10 books like Pour Your Heart Into It

By Howard Schultz,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like Pour Your Heart Into It. Shepherd is a community of 8,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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The Experience Economy

By B Joseph Pine II, James H Gilmore,

Book cover of The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money

Joseph A. Michelli Author Of The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

From the list on customer service and customer experience.

Who am I?

I am a New York Times #1 bestselling author of more than 10 customer experience and leadership books. When I am not reading and writing, I help leaders and entrepreneurs drive employee engagement, customer loyalty, and referrals. 

Joseph's book list on customer service and customer experience

Discover why each book is one of Joseph's favorite books.

Why did Joseph love this book?

Economists Gilmore and Pine, trace economic value through the agrarian, industrial and service age and pioneer thinking on the importance of “staging” experiences. This book created a tectonic shift from transactional “customer service” to emotionally engaging “customer experiences.” In a world where customer satisfaction is table stakes, The Experience Economy shows readers how to drive emotional engagement and repeat business.

The Experience Economy

By B Joseph Pine II, James H Gilmore,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Time is limited. Attention is scarce. Are you engaging your customers?

Apple Stores, Disney, LEGO, Starbucks. Do these names conjure up images of mere goods and services, or do they evoke something more--something visceral?

Welcome to the Experience Economy, where businesses must form unique connections in order to secure their customers' affections--and ensure their own economic vitality.

This seminal book on experience innovation by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore explores how savvy companies excel by offering compelling experiences for their customers, resulting not only in increased customer allegiance but also in a more profitable bottom line. Translated into thirteen languages,…


The Fred Factor

By Mark Sanborn,

Book cover of The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary

Joseph A. Michelli Author Of The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

From the list on customer service and customer experience.

Who am I?

I am a New York Times #1 bestselling author of more than 10 customer experience and leadership books. When I am not reading and writing, I help leaders and entrepreneurs drive employee engagement, customer loyalty, and referrals. 

Joseph's book list on customer service and customer experience

Discover why each book is one of Joseph's favorite books.

Why did Joseph love this book?

If only my mail carrier were like Fred… but that’s the point. All of us can “up our game” when it comes to caring for and about others. Mark Sanborn crafted a highly accessible and engaging book that shows how everyone can “be a Fred.” The line between ordinary and extraordinary is less about resources and more about focus and effort.

The Fred Factor

By Mark Sanborn,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Mark Sanborn met his postman, Fred, just after he moved to Denver. Fred knocked on his door, introduced himself, and welcomed him to the neighborhood. He also asked Sanborn about himself and how he wanted his mail handled while he was away. Needless to say, Sanborn was shocked. He asked Fred more about his job and how he approached it. Fred's answers inspired him to develop motivational seminars promoting Fred's attitude and approach to life.

To embody the Fred philosophy is to realise and practise that:--Everyone can make a difference--Success is built on good relationships--You must continually create value for…


Peak

By Chip Conley,

Book cover of Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow

Joseph A. Michelli Author Of The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

From the list on customer service and customer experience.

Who am I?

I am a New York Times #1 bestselling author of more than 10 customer experience and leadership books. When I am not reading and writing, I help leaders and entrepreneurs drive employee engagement, customer loyalty, and referrals. 

Joseph's book list on customer service and customer experience

Discover why each book is one of Joseph's favorite books.

Why did Joseph love this book?

I wish I had written this book. Chip Conley takes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and applies it to employees and customers. Sharing lessons from hotel leadership, Chip demonstrates how managers and frontline workers should prioritize primary needs of those they serve while stretching to address higher level belonging and self-expression needs. With precision and clarity, Chip Conley offers a template for assessing the wants, needs, and desires of others

Peak

By Chip Conley,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Proven principles for sustainable success, with new leadership insight

PEAK is the popular, transformative guide to doing business better, written by a seasoned entrepreneur/CEO who has disrupted his favorite industry not once, but twice. Author Chip Conley, founder and former CEO of one of the world's largest boutique hotel companies, turned to psychologist Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs at a time when his company was in dire need. And years later, when the young founders of Airbnb asked him to help turn their start-up home sharing company into a world-class hospitality giant, Conley once again used the principles he'd developed…


Delivering Happiness

By Tony Hsieh,

Book cover of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

Fabian Geyrhalter Author Of Bigger Than This: How to turn any venture into an admired brand

From the list on on creating an admired brand.

