For a very long time, books have influenced how individuals and groups envision change. Reading for just six minutes can lower stress levels by up to 68%, according to research from the University of Sussex, indicating that ideas and tales have quantifiable impacts on our wellbeing. What qualities make a book able to inspire change? Is it the stories it tells, the evidence it offers, or the way it makes us rethink our presumptions? In this roundup, let us explore the books experts think could enable making a difference.
Infinite Game Redefines Business Success Beyond Competition
“The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek completely shifted how I think about building businesses that actually help people long-term. When I was scaling Dirty Dough, this book reminded me that real success isn’t about beating competitors – it’s about creating something sustainable that keeps improving lives, which is exactly what we discuss on my podcast.
Bennett Maxwell, CEO, Franchise KI
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Good to Great: Building Lasting Change Through Discipline
I would give “Good to Great” by Jim Collins to any person who wanted to make a difference, because it demonstrates that lasting change depends on disciplined processes and perseverance, not just on charisma. The transformation that endures is the one that creates lasting institutions that produce ongoing long-term value. The book is based on evidence-based research that points to what makes some companies stick to change and others not. “There’s nothing about good management which is specific to tech,” says Collins, and Level 5 leaders understand that building organizational capability is more important than personal recognition—a good lesson for anyone interested in driving change. When I rebuilt Thrive Local around systems and team development, I began to have a monumental impact. The “Hedgehog Concept” outlined in the book guides leaders to clarify their passions, strengths, and economic drivers in order to achieve the greatest sustainable impact. It’s been a disciplined method of informing our decisions around community initiatives and sustainable good.
Matt Bowman, Founder, Thrive Local
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The Alchemist: Follow Your Purpose With Unwavering Commitment
One of the books I would give to a person wanting to change the world is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This novel reminds us that pursuing our personal legend, our calling in life, takes courage, patience, and faith along the way.
Our purpose at Cloud Law Firm is deeply ingrained in assisting others when they need it most. The message of the book resonates because it emphasizes the need to follow one’s purpose unwaveringly, even if one fails or there is uncertainty. To anyone desiring to effect a positive change, the message is simple: remain committed to your vision.
What is unique about The Alchemist is its general appeal. By telling a very straightforward story, Coelho teaches deep wisdom regarding listening to one’s intuition, accepting challenges, and learning from all experiences. It inspires people to follow their dreams with zeal and confidence.
Reading this book puts me in mind that transformation is much a path than a destination. We can make significant changes in people’s lives, as we do day by day with our clients, by remaining devoted to our mission and meeting obstacles with resolute action.
Mia Mancinelli Cloud, Founder, Cloud Law Firm
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Half the Sky: Small Actions Create Worldwide Opportunities
The book titled “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn really inspired me a lot. It tells stories from real-life experiences of how ordinary people and entrepreneurs can create a positive impact even through small actions like supporting women’s education, funding micro-loans, or advocating for health access.
As a Vietnamese immigrant in the US, I deeply relate to the stories in this book, especially how women carried entire families despite having so little. The lessons from this book are the same as how I look at life and how I approach my business. For example, at Cafely, sourcing directly from Vietnamese farmers was not just about having quality beans; it was also about helping livelihoods by creating opportunities, because I believe that helping in small ways is the start of a bigger positive change in the world.
Mimi Nguyen, Founder, Cafely
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Kindness in Dog Training Transforms Families and Communities
I’d suggest “The Power of Positive Dog Training” by Pat Miller because it shows how kindness creates lasting change in behavior. After 32 years with dogs, I’ve seen how positive methods don’t just train pets – they transform entire families and create ripple effects of compassion in communities.
Mark Spivak, Founder, Comprehensive Pet Therapy (CPT)
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Impact Investing: Where Finance Meets Social Good
I’d recommend *Impact Investing* by Antony Bugg-Levine since it’s where finance really meets social good. The big takeaway for me was that capital alone doesn’t solve problems–it’s where and why you invest that creates lasting impact. In my work, I’ve seen how introducing people to these ideas shifts their mindset from just personal gain to making choices that ripple out to their communities.
Adam Garcia, Founder, The Stock Dork
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Crucial Conversations Build Trust in Team Development
“Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. Indeed, the crux of effective HR is effective communication in team development. This book offers the necessary tools for high-stakes conversations and the significance of dialogue in making important transitions regarding conflict resolution and aligning teams. All by learning how these techniques can help HR professionals in an environment where employees can talk openly and freely, leading to good results.
