Worth Your Read: My Top Book Recommendations for Communications Professionals

Whether you’re just starting out in your communications career, or you’ve been at it for a while, books can be a great source of information and inspiration. As a grad student, I've had no shortage of reading material. I'll spare you the 60-page scholarly articles steeped in theory, but I will share my top book recommendations for communications professionals.

The Brand Flip by Marty Neumeier: "People don't buy brands, they join brands," Neumeier writes. His point is that consumers now want to shape the creation and distribution of the products they purchase. In this era where people are focused less on products and more on meaning, brand strategy is more important than ever. The Brand Flip has great insight on consumers' motivations and how to position your brand in a way that is consumer driven. This is a quick read and I highly recommend it for anyone in a role even semi-related to brand strategy.

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The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath: This book introduces the idea of milestones, peaks and pits and how life's defining moments deserve to be punctuated. For example, the first day of a new job is a defining moment, both professionally and socially, but it is often a marathon of awkward meet-and-greets and technology troubles. Instead, what if the first day of work was a highly designed experience meant to celebrate the milestone of a new job and accelerate the new hire's sense of belonging? According to Heath & Heath, this is an example of "thinking in moments" to enhance culture and build resonance. What's great is this concept isn't just for internal communications. It can be used for all kinds of life's moments like opening an investment account, purchasing a home or opening a credit card. (Amex does the nicest job of any credit card company I've seen at welcoming new members.) I highly recommend this book. It's an easy, fun read and I bet you'll begin spotting "moments" of opportunity.

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Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis and Annie McKee: I recommend this with the forewarning that there are some dated references and examples, but the overall premise remains just as relevant as when it was published two decades ago. The overarching concept of the book is the importance of emotional intelligence in building resonance within teams. What I liked about this book is it starts with recognizing your own individual emotional intelligence strengths before moving to EI in teams and then finally EI in organizations. This would be a great read for internal communications professionals who are tasked with shifting or enhancing company culture.

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The Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway: This book isn't specific to the communications profession, but everyone wants to be happy, right? Scott Galloway is a brand strategy professor at NYU's Stern School of Business and hosts my favorite podcast, The Prof G Pod. While the podcast focuses on tech, entrepreneurship and finance, the book delves into more personal topics like career paths, relationships and how to allocate your most valuable resource - time. Galloway rejects the "follow your heart, do what you love" advice that is often given by those who already achieved financial success. Instead, Galloway encourages young people to find something they enjoy, that they have a talent for and can make money doing - and then get really, really good at it. I listened to this on Audible and would absolutely recommend it while you're driving or walking the dog.