The Making of a Manager

The Making of a Manager provides first-time founders with practical leadership lessons on transitioning to team leadership, including hiring, feedback, and one-on-ones for strong team building. Key principles emphasize vulnerability, trust-building, and supporting team growth. Vs High Output Management, it offers a gentler, story-driven introduction ideal for early-stage leaders.

The Startup Way: How Modern Companies Use Entrepreneurial Management to Transform Culture and Drive Long-Term Growth

Eric Ries's framework for applying lean startup principles inside established organizations, showing how large companies can innovate like startups while maintaining operational excellence.

Leading Change

Seminal management book on change leadership that outlines an eight-step process for driving organizational transformation—essential reading for startup founders navigating pivots, rapid growth, and cultural change.

The New Art of the Leader

A leadership guide by William A. Cohen that distills principles of effective leadership, decision-making, and influence—skills essential for startup founders steering teams through uncertainty and rapid growth.

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business

By Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters (2015, BenBella Books), this book explains the Visionary/Integrator partnership — the idea that founders with big ideas need an operational partner who can execute them. It's a companion to Wickman's Traction and the EOS system.

Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work

By Alison Green, creator of the Ask a Manager website (2018, Ballantine Books), this is a practical script-based guide to handling awkward workplace conversations, from giving feedback to negotiating raises to managing difficult coworkers.