It means creating a culture whereby individuals feel safe to speak their minds, be it voicing differing views or displeasure on an issue. The open floor creates avenues to continue solving problems, knowing that relationships will improve further in a collaborative workspace. Communicating allows teams to reach their targets and better adapt to challenges.
Those tools can be included in training programs for HR leaders, resulting in better interpersonal and conflict resolution skills for teams. It creates a space where communication is the foundation for trust and respect between the organization and individuals working in an area with long-term results and impact.
Bradford Glaser, President & CEO, HRDQ
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Better Angels Shows Violence Decline Through Reason
My favorite among them is Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature. With two decades of being a Texas police officer, and SWAT and active shooter response, I’ve seen firsthand the stark difference between escalation and de-escalation. Pinker explains that, despite what the news suggests, violence has steadily declined. His use of data shows that society can keep improving when guided by reason, empathy, and persistence.
What makes this book unique is the way that it reshapes change. Rather than trusting emotion or idealism, Pinker offers facts and historical background showing how systems of law, education, and communications have gradually lowered violence. For someone interested in making a positive impact, whether on public safety or society at large, this grounding in evidence is priceless. It fits with my work with Byrna, in which we seek to offer tools that minimize harm but without deadly outcomes.
Having worked in training law enforcement, military, and private security personnel globally, I believe that imparting a mentality where change is not just possible, it is happening, is worthwhile. Pinker’s optimism based on fact mirrors that of Byrna’s mission: to enable people to protect with a low likelihood of doing irreversible harm.
When I give this book, it’s to remind the receiver that confrontation and fear don’t have to be our response. Change is constructed through action that is compassionate and informed.
Joshua Schirard, Director, Byrna
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Body Keeps Score: Healing Communities Through Trauma Understanding
I always gift “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk to anyone wanting to create real change in mental health. Working with adolescents at Mission Prep, I’ve seen how trauma shows up in unexpected ways, and this book helped me understand that healing communities starts with understanding how our bodies hold onto pain.
Aja Chavez, Executive Director, Mission Prep Healthcare
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Every Gift Matters: Small Acts Create Lasting Impact
I would recommend Every Gift Matters by Carrie Morgridge because it is something that I have seen occur in life and in business. Small acts of kindness can create incredible things. Morgridge discusses people who did not wait until they had millions to give; they simply started where they were. That is deeply emotional because it makes entry affordable for anyone who wants to be a force for good.
In the moving business, I see the same principle at work. It is not necessarily the big trucks or the heavy lifting that people remember most; it is the small things. It is the way our employees greet them, the manner in which they gingerly touch a piece of furniture that holds a special memory or brightens their day during a chaotic change. Those small moments become what resonates with people on an emotional level.
This is a one-of-a-kind book in the sense that it breaks down the myth that gestures of grandeur are the only things that count. It praises the multiplier effect of kindness and generosity, size aside. It reflects how I see our work. Moving is more than furniture; it is guiding people through life’s stressful moments. Every Gift Matters shows that with heart, even small gestures create lasting impact.
Eugene Skribovski, Owner, High Level Movers
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Better Together: Social Connections Drive Community Change
I’d hands down gift ‘Better Together’ by Robert Putnam to anyone serious about positive change. During my two years researching venues, I noticed the most successful spaces weren’t just beautiful–they actually brought communities closer together. This book digs into how social connections drive real change, which completely shifted how I approach every event at Friendship Springs.
Jon Wayne, Co-Owner, The Venue at Friendship Springs
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Parenting Beyond Measure: World Change Starts at Home
If I were to gift a book to someone who would want to create a positive impact, I would gift Parenting Beyond Measure. As a parent myself, I have never believed that there is any other work as meaningful as raising confident, compassionate, and resilient children. Parenting Beyond Measure reinforces this by promoting connection, presence, and authenticity in parenting. Change in the world has a tendency to begin at home, and developing these qualities in children can have a strong ripple effect.
What is so great about this book is the way it blends professional guidance with real-life parenting experience. It’s realistic, readable, and infused with techniques that help parents break free of controlling behavior and move towards raising strong, independent children. I’ve given it to other Canadian parents, and the feedback has been that it helps enable them to form deep, powerful connections with their children and give them a sense of values that will last a lifetime.
