Chief Operating Officers (COOs) play a critical role in leading firms toward success in the changing world of corporate operations. They are responsible for managing daily operations and putting strategic plans into action.
COOs frequently use books as a source of information, direction, and inspiration to succeed in this demanding profession.
In this post, we’ll look at the importance of COO books, how they may help COOs advance their careers, and why everyone in this leadership role should read them.
20 Best COO Books to Read in 2023
1. How to be a Chief Operating Officer: 16 Disciplines for Success
Author: Jennifer Geary
The book offers useful tips that give COOs concise, effective road maps. The author claims COOs have the nearly difficult challenge of becoming a master of nothing.
A COO with over 20 years of experience in finance, technology, risk, and law, Jennifer Geary has worked in various sectors, including financial services and not-for-profit organizations.
2. The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
Author: Stephen M.R. Covey
Trust is a key topic in this book to build connections with customers, workers, and stakeholders and determine how quickly and expensively results are achieved.
According to Covey, The lack of trust is the root of many issues and the single most important factor in effective partnerships.
3. Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t
Author: Verne Harnish
The author offers useful tips and resources for creating successful enterprises. The author also instructs readers on how to set up a business that prioritizes the needs of all stakeholders.
The revised One-Page Strategic Plan and the Rockefeller Habits Checklist are just two examples of the many one-page resources available to readers.
4. Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO
Author: Nathan Bennett & Stephen Miles
The book creates a framework that explains what a chief operating officer is, why a business needs one, and what the COO should do.
When carrying out the plans created by the senior management team, the COO plays a crucial leadership role. The COOs are frequently groomed to be or become the CEO.
5. Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company’s Critical Functions and Teams
Author: Matt Blumberg and Peter M. Birkeland
The book offers functionally specific guidance, resources, and strategies for growing a business’s key teams and functions.
Each team member may use it as a resource to learn about the other roles and how they interact.
Because there is typically no manual to follow and everyone is learning their role as they go, the book is helpful for startup teams confronting the difficulty of scaling up.
6. Welcome to Management: How to Grow from Top Performer to Excellent Leader
Author: Ryan Hawk
In the book, the author distinguishes between the techniques people should employ in their new responsibilities and the tactics that will get management promoted.
These suggestions and resources might help you move smoothly into a managerial job. The author presents best practices based on in-depth interviews with more than 300 highly esteemed forward-thinking executives worldwide, case studies, and personal anecdotes.
The ability to manage oneself and one’s team while creating a climate of respect and trust will be learned by COOs.
Also Read: Best CEO Books To Read [2023]
7. The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You
Author: Julie Zhuo
Modern managers wishing to develop their leadership abilities will find helpful guidance, relatable tales, questions, and exercises in Julie Zhuo’s book.
The book addresses issues including building rapport with subordinates, conducting effective meetings, providing feedback, growing self-awareness, creating a winning team, and mastering delegating.
The value of self-awareness of your talents, comfort zones, blind spots, and prejudices is emphasized throughout the book.
8. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Author: James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras
The book looks at the characteristics of forward-thinking businesses that have long-term success.
After six years of investigation, the authors found 18 businesses that fit their definition of a visionary business.
The book examines the traits and routines these businesses share and offers helpful advice for anyone who wants to create iconic businesses that endure.
9. The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential
Author: John C. Maxwell
If you’re looking for literature regarding the duties of a COO, The 5 Levels of Leadership is a fantastic choice.
The book’s most important teachings are leadership methods to build successful teams. A manual by John C. Maxwell is also available to help managers improve their positions while assisting staff members in gaining new abilities.
Position, Permission, Production, People Development, and Pinnacle are the five leadership stages covered in detail in the resource. Maxwell draws on in-depth knowledge, humor, and examples to assist leaders in mastering each level of leadership.
10. Decide! The One Common Denominator of All Great Leaders
Author: Gino Wickman
This book attempts to assist executives in making better decisions more quickly to provide more potent business results.
According to the book, the one trait that all great leaders share is the capacity to make wise judgments.
The difficulties leaders have while attempting to make wise judgments—such as making poor decisions and taking too long to decide—are discussed in the book.
11. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices
Author: Peter F. Drucker
The book is a management classic. The author has worked closely with managers to develop and test over thirty years of teaching management in universities, executive programs, seminars, and consulting for big and small businesses, governmental organizations, hospitals, and schools.
The book takes a task-oriented approach to management. Tasks come first, management is examined from the outside, and the task’s dimensions are studied.
12. From Supervisor to Super Leader: How to Break Free from Stress and Build a Thriving Team That Gets Results
Author: Shanda K. Miller
The book is a great option for rookie COOs because it addresses frequent team management problems.
The book, for instance, provides managers who worry about not living up to expectations with team management advice. The simple-to-read book also includes lessons from Shanda K. Miller’s more than 20 years of team leadership expertise.
The book will teach readers the fundamentals of team leadership and relationship-building advice.
13. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
Author: Eric Ries
The book strongly emphasizes the advantages of iterative design, user feedback, and experimentation over intricate preparation.
The Lean Startup methodology promotes businesses that are more customer- and capital-focused. The book shows that investing time and money into creating something no one will use wastes both.
A new entrepreneurial economy might be launched thanks to the growing popularity of the Lean Startup technique.
14. Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable… about Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business
Author: by Patrick Lencioni
This piece of business fiction offers readers a framework for addressing the most distressing issue in contemporary business: unpleasant meetings.
Lencioni invents a fictional firm called Yip and uses it to tell a contemporary tale about a modest CEO who must deal with the issue of poor meetings.
The book offers a guide for managers who wish to reduce waste and annoyance on their staff while fostering engagement and enthusiasm.
Also Read: Best HR Books To Read [2023]
15. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them, and People Will Follow You
Author: John C. Maxwell
Over a million copies have been sold, and it is regarded as one of the best leadership books ever.
There are 21 chapters in the book, and each one discusses a distinct “law” of leadership, such as “The Law of the Lid” and “The Law of Influence.”
The book studies timeless truths about leadership rather than a manual or rules for being a leader. The book’s last chapter discusses the topic of leaving a legacy.
16. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Author: Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton
It provides a tried-and-true, step-by-step process for resolving disputes in every situation.
The Harvard Negotiation Project, a team that works with all facets of negotiation and conflict resolution, provided the foundation for the book’s research.
Negotiating strategies and tactics may be used to resolve personal problems, commercial disagreements, and even international conflicts.
17. Setting the Table The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
Author: Danny Meyer
Meyer’s “Enlightened Hospitality” concept and the insights he discovered while working in the restaurant industry are shared in the book.
The book’s guidance on hospitality, business, and community participation earned it a spot on the New York Times bestseller list.
In the book, Meyer strongly emphasizes the value of showing visitors respect and going above and beyond to deliver outstanding service. He also stresses the need to develop a successful company strategy and give back to the community.
18. Get Aligned!: A COO's Guide to Unlocking Enterprise Value Through People, Processes and Systems
Author: Alexander Tuff
The book aims to provide executives with the fundamental abilities and resources they require to create alignment.
It is divided into clear, brief chapters that cover a wide range of enterprise value-related subjects, such as people, processes, and systems.
19. The COO Revolution: Reinventing Customer-facing Processes for Moments of Truth
Author: Kramer Reeves, Peter Fingar, and Rich Phillips
The book makes the case that the primary responsibility of the modern COO should be to provide delightful client experiences. It stresses how crucial it is to reimagine customer-facing procedures for crucial situations.
The book makes an uncommon and effective connection between the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
20. The Power of Habit
Author: Charles Duhigg
The book, which examines the science of habit development and reformation, debuted on The New York Times, Amazon.com, and USA Today’s best-selling lists.
The fascinating frontier of scientific understanding that explains why habits exist and how they may be altered is brought to readers’ attention by Duhigg in The Power of Habit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, COO books empower Chief Operating Officers to excel. These books provide valuable insights, strategies, and the wisdom of experienced leaders who can guide COOs in making informed decisions and achieving operational excellence.
As the corporate landscape evolves, the knowledge gained from these books becomes an invaluable asset.
