The Five Best Business, Leadership, or Self-Help Books I Read in 2025

by Ryan Gottfredson

Every year, to close out the year, I have identified the best books that I read throughout the year. And, turns out, these posts get the most traffic.

So, I am back at it again.

By the end of the year, I will have read 70 books during 2025.

I want to share the top books I have read across three genres and the value I have gained from reading them:

Fiction (12/16)
Non-Fiction (12/23)
Business/Leadership/Self-Help (12/30)

And, in a shameless self-plug, let me recommend the book that I wrote that came out in 2025: Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation. I hope this is one you can place on your top five list.

The Five Best Business, Leadership, or Self-Help Books I Read in 2025

#5: You and We: A Relational Rethinking of Work, Life, and Leadership by Jim Ferrell

Jim Ferrell was the lead author of one of my most favorite books: Leadership and Self-Deception. And, to start this book, he admits that Leadership and Self-Deception fell short in its ability to communicate the power of relationships and connection. And, that is saying something because, to me, Leadership and Self-Deception was instrumental in shifting how I think about relationships and connection.

So, buckle up for a deeper dive, but in a very approachable way.

It is rated 4.64 on Goodreads.

#4: Wealthy and Well-Known: Build Your Personal Brand and Turn Your Reputation into Revenue by Rory & AJ Vaden

To be honest, I didn’t like the first 4 or so chapters in the book, which were largely just about the authors’ backstory. But, once they got into the meat of their book and walked through their recommendations for how to become “wealthy and well-known,” it was gold.

I can honestly say that this book had an immediate elevating impact on my business.

If you are a thought leader, consultant, or coach, or want to be, I think this is a “must read.”

It is rated 4.21 on Goodreads.

#3: Insight: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life and Shatterproof: How to Thrive in a World of Constant Chaos (And Why Resilience Alone Isn’t Enough) by Tasha Eurich

This is a two-fer, with each book written by Tasha Eurich.

Insight was written back in 2017. And, it has been on my radar for about that long because Eurich has one of my most favorite TED talks connected to this book: Increase your self-awareness with one simple fix | Tasha Eurich | TEDxMileHigh. So, it was fun to finally dive into this book. It is a great starter book on self-awareness.

Shatterproof is her most recent book, and it is a book that focuses on why the answer to thriving isn’t always and can’t just be grit and resilience. There are simply some challenges that we face that force us to completely recalibrate instead of trying to white-knuckle.

Insight is rated 3.86 on Goodreads.

Shatterproof is rated 3.96 on Goodreads.

#2: **The Let Them Theory:* A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About by Mel Robbins

Ok, I need to give this one an asterisk because Robbins is taking a lot of heat for plagiarization with this book. This is because she claims that this “Let Them Theory” is her theory, when there is documentation suggesting that she cannot claim that.

That being said, I still found the ideas and guidance in this book to be both profound and sound. I think it is a “must read” for anyone who is struggling with a relationship of almost any form.

It is rated 4.06 on Goodreads.

#1: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams

This was my favorite book of 2025. It is an insider view of the abysmal leadership of the leaders at Facebook. Wynn-Williams worked closely with the highest leaders of Facebook, and goes “all in” on exposing their poor leadership, their bad decisions, and the negative impact that they had both within Facebook, and society at large.

If you want a case study of Mind 2.0 leadership, and how it can lead to some success, but leave collateral damage in its wake, this might be the bible for that.

It is rated 4.16 on Goodreads.

Best Books from Prior Years

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