Recommended Books for Manufacturing Company Leaders

Manufacturing leaders are in a unique position. They’re operating in a very traditional industry and yet contending with all the modern leadership challenges.

Because of this, I often recommend books outside of the manufacturing category to the manufacturing leaders and CXOs we work with.

I created an Amazon wish list to make it easy to point these folks to the books I think will help them show up as the truly successful leaders they aspire to be. Recently, some very smart partners who also work with manufacturing companies shared with me their own lists of recommended reading, and I added these books to my list on Amazon.

The Recommended Books for Manufacturing Company Leaders list includes books related to the 3 Cs (connection, collaboration and communication), building stronger teams and relationships, leadership and self-awareness, inspirational leader biographies, and many other books that are often overlooked by leaders.

Today I want to take a moment to share some of my favorites with you — and encourage you to dig into the rest of the list as well!

A Few of Erin’s Favorite Reads

Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition

Conversation skills are foundational for leaders in any industry — but particularly in manufacturing, as you’re conversing with people in such a wide range of roles. This book has some outstanding advice on how to navigate even the trickiest conversations in a way that improves the relationship.

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

I admit, I’m a die-hard Brené Brown fan. I refer to this book a lot in my own business, and I’ve found that manufacturing leaders can also glean important insight from this book about the courage it takes leaders to develop potential in others.

Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow

This book was written by the creator of the StrengthsFinder system, and digs into some fascinating data on the top of leadership. Most importantly, it gives you specific strategies for leading with your top strengths and plotting the strengths of your team.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Simon Sinek gained fame with this 2009 TED Talk, which remains the third most popular TED video of all time. This book explores his concept of The Golden Circle, and leading organizations from the foundation of WHY.

Open: An Autobiography

Out of all the leader biographies and autobiographies I’ve read, this one struck me as particularly poignant. It walks through tennis champion Andre Agassi’s lifelong tension between his success on the court and his personal challenges finding fulfillment off the court. Because we now live in a world where the line between work and personal is so blurry, I think there’s a lot for manufacturing leaders to take away here when it comes to finding balance.

Recommended by the Family Business Consulting Group

Our partners at FBCG shared these three resources as well (and yes, they’re on the Amazon list too!). I’ve learned so much about the core emotional elements of family-owned manufacturing companies with these books.

Family Business Succession: Your Roadmap to Continuity is a great high-level view of the forces that impact family companies, grounded in the perspective of succession.

Building a Successful Family Business Board is based on research with CEOs of family businesses who have found great value for creating functional boards even if they were reticent to make the jump.

Keeping the Family Business Healthy is the best core overview of the challenges and opportunities of family business and talks about growth, strategy, organizational design, talent and more.

I hope you find some great new reading on Syte’s Recommended Books for Manufacturing Company Leaders. If you’d like to discuss these topics or these books with me directly, connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s chat!