Every week we feature three inspirational, educational and motivational books as selected by some of Canada’s top business executives. From Steve Jobs to Where the Wild Things Are, these reads have played an important role in shaping the minds and careers of these influential thought leaders. It would be an understatement to say reading is integral to success, so we’ve put together a list of three books you should read before your next big endeavour.
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Collective Impact by John Kania & Mark Kramer
Hands down, my favourite quick-reads are published in the SSIR. It’s chalk full of new ideas that help to energize a weekly meeting, or generate some interesting conversations at a cocktail party. Collective Impact is all about a process that suggests large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination. Unfortunately, most of the time, people and organizations operate in silos, something that inhibits team work and the realization of social outcomes. This philosophy translates any job, business, or social issue. This is a must read for the up-and-coming executive.
– James Temple, Director of Corporate Responsibility for PwC
Good to Great – Jim Collins
Through an extensive study of the Fortune 500 companies, the Good to Great team looks at what separates a handful of companies from their direct competitors in allowing them to outperform their peers. There are some great principals that are highlighted that I have found very helpful in structuring the start-up companies that I have been involved with. I would easily put this on my must-read book list for executives.
– Paul Horton, Founder, Remodal and CNG Solutions
Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz
I read it before I opened the first Freshii seven years ago and used a yellow hilighter to underline sections that I considered to be important. One year later (and one year after operating Freshii), I read the book again – this time with a green hilighter. It was amazing how different my interpretations were and how many new sections I considered to be crucial and hilighted the second time around.
– Matthew Corrin, Founder, Freshii
