7 books that I would highly recommend all small team leaders read.

Read with a highlighter and a pen. Read slowly. Take notes in the margin. Let the ideas infiltrate your brain.

• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin. I'm an admitted Jocko fanboy. His podcasts and books have literally changed my life. I don't use their terminology but if you peel back the onion for our company, you'll see the fingerprints of the 7 Laws of Combat. Don't be put off my the military overtones, this book is for all leaders.

• On Writing by Stephen King. Being able to communicate in written form is a superpower. College does a poor job of teaching you how to write and actually get your reader to understand. This book can resolve many bad habits.

• The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Not your usual business book. The Goal has plenty of side quest detours but as it moves along, you may see your business through the Theory of Constraints in a entirely new way.

• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. One of the few books I've re-read and should probably read again. Especially as your career grows, what you choose NOT to do is going to be as important than what you choose TO DO.

• Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Bing West and James N. Mattis. I love Mattis' leadership style and he has led in some of the most extreme situations imaginable.

• Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini. Short book. A classic look at human psychology and why people do what they do.

• 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. A wide ranging look at human nature. If nothing else, pick it up and read Law #10.

Reading can be a very high ROI activity. On Writing by Steven King set me back $13.09 on Thriftbooks and taught me more about written communication than than I learned in 3.5 years of college.