The Daily Coach's Picks: 10 Recommended Books of 2023

It has been another exhilarating year of literary exploration for The Daily Coach team. Amidst the myriad of captivating books and authors that have left a lasting impact on us, we aim to feature 10 noteworthy works presented in no particular order. 

Each book has proven instrumental in evolving us personally, professionally, and as leaders this year. We believe that within the pages of these selections, you will also discover profound insights and hidden gems that resonate with your own journey.

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara

Today, every business can choose to be a hospitality business—and we can all transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences. Guidara urges us all to find the magic in what we do—for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve.

The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life by Sally Jenkins

Sportswriter Sally Jenkins has spent her entire adult life observing and writing about great coaches and athletes. Colorful, inspirational, and accessible, The Right Call is the one stop shop for anyone wanting to learn how to effectively elevate themselves to greatness.

Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up by Jerry Colonna

One of the start-up world’s most in-demand executive coaches—hailed as the “CEO Whisperer”— Colonna reveals why radical self-inquiry is critical to professional success and healthy relationships in all realms of life.

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. Viola Davis' story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.

The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

Rich in wisdom, The Courage to Be Disliked will guide you through the concepts of self-forgiveness, self-care, and mind decluttering. It is a deeply liberating way of thinking, allowing you to develop the courage to change and ignore the limitations that you might be placing on yourself. 

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant

Hidden Potential offers a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations. Adam Grant weaves together groundbreaking evidence, surprising insights, and vivid storytelling that takes us from the classroom to the boardroom, the playground to the Olympics, and underground to outer space. 

For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be by Marcus Collins

The architect of some of the most famous ad campaigns of the last decade argues that culture is the most powerful vehicle for influencing behavior, and shows readers how to harness culture to inspire other people to share their vision. 

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

A deeply moving memoir of illness and recovery that traces one young woman’s journey from diagnosis to remission to re-entry into “normal” life—from the founder of The Isolation Journals and a subject of the Netflix documentary American Symphony.

Sideline CEO: Leadership Principles from Championship Coaches by Marty Smith

From ESPN’s authentic, popular, and intrepid correspondent Marty Smith—Sideline CEO details key leadership principles Marty has learned from championship coaches he’s interviewed over the past two decades.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Taleb

The Black Swan is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. 

Let us know what you think...