Lastly, Parenting Beyond Measure reminds us that even the smallest, most well-intentioned decisions as parents have a wider effect on society. Parenting empathetically, parenting questionably, and parenting with integrity is maybe the strongest way of being a force for good in the world. For anyone who wants to change the world, this book is an honest, motivational roadmap that starts at home but goes far beyond.
Cory Arsic, Founder, Canadian Parent
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Evicted: Housing Stability Transforms Family Lives
I’d gift *Evicted* by Matthew Desmond because it opened my eyes to how deeply unstable housing trickles into nearly every part of someone’s life. In real estate, I’ve seen firsthand how a well-handled renovation and fair transaction can stabilize a family, and this book really connects those dots in a powerful way.
Carl Fanaro, President, NOLA Buys Houses
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Go-Giver: Lead With Value, Not Self-Interest
I’d hand over The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. It’s short, but it hits deep. The book flips the script on what most people are taught about success. Instead of chasing after what you want, it’s about giving first, leading with value, and letting impact come back around.
When I first read it, I was going through a phase where every choice felt like a matter of survival. It served as a reminder that, even during difficult times, fostering relationships and helping people was not only morally right, but also good in business. The ideas are straightforward enough to use right now, without waiting for the ideal time, in actual discussions and activities. That’s what makes it stand out.
Ben Davis, CEO, The Gents Place
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Meditations: Stoic Reflection Shapes Leadership Approach
The book that instantly comes to mind is Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations.” The book offers his personal learnings as a Roman emperor and pretty much captures the essence of Stoic philosophy.
The book presents the idea of deep reflection before any sort of judgment of others. I think that book has to be the one that single-handedly impacted how I have behaved with others and led my team in our company as a CEO.
Nir Appelton, CEO, Adorb Custom Tees
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Run: Personal Morality Expands Social Responsibility
For those who express their goal of creating a positive change in our world, I suggest they read the novel Run, by Ann Patchett. The author describes her theme as one of social responsibility, focusing on many people’s complacency. I am struck by her presentation of personal morality with a much broader exploration of social responsibility. The principal characters have formed a unique family, from a most unlikely connection, and become well-suited and positioned to influence their society through politics. Patchett weaves common life challenges with life-altering acts, resulting in strengthened bonds and moral awakening, creating struggles and benefits of social and family boundaries. For anyone aspiring to create positive change in their world, Run helps to illustrate how accountability, courage and simple human kindness can redirect lives, for individuals, entire families and possibly community. Patchett does not simply advocate for responsibility. Rather, her characters face their challenges, defy their surrounding expectations, and perform with the qualities of honesty and kindness while searching for their real self. You can create a positive change that may seem to have a very minor effect; yet your actions will spread, becoming energy for others.
Ashley Kenny, Co-Founder, Heirloom Video Books
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Make the Impossible Possible: One Person Creates Hope
I’ve read hundreds of books, and the one that’s made the most impact on me is “Make the Impossible Possible,” by Bill Strickland. The book begins with Bill’s story of walking past a pottery class one day in school when he was close to going down a destructive path. Mesmerized by what he saw the instructor doing on the wheel, he walked in, struck up a conversation, and began taking pottery. Ultimately, pottery not only saved him from the streets and turned his entire life around, but after graduating from college, he set out on a mission to do the same for others. What started with him not knowing how to help young people by throwing pottery on the streets, turned into a global mission of change. His book taught me that one person can truly make a difference in the lives of others, creating a ripple of impact and hope. I’ll never forget the book or Bill’s story.
April Likins, Board-Certified Health Coach | Trained at Duke | Stress & Work-Life Balance Speciality, Wellness With April, LLC
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Terry Fox: One Person’s Journey Inspires Thousands
Not many people outside Canada know about Terry Fox, but his epic has changed the very fabric of our cultural identity. In Leslie Scrivener’s 2000 book Terry Fox: His Story, she doesn’t just record the young man who tried to run across Canada—with just one leg—but also the little moments along the way. It forces us to rethink our own priorities and what one person can achieve when they give it their all. Without giving away the plot, his legacy has inspired thousands of people to run annually, all in the sake of raising money for cancer research. If you were to pick one book, this just might be it.
Jeremy Golan SHRM-CP, CPHR, Bachelor of Management, HR Manager, Virtual HR Hub
What do you think? Which insights resonated with you the most? Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments—we’d love to hear how generosity, kindness, compassion, and making a difference have shaped your path!
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