Leaders Are Readers: The Books That Inspired Six Entrepreneurs To Succeed

The leap of faith

It was a kids' book that motivated Cara Holland founder and director of Graphic Change to launch her own company. ‘The Dot’ by Peter Reynolds is an inspirational tale about believing in yourself and inspiring and mentoring others. It resonated with Holland, who first encountered the title when she was a social worker working with adolescents and young people. She had ambitions to be a business owner but was plagued by self-doubt and concerns about not being suitable enough.

Thirteen years later, Holland has worked with some significant names, published her very own work, Draw a Better Business, and when she is teaching people, still carries her copy of The Dot to share her audiences.

Several years ago Mike Peates, director of CBD startup Medivita, established a chocolate company Chocolat Chez Moi. As it started heading into a more corporate setting with printed, stamped chocolates, he recognized that the title of his brand had to be changed, and took some influence from ‘A Book About Innocent: Our Story and Some Things We've Learned’.

Feel the fear and do it anyway

Ruth Oldfield launched her boutique coffee business Coffee & Kin with her husband several years ago. A self-confessed procrastinator, Oldfield found ‘The 5 Second Rule’ by Mel Robbins extremely valuable in defeating her hesitation to do specific responsibilities.

Aligning your organization with your vision

One of the most important challenges for entrepreneurs is building a company that’s not only aligned with their vision but also experienced, inspired, and self-sufficient. When Lily Simpson, founder, and CEO of Detox Kitchen, had grown her organization over 30 people, she found it harder to bring out the best in each employee. Then she studied ‘One Minute Manager’ by Kenneth Blanchard.

Doing more with less

Christine Telyan, CEO and co-founder of the global tech company UENI, is a big fan of Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. The account is of the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane who disputes the commonly held understanding about what abilities an athlete requires to win baseball games. By recognizing a diverse set of talents that more affluent teams weren’t watching for he could hire great, underused athletes with a modest budget.

Strong leadership

‘Good to Great’ by Jim C. Collins is prominently featured amongst the listings of leadership writings that have motivated thriving entrepreneurs, including David Brudö, CEO and co-founder of mental health and personal improvement platform Remente. He was hit by the text’s focus on strength-based leadership instead of a more problem-oriented strategy and how this is connected to success.

The book also includes a developmental chart illustrating how leaders can accelerate the growth from level one to level five.

Read the source article at forbes.com

Starting a business can be a lonely experience and when things aren’t going to plan entrepreneurs often turn to their bookshelf for inspiration. Most have a favorite book that has helped them overcome a specific challenge and these six business owners share the titles that set their startups on course for success.

It was a children’s book that inspired Cara Holland founder and director of Graphic Change, to start her own business. ‘The Dot’ by Peter Reynolds is an inspiring story about believing in yourself and encouraging and nurturing others. It resonated with Holland, who first discovered the book when she was a social worker working with children and young people. She had aspirations to be an entrepreneur but was beset by insecurity and imposter syndrome, and worries about not being good enough.

Read the source article at forbes.com