Cydcor encourages ongoing education and professional development. It’s one of our core values.

Once we’re out of school we often abandon it altogether. And that’s too bad. Because if you want to get noticed at work you need to keep cracking the books—or tablet, smartphone, or headphones—whichever device works for you.

We’ve made personal developmental whole lot easier for you this fall by providing a reading business-focused reading list. There are lots of interesting ideas here that will improve your approach to work and your experiences in life. We’re looking at the big picture and that includes the whole person.

If you don’t like to read alone consider creating a book club at work for those eager to work on their skills too. Invite your coworkers, team members, mentors, bosses, supervisor, manager, and assistants to join the club. Try to arrange a meeting in person before work for coffee and conversation—when everyone is bright eyed.

Now it’s time to start studying. Check out this list:

To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink

Pink teaches skills that will improve your sales technique and empower you to get others to take action. Develop a better understanding of negotiation, persuasion, and how to pitch.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Duhigg is a New York Times business reporter who investigates scientific research revealing why we have habits and how we can change them. He brings a deep understanding to the study of human nature and personal transformation. Read Cydcor's review of this title here.

The 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling by Jeffery Gitomer

Selling is easy but it takes hard work to be good at it. Gitomer values optimism in his approach to sales. He’ll teach you to craft a positive attitude that wins people over.

Life is What You Make It by Peter Buffet

Warren Buffett’s son, Peter, is an Emmy-winning songwriter and musician. He may have grown up around great wealth but it was never promised to him. He writes about his life journey and the core beliefs about choosing to do good in your work life and in your personal life.

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier

The authors have some great insight in new strategies for approaching work with a better, faster, easier way to succeed: doing the work and avoid the distractions. It’s a great read for people with an entrepreneurial spirit who want to accomplish great things in their organizations, but also have dreamt of being able to do it on their own.

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk

You need a social media expert like Vaynerchuk to learn how to connect with today’s customers. Your social media message has to be engaging and correctly prepared for specific social media platforms. This book will teach you how tell a good story that wins customers.

Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan

Explore the positive power of meditation and learn how to train your attention, develop self-awareness, and form new paths that lead toward wisdom and success. Chade-Meng Tan was one of Google’s first engineers. Not your typical meditation advocate.

The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker

Drucker teaches us that an executive has the ability to get the right things done. Learn the importance of innovation, entrepreneurship, and management for the thoughtful executive. It may have been written in the 1960s but its message still rings true.

Cydcor also has a website dedicated to the latest business book reviews. Check out cydcorreviews.com for more recommendations on business books for personal development.

About StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath

Most people like to focus on fixing their weaknesses instead of making the most out of their strengths. To help people uncover their talents, the research-based management-consulting group Gallup introduced the first version of its StrengthsFinder online assessment in 2001. StrengthsFinder helped millions find out where they truly stood out. Its sequel, StrengthsFinder 2.0, unveils a new and improved version of the popular assessment. Although it can be read once to learn a few new things, it’s a great guidebook to continually refer to for career growth. The book is full of strategies for applying a person’s strengths professionally and personally. StrengthsFinder 2.0 is an approach by scientists to provide readers with a tool to identify their strengths--or more precisely, their talents. Author Tom Rath leads readers into their journey of becoming the best they can be.

Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this to future leaders:

If StrengthsFinder 2.0 will do anything for a reader, it’s pinpointing the things that a person does well and the skills they can continue to grow. The combination of dissecting these talents and the development of a plan of action works relatively well. An interesting point that Rath makes is that talent multiplied by investment will equal more strength. This means that investing in the things that we do well will make us better professionals. But finding out these strengths is not the end of the journey. It’s up to the reader to further develop other areas that may need improvement. This is an easy recommendation for any future leader who wants to use the things they know about themselves to discover what other qualities lie beneath.

Our favorite part:

When it comes to books that require you to take a test to determine the best way to read it, the test always needs to be worthwhile to take. The online test that StrengthsFinder 2.0 provides can open readers’ eyes and helps them start their improvement. The book will help you find your strengths and the best way you can apply them. Although the test is essential to reading the book, which may not appeal to some readers, it can still open up doors to understanding the way you work and give you ideas on ways to apply your strengths. It can help managers, business professionals, and future leaders tenfold.

About Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves

Professionals are always on the lookout for new ways to be better co-workers, managers, and employees. Today’s world is fast-paced, and competition is fierce. The best and most effective tools allow others to manage, adapt, and get ahead of the pack.

One of these tools is emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence allows a person to recognize their own emotions and differentiate between feelings and behavior. Your EQ (emotional quotient) is the foundation for a large number of soft skills that include flexibility, time management, trust, anger management, and change tolerance. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 delivers a step-by-step program for increasing their emotional quotient and enabling a person to achieve their fullest potential.

Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this to future leaders:

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 has a self-contained, step-by-step program to determine your current level of EQ, while also providing suggestions on how to improve it. You will learn what may be holding you back and which of the book's strategies can help increase your emotional intelligence the most. This is the kind of book you’re looking for if you need both diagnosis and treatment options. Bradberry and Greaves do an excellent job of helping readers discover their strengths and find strategies that work on their weaknesses. It also provides a quick online assessment that can help you see where you currently stand on emotional intelligence.

Our favorite part:

The step-by-step program for increasing emotional intelligence through four core skills can be quite valuable. These skills include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. The book’s single purpose is to increase emotional intelligence, and this is the perfect place to start. The chapter “The Big Picture” explains what EQ is and what it is not, while also giving tips to manage stress and increase your tolerance for change. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 gives abundant and practical insights to ensure readers can follow along and improve their emotional intelligence skills.

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About Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

What most people typically do to be productive does not work as well as it used to. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the best ways for people to figure out a system that works for them. His advice has helped thousands of people across the country since the book was first published in 2002. Allen's method isn’t difficult to understand: productivity is strongly tied to how well we can relax. The key to freeing up more time for leisure and bettering ourselves is to have a clear mind, unleashing our creative potential. Allen has created an excellent guide on taking the right steps to getting back on track.

Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this to future leaders:

Although it will take some discipline and determination to make real changes to productivity, Getting Things Done is a great starting point. From core principles to proven tricks, this book can transform the way a person does their job from day-to-day. It shows the best ways to pick up the pace without exhausting yourself. The more meaningful points of the book deal with reassessing goals, staying focused in new environments, planning projects the correct way, overcoming anxiety when overwhelmed, and positively accepting what is currently going on. This is an excellent read for business professionals looking for more control of their daily life, and it lays the groundwork for being an excellent leader.

Our favorite part:

If there’s anything to take away from Getting Things Done, it’s that every task, promise, or assignment has a place and a time. With everything organized in its own space, you feel more in control and can replace the time spent on anxiety with effective and timely effort. This in turn can lead to more accomplishments and growth as pressure starts to fall. Allen gives down-to-earth advice for anyone who wants to truly be more constructive. This book may not be for everyone, but many leaders can walk away with learning a few new things. Applying these rules can lead to a much more stress-free day.

Welcome to Cydcor Reviews, a website dedicated to recommending interesting and insightful books to business professionals wolrdwide.

About First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt W. Coffman

Managers come in all shapes and sizes, and everyone has their own style of doing things to reach their goals. No manager is the same as any other, but many managers share the same traits: the ability to break any past rules and try new ways of thinking to reach the results they want. Marcus Buckingham and Curt W. Coffman have put together a book based on a study by the Gallup Organization made up of 80,00 managers in 400 different companies. Their findings present an enormous, in-depth study of great management, including those who did well at turning employee talent into real performance.

The main point found in First, Break all the Rules is that the key to attracting and retaining the best employees is excellent management. This book explains how the best managers use the talent of employees to set the bar for skills and experience, create clear expectations, and motivate and develop people to their full potential.

Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this to future leaders:

Management is difficult to narrow down to a set of guidelines and best practices. Often, what works at one company doesn’t work everywhere else. This book presents a firm belief in an excellent principle of management that works: focus on the strengths of people to achieve the wanted results. Building a perfect team from scratch usually doesn't work because it’s difficult to find the right people for the right role. First-line managers are the key to an organization’s success. They are the vital link between company shareholders and employees. What separates a great manager from a mediocre manager is the ability to recognize and develop talented individuals right from the initial point of employment. Buckingham and Coffman do an excellent job of conveying their study’s findings in a way that is easy to understand but still insightful.

Our favorite part:

The essence of the data found in this book forms the four keys of great managers. These key points state that managers must find the correct match between talent and roles, turn talent into performance, concentrate on strengths and not on weaknesses, and assign roles to employees that give them the greatest chance of success. First, Break All the Rules also dives into the 12 questions that give organizations the information they need to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees. The authors group these questions into various categories and explain why they are important to keep in mind.

About Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek

The world today contains many people who do not feel fulfilled or valued in their job. Fortunately, there are many great leaders who are creating environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things. While traveling the world, Simon Sinek noticed that some teams have built a great deal of trust, so much that they would put their lives on the line for each other. He also noticed that great leaders sacrifice their own comfort—even their own survival, such as in the military—for the good of those in their care. Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories, from the military to manufacturing, from government to investment banking. When it matters most, leaders who are willing to eat last are rewarded with deeply loyal colleagues. These are the people leaders should be looking for because they stop at nothing to look out for their leader’s, and company’s, vision.

Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this to future leaders:

Sinek explores the unique ability for leaders to work with others and make things happen. This book has the potential to reframe the way people look at business as a whole. The leader plays a service role in their group by protecting it from external threats while still nurturing it. Sinek also explores the emotions that are essential for leaders to connect with. To do this, the book serves as a scientific study on the chemistry that is necessary for good management. It’s a worthy guidebook to navigating the road to becoming a better leader.

