Top 25 Management Books for Consultants (Part 2)

Reading books is the perfect way to absorb new information and expand your knowledge of any topic. Consulting is no different, and great management books can help set you apart as a consultant.

In part 1 of our “Top 25 Management Books for Consultants” article, we covered as many as fifteen management books. Today, in part 2, we will cover the remaining ten management books from our list.

Management Books for Consultants (Part 2)

And the countdown starts here!

#16. Your Strategy Needs a Strategy

When it comes to creating an effective business strategy, one size does not fit all. It’s essential to select the right strategic approach for your organization that meets its unique needs and goals.

In Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach by Martin Reeves, Knut Haanaes, and Janmejaya Sinha, the book offers key insights on how to choose and execute the right approach for your company.

The authors provide an in-depth look at how companies often blend strategic approaches in order to succeed, exploring the “two-speed” approach of balancing long-term objectives with more immediate needs.

Moreover, the book also offers insights on what goes into successful strategy execution and why leadership is so crucial in achieving a successful organizational outcome. By reading this book, you’ll be able to create a well-rounded business strategy that has the best chance of success.

#17. Rethink Everything

Rethink Everything: The Courage to Lead Differently by author Kristi H. Turner inspires readers to reconsider how they approach leadership. Drawing on her extensive professional experience and profound understanding of human behavior, the author provides innovative approaches to leading in any context.

By reflecting on the courage to challenge traditional paradigms, we can make dramatic breakthroughs that lead our teams to the next level of success and innovation.

With Turner’s thought-provoking guidebook, the book offers us a roadmap for creating a new pathway forward with our teams, – “teaching leaders how to step outside their comfort zone and think differently”.

This book is an invaluable resource for executives, managers, and entrepreneurs looking for creative solutions in modern leadership.

#18. Scaling People

Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building by Claire Hughes Johnson is an essential read for those in the business of building a successful enterprise.

Drawing from her experience as COO of Stripe, one of the world’s fastest-growing companies, Hughes Johnson offers insights on how to build an effective team at scale while maintaining accountability, transparency, openness and team dynamics.

She also discusses how techniques like data-driven decision making and account-based investments can lower organizational complexity while providing focus and growth.

This important book provides valuable lessons to leaders in any industry hoping to thrive in the face of challenging conditions and rapidly shifting markets.

#19. When Everyone Leads

When Everyone Leads: How the Toughest Challenges Get Seen and Solved, written by Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride, offers a look into how transformative communities approach leadership.

The book is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations create environments where everyone feels empowered as a leader—regardless of job title or hierarchy in an organization. With writing that is engaging and focused on real-world examples, this book explains the basics of collaborative leadership and provides you with key strategies for engaging a diverse set of stakeholders.

Using stories of people who have implemented these innovative approaches, this book shows readers how working together can make a difference in challenging times. When Everyone Leads will provide you with valuable insights and strategies to help solve today’s toughest problems.

#20. Dare to Lead

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown is a must read for any working professional looking to strengthen their leadership style. This powerful book delves into the unique challenges faced by modern day leaders and offers practical strategies and techniques for navigating them successfully.

From creating safe spaces for open dialogue to harnessing the power of vulnerability, readers will leave Dare to Lead with newfound insight into effective leadership practices that promote connection and bolster team spirit.

With compelling stories and examples from companies leading the pack, Dare to Lead is essential reading for anyone who aspires to be an admirable leader in today’s complex organizational structures.

#21. The Coaching Habit

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier is a must-have book for anyone looking to become a better leader.

Written by a renowned authority on coaching, this book offers seven simple and practical techniques to help you start having more meaningful conversations in the workplace that drive real results and ultimately improve performance.

Through this book, you will learn how to ask better questions, listen more actively, notice trends and recognize patterns, think critically and make decisions with more confidence.

With plenty of helpful tips and inspirational anecdotes from successful leaders in diverse industries, this is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to become a stronger leader.

#22. Good to Great

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins is a must-read for aspiring entrepreneurs, successful business owners, and everyone else who has an interest in understanding why some companies thrive under adversity while others falter.

Focusing on timeless principles for business success instead of increasingly outdated tactics, this book provides readers with an invaluable insight into the minds of great executives who lead from the front and unlock true potential in their team members.

With its emphasis on collaboration, communication, and utilizing assets most effectively at one’s disposal, Good to Great sets the bar as far as books on business are concerned. It’s no wonder that it remains a popular reference source almost two decades after its publication.

#23. The 80/20 Principle

The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less, written by Richard Koch, is a book that promises to revolutionize the way we look at workplace productivity and personal success.

By turning the way we think about “making the most” on its head and looking not just for efficiency but rather focusing on importance, Koch outlines an approach that allows reader to unlock their latent potential, be it in work or their relationships with others.

Through specific case studies and real life examples, readers are walked step-by-step through how this principle can be applied in any field to maximize success while minimizing time and effort. This book is a must read for anyone looking to make more of what they have in every area of life.

#24. Start with Why

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek is an inspiring and thought-provoking read. It takes a deep dive into understanding the “why,” rather than simply the “what.”

It examines the role of great leaders in inspiring others through their compelling visions of how things could be. The book is full of examples where motivating people and working collaboratively has brought about truly amazing results.

The ideas in this book are especially pertinent today as companies strive to rise above cutthroat competition, create innovative products and services, retain talent, appeal to customers, and stay ahead in the changing global environment.

Start with Why is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to get inspired and learn from some of the world’s greatest leaders.

#25. Smart Consulting Sourcing

Smart Consulting Sourcing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting The Best ROI From Your Consulting by Hélène Laffitte and Laurent Thomas is an indispensable guide for anyone looking to maximize the return on their consulting investments.

With in-depth insights into the ever-shifting landscape of consulting, this guide will help navigate sourcing and managing standalone projects more effectively. It features valuable advice on how to save 30%-50% through activation of key levers, whilst redirecting focus from savings to value creation.

Through utilizing the digital disruption of consulting and procurement, this invaluable guide can help identify cost savings that may have previously been overlooked.

Get started today with Smart Consulting Sourcing to transform your organization’s approach to consultancy – saving millions in costs and generating extra value.

Closing Thoughts

With the 25 management books offered in Parts 1 and 2, we have determined them to be essential resources for consultants. Each book offers a unique perspective on how to stay sharp and adjust accordingly in the ever-changing business world.

Managers need to understand their complex environment and be capable of adapting, something these books help them begin to accomplish. We recommend that any consultant take the time to read these books; they hold the key to staying ahead of the curve within their respective business industries.

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