Lynette Pretorius shared a picture of the books she was reading on a LinkedIn post. She made the point that only two of ten books in her pile were by women. Then she stated, “I’m committing the reading at least three books by women every month for the rest of the year.” But she needed some recommendations. Surprise … I had a few.
My List of Great Business Books by Women
The authors and titles below are in the same order as I listed them in Lynette’s post, and I’ve added a few. Also, that list was somewhat random –
- Sandra Kurtzig – CEO: Building a $400 Million Company from the Ground Up (one of my all-time favorites)
- Cynthia Cooper – Extraordinary Circumstances (her only book, and it’s one of the best in narrative non-fiction I’ve read)
- Patty McCord – Powerful (you won’t just read it once)
- Erin Callan – Full Circle (challenging message and someone I wish I could meet)
- Katherine Graham – Personal History (brilliant)
- Raegan Moya-Jones – What it Takes (Inspiring)
- Bolanle Williams-Olley – Build Boldly (put at the top of your list – not only does she have a brilliant mind, but a beautiful heart)
- Stacey Barr – all books and her blog – but only if you care about business transformation
- Brene Brown – Dare to Lead (on many Top Lists)
- Christina Wodtke – Radical Focus and The Team That Managed Itself are phenomenal
- Kirsten Grind – I’ve read both of her books – great journalist, great narrative non-fiction writer
- Elena Botelho – The CEO Next Door – this book is ridiculously underrated
- Angela Duckworth – Grit
- Karla Starr – Making Numbers Count
- Rita McGrath – any book she’s written, but Seeing Around Corners is my favorite
- Doris Kearns Goodwin – while not a business writer, many of my clients including myself are inspired by the leadership content she writes which is especially revealed in Team of Rivals
- Liz Wiseman – my favorite is Rookie Smarts
- Edith Penrose – The Theory of the Growth of the Firm (it’s heavy reading, but belongs on every business student’s shelf)
- Carolyn Dewar – CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest
- Patty Civalleri – Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys
- Tiffany Couch – The Thief In Your Company
- Nancy Finley – Finley Ball
- Shannon Susko – Metronome Growth Systems
- Judy Johnson – SwitchPoints (my rebound book after reading Railroader)
- Jean Cunningham – Real Numbers (I’m forever thankful she let me interview her even though she was already retired – she belongs in a CFO Hall of Fame)
- Lora Cecere – Supply Chain Metrics That Matter (she is the best expert in this field)
- Katherine Gehl – The Politics Industry
- Amy Bruske – Business is Business: Reality Checks for Family-Owned Companies (such a class act and someone I’ve met in person – great leader)
- Stacey Perman – In-N-Out Burger – loved this book, and I hope to interview her in the future
- Dr. Natalie Petouhoff – Empathy in Action (brilliant mind, great book)
Please forgive me if I missed your book. These are books I own, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten several dozen more.
If you have some names, I’ll add them and mention your name if you like.
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