100 books like Perseverance

By Margaret J. Wheatley,

Here are 100 books that Perseverance fans have personally recommended if you like Perseverance. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Scaling Leadership: Building Organizational Capability and Capacity to Create Outcomes That Matter Most

Lyssa Adkins Author Of Lead Together: The Bold, Brave, Intentional Path to Scaling Your Business

From my list on for leaders scaling themselves for their business.

Why am I passionate about this?

For over a decade I helped people develop their skills and expand their leaderful-ness in Agile Coaching and I kept hearing the same blocker: “This is great and all, but my leaders don’t get it. They are the impediment.” After working with many thousands of Agilists I decided to go into the “belly of the beast” and personally coach leadership teams. What I found were not beasts or even garden variety egomaniacs. Instead, I found well-meaning people who are genuinely confounded by the complexity of today’s business landscape and who struggle with performance-killing team dynamics. Good news: the human technology to “solve” these issues is widely available. We know how.

Lyssa's book list on for leaders scaling themselves for their business

Lyssa Adkins Why did Lyssa love this book?

This book posits that the most important function of an organizational leader is to create other leaders throughout the organization. That’s right…not problem-solving, not clever strategy, not vision but leadership development. That’s because those other aspects are “table stakes” for the game of leadership in today’s complex business world. What I like about this book is that it is based on a huge pool of data about what makes leaders effective in the 21st-century and many of the insights are drawn from leaders themselves….from the feedback they give when they evaluate other leaders using the Leadership Circle Profile 360° assessment. It’s a nice marriage of relatable info “from the horse’s mouth” and decades of leadership theory borne out by insights from the assessment of hundreds of thousands of leaders. If you want to very specifically know what it takes to be a 21st-century leader, this book is a…

By Robert J. Anderson, William A. Adams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Scaling Leadership as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Transform Your Organization by Scaling Leadership

How do senior leaders, in their own words, describe the most effective leaders-the ones that get results, grow the business, enhance the culture and leave in their wake a trail of other really effective leaders? Conversely, how do senior leaders describe the kind of leader that undercuts the organization's capacity and capability to create its future? This book, based on groundbreaking research, shows how senior leaders describe and develop leadership that works, that does not, that scales, and that limits scale.

Is your leadership built for scale as you advance in today's volatile, uncertain,…


Book cover of Evolvagility: Growing an Agile Leadership Culture from the Inside Out

Lyssa Adkins Author Of Lead Together: The Bold, Brave, Intentional Path to Scaling Your Business

From my list on for leaders scaling themselves for their business.

Why am I passionate about this?

For over a decade I helped people develop their skills and expand their leaderful-ness in Agile Coaching and I kept hearing the same blocker: “This is great and all, but my leaders don’t get it. They are the impediment.” After working with many thousands of Agilists I decided to go into the “belly of the beast” and personally coach leadership teams. What I found were not beasts or even garden variety egomaniacs. Instead, I found well-meaning people who are genuinely confounded by the complexity of today’s business landscape and who struggle with performance-killing team dynamics. Good news: the human technology to “solve” these issues is widely available. We know how.

Lyssa's book list on for leaders scaling themselves for their business

Lyssa Adkins Why did Lyssa love this book?

This book gives the philosophical underpinning for why creating a leadership development culture in all parts of your organization is essential for working in our VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) business landscape. And, it shows you how to do it with specific practices and new-mindset concepts. It is geared toward organizations with Agile ways of working in the environment, but is also useful if Agile is not present. I especially enjoy the way several theories of adult development are interwoven in this book which makes using them to guide leadership development strategies (your own and others) simpler and more immediately applicable.

By Michael Hamman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Evolvagility as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Organizations around the globe are struggling to adapt to an increasingly complex and turbulent social, economic, technological, and business environment—whether they be banks, product development companies, or city councils. Many are responding by embracing agility as a way of working—some with a primary orientation around operational agility (Agile software development methods such as Scrum and SAFe), others focusing on customer development agility (e.g., Lean Startup), while others are embracing a broader business agility. In almost all of these cases, the prevailing notion of agility is concerned primarily with processes and practices, with systems and structures—a form of outer agility. But,…


Book cover of Systems Inspired Leadership: How to Tap Collective Wisdom to Navigate Change, Enhance Agility, and Foster Collaboration

Lyssa Adkins Author Of Lead Together: The Bold, Brave, Intentional Path to Scaling Your Business

From my list on for leaders scaling themselves for their business.

Why am I passionate about this?

