The Books That Shaped Our Coaching Business
“Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.”
―Ben Okri
We’ve built a real estate coaching business we’re proud of. Did we build it overnight? No. We’re continually learning, growing, and building our castle of possibilities. We seek the guidance of knowledgeable people, coaches, mentors, speakers, educators, and authors to shape and mold our systems and processes. We use their expertise to challenge our thinking and refine various business elements.
We’re also big fans of books, both paper and audio types. We plan to do some reading over our upcoming spring break and hope you’ll find our recommended reading list timely, too.
This list of books exemplifies the principles we believe top real estate agents and real estate team leaders should consider building their businesses around.
MarRecommended by Bill:
Atomic Habits, James Clear
The simple structure of habit creation… the things that get in our way… maximizing efficiency and productivity… how to start doing things we don’t necessarily want to do.
The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni
Essentially a summary of all of Lencioni’s key ideas. The process for building a structurally solid business. A blueprint, of sorts, for how to build/lead a team.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
How ideas spread… historical instances of how little things can make big differences… helpful in considering multiple approaches to gaining mindshare within the database, and how to tailor marketing messages.
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell
A practical approach to developing leadership skills. The book’s structure lends itself to pre-testing skills, creating a growth/action plan around the gaps, and then taking a post-test. I find myself referring to this book often.
Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio
Decision-making models from arguably one of the most successful investors of our time.
The Big Short, Michael Lewis
The most thorough and entertaining explanation of what really happened to trigger the Great Recession.
Rocket Fuel, Gino Wickman, and Mark C. Winters
The importance of visionaries and integrators and how they co-exist to build teams/businesses.
The Road Less Stupid, Keith J. Cunningham
The framework for thinking better, along with questions to continuously be asking ourselves. The main premise of the book is that we make unforced errors by moving too fast, not thinking, or not thinking clearly enough.
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Dr. Peter Attia
This one is new to my list. While not technically a business book, it fully supports my belief of everything being an inside-out approach. Suppose we can increase both our lifespan and our health span. In that case, the journey to do so creates a massive amount of internal energy (and/or protects us from the physical challenges that rob our energy). Therefore we have more energy (and time) to give to our businesses.
Recommended by Debbie:
$100M Offers, Alex Hormozi
If you want to learn how to take your business to the next level, this book will teach you how to construct a grand slam offer. How to get people to say ‘yes’…for fewer advertising dollars…at higher prices…on your first try.
Who Not How, Dan Sullivan
The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork. When we want something done, we’ve been trained to ask ourselves: “How can I do this?” Well, there is a better question to ask. One that unlocks a whole new world of ease and accomplishment. Expert coach Dan Sullivan knows the question we should ask instead: “Who can do this for me?”
The Gap and the Gain, Dan Sullivan
Another Dan Sullivan favorite is the high achievers’ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success. Most people, especially highly ambitious people, are unhappy because of how they measure their progress. We all have an “ideal,” a moving target that is always out of reach. When we measure ourselves against that ideal, we’re in “the GAP.” However, when we measure ourselves against our previous selves, we’re in “the GAIN.” This book teaches that measuring our current selves against our former selves has tremendous psychological benefits.
The Heart of Laser-Focused Coaching, Marion Franklin
This book is for anyone who needs a boost in confidence and mastery as a mentor. It will enable you to produce sustained results for your mentees and enhance your ability to help them create profound change.
The 6 Habits of Growth, Brendon Burchard
The 6 Habits of Growth presents the tools you need to construct the life of your dreams. Full of practical examples and narrated by Brendon Burchard, The 6 Habits of Growth is an Audible Original designed to get you unstuck and headed in the right direction.
Think Again, Adam Grant
The power of knowing what you don’t know. Think Again reveals that we don’t have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. It’s an invitation to let go of views that no longer serve us well and prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz
This book offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the most challenging problems business school doesn’t cover. Ben Horowitz analyzes the daily problems confronting leaders, sharing the insights he’s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and supervising technology companies.
Your Next Five Moves, Patrick Bet-David
Both successful entrepreneurs and chess grandmasters have the vision to look at the pieces in front of them and anticipate their next five moves. In this book, Patrick Bet-David “helps entrepreneurs understand precisely what they must do next. Whether you feel like you’ve hit a wall, lost your fire, or are looking for innovative strategies to take your business to the next level, Your Next Five Moves has the answers.
The Go-Giver Leader, Bob Burg, and John David Mann
A little story about what matters most in business: this book emphasizes that the path to genuine influence lies less in taking leadership than giving it.
Exit Rich, Michelle Seiler Tucker & Sharon Lechter
Too many entrepreneurs push off planning for the sale of their business until the last moment. But for a business to sell for what it’s worth—or even more—owners need to prepare for the sale from the start. This is a must-have guide for all business owners—whether they’re gearing up to sell a business now or just getting started building out their company into something to sell for a profit in the future.
The Golden Handoff, Nick Krautter
How to buy and sell a real estate agent’s business. Great client relationships are worth a fortune in the real estate business. When agents retire, most of those fortunes are lost. This book offers a simple plan to exponentially grow your business by adopting hundreds of clients from agents when they retire. Do you want to retire but can’t just walk away? The Golden Handoff shows you how to pick the right agent to adopt your clients and ensure you have income for years.
Built To Sell, John Warrillow
Creating a business that can thrive without you. According to John Warrillow, entrepreneurs’ number one mistake is building a business that relies too heavily on them. Thus, when the time comes to sell, buyers aren’t confident that the company can stand on its own, even if it’s profitable.
The Ultimate Blueprint For An Insanely Successful Business, Keith J. Cunningham
On the financial side of the business, author Keith J. Cunningham believes that small business owners have repeatedly made a faulty assumption, and this assumption is killing them: Get big to get rich. A better question would be: What did the big guys do that caused the success that allowed them to get big? This book teaches you the strategies that will give you optics and enhance your ability to see where you’re leaving money on the table and sabotaging your business.
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