Michael D. Watkins is a cofounder of Genesis Advisers, a leadership development firm that designs onboarding and transition acceleration solutions, workshops, and coaching for Fortune 500 businesses.

Transitions are crucial for leaders. In fact, most managers say that the most difficult issue they will encounter is transitioning into a new role. While transitions provide an opportunity to start over and make necessary changes in a company, they also put leaders in a vulnerable position. Mistakes committed in the first three months of a new job might risk or even derail your success.

Michael D. Watkins presents proven tactics for overcoming the problems of transitions in this revised and extended version of the international bestseller The First 90 Days. Watkins, a well-known expert on leadership transitions and a trusted advisor to senior leaders in all types of organizations, also addresses today's increasingly demanding professional landscape, in which managers face not only more frequent transitions but also higher expectations once they begin their new jobs.

Watkins highlights the most common errors new leaders face and provides the tools and methods you need to avoid them by bringing you through every facet of the transition scenario. You'll learn how to secure vital early wins, which is a critical first step toward establishing yourself in your new role. Each chapter also includes checklists, practical tools, and self-assessments to help you remember and implement crucial skills.

Whether you're starting a new career, being promoted from within, going abroad, or being named CEO, how you manage your transition will determine whether you succeed or fail. Use this book as your trustworthy advisor.

Author: Michael D. Watkins

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1422188612/

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 6337 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #567 in Books

#1 in Organizational Change (Books)

#5 in Job Hunting & Career Guides

#11 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving

Leil Lowndes is a communication expert who is also the author of the international best-sellers How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You and How to Be a People Magnet.

What is it about some people that makes them instantly loved and respected? Everyone wishes to be their friend (or, if they are single, their lover!) They quickly advance to the top of the corporate ladder in business. What exactly is their "Midas touch?" What it comes down to is a more skilled approach to dealing with people.

The author has spent her career teaching others how to communicate effectively. Lowndes offers 92 easy and effective sure-fire success techniques in her book How to Talk to Anyone (Contemporary Books, October 2003). She takes the reader from the first meeting all the way up to sophisticated techniques used by the big winners in life. This information-packed book includes:

• 9 methods to make an unforgettable first impression
• 14 techniques for mastering small chat, "big talk," and body language
• 14 techniques for walking and talking like a VIP or celebrity
• 6 techniques for sounding like an insider in any audience
• 7 techniques for establishing deep unconscious rapport with anyone
• 9 ways to stroke someone's ego (and when not to!)
• 11 ways to transform your phone into a great communication tool
• 15 strategies for working a party as a politician works a room
• 7 ways to converse with tigers without being eaten alive

Leil gives the techniques catchy names so you'll remember them when you really need them, including "Rubberneck the Room," "Be a Copyclass," "Come Hither Hands," "Bare Their Hot Button," "The Great Scorecard in the Sky," and "Play the Tombstone Game," for big success in your social life, romance, and business, in her trademark entertaining and straight shooting style. How to Talk to Anyone is exactly one of the best books every key account manager should read.

Author: Leil Lowndes

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/007141858X/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 6714 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #876 in Books

#2 in Advertising (Books)

#2 in Conversation Etiquette Guides

#8 in Communication Skills

Olivia Fox Cabane has given talks at Stanford, Yale, Harvard, MIT, and the United Nations, among other places. Her clients as an executive coach to Fortune 500 executives include Google, Deloitte, and Citigroup. She writes a regular Forbes column and has appeared in The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and The Wall Street Journal.

The charisma myth holds that charisma is a basic, inborn quality that you either have or don't (Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs, Oprah). But, as Olivia Fox Cabane illustrates, this is just not the case. Anyone can learn and improve charismatic actions.

Cabane breaks down charisma into its constituent parts, using procedures she developed for Harvard and MIT. Being more charming does not imply changing your core personality. It involves implementing a set of specialized routines that complement your existing personality.

The Charisma Myth teaches you how to be more influential, persuasive, and inspiring. Among the best books every key account manager should read, the book is a quick read that seamlessly blends stories and studies, methods and applications, approaches and practices.

