Entrepreneur Brad Feld recently posted his top three reads for entrepreneurs with this twist -- books that have made an impact on his life, or could help shape a starting entrepreneur. His list of three books included Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. He describes his rationale for the three in his blog post.
Feld's post made me think about the business I'm operating, and where some of the core principles and guidelines I've adopted for Floricane may have been born. Here's my quick take, not ordered in any specific manner, except that they're mostly not about leadership or business.
The Answer to How Is Yes by Peter Block - If you know me at all, you know that Peter Block and Charlie Seashore did more to shape my perspectives on leadership, culture and community in three and five days respectively than any other guides on my journey. The gist of Peter's thinking is that when we begin to consider a new path, we might want to begin by avoiding old questions.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Strangely enough, I didn't read this one in high school. I read it in a hotel room in France one rainy spring night, and I think it was more powerful at the age of 34 than it would have been when I was 17. It's essentially a book about kindness, which is one of the more transformational gifts we have to offer each other.
Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas: Of all the books about Robert Kennedy I've read, Thomas' had the most profound impact on my thinking about community and service, and about the ability of an individual to discover the best version of themselves. Kennedy is mercurial, contradictory and (by the end of his life) so easy to love as a man and an icon. He's an example of how courage, risk and self-doubt can combine to create an energy that can shift worlds.
That's just three. There are 300 more where those came from. What books have shifted you?