Who am I?

I am a Creative Director turned Brand Strategist who loves creating clarity for brand transformations. I do so for small companies and Fortune 500s alike, but the thrill is the same. At the end of the day that hands-on (actually more of a ‘brain on’) work coupled with my books on branding and my podcast Hitting The Mark (where I talk with some of today’s most mesmerizing founders about the intersection of brand clarity and startup success) is doing my part in creating more admired brands in this world. I hope the books on this list will inspire and enable you to do the same for your own company.

Fabian's book list on on creating an admired brand

Discover why each book is one of Fabian's favorite books.

Why did Fabian love this book?

It was a tough decision, and I definitely still want you to read Seth Godin’s books, but I settled on the late Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness since great company culture is the foundation to an admired brand. I strongly believe in that and spreading how Tony created the phenomenon that is the Zappos culture, you will realize that paying your top employees hard cash to quit is actually one of the many ways to set your company on the path of becoming an admired brand.

Delivering Happiness

By Tony Hsieh,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

- Pay brand-new employees $2,000 to quit
- Make customer service the responsibility of the entire company-not just a department
- Focus on company culture as the #1 priority
- Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business
- Help employees grow-both personally and professionally
- Seek to change the world
- Oh, and make money too . . .

Sound crazy? It's all standard operating procedure at Zappos, the online retailer that's doing over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales annually. After debuting as the highest-ranking newcomer in Fortune magazine's annual "Best Companies to Work For"…


Good to Great

By Jim Collins,

Book cover of Good to Great

Robert L. Caslen Jr. and Michael D. Matthews Author Of The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity

From the list on leading with character.

Who are we?

We have studied effective leadership for years, and could not be more passionate about developing our nation’s future leaders. As the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point and as a professor in West Point’s leadership department, we both understand the importance to our Nation to produce the most competent and trustworthy leaders, who will lead our Nation’s future sons and daughters in the most challenging of circumstances. Character plays a huge role in building the best leaders, and The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity, does a masterful job showing how that occurs.  

Robert's book list on leading with character

Discover why each book is one of Robert's favorite books.

Why did Robert love this book?

This book shows what it takes to transition from an average (good) organization to becoming a great organization.  With specific data and analysis of organizations that have successfully made this transition, Jim Collins masterfully illustrates the culture, character, leadership, and management that was necessary to become “great”! What I loved in Jim Collin’s assessment, is that the CEO’s who successfully made this transition were not rabble-rouser leaders with flamboyant personalities. They were strategic leaders with a vision that everyone identified with, who created a culture defined by the values of their organization, and who persevered through all challenges and adversity. 

Good to Great

By Jim Collins,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Good to Great as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

________________________________
Can a good company become a great one? If so, how?

After a five-year research project, Jim Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen. In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organisation to make the leap from good to great while other organisations remain only good. Rigorously supported by evidence, his findings are surprising - at times even shocking - to the modern mind.

Good to Great achieves a rare distinction: a management book full of vital ideas that reads as well as a fast-paced novel. It is widely regarded…


Corporate Lifecycles

By Ichak Adizes,

Book cover of Corporate Lifecycles: How and Why Corporations Grow and Die and What to Do About It

Eric G. Flamholtz Author Of Growing Pains: Building Sustainably Successful Organizations

From the list on the stages and challenges of organizational growth.

Who am I?

I'm Professor Emeritus at UCLA and have also been on the faculty of Columbia University and The University of Michigan, where I received my PhD degree. I founded Management Systems Consulting, which works with entrepreneurial firms in the US and globally to scale up, in 1978. I've served on the board of a firm (99 Cents Only Stores) that scaled up and was a NYSE listed firm. I've advised CEOs who have created global champion firms and been recognized as leaders in their space. I've authored or co-authored several books including Creating Family Business Champions; Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Advantage; Changing the Game; and Leading Strategic Change.

Eric's book list on the stages and challenges of organizational growth

Discover why each book is one of Eric's favorite books.

Why did Eric love this book?

The framework presented in Corporate Lifecycles deals with the same core issue of Stages and Challenges of Organizational Growth as dealt with in my own book, but from a different perspective. The author is a former academic who has developed his own framework of corporate lifecycles and his methodology of organizations working through them. The book presents a different framework of corporate life cycles and emphasizes the managerial styles that are appropriate to reach stage of the corporate lifecycle. The author has seen and worked with a large number of companies that have employed his methods. He presents his perspective and insights for this role as a participant-observer. 

Corporate Lifecycles

By Ichak Adizes,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Likens corporations to living organisms and traces their developmental stages, discussing the normal, even healthy problems that lead to growth at these stages, as well as the unusual problems that can cause a company's death


My Years with General Motors

By Alfred P Sloan Jr.,

Book cover of My Years with General Motors

Eric G. Flamholtz Author Of Growing Pains: Building Sustainably Successful Organizations

From the list on the stages and challenges of organizational growth.

Who am I?

I'm Professor Emeritus at UCLA and have also been on the faculty of Columbia University and The University of Michigan, where I received my PhD degree. I founded Management Systems Consulting, which works with entrepreneurial firms in the US and globally to scale up, in 1978. I've served on the board of a firm (99 Cents Only Stores) that scaled up and was a NYSE listed firm. I've advised CEOs who have created global champion firms and been recognized as leaders in their space. I've authored or co-authored several books including Creating Family Business Champions; Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Advantage; Changing the Game; and Leading Strategic Change.

Eric's book list on the stages and challenges of organizational growth

Discover why each book is one of Eric's favorite books.

Why did Eric love this book?

This book presents the historical story of another great company that rose to dominate its industry from the perspective of the man who led the company and was the architect of the strategic battle to create it. Alfred P. Sloan was an MIT-trained engineer when he was selected to lead General Motors, which was at the time “an also ran” to the once mighty Ford Motor Company led by the legendary visionary of the industry, Henry Ford. Yet Sloan, who even today is less well known than Henry Ford, crafted a strategy and organization that ultimately surpassed Ford not only in market share, but also in all aspects of operations so that General Motors and not Ford became the dominant colossus of the Automotive industry for more than a half-century. 

The book gives readers an opportunity to see the nature and evolution of Sloan’s plans and actions that slowly and…

My Years with General Motors

By Alfred P Sloan Jr.,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked My Years with General Motors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This edition has no photos nor charts. A free GM_Charts_Supplement.pdf can be download from enetpress.com

“Deliberately to stop growing is to suffocate. . . . I put no ceiling on progress.”
~Alfred P Sloan, Jr.

Alfred P Sloan, Jr. began his career with General Motors little realizing that the automobile presented one of the greatest industrial opportunities of modern times. It was because of his genius and leadership that General Motors Corporation grew to be one of the largest corporations on Earth. My Years with General Motors tells Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.’s remarkable story.

When Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. joined…


I'll Be Back

By Shep Hyken,

Book cover of I'll Be Back

Brittany Hodak Author Of Creating Superfans: How To Turn Your Customers Into Lifelong Advocates

From the list on turning your customers into superfans.

Who am I?

I’m passionate about customer experience because it’s the number-one reason businesses succeed or fail. Regardless of the size (or budget!) of your company, you can set yourself apart—and create superfan customers!—by focusing on being exceptional in the areas that really matter. I grew up watching my dad prioritize customer service, first as a fast-food restaurant manager and then at a car dealership, and I know firsthand that how you treat your employees and your customers makes all the difference! 

Brittany's book list on turning your customers into superfans

Discover why each book is one of Brittany's favorite books.

Why did Brittany love this book?

If you’re looking for a book on customer service or customer experience, you have to read one of Shep Hyken’s books! Shep is the world’s top customer service expert, a hall-of-fame speaker, and one of my biggest mentors (you could say I’m his superfan!). His most recent book, I’ll Be Back is my personal favorite of his because of its focus on the organizational culture that’s needed to drive a customer-centric brand. 

I'll Be Back

By Shep Hyken,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I'll Be Back as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How do you build a business that thrives during good times and bad? Is there a strategy that can set up  your company up for success, no matter what curveballs the world may throw your way? There is: Turn customers into repeat customers, and turn repeat customers into loyal customers.
 
Renowned customer service and experience expert Shep Hyken maintains that delivering an amazing customer service experience that keeps customers coming back for more is everyone’s job. Customer service is not a department. It’s not just for people on the front lines. It’s the responsibility of everyone in the organization, from…


The Innovator's Dilemma

By Clayton M. Christensen,

Book cover of The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Jonathan R. Copulsky Author Of The Transformation Myth: Leading Your Organization Through Uncertain Times

From the list on responding to disruption and uncertainty.

Who am I?

Responding to disruption and uncertainty has increasingly dominated my thinking. Ten years ago, while a senior partner at a global professional services firm, I sponsored a major research project on digital transformation. The most surprising finding was that the organizations that are effective in responding to disruption figure out how to learn fast and scale fast. In my encore career of university teaching, I have dived deeper into how organizations and functions (such as marketing) respond to disruption. An improbable consequences of COVID-19 is an abundance of real-time examples of how organizations cope with acute disruptions vs. the chronic disruptions resulting from new technologies. 

Jonathan's book list on responding to disruption and uncertainty

Discover why each book is one of Jonathan's favorite books.

Why did Jonathan love this book?

I hate the way people toss around the term, disruption, to describe everything under the sun, neutering the value of the term in describing why disruption matters. Christensen’s book relies on empirical research, not hyperbole, to describe what makes innovations disruptive and why many companies fail to respond to disruptive innovations. I use the book and a series of Harvard Business Review articles co-authored by Christensen in one of my classes as a way to help my students understand the unique challenges of marketing disruptive innovations. Inevitably, the students who resist the concepts the most are the ones who write several years after graduation about how they are seeing Christensen’s concepts playing out in their markets. 

The Innovator's Dilemma

By Clayton M. Christensen,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Innovator's Dilemma as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named one of 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime by Amazon Editors A Wall Street Journal and Businessweek bestseller. Named by Fast Company as one of the most influential leadership books in its Leadership Hall of Fame. An innovation classic. From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen's work continues to underpin today's most innovative leaders and organizations. The bestselling classic on disruptive innovation, by renowned author Clayton M. Christensen. His work is cited by the world's best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic bestseller--one of the most influential business books…


Excellence Wins

By Horst Schulze, Dean Merrill,

Book cover of Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise

Hermann Simon Author Of Many Worlds, One Life: A Remarkable Journey from Farmhouse to the Global Stage

From the list on becoming a global business leader.

Who am I?

Hermann Simon grew up on a small, remote farm and became a world-renowned marketing professor, including stints at MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. But academic fame didn’t satisfy him. He had the ambition to achieve an impact on practice and founded Simon-Kucher & Partners, today with 41 offices and 1600 employees the world's leading price consultancy. He also detected the secrets of the "hidden champions", unknown mid-sized global market leaders (more than 1.5 million Google entries). In China a business school is named in his honor.

Hermann's book list on becoming a global business leader

Discover why each book is one of Hermann's favorite books.

Why did Hermann love this book?

Horst Schulze started as a bellboy and became the best hotelier in the world. He is the one who created the leading hotel chain Ritz Carlton. He won the Baldridge Quality Award twice. No one else has achieved that. But what's really interesting about this book is not the result, but the way he got there: how did he achieve this great goal? 

Anyone involved in service can learn extremely valuable lessons from this book. And in the process, you will also get to know Horst Schulze as a person. Because at the core of him lies the secret of success; he is a role model and leader.

Excellence Wins

By Horst Schulze, Dean Merrill,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Horst Schulze knows what it takes to win. In Excellence Wins, the cofounder and former president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company lays out a blueprint for becoming the very best in a world of compromise. In his characteristic no-nonsense approach, Schulze shares the visionary and disruptive principles that have led to immense global success over the course of his still-prolific fifty-year career in the hospitality industry.

For over twenty years, Schulze fearlessly led the company to unprecedented multibillion dollar growth, setting the business vision and people-focused standards that made the Ritz-Carlton brand world renowned. In Excellence Wins, Schulze shares his…


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