First, let me say that I love many of John Maxwell’s books. I have purchased multiple copies of several of John’s books for staff and friends, including The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader within you, and Developing the Leaders around you. Having said that, The 360 Leader wasn’t my favorite Maxwell book. It was too drawn out. I think if you read Bill Hybel’s Chapter on the 360 Leader in Courageous Leadership you’ll get the gist of it. If I was in middle management of an organization (as I once was), I think the book would have … Read More

I heard so much about The Dip by Seth Godin that I had to go buy it. Small book, but a powerful message: When is quitting the best thing to do? When is quitting the worst thing to do? I won’t ruin the book, but needless to say it applies to most people in any area of life. I see myself recommending this book to a lot of people. Ben has a series of posts on how The Dip translates into the world of church planting.

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki is a great read. Very insightful. To the point. Most books are 50 pages too long. This one was just right. The book is about starting a company, but there are chapters that are universal to anyone who deals with people in any organization. The art of bootstrapping – you don’t need tons of money to do something great. “Bootstrap it” or make it work with a little. This chapter alone is why guys who come from big churches fail in church planting. They don’t have tons of money to throw at … Read More

Leadership on the Line by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linksy was a really good read. It deals with the realities of leadership and the challenges that leaders face. I know a lot of leadership books make this claim, but this book gets to the reasons why we lead, the motivations of our heart, how to not lose yourself in your role, and how to get out of your role and see the big picture. There’s so much I could write about this book, but I’ll give you a few of my favorite quotes: – “Leadership is about disturbing people – … Read More

Since we’ve hit the All-Star break for Major League Baseball (which the Red Sox have the best record in the game), I thought I’d share the all-star books that I’ve read so far this year. Honestly, I’ve several good books, but only 3 blew me away as all-stars: 1. The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan 2. The Feiner Points of Leadership by Michael Feiner 3. Cut to the Chase by Stuart Levine If you read something amazing this year, let me know…