The Best Psychology & Communication Books

The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List

2008 Edition: Revised and Updated

Top MBA programs don't have a monopoly on advanced business knowledge: you can teach yourself everything you need to know to succeed in life and at work. The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List features only the very best business books available, based on thousands of hours of research. So skip b-school and the $100,000 loan: you can get a world-class business education simply by reading these books.

About This Category:

The Psychology & Communication category will show you how the human mind works. These books will teach you:

How to persuade and influence others.
How to deal with difficult situations.
How to make good decisions.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

It has been said that Dale Carnegie knew more about human nature than anyone before or since. After reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, I completely agree.

Based on the core idea that people have a fundamental psychological need to feel important, How to Win Friends and Influence People details “three fundamental techniques for handling people, six ways to make people like you, twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.”

Each of the principles Carnegie discusses is presented in a clear and memorable way, accompanied by examples that illustrate the principle in action. You'll learn about the importance of remembering names, asking questions instead of giving orders, speaking with others about their interests, emphasizing areas of agreement, giving people a reputation to live up to, and allowing people to come to your conclusions on their own. Beneath all of the stories and anecdotes is a simple, valuable lesson: if you choose to be genuinely interested in the people you work with and you let them know it, they will always be happy to work with you.

Many of Carnegie’s tips on working with people seem to be common sense, but they're often challenging to put into practice when you're angry or upset, so consistent mindful practice of these principles is very important. To that end, I've taken (and highly recommend) the Dale Carnegie Institute's 12-week course on Effective Communications and Human Relations - you'll be amazed at how much you grow in such a short period of time.

Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler

Life is full of difficult situations that require not-so-fun conversations with the people around us, both at home and at work. Written by a team of expert communicators, Crucial Conversations will teach you how to handle difficult interpersonal situations with poise and skill.

Arguing with others is counter-productive, and avoiding the conversation doesn’t resolve the issue. By reading this book and mastering the principles it teaches, you can diffuse or avoid many unpleasant and unproductive situations before they occur. By setting expectations, listening with your full attention, and showing respect for the other party, you'll be able to keep moving forward in a productive and enjoyable way instead of getting bogged-down in disagreement and strife.

Major topics discussed in this book include: making the situation emotionally safe for both parties to speak, how to manage your emotions, how to discuss sensitive issues, how to persuade others without being abrasive or pushy, and how to work with people who are upset or angry.

After reading Crucial Conversations, you'll be well prepared to handle any difficult situation you're likely to face at home or at work.

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

If you want to succeed in business, excellent writing skills are essential. In On Writing Well, Zinsser teaches you how to communicate with simplicity and clarity, the hallmarks of an effective writer.

“Managers at every level are prisoners of the notion that a simple style reflects a simple mind. Actually, a simple style is the result of hard work and hard thinking; a muddled style reflects a muddled thinker or a person too arrogant, or too dumb, or too lazy to organize his thoughts. Remember that what you write is often the only chance you’ll get to present yourself to someone whose business or money or good will you need. If what you write is ornate, or pompous, or fuzzy, that’s how you’ll be perceived. The reader has no other choice.”

With a dedicated chapter on writing for business, On Writing Well will teach you that big words, complicated sentences, and jargon decrease your ability to communicate your thoughts to the people reading your work. Once you know how to think about writing, you'll be amazed at how much your communication skills improve.

Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds

I've struggled to find a good book about the art of presenting to business audiences for years now. As I'm sure you've experienced, Powerpoint-style business presentations tend to be painfully boring and needlessly complex. After three years of research, I'm happy to finally be able to recommend a book that will teach you the essence of how to be a polished and persuasive presenter: Presentation Zen.

Crafting a presentation is a creative act, and in Presentation Zen, you'll learn how to identify the core of your message, eliminate unnecessary elements, and communicate your thoughts in a way people can easily remember and act upon.

Like On Writing Well, this book is more about the thinking behind your presentation than simply the mechanics of presenting. Under the guidance of master presenter Garr Reynolds, you'll learn how to prepare and plan for your presentation, what to include (and what to leave out), the best ways to use text and images, and why it's important to plan your talk away from the computer. When you're ready to create your own material, the library of sample slides will give you plenty of inspiration to get started.

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Remember the last boring PowerPoint presentation you sat through? How much of it did you remember? Chances are, the talk contained important information - it just wasn't "sticky" enough to stay in your mind

In Made to Stick, the Chip and Dan Heath clearly show that ideas that spread have six common characteristics: they're simple, unexpected, provide concrete details, come from credible sources, have emotional impact, and take the form of stories and anecdotes. Not only do these characteristics have explanatory power, you can actually use them to identify your core message and improve its "stickiness" before you spread it.