Author: Olivia Fox Cabane

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1591845947/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 1985 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #11,798 in Books

#21 in Conversation Etiquette Guides

#226 in Business Management (Books)

#236 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books)

Dan Roam is the bestselling author of The Back of the Napkin, the most successful visual-thinking business book of all time. It was chosen the best creative and innovation book of the year by Fast Company, BusinessWeek, and The Times (of London). Unfolding the Napkin and Blah Blah Blah are two of his previous books. Dan is the founder and president of Digital Roam Inc., a consulting firm that solves complex challenges using visual thinking for customers such as Google, Boeing, eBay, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, the United States Navy, and the United States Senate.

Giving a presentation is an exceedingly tough and nerve-racking procedure for the vast majority of people, whether they are in a one-on-one meeting, a conference room with a dozen strangers, or a lecture hall in front of thousands. However, according to Dan Roam, a visual communications specialist and bestselling author of The Back of the Napkin, it doesn't have to be that difficult. People suffer when they forget the fundamentals of kindergarten: show and tell.

Roam introduces a new set of tools for making amazing presentations in every context in this short but effective book Show and Tell. He also draws on ideas honed over more than two decades as an award-winning presenter who has taken his whiteboard to Fortune 500 firms, tiny start-ups, and the White House. It is regarded as one of the best books every key account manager should read.

Even if you're an experienced public speaker, you'll learn more about identifying your audience, structuring your content, developing a clear story line, producing powerful graphics, and turning anxiety into joy. You'll also learn three important rules:

• When we tell the truth, we connect with our audience, we become passionate, and we find self-confidence.
• When we tell a story, we make complex concepts clear, we make ideas unforgettable, and we include everyone.
• When we use pictures, people see exactly what we mean, we captivate our audience’s mind, and we banish boredom.

You'll soon be able to provide the performance of a lifetime—from nailing the opening to leaving a lasting impression—time after time.

Author: Dan Roam

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Show-Tell-Everybody-Extraordinary-Presentations/dp/1591848024

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 238 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #107,188 in Books

#84 in Public Speaking Reference

#167 in Running Meetings & Presentations (Books)

#526 in Communication Skills

The Association of Proposal Management Professionals fosters its members' professional development by improving the arts, sciences, and technology of winning business. The Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) is the global authority for professionals dedicated to the process of winning business through proposals, bids, tenders, and presentations.

You now have the knowledge and skills of a professional proposal writer at your disposal. Proposal writing is a career — a growing and increasingly significant one — and an integral component of a larger group of business development specialists who create and execute strategies for firms seeking new consumers. The Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) is a professional association for proposal authors, and its best practices serve as the foundation for this book.

You can learn, practice, and master proposal writing; you can even go through a professional certification process to demonstrate your proficiency. If you own a small to medium-sized business, are a first-time proposal writer in a medium-sized organization, or work as a sales representative, you know that a written proposal (printed or electronic) is still a common, personable, and effective way to win business. Writing Business Bids and Proposals For Dummies, written in simple English, will assist you in:

• Understand the distinction between reactive and proactive offers (the RFP or request for proposal).
  
• Concentrate on the consumer by going above and beyond their criteria to meet their genuine needs.
  
• Understand your competition by conducting study and analysis.
  
• To create a winning business proposal, write persuasively.
  
• Create and follow a repeatable proposal process.
• Include a lesson learned component in your proposal process.
• Utilize tools and templates to expedite your bids.
• Motivate and lead your proposal team so that everyone is on the same page.
• Enhance your proposals using graphics.
• Discover how to automate your proposal development process.
• And much, much more

You'll also have access to 10 proposal templates, learn about ten common myths regarding bids and proposals, and add a curated list of internet resources to your toolbox. To begin honing your proposal writing skills, pick up a copy of Writing Business Bids & Proposals For Dummies.

