Whether you need something to occupy you on a long plane flight or you notoriously stay up reading long past your bedtime, here is an eclectic list of books penned by YPO members and spouses/partners. From tackling the question of why ambitious people struggle to find satisfaction, to a thrilling tale of seduction, science and sabotage, and networking know-hows for success, you’re sure to find some great company in the pages of the following list of books.
Raised in a commune and now a seasoned multi-exit entrepreneur, YPO member Seth Buechley tackles the plaguing question of why ambitious people struggle to find satisfaction. In his book, “AMBITION: Leading with Gratitude,” Buechley’s perspective shines through his candid and direct insights into the advantages and disadvantages of ambition, explaining how driven personalities face disappointment when they don’t achieve their grand visions and disillusionment when they do, no matter how large they win. He presents a simple framework for achieving the three things every leader wants: To reach for their potential, to impact their world and to leave a legacy. “Gratitude treatments are most effective in those who are least grateful,” he explains. “This book promises ambitious people they really can find satisfaction, but it’s not found on the other side of achievement, it’s found on the other side of gratitude.”
“Networking Know-How: Connecting for Success” gives everyone a foundation for becoming a brilliant networker. Being excellent at networking is the essential skill for personal and career success, whether going after a dream job, branching out and starting a business or simply meeting new people. “In my book, I take a look at the good and bad of networking and how you can get the best results for your business while having fun at the same time,” says YPO member Zoe Cunningham. With a clear and practical goal-oriented approach, Cunningham’s book will show you how to become an amazing networker. Packed full of tried and tested techniques and secrets from some of the United Kingdom’s most successful networkers, the book contains useful tools and real-life examples of people who have used networking to secure their dream jobs, make career moves, grow their business or even find their life partner, to those who network and connect people professionally for a living.
Mitzi and Doug Ecklund’s company — and lives together — were at a crossroads. They had signed a deal that would turn their six-location cellular company into a 25-store multimarket organization in just 12 months. The growth and stress almost ruined everything. That’s when Ecklund and his team stumbled onto a simple solution that profoundly improved the lives of both their families and employees. It also unexpectedly dropped their staff turnover rate from 86 percent to 26 percent in a single year. “’The 9 a.m. Meeting: A High-Impact Approach to Making Work Meaningful, Energizing Employees, And Taming The Turnover Tiger’ is not only a study on getting employees to come alive and the cost of turnover,” explains Ecklund. “It is a great ‘gut check’ for business leaders who maybe needs to take a look inside as to why they are doing what they are doing. Does the way you invest your time align with what you want people lined up thanking you for at the end of your life?”
YPO member Robert Gardner believes that teaching our children and grandchildren to be financially responsible is more important than ever, especially when our money-saving habits are formed by the age of seven. That is why he wrote his latest children’s book, “Save Your Acorns” that tells the story of Oliver and Amelia as their grandfather teaches them the importance of saving. “My dream is to transform people’s financial future from hoping for the best to knowing what to do and I believe that we can achieve this by focusing on education and collaboration, which is why he wrote the book,” explains Gardner. He is the Founder of Redington, a leading U.K. pensions consultancy whose goal is to make 100 million people financially secure, by empowering individuals, trustees and companies to make better decisions.
“So You’re in the Family Business . . . A Guide to Sustainability” is a comprehensive manual on how to navigate the common problems that may arise within a family business. YPO member Paul Karofsky co-authored the book with his son and uses real case studies to demonstrate effective and ineffective communication styles as they relate to family members in business together. The father-son team covers the subjects of intergenerational communication, decision-making, succession planning, and passing the baton onto the next generation. “Having lived it, I know family enterprises can be minefields,” says Karofsky. “This is a quick read with real-life tales that allows you to learn from the successes and failures of your peers.”
In a world where knowledge is king, the web never sleeps and competitive challenge increases exponentially, YPO member Rob Rodin shows you how to prepare for the three insatiable demands of today’s customers: they want their product or service free, they want it perfect, and they want it now. “Free, Perfect and Now” examines how and why you need to respond to the current competitive challenges or risk losing your customers to competitors who are discovering new ways to sell your product or service cheaper, better and faster than you’ve ever imagined. “I share, in detail, methods and approaches that include internet strategies, technology, compensation, customer service, go-to market and management techniques that I used to scale my company from USD250 million to over USD2 billion and quadrupled its value,” says Rodin.
Prussian aristocrat Lili von Rittersburg zu Mertz-Tärnekow has put three ideals on a pedestal: her father, her music and Adolf Hitler. One of them is about to fall from favor. “Fatherland,” written by Karen Schur-Narula, portrays the Third Reich from an unusual and disturbing perspective. Yet Lili’s journey through it raises questions that are relevant to everyone, in every age. “This book was 12 years in the making,” says Schur-Narula, “but it comes at an appropriate time in the world’s current political landscape. The novel explores conditions under which individuals in societies turn to extreme leadership for change.”
In a thrilling tale of seduction, science and sabotage, the part-romance, part-suspense novel, “Fireworks and Fertility” by Macye Maher follows Julia Holland as she struggles to oversee a tumultuous national merger of the nation’s best fertility clinics and resolve a series of strange incidents that lead her to discover her true identity. This is a debut novel for Maher, who is the owner of Live Water Properties, a brokerage firm that specializes in hunting, ranching, fly fishing and conservation properties.
