Over the holiday break, I read a lot of books.
Before you picture me locked indoors doing nothing but underlining business theories, let me reassure you.
There was plenty of fresh air, movement, fun, downtime & a healthy dose of fiction in the mix too.
Reading is just one of the ways I relax, switch gears & let my brain wander.
Out of everything I read, three business books really stood out. Not because they were long or heavy.
Quite the opposite.
They’re all short, sharp & very listenable. If you enjoy Audible like I do, you can get through each of them in just a few hours.
Honestly, if you spent a couple of hours a day reading or listening, you could get through all three in a week without breaking a sweat.
Here’s why these three made the cut.
The Science of Scaling – Dr. Benjamin Hardy & Blake Erickson
This is not a book about steady, organic growth. It’s about real scaling. The kind that feels uncomfortable, ambitious & slightly impossible.
What I loved about this book is that it brings scientific proof to what actually enables businesses to scale 10x plus. It shows that this level of growth isn’t reserved for unicorn founders or tech giants. It’s available to ordinary entrepreneurs who are willing to think differently, change how they lead & set goals that feel bold rather than safe.
If you’re an entrepreneur who says you want growth but secretly feels stuck, this book is gold. It explains not just what to do, but how leaders themselves need to change in order to achieve extraordinary results.
Who Is the Architect of Your Life? – Scott Rusnak
This is a short, punchy book that connects business performance with life design.
At its core, it’s about building a strong business while also protecting your time, energy & focus as a leader. The message is simple but powerful. You don’t perform at your best when everything else in life is an afterthought.
Great leadership isn’t just about execution. It’s about designing a life that allows you to show up well, make clear decisions & focus on what truly matters. This book is a great reminder that if you don’t intentionally design your life, your business will happily design it for you.
Money Talks: The Leader’s Guide to Finance Conversations (even if you hate numbers) – Matthew Needham
This one is essential reading for leaders who say, “I don’t do numbers.”
And to be clear, this is not about personal finance. It’s about leaders understanding financial numbers well enough to lead properly.
Super leaders are not people who avoid the numbers. They’re people who are curious about them. The problem is that many leaders don’t know where to start, so they opt out instead.
This book bridges that gap beautifully. It helps leaders understand what the numbers are really telling them, so they can make better business decisions, ask better questions & take real ownership of outcomes.
If you want to scale a business, this capability is not optional.
Why These Three Together
For me, these books sit side by side perfectly.
One tackles how businesses scale beyond “good enough”.
One tackles how leaders design a life that supports high performance.
One tackles how leaders understand the numbers that drive decisions.
Put them together, & you get a powerful message. Better business & better life are not competing goals. They’re deeply connected.
If you’re looking for something smart, practical & genuinely useful to kick off the year, these three are well worth a few hours of your time.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to balance my next book with something equally important. Living a little 💖
This section gives you quick access to 3 links - to articles, blogs, podcasts & stuff that will help you to create a better business & lead a better life.
Equip your team to fully understand and embrace EOS.
Learn how EOS shapes leaders into effective visionaries.
Discover powerful self-improvement books for growth.
This month, I’m bringing back someone truly special for an update on what he’s currently working on – my good friend & business partner, Adam Harris.
Ever met someone who genuinely loves asking questions? Proper ones. The kind that makes you stop, think, rethink, then think again.
That’s Adam.
With a relentlessly curious mind, he has a rare ability to peel back layers, challenge assumptions, & help people to see things from entirely new angles. He doesn’t tell them what to think – he helps them realise what actually matters.
Adam works alongside me in Business Action & Integrated Executives, while also running his own consulting practice, Frank & Fearless. Add to that his podcast & newsletter, & you’ll see why his work continues to resonate with leaders who want to create real impact, not noise.
He’s back with reflections, insights & updates from the work he’s doing right now – & trust me, it’s worth paying attention.
What makes your approach unique in your industry?
I help leaders strip things back to what truly matters. No jargon. No over-engineered frameworks. Just simple, proven tools paired with real, human conversations about what’s actually getting in the way.
My style is direct, clear, and grounded in experience. I don’t tell people what they want to hear — I tell them what they need to hear to move forward. And I do it in a way that builds trust, not tension.
For most teams, that combination of structure and straight talk is what finally unlocks the alignment and accountability they’ve been struggling to create on their own.
Can you share a success story where you made a significant impact for a client?
I worked with a leadership team that was growing quickly but was exhausted by constant firefighting. Priorities changed weekly, issues lingered, and the team felt scattered rather than united.
We worked together to create clarity around their direction, simplify their priorities, and introduce a discipline for solving issues properly instead of carrying them forward quarter after quarter.
The result was a fundamental shift in how they operated.
Their CEO later told me it felt like they’d finally “taken the business back” after years of reacting to everything.
What challenges do you see your clients commonly face, and how do you help them overcome these?
Most leaders come to me because they’re facing one or more of these challenges:
My approach is to create clarity first — then build discipline around it. Once the structure is in place, we focus on strengthening leadership capability so people can have the conversations they’ve been avoiding, make cleaner decisions, and build trust across the organisation.
When leaders know what matters and how to communicate it, the whole business lifts.
What trends are you noticing in your field, and how do you adapt to stay ahead?
The biggest trend I’m seeing is leader overwhelm. Expectations keep increasing, and many leadership teams feel stretched thin trying to juggle culture, strategy, people, and performance.
To stay ahead, I focus on simplicity. I stay deeply connected with peer groups, coaching communities, and the leaders I work with every day, so I’m always bringing real, current insight into my sessions. And I keep refining the tools and conversations that consistently help teams make progress.
The world is getting noisier, but simplicity still wins.
What is the most common mistake you see businesses make, and how can they avoid it?
The biggest mistake is trying to grow without strengthening the foundation. Businesses add more people, more products, and more moving parts — but don’t slow down long enough to clarify roles, expectations, priorities, and how decisions get made.
That lack of clarity shows up everywhere: confusion, frustration, bottlenecks, and missed opportunities.
The fix is simple, but powerful:
Get clear. Communicate clearly. Stay disciplined around the things that matter most.
When the foundation is strong, growth becomes far less chaotic and far more sustainable.
We are here to help you live a better life by creating a better business. We are real-life business owners with years of experience & a strong desire to make a huge difference to the lives of entrepreneurs.
If anything here resonates with you or you would like our help, then please get in contact. Just reply to this newsletter & let us know who you would like to speak to…. Or visit our webpage & contact any of our team from their own pages.
If you know someone who would benefit from reading this, then please forward it onto them. 💖
If you’d like to learn more about any of these tools or would like to find out how I can help you achieve a better life through creating a better business, then book a free Discovery Call with me.
We’ll talk about what you want to get from your business & your life & come up with a plan to do that!
Debra Chantry-Taylor
Certified EOS Implementer | Accredited Family Business Advisor | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Speaker & Workshop Facilitator
