25 Books and Resources Every COO Should Read
COO Insider
25 Books and Resources Every COO Should Read
Navigating the complexities of today's business environment requires more than just instinct; it demands insight from those who have mastered their craft. This curated list of essential readings and resources comes directly from the recommendations of seasoned COOs and industry leaders. Empower leadership and decision-making with knowledge handpicked by experts, ensuring that every strategic move is informed and impactful.
- Let My People Go Surfing
- Measure What Matters
- The Lean Startup
- Scaling Up
- Never Split the Difference
- The E-Myth Revisited
- Machine Learning Yearning
- Never Split the Difference
- The E-Myth Revisited
- Traction
- Good to Great
- Good to Great
- Good to Great
- Drive
- High Output Management
- The Lean Startup
- Never Split the Difference
- The Innovator's Dilemma
- The E-Myth Real Estate Investor
- Good to Great
- They Ask, You Answer
- The Phoenix Project
- The E-Myth Real Estate Investor
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
- The E-Myth Real Estate Investor
Let My People Go Surfing
One key resource that significantly impacted our operations was Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. By applying Chouinard's principles of environmental responsibility, we saw impressive results. We transitioned to biodegradable mushroom-based packaging, reducing our carbon footprint by 45% in just eight months. While this switch increased costs by 12%, customer loyalty rose by 68%, leading to a 27% increase in repeat purchases. The book's practical approach to balancing profit and environmental care was invaluable. For example, we implemented a closed-loop production system where customers could return used products for recycling and receive a 17% discount on their next purchase. This initiative saw an 83% participation rate and helped reduce waste by 3.5 tons annually.
Measure What Matters
One book that's been a game-changer for me as a COO is Measure What Matters by John Doerr. It dives deep into the concept of OKRs, which has completely transformed how I approach goal-setting and accountability within a team. The book isn't just theoretical, it's packed with real-world examples from companies like Google and Intel, showing how clear, measurable objectives can drive alignment and growth.
What I love most is how it emphasizes focus. Both on big-picture goals and the smaller steps that get you there. For anyone juggling multiple priorities, this framework can help cut through the noise. I recommend it to COOs or any leader looking to improve execution and create a culture of transparency and results. It's practical, easy to apply, and, honestly, a system you can build into almost any organization.
The Lean Startup
As someone who's flipped over 100 houses, 'The Lean Startup' completely changed how I approach real estate operations. I initially struggled with efficiently testing new house-flipping strategies, but this book taught me to use small, quick experiments - like testing different renovation approaches on just one room before committing to entire houses. The concept of 'minimum viable product' helped me save thousands by validating renovation plans with potential buyers before going all-in, which I'd definitely recommend to anyone in real estate operations.
Scaling Up
Being a SaaS founder, I've found 'Scaling Up' by Verne Harnish particularly impactful for my role overseeing operations. Just last month, I applied its one-page strategic planning framework to streamline our quarterly goals, which helped us reduce meeting time by 25%. I recommend it because it provides actionable tools for managing growth without getting bogged down in theoretical concepts.
Never Split the Difference
The book 'Never Split the Difference' by Chris Voss has been a game-changer in how I handle negotiations with both sellers and buyers in our real estate transactions. I recently used his 'mirroring' technique during a particularly challenging deal with a distressed property owner, which helped create trust and led to a win-win solution where the seller felt heard and we secured a fair price.
The E-Myth Revisited
I found 'The E-Myth Revisited' by Michael Gerber incredibly valuable as it helped me systematize our real estate operations across multiple states. The book's emphasis on working on your business rather than in it really hit home when I was struggling to scale beyond our first two locations. This resource taught me to develop standardized processes for our house flipping operations, which reduced our renovation timeline by 30% and helped maintain consistent quality across all our projects.
Machine Learning Yearning
At Playably.AI, 'Machine Learning Yearning' by Andrew Ng has been my go-to resource for navigating AI implementation challenges. Last quarter, I used its structured approach to help our team prioritize AI features, which resulted in a 30% improvement in our model accuracy. While it's technical, the practical guidelines for AI strategy make it invaluable for COOs working with AI teams.
Never Split the Difference
I found 'Never Split the Difference' by Chris Voss incredibly valuable for navigating complex real estate negotiations and difficult conversations with homeowners in distressed situations. The practical negotiation techniques have helped me close more deals while ensuring both parties feel heard and respected, which is crucial in our industry.
The E-Myth Revisited
As a restaurant owner, I found 'The E-Myth Revisited' to be a game-changer in how I structure our kitchen and front-of-house operations. Last year, I applied the book's systems-thinking approach to standardize our prep processes across both restaurants, which reduced food waste by 15% and improved consistency in our dishes. The book's emphasis on working on your business rather than in it helped me step back from daily cooking to focus on strategic growth, though I still jump in during rush hours because that's just who I am.
Traction
"Traction" by Gino Wickman has been invaluable in my role as COO. It provides a practical framework, the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), for streamlining processes, aligning teams, and driving focused growth. The emphasis on setting clear goals, tracking measurable results, and fostering accountability helped us clarify priorities and improve execution. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to organize and scale their business without getting bogged down in complexity-it's actionable and results-driven.
Good to Great
I've found 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins invaluable in transforming our roofing company's approach to hiring and team building - it's not just about finding skilled roofers, but finding the right people who align with our values. Last month, we implemented the book's 'First Who, Then What' principle, which helped us build a more cohesive crew that's increased our project completion rate by 30%.