Author: Neil Cobb and Charlie Divine

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Business-Bids-Proposals-Dummies/dp/1119174325

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 141 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #268,581 in Books

#207 in Business Writing Skills (Books)

Ryan Rhoten is an author, speaker, and podcaster who specializes in personal and digital branding. Ryan helps his customers create digital trust and credibility in their careers by offering clarity in their branding, positioning, and marketing tactics through his 4-step DICE approach. Ryan's blogs and podcasts can be found at RyanRhoten.com.

Do you want to change careers but have been informed that "you don't have the experience?" Have you been let go from your job and are looking for your next opportunity? Or do you simply want to be recognized for your skills in order to enhance your career?

If this is the case, CareerKred can walk you through the process of creating an online brand that will allow you to exhibit your knowledge and increase your career reputation. Throughout this book, you will discover how to create an online personal or business brand that showcases your knowledge and debunks the "you don't have any experience" excuse. Even if you don't know where to begin, the DICE process will teach you how to develop and position your personal brand online in a way that distinguishes you from your competition and gets you noticed for your expertise.

Several things were clear to you after reading Ryan's book:

• Stop obsessing over your career and start taking charge of individual brand.
  
• An evaluation is only as good as the actions that follow it.
  
• Driving with an unmonitored personal brand is equivalent to letting go of the steering wheel around a bend.
  

Author: Ryan Rhoten

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1732493502/

Ratings: 4.9 out of 5 stars (from 12 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #2,869,711 in Books

#876 in Job Resumes (Books)

#3,952 in Web Marketing (Books)

#4,194 in Job Hunting (Books)

Jeff Sanders is a motivational speaker, productivity coach, and best-selling author of The 5 AM Miracle: Dominate Your Day Before Breakfast. Jeff is also the host of The 5 AM Miracle Podcast, which has been nominated for two 2015 Podcast Awards and has received over 2 million downloads.

The 5 A.M. Miracle is a high-achievers' resource guide. It's for everyone who has a mad enthusiasm for life and is looking for a disciplined approach to sharpen those interests, identify large goals, and achieve actual, fantastic outcomes.

Among the best books every key account manager should read, the 5 AM Miracle provides you with a strategy for focusing on what matters most and getting more done. It demonstrates how to reap the wonderful benefits of getting up early, from decluttering your to-do list to making time for your passion projects.

This simple 7-step technique teaches you how to deliberately construct a healthy, balanced lifestyle and attain your loftiest goals. The 5 AM Miracle, packed with success secrets, methods, and strategies, shows how and why you should:

• Set a work boundary for the evening.
• Tonight, make a plan for tomorrow on paper.
• Boost your energy throughout the day
• Every morning, drink 1 liter of water and a green smoothie.
• Set annual goals in three-month increments.
• Keep track of projects, use a task manager.

Author: Jeff Sanders

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1612435009/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 274 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #858,018 in Books

#1,478 in Home Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating

#1,887 in Personal Time Management

#10,906 in Success Self-Help

Vaughan Evans has been a strategy consultant since the mid-1980s, working with a diverse variety of corporate clients ranging from local businesses to worldwide conglomerates, as well as over 50 financier clients ranging from structured lenders to private equity. He has been an independent consultant for the previous ten years, specializing in company strategy, business planning, and strategic due diligence. Vaughan is a graduate of Cambridge's Downing College and a Sloan Fellow with distinction at London Business School. He has four previous books to his credit, including the best-selling The Financial Times Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan.

Allow Key Strategy Tools to serve as your guide in establishing a winning strategy for your company. Choose the best ways for your company and develop a solid strategy that will survive investor scrutiny and serve as your road map to success.

This user-friendly manual walks you through each phase of the process, covering 88 tools and framed inside a novel strategy formulation approach, the Strategy Pyramid. You'll find the strategic thinking tools you need at every level of your strategy development, whether you're analyzing your market, gaining a competitive advantage, or managing risk and opportunity.

Following in the footsteps of the enormously successful Key Management Models and Key Performance Indicators, this book provides professional-level knowledge in the practical and approachable structure that has become synonymous with the Key series.