For over a decade I helped people develop their skills and expand their leaderful-ness in Agile Coaching and I kept hearing the same blocker: “This is great and all, but my leaders don’t get it. They are the impediment.” After working with many thousands of Agilists I decided to go into the “belly of the beast” and personally coach leadership teams. What I found were not beasts or even garden variety egomaniacs. Instead, I found well-meaning people who are genuinely confounded by the complexity of today’s business landscape and who struggle with performance-killing team dynamics. Good news: the human technology to “solve” these issues is widely available. We know how.

Lyssa's book list on for leaders scaling themselves for their business

Lyssa Adkins Why did Lyssa love this book?

This one is hot off the presses in 2021. It gathers the powerful principles and processes from Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching and packages them for leaders. It “ups the ante” by showing how a systems-inspired orientation is critical for leaders to take, and why, and how to do it. I especially like that a big portion of the book is meant to be your just-in-time resource when you need to bring forth a specific leadership competency so that you can increase the relationship systems intelligence of the system and lead to much better outcomes. You can just flip to that specific competency and get the juice you need.

By Frank Uit de Weerd, Marita Fridjhon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Systems Inspired Leadership as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Today’s 21st Century leaders face tremendous pressure in an increasingly complex and fast-changing world, where traditional leadership models have become obsolete. To transform and transcend these challenges a new type of leadership is essential.

THE SOLUTION?

Systems Inspired Leadership (SIL): a powerful alternative for innovative leaders. Instead of an outmoded and ineffective top-down, leader-knows-all style that results in stress, pressure, and anxiety, SIL offers a fresh, proven approach for achieving optimal results for your organization.

This approach helps to overcome barriers and open doors to growth and innovation by tapping the collective wisdom of the organization. Instead of trying to…


Book cover of Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box

Brian Smith Author Of Individual Influence: Find the I in Team

From my list on books for a wandering eclectic mind.

Why am I passionate about this?

My fascination with the intricate web of influence and its profound impact traces back to my immersion in literature. Through the immersive experience of reading, we embark on a journey into the minds of others, expanding our understanding and evolving our individual perspectives. My professional trajectory has been shaped by a relentless pursuit of understanding the dynamics of influence across people, processes, and technology. Coupled with experiences spanning all seven continents and interactions with tens of thousands of individuals, I've undergone a transformative journey. Yet, it's the collective success of individuals embracing their humanity, both independently and collaboratively within their spheres of influence, that fuels my passion for continual growth and improvement.

Brian's book list on books for a wandering eclectic mind

Brian Smith Why did Brian love this book?

Leadership & Self-Deception is an essential lesson presented through a narrative about the triumphs and tribulations of a business leader. The story highlights a universal challenge—falling into a self-centered mindset, dubbed "being in the box" by the authors.

The book navigates through scenarios that confront readers' perceptions of personal relationships and problem-solving, often prompting uncomfortable introspection. However, its engaging narrative style effectively communicates enduring insights.

Within our organization, we recommend this book to all team members as a foundational resource for developing self-awareness, communication skills, and leadership abilities.

By Arbinger Institute,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Leadership and Self-Deception as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This third edition of an international bestseller--over 2 million copies sold worldwide and translated into 33 languages--details how its powerful insights on motivation, conflict, and collaboration can benefit organizations as well as individuals.

Since its original publication in 2000, Leadership and Self-Deception has become an international word-of-mouth phenomenon. Rather than tapering off, it sells more copies every year. The book's central insight--that the key to leadership lies not in what we do but in who we are--has proven to have powerful implications not only for organizational leadership but in readers' personal lives as well. 

Leadership and Self-Deception uses an entertaining…


Book cover of Sam & Dave Dig a Hole

DK Ryland Author Of Have You Seen My Acorn?

From my list on where the reader knows more than the character.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a picture book author/illustrator who writes humorous stories. One of my favorite techniques for instilling humor in my writing is for the illustrations to show the reader more than the characters’ know. It’s so much fun for kids to realize and be in on the joke before the characters in the book. I love a storytime where the kids get engaged and start pointing out what’s really happening and start talking to the characters to try to change their actions. I also love a good twist ending that makes the reader say, “How did I not see that coming?!” and these are the perfect kind of books for it. 

DK's book list on where the reader knows more than the character

DK Ryland Why did DK love this book?

Sam and Dave are digging for something spectacular and get so close to treasure that they keep deciding to change directions right when they are about to find it. I love this because, as a reader, you can see the treasure and how close Sam and Dave get.

The ending on this one is so fascinating because it’s open-ended, and that’s especially rare for a picture book. It's also a great conversation starter. 

By Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Sam & Dave Dig a Hole as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

With perfect pacing, the multiple award-winning, best-selling team of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen dig down for a deadpan tale full of visual humour.

From the award-winning team behind Extra Yarn, and illustrated by Jon Klassen, the Kate Greenaway-winning creator of This Is Not My Hat and I Want My Hat Back, comes a perfectly paced, deadpan tale full of visual humour. Sam and Dave are on a mission. A mission to find something spectacular. So they dig a hole. And they keep digging. And they find ... nothing. Yet the day turns out to be pretty spectacular after all.…


Book cover of The Wanderer

Coralie Bickford-Smith Author Of The Fox and the Star

From my list on children’s stories that adults will love as well.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an author, illustrator, and book designer. I never lost my childhood wonder at the printed page. When I write my own books, I create stories for both adults and children with deep meaning weaved into seemingly naive text and images. I enjoy creating worlds in which stories are told for children's and adults' imaginations to coexist. I think being dyslexic led me to enjoy aspects of visual storytelling so much. I have worked in publishing for many years and I am well known for my work on the Penguin clothbound classics where I use my visual illustration style to entice readers new and old to read classic stories and escape into new worlds.

Coralie's book list on children’s stories that adults will love as well

Coralie Bickford-Smith Why did Coralie love this book?

This book has recently been published, so I have only known it as an adult. When I opened its pages, I got lost in the complexity of the illustrations, there was much minute detail in the images. I was mesmerized. I just know I would have adored this book as a child. There are no words, just pictures to take you on an adventure. I find this an absolute treasure of a book that inspires me to make my own story to fill in the narrative. I imagine looking at this book with a child and the fun of piecing the story together using our combined imaginations. 

By Peter Van den Ende,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Wanderer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

"Wonderfully strange and strangely wonderful, Peter Van Den Ende's Wanderer is an epic dream captured in superbly meticulous detail."-Shaun Tan

As with Shaun Tan's The Arrival, it gives us collective goosebumps to introduce the singular talent and imagination of Peter Van Den Ende to North America. Without a word, and with Escher-like precision, van den Ende presents one little paper boat's journey across the ocean, past reefs and between icebergs, through schools of fish, swaying water plants, and terrifying sea monsters. The little boat is all alone, and while its aloneness gives it the chance to wonder at the fairy-tale…


Book cover of I Won't Give Up

J. L. Hunt Author Of Beautiful Boy

From my list on motivational stories for young children.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in a household with a large family, I recall times when it was difficult to find my voice, having to compete with multiple family members to be heard. Over the years, I developed a special compassion for children who may feel overlooked, or unseen, which also prompted my decision to become a children’s book author, catering to write empowering stories. So, I am especially passionate about this list of children’s stories that also helps to shape the trajectory of every child, by instilling in them early on their true value & infinite capabilities

J. L.'s book list on motivational stories for young children

J. L. Hunt Why did J. L. love this book?

This book really pushes you to confront new obstacles with an attitude of mastery, which is vital in the life of a child. Facing new things is an inevitable part of life, and this story does an excellent  job of emphasizing this truth, demonstrated through typical daily child interactions & encounters

By Daniel Kenney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Won't Give Up as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Want your kids to learn the power of not giving up?

Parents, guardians, and mentors play the crucial role in teaching kids how to "not give up."

Thankfully, simple books with powerful language can help!

With the help of "I Won't Give Up", you and your child can work together to explore how even the most daunting challenges can be navigated with a little creativity... and alot of determination.

Help the child in your life build confidence, conviction, and a can-do attitude.

With fun and silly pictures, and a simple but positive message, "I Won't Give Up" teaches children about…


Book cover of Manifesto: On Never Giving Up

Terry A. Repak Author Of Circling Home: What I Learned by Living Elsewhere

From my list on writers struggling to find their place in the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

My memoir, Circling Home: What I Learned by Living Elsewhere, details my own trajectory in trying to find my voice and métier as a writer. I’ve kept a journal since I was a teenager, trained to be a journalist in college, and worked as an investigative reporter on a newspaper column and a news show in my twenties. When my husband and I moved abroad, I got a book contract for my PhD thesis and also published my research in academic journals. I wrote travel articles and profiles of people I met while living in East and West Africa. Working with a writing group of friends, I finished two novels before embarking on my memoir.

Terry's book list on writers struggling to find their place in the world

Terry A. Repak Why did Terry love this book?

This memoir and Evaristo’s Booker Prize-winning novel, Girl, Woman, Other, opened my eyes to the struggles of writers and actors in the UK—especially women of color and immigrants—as they tried to find their voices and places and in literary circles.

