Laura Gordon recommends
Laura Gordon is an award-winning Executive Coach and Chair with Vistage International, leading peer groups of CEOs in London and Scotland.
Laura has had a varied and wide-ranging career, from studying psychology as a first degree and running her own small businesses to becoming an award-winning corporate lawyer specialising in IT and media law with a diverse range of clients across all sectors. She also taught Corporate and Commercial Law at the Glasgow Graduate School of Law.
In 2010 Laura retrained as an Executive Coach and formed her own business as a consultant, coach and corporate trainer. She joined Vistage in 2014 to continue to work with business leaders, developing them to their full potential whilst enhancing their effectiveness and quality of life.
Read on to find out which six books Laura recommends, and why…
“I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. I read all the Enid Blyton books (yes, that ages me, doesn’t it??) and would spend all my pocket money on books. There was one character – Mr Pink Whistle, who I loved, but weirdly very few people remember. And of course, the Famous Five and Secret Seven!
Now, as a grown up, I go through phases. As a student, for many years studying psychology, then law, I had so much reading to do, and learned to speed read. That has helped me consume large quantities of reading materials over the years, but the ever presence of mobile phones, email, social media etc, has definitely affected my concentration. Therefore, I love nothing more than a plane journey or quiet space with no interruptions where I can read in peace!
As an executive coach for business leaders, its my job to stay ahead of the curve and be aware of the latest leadership thinking, trends and perspectives. Luckily, lifelong learning is a true passion of mine, so I enjoy all reading, whether work related or otherwise. And often fiction comes with strong messages, so I don’t ever consider any reading to be a waste of time.
It's therefore hard to narrow it down to 6 titles, but here goes, across business, professional development and fiction…”
The Infinite Game
Simon Sinek
I’ve read all of Simon Sinek’s books, starting with Start with Why, but this one resonated with me for several reasons. The underlying message is that we view life as an infinite game – living a life of purpose, and with what he calls an infinite mindset. It’s also a call out to business leaders to build businesses that last for generations, not just chasing short term wins, by putting the focus on to sustainable practices that build strength and stability and enhance the bottom line. I work with one such business, a large accountancy practice whose business model is about building the business for future generations. At almost 100 years old, they’re certainly living their values.
Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0
Jim Collins
The culmination of a lifetime of research on what differentiates good businesses from great businesses and what makes a business last, Jim Collins is one of the foremost leadership thinkers of our time. This book specifically focuses on entrepreneurs and innovators, and those scaling up their businesses. There’s a huge focus on people – on getting “the right people on the bus” to coin one of his famous terms, and laser focused on the vision. I recommend this book to all my clients who are at the early stage of their business journey.
Rebel Ideas
Matthew Syed
I love reading Matthew Syed’s column in the Sunday Times and so far, have read Black Box Thinking and Bounce, two of his earlier books, but Rebel Ideas is so relevant for today’s world. It’s about the power of diverse thinking – cognitive diversity as he calls it. This, he explains, is the fundamental ingredient in solving complex problems, and by harnessing it we can create positive change at work, in politics and when tackling global issues. We see the importance of diversity in boards and the huge body of research which demonstrates this. I also see it in the diverse peer-to-peer leadership Groups I run, and how advice and challenge from a variety of perspectives can help achieve greater results.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
I listened to this on Audible, early in lockdown, when we were all reflecting on and examining our lives, and it helped me really change some bad habits and behaviours I’d developed over the years, replacing them with more positive, healthier habits. The main message is that tiny changes in behaviour can result in the formation of new habits and help you achieve greater things, and that consistency is always more important than intensity. There are a lot of online resources to support the book on James Clear’s website which you’ll find here.
Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom
I would like to recommend each and every one of Mitch Albom’s books, but this has to be an all-time favourite. I also recently watched one of the several film adaptations on YouTube. It’s a true story of how the author’s life was changed when he caught up with his former sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, who he discovered was dying of ALS and visited him once a week until his death. The conversations he recalls were deeply philosophical and thought provoking, transforming his perspective on life and bringing the reader along with him. I fell in love with Morrie and cried at his passing, but it also gave me an ongoing passion for all of Mitch Albom’s work.
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus
Definitely my top read of 2022 – this debut novel of a woman aged 65 has sat in the Sunday Times Top Ten for most of the year, and is about to be adapted to TV by Apple+. The characters are simply wonderful, especially the dog, called Six Thirty, and the storytelling is quirky, different, and captivating. It has you voraciously turning pages (or tapping your kindle!) and it’s impossible to put down - laugh out loud funny, but sad too. It follows a single mother who is a brilliant chemist in the man’s world of 1960s America, and who finds fame as an unlikely cooking show phenomenon. Read it – you’ll love it!