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Vote on the Book Club books for 2025 ๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ๐Ÿ“˜

Hey Square Readers,

**VOTING HAS ENDED**

 

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Are you ready to help pick the next books for the Square Readers Book Club?

 

This year weโ€™ll pick a few books at once so you can plan part of the year ahead and have more time to get a copy. Weโ€™ll start voting now for the first half of 2025. 

 

We have a bunch of books to choose from, and weโ€™d love for you to vote to help us decide!  Select ALL of the books that you would want to read, and weโ€™ll take ones with the most votes.

 

Here are this roundโ€™s choices:

 

1. Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect

As featured in Season 2 of the hit show, The Bear

โ€œEssential lessons in hospitality for every business: Radical reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining roomโ€”and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality. The answer to some of the most pernicious business dilemmas is to give more; and the magic that can happen when a busser starts thinking like an owner. Today, every business can choose to be a hospitality businessโ€” we can all transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences. Find the magic in what we doโ€”for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve.โ€

 

2. Twelve and a Half by Gary Vaynerchuck 

โ€œGary Vaynerchuk explores the twelve essential emotional skills that are integral to his life and business success, and provides critical tools to acquire and develop these traits. Gary provides real-life examples involving common business scenarios to show you how to use them to land promotions, retain core employees, move faster than competitors, win the loyalty of customers, and build successful organizations that last.โ€

 

3. Atomic Habits by James Clear

โ€œNo matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improvingโ€”every day. James Clear reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. Bad habits repeat themselves not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to achieve any other goal.โ€

 

4. Obviously Awesome by April Dunford

โ€œYou know your product is awesomeโ€”but does anybody else? Forget everything you thought you knew about positioning. Successfully connecting your product with consumers isnโ€™t a matter of following trends, comparing yourself to the competition or trying to attract the widest customer base. Obviously Awesome, shows you how to find your productโ€™s โ€œsecret sauceโ€โ€”and then sell that sauce to those who crave it. Whether youโ€™re an entrepreneur, marketer or salesperson struggling to bring inventive products to market, Dunfordโ€™s insights will help you find your awesome, so that your customers can too.โ€

 

5. Never Lose A Customer Again by Joey Coleman

Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days

โ€œLearn how to turn a one-time purchaser into a lifelong customer. It isn't about focusing on marketing or closing the sale: It's about the First 100 Daysยฎ after the sale and the interactions the customer experiences. While new customers experience joy, euphoria, and excitement, these feelings quickly shift to fear, doubt, and uncertainty as buyer's remorse sets in. Across all industries, somewhere between 20%-70% of newly acquired customers will stop doing business with a company. If you can understand and anticipate the customers' emotions, you can apply a myriad of tools and techniques to cement a long and valuable relationship. These are easy to implement action steps that result in lasting change, increased profits, and lifelong customer retention.โ€

 

6. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

Jumpstart your Income, Your Life, Your Success

โ€œNo gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. The Compound Effect is a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If youโ€™re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want.โ€

 

7. Company of One by Paul Jarvis 

โ€œCompany of One is a refreshingly new approach centered on staying small and avoiding growth, for any size business. By staying small, one can have freedom to pursue more meaningful pleasures in life, and avoid the headaches that result from dealing with employees, long meetings, or worrying about expansion. Company of One introduces this unique business strategy and explains how to make it work for you, including how to generate cash flow on an ongoing basis. Jarvis explains how you can find the right pathway, including planning how to set up your shop, determining your desired revenues, dealing with unexpected crises, keeping your key clients happy, and of course, doing all of this on your own.โ€

 

8. Find Your Why by Simon Sinek

โ€œFind Your Why picks up where Start With Why left off. It shows you how to apply Simon Sinekโ€™s powerful insights so that you can find more inspiration at work -- and in turn inspire those around you. Achieving that fulfillment starts with understanding exactly WHY we do what we do. With detailed exercises, illustrations, and action steps for every stage of the process, Find Your Why can help you address many important concerns. Whether you've just started your first job, are leading a team, or are CEO of your own company, the exercises in this book will help guide you on a path to long-term success and fulfillment, for both you and your colleagues.โ€

 

9. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

โ€œA former FBI hostage negotiator offers a new, field-tested approach to negotiating โ€“ effective in any situation. Never Split the Difference takes you inside his world of high-stakes negotiations, revealing the nine key principles that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed when it mattered the most โ€“ when peopleโ€™s lives were at stake. Rooted in the real-life experiences of an intelligence professional at the top of his game, Never Split the Difference will give you the competitive edge in any discussion.โ€

 

10. The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman

โ€œAnyone who designs anything to be used by humans โ€“ from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools โ€“ must read this book, and it is an equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. It could forever change how you experience and interact with your physical surroundings, open your eyes to the perversity of bad design and the desirability of good design, and raise your expectations about how things should be designed.โ€

 

Which of these do you want to read next? Vote by filling out this Google Forms survey! 

 

After you vote, tell us in the comments why youโ€™re excited about the books you chose. Feel free to leave suggestions for other books youโ€™d want to read (that youโ€™ve heard of or from our Bookshelf)! 

 

Weโ€™ll announce the next books on December 16th, and start reading the first one in January. 

 

We canโ€™t wait to read with you!

Pesso

 

**VOTING HAS ENDED**

 

๏œ๏ธ Aylon Pesso, he/him
Small Business Evangelist, Square

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Best Answer

Hey Square Readers,

 

You voted and we have our Book Club lineup for the first half of the year:

 

Check out the announcement post for Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara that weโ€™ll be reading together for January & February! Pick up your copy, get ready to start reading and participating in our discussion threads on Monday January 6th. 

 

We canโ€™t wait to read with you,

Pesso

๏œ๏ธ Aylon Pesso, he/him
Small Business Evangelist, Square

Join the Square Readers Book Club
Watch the Let's Talk Business Interviews

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Thanks for the added recommendation and endorsement, @Doran ! Any key takeaways that are sticking with you? 

๏œ๏ธ Aylon Pesso, he/him
Small Business Evangelist, Square

Join the Square Readers Book Club
Watch the Let's Talk Business Interviews
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I have listened to Chris Voss multiple times since I found him and everytime I do, I have even more notes. If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone even if you're not a business owner. 

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Admin

Thanks for joining and sharing, @TheArtChildLLC ! What's one or two key takeaways that have stuck with you from it?

๏œ๏ธ Aylon Pesso, he/him
Small Business Evangelist, Square

Join the Square Readers Book Club
Watch the Let's Talk Business Interviews
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Admin

Best Answer

Hey Square Readers,

 

You voted and we have our Book Club lineup for the first half of the year:

 

Check out the announcement post for Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara that weโ€™ll be reading together for January & February! Pick up your copy, get ready to start reading and participating in our discussion threads on Monday January 6th. 

 

We canโ€™t wait to read with you,

Pesso

๏œ๏ธ Aylon Pesso, he/him
Small Business Evangelist, Square

Join the Square Readers Book Club
Watch the Let's Talk Business Interviews
6,393 Views
Message 25 of 25
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