Raised in a big family by a Nigerian father and British mother, Evaristo describes her upbringing and her efforts to find her voice when there were few venues for writers of color. Her theory of unstoppability is deeply inspiring for anyone who faces roadblocks in pursuing their passions, particularly writers who experienced the sting of multiple rejections before having their work accepted.

By Bernardine Evaristo,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Manifesto as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling and Booker Prize–winning author of Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo’s memoir of her own life and writing, and her manifesto on unstoppability, creativity, and activism

Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 Booker Prize win was a historic and revolutionary occasion, with Evaristo being the first Black woman and first Black British person ever to win the prize in its fifty-year history. Girl, Woman, Other was named a favorite book of the year by President Obama and Roxane Gay, was translated into thirty-five languages, and has now reached more than a million readers.

Evaristo’s astonishing nonfiction debut, Manifesto, is a vibrant…


Book cover of Ricky, the Rock That Couldn't Roll

Simon Mills Author Of The Secret of Scrufflewood Wood

From my list on children’s stories written in rhyme.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have written poetry since I was a little boy. Rhyme came naturally to me, and I found it to be a world to escape to. This led me to songwriting and touring in bands, and it grew into my vocation as a jingle writer in Australia. Eventually, I wrote the jingle that won the World’s Best Jingle award in Hollywood, and this, in part, inspired me to move to New York City from Australia. The other driving force was getting my first book, How To Steal From Banks—an autobiography—published in America. Writing and rhyming are deeply embedded in my soul and cells. 

Simon's book list on children’s stories written in rhyme

Simon Mills Why did Simon love this book?

I love an underdog story. Overcoming adversity against all odds.

Ricky is a rockstar. Plus, I’ve been a rocker all my life, playing in bands all over the world, so when it comes to rock n roll, I clearly identify. I like the subtle use of color in the illustrations in this book, as it gives the rhyming verse a little room to shine.

Ricky, the Rock that Couldn’t Roll also points loosely to overcoming a disability and gently navigates the emotion of living with such a burden. 

By Mr. Jay, Erin Wozniak (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Ricky, the Rock That Couldn't Roll as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

These rocks can really roll! Well, most of them, anyway...

Get ready to meet a new rock group! From zippy, little pebbles to big strong boulders, the rocks get together to play and roll around their favorite hill, only to find that one of their friends, Ricky, can't roll with them. Unlike all of the others, who are all round, Ricky can't roll because he's flat on one side.

Except for poor Ricky, who quietly sat.
You see, Rick couldn't roll, because one side was flat.

His friends didn't get it,
"Come Roll!" they would chant.
So Ricky tried, but…


Book cover of Abracadabra!: The Magic of Trying

Claire A. B. Freeland Author Of What to Do When Mistakes Make You Quake: A Kid's Guide to Accepting Imperfection

From my list on accepting imperfection.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a child psychologist and an award-winning author of several books for children and teens related to emotions, behavior, and the science behind them. I believe children love to see themselves in books and to learn about others. Making complex information clear and watching children light up with understanding is my goal for every book I write.

Claire's book list on accepting imperfection

Claire A. B. Freeland Why did Claire love this book?

One aspect of accepting imperfection is to recognize that new skills take practice. In this sweet tale, Little Owl believes he should automatically possess the ability to fly. His woodland friends teach him that practice and effort are required. The abracadabra magic turns out to be persistence in the face of failure. Young readers will embrace the “try, try again” message. This charming story and delightful illustrations will resonate with young children. There is also a note to parents and caregivers by a psychologist that delves into raising kids to develop perseverance.

By Maria Loretta Giraldo, Nicoletta Bertelle (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Abracadabra! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

All of the little birds have learned to fly... except Little Owl. The others explain that it's easy: all he has to do is say "abracadabra!" At first, it doesn't work, and Little Owl thinks the "magic" word is broken! But as he gets better and better, he realizes that the real magic is in himself. This book teaches children how to face challenges and keep trying, despite setbacks. Includes a "Note to Parents and Caregivers" with tips for encouraging kids to persevere.

Named in 'The Best Spiritual Books of 2018' by Spirituality & Practice.


Book cover of Scaling Leadership: Building Organizational Capability and Capacity to Create Outcomes That Matter Most
Book cover of Evolvagility: Growing an Agile Leadership Culture from the Inside Out
Book cover of Systems Inspired Leadership: How to Tap Collective Wisdom to Navigate Change, Enhance Agility, and Foster Collaboration

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