Spinnaker Summer Reading: 6 Books for Leadership and Personal Development

As summer winds down, chances are you’re looking to squeeze in a little more pool or beach time. Our Spinnaker team has a few suggestions to help you make the most of that time with books that not only make a great read, but also impart some valuable leadership and personal development lessons as well. So grab your sunglasses and one of these titles to get the most out of the last of your summer reading.

6 Books for Leadership and Personal Development

Mark Schuler, Consultant
Book: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
Type: Fiction
Published: 2018
Message: Everyone can be amazing.
Key Takeaway: Help everyone, because everyone has a unique gift. Don’t make judgments based on superficial elements like someone’s background or education.

J.C. Corrigan, Advisor
Book: Trading Bases: How a Wall Street Trade Made a Fortune Betting on Baseball, by Joe Peta
Type: Non-fiction, biography
Published: 2014
Message: There is an art and science behind monetizing data.
Key Takeaway: Pursue your passion and the numbers behind it collectively.
Bonus Thoughts: Separate trends and clear-cut advantages from random sequences, there is a cost differential between being accurate and being precise when precision may be false, culture matters — a lot, using metrics alone to judge people and their results is a bad practice, and don't bunt with a man on first and second in the top of the 8th with nobody out.

Scott Summers, Advisor
Book: Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance, by Bob Buford
Type: Non-fiction, business
Published: 2015
Message: Your “second half” can be geared toward significant endeavors.
Key Takeaway: Spend some time, like “halftime” of a football game, examining whether you are making the right impact on the world and the people closest to you. If your “first half” is oriented around success, then “halftime” helps you adjust your game plan. You can still work and be successful, but you can reorient your perspective to significance.

Megan Murray, Project Manager
Book: Daring Greatly, by Brené Brown
Type: Non-fiction, business
Published: 2019
Message: Be more intentional in all of your relationships, personal and professional.
Key Takeaway: Vulnerability is not a weakness. How we respond to vulnerability requires conscious decisions in how we choose to respond to uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. It requires practice and intention. We need trust to be vulnerable and we need to be vulnerable in order to trust.
Bonus Thought: Trust is built one marble at a time — be intentional with your marbles.

Christie Hach, Account Director
Book: Becoming, by Michelle Obama
Type: Non-fiction, biography
Published: 2018
Message: Being resilient and true to who you are, and surrounding yourself with a community that pushes, challenges, and supports you is key to your success.
Key Takeaway: Your life journey is never-ending. And that there is no one way to do it. Sometimes we need to swerve and try new things to understand where to go next.
Bonus Thought: Community and inviting people in to share in one another’s stories is important, it’s how we learn and grow.

Mark Schuler, Consultant
Book: The Dead Drink First, by Dale Maharidge, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist
Type: Non-fiction, audiobook
Published: 2019
Message: You never know what someone has been through.
Key Takeaway: Always assume the positive, because you never know what is going on in someone’s mind or what has happened in their life.
Bonus Thought: Respect what those in the military have done for you, and what they have given. Thank every soldier you see.

At Spinnaker, we’re the go-to resource for the real-time results you need now, and the lasting impact you depend on to strengthen your business in the future. Our expertise, agility, and first-hand business knowledge move your business forward. To find out more, connect with us today.