Mastermind Century Group Suggested Reading List 2020 (Updated)

Eight years ago I crafted a recommended reading list for the Mastermind Century Group—it is something I intended to update, yet there always seemed to be something else to write about. As I look back at the list there are several books that are “keepers” and others that have not had the staying power I once thought they would. The goal of the updated reading list is to craft something current given all that I hope I have learned in the past eight years.

In Eight years—I was fortunate to have two follow on command tours—for the AFROTC Southeast Region and for The USAF’s Air Command and Staff College. I also held positions as the Vice Commandant for the USAF’s Officer Training School, and as Air University’s Director of Staff. I retired in the summer of 2016 and have served as the Chair of Leadership at the college I once commanded—ACSC. Now I am fortunate to teach leadership and innovation to the world’s best up and coming leaders.

Something occurred to me as I stepped into teaching leadership—there is a lot of crap out there written on the topic. So much of what we pass off as leadership is old, recycled, worn-out garbage that people with big names or grand experiences pass off as something new and novel when it is really—something that someone said thousands of years ago.

It seems to me that leadership learning lies at the intersection of three disciplines—philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Of course that is a large intersection and if anyone is interested at looking deeper into those three disciplines it is not a stretch to say they all grew from one source—philosophy. Further, we can not discount history—as history is the lens through which we view these three disciplines. History serves as the application of the leadership algorithm and a place from which we examine the application of theory and concepts as well as developing stories, legends, and in some cases the myths of great leadership.

In updating the 2012 list I propose a look at the top 10 books with the largest impact in the three disciplines:

Philosophy: THE fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.

Psychology: THE human mind and its functions.

Sociology: THE development, structure, and functioning of human society.

PHILOSOPHY

Marcus Aurelius, The Emperor’s Handbook, C. Scot Hicks and David V. Hicks trans. (NY: Scribner, 2002).
Epictetus, A Manual for Living (Little Book of Wisdom (Harper San Francisco))
Miyamoto Musashi, Stephen F. Kaufman, Musashi’s Book of Five Rings: The Definitive Interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi’s Classic Book of Strategy
Miyamoto Musashi
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key
Sun Tzu (Author), Tom Butler-Bowdon (Introduction)The Prince : The Ancient Classic
Plato (Author), Tom Butler-Bowdon (Introduction) The Republic Capstone Classics
The Bible, NIV, Maxwell Leadership Bible, 3rd Edition, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version
Lao Tzu (Author), Tom Butler-Bowdon (Introduction): Tao Te Ching: The Ancient Classic
Carl Von Clausewitz, On War, Michael Howard and Peter Paret eds. and trans. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976).
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil: The Philosophy Classic (Capstone Classics)

PSYCHOLOGY

Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow (NY: Macmillan Publishers, 2013).
Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Brené Brown
Cal Newport , Deep Work, Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Travis Bradberry, Jean Greaves, Patrick Lencioni, Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Daniel Pink, Whole New Mind,Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
John Maxwell, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Follow Them and People Will Follow You (10th Anniversary Edition)
Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
William Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

SOCIOLOGY

Safi Bahcall, Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
Ori Brafman, Spider and the Starfish: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations
Seth Godin, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
Tim Harford
Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t
James P. Carse, Finite and Infinite Games, A Vision of Life As Play and Possibilities / Simon Sinek, The Infinite Game (both books, although I am still processing Simon’s book)
Patrick Lencioni, Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Michael D. Watkins, First 90 days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded
Tim Harford, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure (NY: Picador, 2011).
Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010).

HISTORY

Stanley McChrystal, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World (NY: Portfolio/Penguin, 2015).
Stanley McChrystal, Leaders: Myth and Reality (NY: Portfolio/Penguin,2018).
B. H. Liddell Hart, Strategy : Second Revised Edition (Meridian)
Major General J.F.C. Fuller, Generalship: Its Diseases and Their Cure
Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler (Editor), Richard Crawley (Translator),Victor Davis Hanson (Introduction), The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War
George Washington
1776 by David McCullough
Andrew Roberts, Leadership in War ESSENTIAL LESSONS FROM THOSE WHO MADE HISTORY
Admiral James Stavridis, USN (RET), Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character
Eric Weiner, Geography of Genius: Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Places
Barry Strauss, Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership