By Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO
May 17, 2023
Someone recently asked me about my all-time favorite business books, and if you know me well, this was a tough question. I’m a voracious reader and I have read so many great books over the years, some that I absolutely loved and others that just didn’t resonate with me as much. There are a handful, however, that had a lasting impact on me as a business owner.
If I had to choose just one, I would say it’s “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless” by Jeffrey Gitomer. I read this book early in my career and its message really spoke to me. AND, after rereading it recently, I was surprised to see how many of the book’s ideas are still viable and we still use in our office culture and systems. In fact, our mission statement and even our office “WOW” shirts are derived from the philosophy of this book.
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Another book I recommend is “Drive” by Daniel Pink. So many business owners try to motivate their staff with bonus systems, and Pink shows how this approach isn’t always effective. Instead, he shows how people are motivated by feeling justly compensated and by having autonomy, mastery and purpose in their work.
“The Best Service is No Service” by Bill Price and David Jaffe and “The Effortless Experience” by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman and Rick DeLisi are two other great books that emphasize the importance of automating, eliminating, simplifying and leveraging to grow your business and create a better experience for your customers and staff.
Finally, “First, Break all the Rules” by Jim Harter (Foreword) and Marcus Buckingham details how the best managers approach things differently and engage their employees in unique ways. This book is rooted in science, researched extremely well and offers practical tips for business owners and managers seeking to build an engaged, successful team.
Click HERE for a more comprehensive list of books I recommend, each with a blurb on why I recommend them.
Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, is president of Lakeline Vision Source in Cedar Park, Texas, and the Professional Editor of Review of Optometric Business (ROB). To contact her: lsorrenson@gmail.com.
