VBA’s Reading List

At VBA we believe professional development is important.  In order to help you in your own professional development, here are a list of books we recommend.

Emotional Development and IQ

  1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People– Stephen R. Covey, Simon & Schuster, NY
  2. Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition; Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (2005) & Working with Emotional Intelligence (2000)– Daniel Goleman, Bantam Books
  3. The EQ Edge – Steven J. Stein, PhD, Howard E. Book, MD
  4. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office (2004)– Lois Frankel, PhD
  5. The Feminine Mistake– Leslie Bennetts, Voice
  6. Who Moved My Cheese – Spencer Johnson, Putnam Press
  7. The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
  8. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (how people make decisions in the first seconds of seeing something – author of The Tipping Point)
  9. Zen and the Art of Happiness– Chris Prentiss or How Full Is Your Bucket – Tom Rath & Donald Clifton
  10. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful – Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter
  11. Drive – Daniel Pink
  12. Strengths Finder – Tom Rath
  13. True North – Bill George, Peter Sims, David Gergen
  14. Our Iceberg is Melting – John Kotter
  15. Gender Intelligence: Breakthrough Strategies for Increasing Diversity and Improving Your Bottom Line – Barbara Ahnis and Keith Merron

Communication Skills

  1. Handbook of Veterinary Communication Skills – Carol Gray & Jenny Moffett, Wiley-Blackwell
  2. The One Minute Manager– Ken Blanchard, Spencer Johnson, William Morrow & Company, Inc.
  3. Putting the One Minute Manager to Work– Ken Blanchard, Robert Lorber, The Berkeley Publishing Group, NY
  4. Kidding Ourselves – Rhona Mahoney (how children affect the careers of women and their “threat points” in negotiations)
  5. Getting Past No– William Ury, Bantam Books
  6. Selling the Invisible – Harry Beckwith
  7. Influence: Science and Practice – Robert B Vialdini
  8. Getting Them to Give a Damn – Eric Chester
  9. When Generations Collide – Lynee C. Lancaster & David Stillman

Leadership

  1. Leadership 101, What Every Leader Needs to Know & The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader – John Maxwell
  2. Leading Change– John P. Kotter
  3. Paradigms – The Business of Discovering the Future – Joel Arthur Baker, Harper Business
  4. Situational Leadership – Kenneth H Blanchard
  5. Principle Centered Leadership – Stephen Covey
  6. Inspirational Leadership – Lance Secretan
  7. Harvard Business Review – HBR
  8. Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic – Leonard L. Berry, Kent D. Seltman
  9. As One – Mehdad Baghi and James Quigley
  10. The Disney Way, Revised Edition: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company – Bill Capodalgi
  11. Managing by Values – Richard O’Connor
  12. Indispensable Qualities of a Leader – John C. Maxwell
  13. What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
  14. The Success Principles – Jack Canfield
  15. Time Management from the Inside Out – Julie Morgenstern
  16. The Platinum Rule – Tony Alessandra
  17. Succeed, How We Can Reach Our Goals – Heidi Grant Halvorson

Business Development

  1. The E Myth Revisited– Michael E. Gerber, Harper Business
  2. Good To Great– Jim Collins, Harper Business
  3. LL Bean, the making of an American Icon – Gorman
  4. The Ben and Jerry Story
  5. The Fifth Discipline – Peter Seng
  6. If Aristotle Ran General Motors – Tom Morrison
  7. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose – Tony Hsieh
  8. Selling Blue Elephants – Howard R. Moskowitz and Alex Gofman
  9. Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time – Susan Scott
  10. The Look and Sound of Leadership – Tom Henschel
  11. Personal Finance and Career Planning
  12. You Don’t Have To Be Rich – Jean Chatzky, Portfolio
  13. Investing from Scratch – A Handbook for the Young Investor– James Lowell, Penguin Books
  14. Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich – Lois Frankel, PhD
  15. Knock ‘Em Dead Resumés (2008) & Knock ‘Em Dead Cover Letters (2006) – Martin Yate, Adams Media Corp.,
  16. What Color is Your Parachute? 2011 (valuable chapters on selecting the right career) – Richard N. Bolles, Ten Speed Press

Inspirational/ Other Reads

  1. The Art of Happiness – Dalai Lama
  2. What Matters Most – Hyrum W. Smith
  3. Tao Te Ching – Lao-Tzu
  4. Mans Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
  5. The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
  6. The Ten Secrets of Abundant Happiness – Adam J. Jackson
  7. In the Face of Fear – Barry Boyce
  8. Fish – Stephen Lundin
  9. First Things First – Stephen Covey
  10. DiSC Profile – Kenneth H Blanchard
  11. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
  12. The Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Album
  13. When Things Fall Apart – Pema Chodron
  14. Joshua – Joseph F. Girzone
  15. Three Cups of Tea – Greg Morrison
  16. Stones to Schools – Greg Morrison
  17. Juggling Elephants: An Easier Way to Get Your Most Important Things Done–Now! – Jones Loflin and Todd Musig

Books for Practice Managers

  1. Keeping Employees Accountable For Results – Brian Cole Miller
  2. First, Break All the Rules – Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
  3. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
  4. Human Sigma – John Fleming and Jim Asplund
  5. Thank God It’s Monday – Roxanne Emmerich
  6. Monday Morning Leadership – David Cottrell

Client Service

  1. Management Lessons From the Mayo Clinic – Leonard Berry and Kent Seltman
  2. Knock Your Socks Off Customer Service – Ron Zemke and Kristin Anderson
  3. Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh

 

Thank you to Dr. James Wilson of Priority Veterinary Management Consultants, Amanda Donnelly and VMG For their contributions to VBA’s Reading List

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