Ask HN: What are the best books for professional effectiveness? ↗

The books people recommended

2021-12-18 · 107 points · 59 comments · 36 books named by at least one person here and at least 3 people overall. The number on the left is how many people named it in this thread.

11
Getting Things Done
David Allen
11 here · 62 all-time · #61 overall
Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 10,742 ratings on Amazon
3
Dune
Frank Herbert
3 here · 250 all-time · #3 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 104,032 ratings on Amazon
3
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie
3 here · 175 all-time · #8 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 106,505 ratings on Amazon
3
High Output Management
Andrew S. Grove
3 here · 39 all-time · #125 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 5,879 ratings on Amazon
2
Atomic Habits
James Clear
2 here · 25 all-time · #238 overall
Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 149,902 ratings on Amazon
2The Checklist Manifesto
The Checklist Manifesto
Atul Gawande
2 here · 17 all-time · #370 overall
Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 15,188 ratings on Amazon
2The Effective Engineer
The Effective Engineer
Edmond Lau
2 here · 17 all-time · #381 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 164 ratings on Amazon
2The Effective Executive
The Effective Executive
Peter Drucker
2 here · 14 all-time · #457 overall
Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 3,714 ratings on Amazon
2Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman
2 here · 8 all-time · #856 overall
2Total Money Makeover
Total Money Makeover
Dave Ramsey
2 here · 7 all-time · #990 overall
2Non-Violent Communication
Non-Violent Communication
Marshall Rosenberg
2 here · 7 all-time · #1031 overall
2How to Take Smart Notes
How to Take Smart Notes
Sönke Ahrens
2 here · 6 all-time · #1103 overall
1
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas Hofstadter
1 here · 347 all-time · #1 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 2,713 ratings on Amazon
1
The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
1 here · 114 all-time · #18 overall
Buy on Amazon4.9 out of 5, 14,620 ratings on Amazon
1
Deep Work
Cal Newport
1 here · 72 all-time · #46 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 3,713 ratings on Amazon
1
Peopleware
Tom DeMarco
1 here · 62 all-time · #59 overall
Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 1,189 ratings on Amazon
1
Principles
Ray Dalio
1 here · 49 all-time · #88 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 19,363 ratings on Amazon
1
The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg
1 here · 46 all-time · #97 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 40,333 ratings on Amazon
1The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen Covey
1 here · 30 all-time · #186 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 20,573 ratings on Amazon
1
Becoming a Technical Leader
Gerald M. Weinberg
1 here · 19 all-time · #338 overall
Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 363 ratings on Amazon
1The Four Agreements
The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz
1 here · 17 all-time · #378 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 121,779 ratings on Amazon
1The Psychology of Computer Programming
The Psychology of Computer Programming
Gerald M. Weinberg
1 here · 16 all-time · #410 overall
Buy on Amazon4.0 out of 5, 140 ratings on Amazon
1Difficult Conversations
Difficult Conversations
Douglas Stone
1 here · 15 all-time · #438 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 822 ratings on Amazon
1Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson
1 here · 11 all-time · #560 overall
Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 19,136 ratings on Amazon
1A Mind for Numbers
A Mind for Numbers
Barbara Oakley
1 here · 11 all-time · #561 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 6,906 ratings on Amazon
1Secrets of Consulting
Secrets of Consulting
Gerald M. Weinberg
1 here · 11 all-time · #562 overall
Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 370 ratings on Amazon
1The E-Myth
The E-Myth
Michael E. Gerber
1 here · 10 all-time · #679 overall
1Unwritten Laws of Engineering
Unwritten Laws of Engineering
W.J. King
1 here · 9 all-time · #743 overall
1The Toyota Way
The Toyota Way
Jeffrey K. Liker
1 here · 8 all-time · #898 overall
1Built to Last
Built to Last
Jim Collins
1 here · 6 all-time · #1088 overall
1The Machine that Changed the World
The Machine that Changed the World
James Womack
1 here · 5 all-time · #1301 overall
1One Minute Manager
One Minute Manager
Ken Blanchard
1 here · 5 all-time · #1421 overall
1How to Practice
How to Practice
Dalai Lama
1 here · 4 all-time · #1889 overall
1You Can Negotiate Anything
You Can Negotiate Anything
Herb Cohen
1 here · 3 all-time · #2034 overall
1The Tao of Programming
The Tao of Programming
Geoffrey James
1 here · 3 all-time · #2292 overall
1Mission Earth
Mission Earth
L. Ron Hubbard
1 here · 3 all-time · #2334 overall