayton M. Christensen
  • The Real Crash by Peter D Schiff
  • The Real Life MBA by Jack & Suzy Welch
  • The Reckoning by John Grisham
  • The Release Golf’s Moment of Truth by Jim Hardy
  • The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
  • The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
  • The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey
  • The Seven Powers of Success by Charles Marshall
  • The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
  • The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
  • The Simple Truth by Alex Brennan-Martin & Larry Taylor
  • The Social Animal by David Brooks
  • The Soul of America: The Battle for our Better Angels by Jon Meacham
  • The Subtle Art of Not Fiving a F*ck by Mark Manson
  • The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
  • The Third Wave by Steven Case
  • The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
  • The Turnaround Kid, What I learned Rescuing Americas Most Troubled Companies by Steve Miller
  • The Ultimate Question 2.0 by Fred Reichheld
  • The War of Art by Steve Pressfield
  • The Way of the Seal by Mark Divine
  • The Weekly Coaching Conversation by Brian Souza
  • The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts
  • The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to inspire, engage and wow! by Joseph Michelli.
  • Things that Matter by Charles Krauthammer
  • Think like a freak by Levitt and Dubner
  • Thermostat Cultures by Jason V. Barger
  • Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict/Armen Keteyian
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History by Lawrence Levy
  • Trading Up, The New American Luxury by Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske
  • Leadership by Randy Dobson
  • Tribal Leadership by Logan, King and Wright
  • Tribes by Seth Godin
  • Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle
  • Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn & Chris Widener
  • Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand
  • Unified by Tim Scott & Trey Gowdy
  • Walk the Talk by Eric Harvey and Al Lucia
  • What Great Brands Do by Denise Yohn
  • When by Daniel Pink
  • When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss
  • When the Game Stands Tall by Neil Hayes
  • Who Moved My Cheese by Spenser Johnson
  • Wine Bible by Karen McNeil
  • Winning by Jack Welch
  • Every Day by Lou Holtz
  • Winning with People by John Maxwell
  • Wooden by John Wooden and Steve Jamison
  • You are a BAD ASS by Jen Sincero
  • Younger Next Year by Dr. Harry Lodge and Chris Crowley
  • Your Short Game Solution by James Sieckmann
  • Zen Golf by Dr. Joseph Parent