Good to Great
Building a digital insurance platform required solid systems thinking, and 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins really opened my eyes to getting the right people on the bus. The book's concepts helped us at Dundas Life focus on disciplined growth while maintaining our core values, especially when we were raising venture capital. I suggest it to fellow executives because it provides practical frameworks for making tough decisions about team structure and strategic direction.
Good to Great
I'm excited to share that 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins has been transformative for me as a COO in real estate. The book taught me to focus on getting the right people 'on the bus' first - I actually restructured our entire property management team based on this principle, which led to a 40% improvement in tenant satisfaction scores. I especially recommend the chapter on Level 5 Leadership to other COOs because it helped me balance being humble while still driving results, something I practice daily when working with our investment partners.
Drive
Drive by Daniel Pink completely changed how I approach team motivation in our real estate operations. Instead of just focusing on commission structures, I started implementing autonomy-based initiatives where our agents could choose their preferred territories and working hours, which actually increased our closing rates by 25%. I particularly recommend the section on mastery, which helped me create better professional development paths for our team members, leading to higher retention and satisfaction.
High Output Management
As someone managing a fast-growing financial website, 'High Output Management' by Andy Grove has been my go-to guide for operational efficiency. I particularly found value in his concept of 'task-relevant maturity' which helped me better delegate responsibilities to my team members based on their experience levels. The book's emphasis on measuring what matters led us to develop better metrics for our content quality, resulting in a 65% increase in reader engagement.
The Lean Startup
I found 'The Lean Startup' by Eric Ries absolutely eye-opening when streamlining our property buying processes at Modern Property Solutions. The book helped me implement quick feedback cycles with our team, where we test small changes in our home evaluation process and gather data before making bigger operational shifts - this alone cut our closing time by 30%. While it's not specifically a real estate book, I'd recommend it to any COO who wants practical ways to test new ideas without risking the whole business.
Never Split the Difference
The book 'Never Split the Difference' by Chris Voss has transformed how I approach real estate negotiations and client interactions. Just last month, I used his 'mirroring' technique during a particularly challenging property acquisition, which helped us close the deal while maintaining a positive relationship with the seller. Having tested his methods in over 100 real estate transactions, I've found his approach particularly effective when dealing with emotional homeowners who need to sell quickly.
The Innovator's Dilemma
The Innovator's Dilemma really opened my eyes to why established education platforms were struggling to adapt to online learning, which helped shape UrbanPro's strategy. Last year, I applied Christensen's principles when we decided to launch our mobile-first tutoring feature, even though it initially seemed less profitable than our traditional web platform. The book's insights about disruptive innovation gave me the confidence to push forward, and now that mobile feature accounts for 40% of our new user growth.
The E-Myth Real Estate Investor
I've found 'The E-Myth Real Estate Investor' incredibly valuable in my journey, particularly in systematizing our house-buying operations. After implementing the book's process documentation methods, we cut our closing time from 45 to 28 days on average, and our team can now handle 30% more transactions without feeling overwhelmed. What makes this book special is how it helped me step back from being the bottleneck in every decision - now I have clear systems that our team can follow without my constant involvement.
Good to Great
Running a healthcare marketing agency, I found 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins particularly eye-opening for managing our operational growth. The book's concept of getting 'the right people on the bus' helped me restructure our creative teams, leading to a 40% improvement in project delivery times. I often reference its principles when making tough decisions about team composition and resource allocation, especially during our quarterly planning sessions.
They Ask, You Answer
'They Ask, You Answer' by Marcus Sheridan completely changed how we approach client communication and service delivery at FATJOE. After implementing the book's transparency-first approach, we saw a 40% increase in client satisfaction and better project completion rates because we started addressing common SEO concerns upfront instead of waiting for issues to arise.
The Phoenix Project
I found 'The Phoenix Project' by Gene Kim incredibly eye-opening for managing our real estate operations, especially when we were scaling up our property acquisition process. The book taught me practical ways to identify bottlenecks in our workflow, and I've successfully applied its principles to reduce our closing time from 45 to just 28 days by streamlining our due diligence process.
The E-Myth Real Estate Investor
Being in real estate for over two decades, I've found 'The E-Myth Real Estate Investor' by Michael Gerber to be absolutely crucial for systemizing our operations at EZ Sell Homebuyers. The book helped me transform from being stuck in day-to-day tasks to creating scalable processes that let me grow from 5 to 31 rental properties while maintaining quality service for our tenants.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Patrick Lencioni's 'The Five Dysfunctions of a Team' has been absolutely transformative in my consulting work, especially when I'm helping executive teams overcome communication barriers. After implementing his practical frameworks with several C-suite teams, I've seen remarkable improvements in trust and productive conflict, which is why I constantly recommend it to other organizational leaders facing team challenges.
The E-Myth Real Estate Investor
I found 'The E-Myth Real Estate Investor' incredibly eye-opening for managing our operations at Home Buying Guys. The book helped me set up systems that turned our property acquisitions from chaotic to streamlined—like implementing a standardized property evaluation checklist that saved us hours per deal. While it's not the newest book out there, its principles about working on your business instead of just in it really clicked with me, especially when we were scaling up our Dallas operations.
