Books with a Heart: Works That Changed Business Leaders’ Perspectives on Impact, Purpose, and Leadership

Often referred to as both an art and a science, leadership calls for not only vision but also fortitude, flexibility, and a profound comprehension of human nature. According to studies, successful leaders create atmospheres where people feel appreciated and inspired, which eventually leads to improved results. However, how can leaders develop these traits in both themselves and others? “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,” as John Maxwell once memorably stated. This expert roundup examines several viewpoints on leadership, demonstrating how meaningful leadership is shaped by deliberate decision-making, emotional intelligence, and purposeful aim. For those who are prepared to accept it, leadership based on accountability and authenticity is always a challenge—and an opportunity—whether guiding through a crisis or spurring progress.

Extreme Ownership: No Excuses, Only Solutions

“Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin is one book that changed my perspective on leadership. The idea is straightforward: everything in a leader’s world belongs to them. No blame, no excuses. That way of thinking altered the way I manage teams and deal with failure. I don’t blame others when a project doesn’t work out. I inquire as to what I missed, what I didn’t anticipate, and how I can make things right.

In solar, things go wrong like permits get delayed, parts show up late, install crews need support. Early on, I saw companies stall because no one took full responsibility and that doesn’t work. I built Avail Solar to move fast, adjust quickly, and solve problems before they grow. That only happens when everyone, starting with me, owns their outcomes. We don’t wait for permission to act. We get ahead of the issue.

This mindset also shaped how I manage purpose. We aren’t just putting panels on roofs. We’re giving families control of their energy bills and helping businesses lower long-term costs. That means you can’t pass responsibility to someone else. The customer experience, the install quality, the follow-up, all of it reflects leadership. Extreme ownership made that non-negotiable. It’s how I operate, and it’s how I expect my team to work.

Phill Stevens, Founder & CEO, Avail Solar

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Work On Business, Not In It

As an entrepreneur, ‘The E-Myth Revisited’ by Michael Gerber completely changed how I view business systems and leadership. I remember reading it right before starting Dirty Dough Cookies, and it helped me build processes that made the business sellable instead of being dependent on me. What really stuck with me was working ‘on’ the business rather than ‘in’ it – this mindset shift led me to create Franchise KI and help other business owners scale their operations effectively.

Bennett Maxwell, CEO, Franchise KI

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Purpose Drives Business, Not Just Fits Around

A book that really stuck with me is ‘Let My People Go Surfing’ by Yvon Chouinard. It is written by the founder of Patagonia, and what struck me was how unapologetically he built a business around values he cared about. Before that, I thought purpose and business were things you balanced. That book flipped it for me. It showed me that purpose can drive the business, not just fit around it.

After reading it, I started looking at ElectricityRates.com through a different lens. We are in a very practical industry, but there is still a big opportunity to make decisions that put people first. That has shaped how we invest in education and transparency instead of pushing people to sign up for something they do not understand. It has also changed how I build teams. I want people to feel like their work supports something bigger than the next campaign.

It taught me that when you build around clear values, everything else lines up more naturally. You attract the right customers, the right partners, and the right people to work with. That one book made me more deliberate about the why behind what we do.

Adam Cain, VP of Marketing, ElectricityRates.com

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Connect With Why, Not Just What

Simon Sinek’s ‘Start With Why’ completely changed how I approach marketing for plastic surgeons – it taught me that connecting with the deeper emotional motivations of patients is way more powerful than just showcasing procedures. I’ve redesigned our entire marketing strategy to focus first on understanding why people seek cosmetic surgery, which has helped our clients build much stronger emotional connections with their patients.

Josiah Lipsmeyer, Founder, Plasthetix Plastic Surgery Marketing

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Dig Deeper: Purpose Before PR Strategy

Simon Sinek’s ‘Start With Why’ really hit home for me when I was building Salient PR, helping me understand that successful marketing isn’t just about what you do, but why you do it. I started asking my clients to dig deeper into their core purpose before jumping into PR strategies, which has led to more authentic and impactful campaigns that actually resonate with their target audiences.