Author: Vaughan Evans

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Key-Strategy-Tools-Manager-Winning-dp-0273778862/dp/0273778862

Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 stars (from 70 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #956,472 in Books

#2,662 in Strategic Business Planning

#3,098 in Systems & Planning

#3,167 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving

Jenny Blake is a career and business strategist as well as an international speaker who helps people develop long-term, dynamic professions that they like. She left UCLA after studying political science and communications to become the first employee of a Silicon Valley political polling start-up. She then went to Google, where she spent five years training and developing her career while also publishing her first book, Life After College. Jenny quit Google in 2011 to focus solely on her consultancy firm.

Congratulations on finding the ideal career or business. However, if you are even slightly unsure that your current job is the correct one for you, it is time to start planning your next move. It's the only move that matters in the new world of work.

What comes next? In an economy where the typical work duration is barely four years, positions change continuously even within that period, and talented, ambitious people find themselves reaching professional plateaus, this is a question we must all ask and answer more frequently. But how can you weigh your options and move on without becoming bogged down? Jenny Blake's answer: It's all about modest steps, not gigantic leaps, and the solution is just under your feet. Pivot will teach you how to pivot using your existing capabilities as a foundation.

For Silicon Valley tech corporations and startups, pivoting is a critical strategy. Jenny Blake, a former Google training and career development specialist who now runs her own company as a career and business consultant and speaker, demonstrates how pivoting can be a successful strategy for individuals looking to make changes in their work lives, whether within their role, organization, or business, or aiming for bigger shifts.

When you pivot, you build on your existing abilities and interests to go in a new, related path, rather than looking so far outside of yourself for answers that you overlook your hard-earned expertise and experience. It enables you to negotiate changes with agility and strength—both now and throughout your career.

Pivoting, like the lean business principles that have taken Silicon Valley by storm, is a critical ability you need to stay nimble, whether or not you are actively seeking for a new job.

Jenny's counsel can help you move forward strategically regardless of your age, industry, or bank account status. Among the best books every key account manager should read, the book about her Pivot Method will teach you how to do the following:

• Increase your existing strengths, interests, and experiences. Determine what works best and where you want to go, then begin to bridge the gap between the two.
• Scan for new chances and talents without succumbing to analysis paralysis or compare and despair.
• Explore choices by leveraging your existing network and experience, and conduct small experiments to decide future steps. Do side projects to test ideas for your next step, relieving the burden of having to have the whole answer right away.
• Take calculated chances in order to confidently begin in a new direction. Set benchmarks to determine whether it is time to go all-in on your new path.

Pivot also contains useful information for leaders who want to conduct more frequent career talks with their teams in order to help outstanding employees pivot within their roles and the larger organization.

Whatever your current position, one thing is certain: your ability to choose your next best move is critical to your career success and satisfaction. If the only constant is change, let's get better at it.

Author: Jenny Blake

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1591848202/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 420 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #657,712 in Books

#3,364 in Job Hunting & Career Guides

#3,792 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books)

#3,941 in Motivational Management & Leadership

Karen Kang is a well-known brand strategist and the founder and CEO of BrandingPays LLC, a company that specializes in corporate and personal branding. She has taught the innovative BrandingPaysTM System for personal branding to thousands of professionals.

Globalization and social media have shrunk the world, connected it, and made it much more competitive. The world has evolved. Have you done so? You must rethink your personal brand if you lack the bundle that will propel you to the next level of your job. BrandingPays(TM), a practical guide to strategic personal branding, can assist you in refocusing your abilities and expertise in order to be the greatest candidate for the job, career, and company possibilities that you seek. The step-by-step BrandingPays technique has been validated in Fortune 500 organizations and renowned business schools, making it ideal for professionals, entrepreneurs, and college students. Karen Kang, a former partner at Regis McKenna Inc., expands on concepts and practices from the famed marketing firm that built and launched the Apple brand.

Karen Kang, the author of this ground-breaking book, demonstrates how to:

• Set yourself up for the finest opportunity.
• Communicate your distinct value clearly.
• Combine your "cake" and "icing" for a powerful brand.
• Make use of the influencers who can help your reputation grow.
• