Work and school are only part of the learning process. Augmenting the learning process with books and mentors increases the learning process, guides and helps you discover your passion and accelerates your individual growth. I was never a reader. As a matter of fact, I didn’t finish my first “real” book until after I graduated from college.

Now reading is a passion of mine and part of my weekly routine. I never formally asked anyone to mentor me. I simply bonded with several key people in my life, and I learned more from them than they can ever imagine. Find someone who inspires you and spend time with them. They are your mentors.

Selling:

  • Solution Selling: Bosworth
  • Spin Selling: Rackham
  • Getting to Yes: Fisher and Ury
  • Getting Past No: Ury

Passion:

  • Finding your North Star: Martha Beck
  • The Passion Test: Attwood and Attwood
  • Rhythm of Life: Matt Kelley

Basics:

  • 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Covey
  • Corporate Finance for Dummies
  • First Things First: Covey
  • Portable MBA in Marketing
  • Great General Business Books
  • The 80/20 Principle: Koch
  • Boundaries: Cloud
  • Drive: Pink
  • Outliers: Gladwell
  • Tipping Point: Gladwell
  • Blink: Gladwell
  • Built to Last: Collins
  • Good to Great: Collins
  • How the Mighty Fall: Collins
  • The Lean Startup: Ries
  • Blue Ocean Strategy: Kim

Classics

  • Foutainhead: Ayn Rand
  • Atlas Shrugged: Ayn Rand

  • Alan Frisoni: Growing up, my father didn’t speak to me about his business very often. However, during my entire childhood, I observed his tireless work ethic and a constant focus on building skill sets.
  • Trent Walker: Trent was my youth minister from high school, and I still keep in touch with him today. He taught me the value of building a personal relationship with people: believe and help people, and they will believe and help you. This is not something you force. It has to be genuine to the core of your being.
  • Herman B Wells: Herman was the legendary Chancellor of Indiana University. I had the good fortune of enjoying regular meetings with him in his office during my college career. Herman pushed me and motivated me to become a leader and all of the responsibility that goes with it. He saw and predicted what was in my future long before I even thought it was possible. Herman also taught me the importance of dreaming big dreams and then following those dreams.
  • Jeff Neppl: Jeff was one of my managers at Procter and Gamble and he was the first one that got me to believe in my own skill-set and that the sky was the limit for my career. He valued me so much working the grocery aisles that he brought me with him to a young tech company.
  • Rich Heise: Rich was the first person to give me a chance to make something of myself at a very early age. He provided me with an opportunity to make the most out of my skills and was always supportive. Rich has invested in many of the companies I have worked with over the past 16 years and has always been my first phone call to bounce a business idea off of.
  • Eric Lefkofsky:I had the great fortune to work alongside Eric for over 11 years. Eric understands that a business model will only get you so far and that it is all about execution. There is never a task too small for Eric, and he leads by example in all facets of business. He has an uncanny ability to take the most complex business problem and break it down to very simple steps. Eric is absolutely brilliant in his ability to tie many different departments and processes together for the common goal. The people who know me well know how much I hate business politics. I always love working with Eric because it is always black and white: if you do great work and get results, he loves you. Finally, Eric is a total winner and should be recognized as one of the brightest business minds of the 21st century.