Justin Mauldin, Founder, Salient PR

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Create Settings Where People Truly Flourish

I was introduced to the idea by Reading Flourish that success is not about results, it’s about creating settings in which individuals truly flourish. That made me approach building an online community differently. It made me think more deliberately about how I could deliver not just parents’ informational needs but their well-being.

The ideas in the book made me rethink how we engage with our people. I started to care less about quantity and more about depth, giving content that might make people feel better, feel more connected, or feel more confident as a parent. That changed our tone of communication and even the type of feedback we began receiving.

Flourish also taught me that real leadership is about care. It’s less about the actions and more about the impact on others.

Cory Arsic, Founder, Canadian Parent

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Start With Why: Purpose First, Everything Follows

One book that really stuck with me was” Start With Why” by Simon Sinek. It made me realize that people don’t just care what you do, they care why you’re doing it. That shifted how I talk about Omni, how I lead, and even how I make decisions. Purpose first, everything else follows. Simple idea, but sometimes we all need little reminder like that.

Mateusz Mucha, Founder, CEO, Omni Calculator

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Present Leadership Creates Connected Teams

A book that has had a big impact on how I show up in my business, is The Creative Act: A Way of Being – by Rick Rubin.

It inspires me to approach every work situation with presence, curiosity and an open mind. This allows me to be more in tune with my staff, and more creative in my problem solving. When a team member is having issues, it allows me to find creative ways for how best to support them.

When I embody these values, my staff does too, and we are more connected as a team.

Sari Schmidt, Co-Founder, Nala Talent

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Leaders Eat Last: Teams Come First

One book that I took a lot away from was “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek. It’s one of the more practical leadership books I’ve read and I thought it did a great job of addressing how leaders can and should prioritize their teams. I’ve always wanted to implement more of a servant-style leadership, and this book definitely gave great advice on how to do that. It really emphasized the importance of building strong teams and just how influential your role is there as a leader.

Jeremy Yamaguchi, CEO, Cabana

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Finding Purpose: The Core of Healing

Reading ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Viktor Frankl transformed how I approach mental health treatment and patient care. During my early days as a nurse practitioner, this book taught me that helping patients find their purpose is just as crucial as treating their symptoms. It inspired me to create Mindset & Body Reset with a holistic approach, focusing on both the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of healing.

Lori Leonard, Chief Medical Officer, Mindset & Body Reset

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Know Your Strengths to Lead Better

One of the most influential books I have ever read about leadership was “Strengths Based Leadership.” A lot of times, leadership and business-related books end up being good reads but lack the kind of inspiration and practical advice that make you actually change any of your own actions/habits. That’s not the case with this book. I’ve never read another leadership book that was as insightful and motivational as this one. It helped me learn so much about myself as a leader and how I could be better depending on who I lead.

Edward Tian, CEO, GPTZero

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Create New Value, Not Just Improvements

The book ‘Zero to One’ by Peter Thiel completely changed how I think about innovation in the digital space. After reading it during my CBDNerds days, I stopped trying to just improve existing eCommerce models and instead focused on creating entirely new value through unique deal-finding algorithms, which ultimately led to ShipTheDeal’s success.

Cyrus Partow, CEO, ShipTheDeal

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Build Wealth Through Passive Income Streams

I learned so much from ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ when I was starting my real estate journey – it completely changed how I view building wealth through property investment. The book taught me to focus on creating passive income streams and helped me shift from just flipping houses to building a sustainable business that truly helps homeowners in difficult situations.

Bennett Heyn, CEO, Sell House Columbus Ohio

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Disrupt Education Through Personalized Learning

‘The Innovator’s Dilemma’ by Clayton Christensen opened my eyes to how disruptive innovation could make quality education accessible to everyone through technology. This book inspired me to create UrbanPro’s personalized learning approach, where we match students with tutors based on their unique needs rather than following the traditional one-size-fits-all education model.

Rakesh Kalra, Founder and CEO, UrbanPro

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See Challenges as Possibilities, Not Obstacles

Reading The Art of Possibility helped me embrace challenges as possibilities and lead with fresh, hopeful ideas.