Our favorite part:

Although it’s difficult to pick the most outstanding part, there are a few chapters that will stick with most people. In Chapter 8 (“The Ceramic Cup”) Sinek deeply explores the meaning of a speech that the Under Secretary of Defense gave regarding the perks of a rank you receive and that they are meant for the position and not the person. The final chapter, titled “Becoming a Leader,” gives a final bit of advice on getting the ball rolling to become an effective leader.

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About In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.

First published in 1982, In Search of Excellence is one of the best selling business books of all time, selling nearly 3 millions copies in its first four years. The book continues to be influential for business professionals and is considered a classic. In this book, Peters and Waterman, Jr. explore the science and art used by the management of some of the most successful companies of the 1980s. By examining how companies such as Boeing and The Walt Disney Co. were able to be innovative and excel, this book puts strategies that work for management in the forefront.

Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this to future leaders:

The book is an excellent recommendation for anyone in business management. Many people have called In Search of Excellence the most influential business book in the last 20 years. The bulk of the book focuses on 43 companies thought to be excellent at the time. Although this book was written more than thirty years ago, many of the points Peters and Waterman, Jr. make about excellent companies make are still relevant. Great companies struggle to remain on top over an extended period of time, but the excellent ones succeed. This is a good foundational read to build skills based on what it takes to be a company of excellence.

Our favorite part:

This book lays out the eight characteristics of excellent companies that readers can follow along with. These characteristics include a bias for action, close to the customer, autonomy and entrepreneurship, productivity through people, hands-on and values driven, stick to the knitting, simple form and lean staff, and simultaneous loose-tight properties. These eight characteristics are all still relevant today, and many companies still have difficulty implementing them. After the book was such a success, Peters went on to become a star in the field of management entertaining. This speaks volumes to how much of an effect this book had on subsequent business-oriented books.

As the halfway mark for 2015 approaches, it’s time to reflect on the best business books that have been released so far this year!

For more business book recommendations, check out Cydcor Reviews!

Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World by Peter H. Diamandis

Bold is an exciting how-to guide on creating wealth while still having a positive effect on lives around the world. The book is divided into three parts: part one is about technology that is allowing entrepreneurs to run their companies faster than ever. Part two focuses on psychology and insights from billionaire entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson and Elon Musk. Finally, the book closes with opportunities to make the most of the connectivity between people today.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams

An autobiography by Mr. Adams, this book covers how he went from constant failure to creating one of the most famous comic strips in the world—“Dilbert.” Adams shares his strategy for dealing with failure and how you can use it to your benefit. Advice regarding success and looking to others for inspiration allows any reader to see that failure doesn’t mean anything if you can bounce back.

Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo! by Nicholas Carlson

This is a book that covers the inside story of how Marissa Mayer became Yahoo!’s CEO in 2010, as well as her desperate fight to save one of the internet’s biggest icons. Mayer’s story is an inspirational one, showing that reinvigorating a tech company for modern times is possible if the right person is selected for the job.

No One Understands You and What to Do About It by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Have you ever felt you’re not getting through to the person you’re talking to or not coming across the way you intend? There are a few things to help with that. Heidi Grant Halvorson is a social psychologist and bestselling author who explains why we’re often misunderstood and how we can fix it.

I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam

Instead of relying on scattered stories, time management expert Laura Vanderkam set out to add hard data from women willing to share their work habits. Overall, the women worked less and slept more than they assumed they did. They made time for things that made them happy, fitting the pieces together like a puzzle. They focused on having a balance with their schedules that wouldn’t eliminate flexibility and spontaneity. With examples from hundreds of real women, Vanderkam proves that you don’t have to give up on the things you really want to live a fulfilling life.

Here is Cydcor's review of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman.

About The Personal MBA:  This is a pocket version of what you would learn in business school.  Getting an MBA is a big commitment of both time and money.  One book can’t replace an education, but The Personal MBA provides tools and resources to get you in the right direction to become a successful business leader.  Josh Kaufman founded PersonalMBA.com as an alternative to the business school boondoggle. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. Now, he shares the essentials of entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, negotiation, operations, productivity, systems design, and much more, in one comprehensive volume.  The book argues that true leadership comes from self-driven individuals and not from school.

Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders because:  It explains the big concepts of navigating both the corporate world and the path of entrepreneurship.  These concepts include The Iron Law of The Market (being limited to the size of your market and how to identify large, unsaturated ones), The 12 Forms of Value (many ways to create value for customers), The Pricing Uncertainty Principle (knowing how to support charging more), and 4 Methods to Increase Revenue (the ways in which you can earn more money for your business).  The book covers the nuts and bolts of running a company, large or small.

Our favorite part: Kaufman provides a long list of examples of people who did not need an MBA to succeed in business.  Quotes from prominent businessmen to motivate you is also a great help, and when you want more information, the book also contains a list of the “99 Best Business Books” for further learning.

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