One very useful concept you'll be exposed to in Made to Stick is "The Curse of Knowledge." Just because you know exactly what you mean when you're communicating doesn't mean your audience will always be able to follow you - you must take care to present contextual information in a way they are able to completely understand and remember. By using the principles the Heath Brothers explain in this book, you can overcome the Curse of Knowledge and craft an idea that will spread on its own.

Regardless of what idea you're trying to spread, Made to Stick will give you a simple, useful framework that will help you design your message for maximum impact.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

A self-described "sucker" for sales tactics, Robert Cialdini was every salesman's dream prospect, and he wanted to know why. To find out, Dr. Cialdini, a social psychologist, worked undercover in fields like sales, PR, advertising, and fund-raising to discover what actually makes people comply with the demands of others. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is the summary of what he learned.

Influence identifies six ways that people are consistently, unsuspectingly, and (often) automatically persuaded: reciprocity, scarcity, liking, authority, social proof, and commitment/consistency. Knowing these natural psychological tendencies will help you in two ways: (1) you'll become more persuasive, and (2) you'll be able to identify when these tendencies are present, protecting you from being misled in the future.

As a side note, Influence is on the recommended reading list of Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s long-time business partner, who picked up some of his standard investing criteria from this book. Munger was so impressed by Cialdini’s thorough explanation of how rational decision-making can break down that he gave Cialdini one Class A share of Berkshire Hathaway stock (currently worth ~$118,000) for his “contributions to humanity.” How’s that for a strong recommendation?

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein

When decision-making is taught in business schools, it's typically presented as a rational, linear process: gather information, analyze the possible solutions, and select the one that best fits the objective. There's one tiny little problem with the "rational choice model": in the real world, that's not actually how people make decisions.

In Sources of Power, Gary Klein studies time-constrained, high-stakes decision-making in the field and explains how people actually use their skills and experience to make decisions with real consequences.

Much of Klein's research is focused on the military and civil service, so you'll follow a team of firefighters trying to rescue a woman from a car hanging off the side of a bridge, observe an aircraft carrier officer order his gunners to shoot down an unidentified bogey, and observe the crew of Apollo 13 as they discover the reality of their situation, formulate plans, and adjust their goals and actions accordingly. Along the way, you'll be exposed to the key elements of Klein's "Recognition-Primed" decision-making model, which takes into account elements like experience, intuition, and mental simulation: factors that allow human beings to make extraordinarily complex decisions quickly and relatively accurately.

In Sources of Power, you'll learn about the importance of communicating intent and context, asking clarifying questions, using analogy and metaphor, and how to deal with uncertainty and lack of information. By understanding how people actually make decisions, you'll be equipped to provide your colleagues with the facts and context they need to make smart, informed decisions, and you'll have a better understanding of how to ensure your decisions are as good as they can possibly be.

Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg

If you are responsible for influencing others as part of your job, you can learn a great deal from professional consultants: it's what they do for a living. Gerry Weinberg has been in the consulting business for more than three decades, and he knows a thing or two about working with people.

Originally published over 20 years ago, Secrets of Consulting is an entertaining, candid, and practical look at how to successfully solve problems and give and receive advice.

Part of the magic of this book is Weinberg's masterful storytelling. Instead of blasting you non-stop with "do this" and "don't do that" statements, Weinberg shares his insights using short stories and anecdotes that illustrate each principle in action. It's easy to dismiss the importance of statements like "don't spread yourself too thin" or "once you eliminate your #1 problem, #2 gets a promotion", but when they're brought to life as "The Law of Raspberry Jam" and "Rudy's Rutabaga Rule", you'll never forget them.

This book isn't just for career consultants: if you're ever asked for advice, using the principles outlined in Secrets of Consulting can help ensure that your advice is taken favorably and is ultimately acted upon. You'll also find this book useful if you're in the market for a consultant - it'll give you good advice on what to look for and what to avoid.

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

On the face of it, this book has absolutely nothing to do with business: it's a collection of stories about people who have found themselves fighting for their lives, and have survived. There is, however, a method to my madness.

If you want to really learn about a complex system like the human mind, study what happens when it's pushed to the breaking point. Deep Survival flawlessly explains how the mind processes strong emotions and instincts, develops models of how the world works, and continuously adjusts those models in stressful and demanding circumstances.

Between stories of mountain climbers getting caught in an avalanche, hikers getting lost in the wilderness, and sailors being shipwrecked without equipment, you'll learn about the importance of "Positive Mental Attitude", the effect of stress and uncertainty on physical and mental performance, and the importance of being present in the moment and accepting the current reality, no matter how bad things seem.

Life in the business world can be tough: layoffs, recessions, and business failures are not uncommon, and this book will help you tremendously if you ever find yourself experiencing hard times. As in life, survival in business is a combination of attitude and skill, and Deep Survival can help you develop the mental and emotional fortitude necessary to make it through to better days.