In running Sage Dental NJ, this vision has been invaluable, especially as we lead the way in treatments like Better Than A Denturetm and navigate the complexities of patient care and financing. It encourages me to look beyond obstacles and see new possibilities for our patients and our team.

This book inspires me to build a culture whereby positivity and potential guide our work, allowing us to continually improve and expand how we serve our population.

Deborah Israeli, MA, Co-Founder and Office Manager, Sage Dental NJ

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Marketing Makes Promises, Then Keeps Them

“This Is Marketing” by Seth Godin floored me.

Before reading it, I was hyper-focused on tactics – better ads, clever copy, growth hacks. The book showed me that marketing is about making promises and keeping them.

He wrote: “Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem.” That line really resonated with me.

Everything we do, we always try to lead with empathy. What does the client actually need? What promise can we make that matters? And how can we deliver it consistently?

Marketing isn’t about tricks. It’s about trust. That was a real takeaway for me.

Rodney Warner, CEO & Founder, Rodney Warner

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Clear Purpose Drives Achievement and Fulfillment

Think and Grow Rich, written in 1937 by Napoleon Hill, changed the way I thought about purpose. Hill observes that achievement, of any sort, happens when an individual has a clear central focus or purpose. He instructs the reader to write their purpose down and to recite it often. I discovered his book at a career crossroads. I had spent most of my career in talent acquisition but knew I wanted to expand deeper into other aspects of Human Resources. Using the book as a guide, I spent time zeroing in on what I wanted to accomplish. The path of an HR Business Partner became clearer, and I sought out stretch assignments and cross-functional assignments, which gradually increased my confidence that I could, in fact, achieve my goal. I also found mentors in the field who were willing to offer advice and coaching to aid me in navigating the complexities of workplace dynamics. By following Hill’s principles, I have been promoted to higher levels within the organization and cultivated a sense of personal fulfillment, which continues to drive my work.

Andrew Lee, HR Director, Raytheon

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Leaders Serve Teams, Not The Reverse

Simon Sinek’s book Leaders Eat Last really transformed the way I thought about leadership and making a difference. Sinek’s view of leadership, which says that leaders should put their colleagues’ needs first, really struck a chord with me and has changed how I lead at DesignRush.When he talked about how crucial it is to develop trust, make employees feel safe, and understand how trust and performance are linked, I had to think about how I build relationships with people on the team.

The idea that leaders should serve their teams instead of the other way around changed everything for me. I always attempt to lead with empathy and make sure that our employees’ satisfaction and growth are strongly tied to the success of the business. The book made me even more sure that a company’s ideals should start with the correct culture. I aim to do this every day in the way I lead.

The book changed how I plan our strategy, make decisions, and ensure that our company’s growth is in sync with our employees’ health and professional development.

Gianluca Ferruggia, General Manager, DesignRush

Share Your Insights

How do you make a difference through your leadership or work? What books or ideas have shaped your approach to creating impact? Which leadership lesson resonates most with you? Share your thoughts!

What’s one book or idea that transformed how you lead or make a difference?
Which leadership principle from the roundup stood out to you?
How do you apply purpose-driven leadership in your daily life?

About Books with a Heart

Welcome to Books with a Heart, where you’ll find thoughtful feature articles and reviews of books that highlight the power of making a difference through corporate social responsibility, socio-entrepreneurship, nonprofits, charitable work, sustainable practices, or in other heartfelt personal or professional ways. This is your go-to space for discovering inspiring reads that emphasize kindness, social impact, and community-building. Each review offers insights into how these books contribute to creating positive change, providing practical takeaways and motivational stories. Whether you’re looking to deepen your understanding or find inspiration, explore our reviews and discover books that touch lives, ignite change, and embody the heart of difference making.

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Feature Reviews

Books with a Heart: Pieces Shaping Leadership Insights Today

Books with a Heart: Works Inspiring Meaningful Change Today

Books with a Heart: Must-Reads for Creating Positive Change in the World

Books with a Heart: Business Leaders Share the Literary Works That Changed How They Lead

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Books with a Heart: Works That Changed Business Leaders’ Perspectives on Impact, Purpose, and Leadership