Careers Over Coffee North Recap: Must-Read Career Books

Written by Tricia Barendregt.

Looking for your next great career read? At Careers Over Coffee North on October 9, we discussed our favorite career books and all things related to reading. Below is a list of the books recommended:

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau. From humble beginnings, the author was able to find a way to make a living and travel the world. He describes case studies on others who started with nothing and bootstrapped their way to success. An attendee recommended this book because she found it to be inspirational and motivational. The $100 Startup encourages you to make changes to follow your passion. This book would be great for anyone who needs that extra push to achieve his or her goals.

Getting There: A Book of Mentors by Gillian Zoe Segal features short stories written by many successful mentors such as Richard Branson, Warren Buffett and Anderson Cooper. One attendee recommended it because the reader can find many different pieces of advice from many different people. This is one of those books that you can read and reread. Getting There is great read for anyone at any stage of his or her career because of the wide range of advice.

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a classic. Before I read it, I thought this book sounded very manipulative. “How do you ‘win’ friends? Is it a game?” I thought. But then I read it and I thought it was an amazing book with advice that you can apply to your personal and professional life. This book helped me overcome my shyness and gave me the tools that I needed to make new friends and build professional relationships. How to Win Friends & Influence People is another one of those books that you can read over and over. This book is great for anyone struggling with small talk or anyone wanting some tips to make and maintain new contacts.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber busts business myths. One attendee rated this the best business book she’s ever read. The E-Myth Revisited describes the cycles of business and is a great book for any entrepreneur. Another one to put on your list!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey is a classic with great insights. The 7 Habits is a great read for anyone wanting to be more effective personally or professionally. Also, another good book to read and re-read.

Other books discussed:

• “The Consultant’s Calling: Bringing Who You Are to What You Do” By Geoffrey M. Bellman
• “Rising Strong” by Brene Brown
• “Consulting Mastery: How the Best Make the Biggest Difference” by Keith Merron
• “Say This, Not That: A Foolproof Guide to Effective Interpersonal Communication” by Carl Alasko
• “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us” by Seth Godin

We also covered ways to keep reading and the best tools to help us access these books.

• How to get in to the habit of reading:
  • Get in to a routine! Maybe its 15 minutes a day before bed or listening to an audiobook while you do household chores. Start a habit and keep it going.
• The best places to get audiobooks or e-books:
  • Audible.com
  • Austin Public Library now has Hoopla!

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to attend! We had a great group with interesting recommendations. Got ideas for a more focused book discussion? Let me know at patricia.barendregt@gmail.com.

Join us for our next Careers Over Coffee North on November 13 for a discussion with Libba Letton on Crisis Communications. Stay tuned for details!

Careers Over Coffee North meets at Mimi’s Café, 10515 N. Mopac Expy NB #O) on the south end of The Shops at Arbor Walk).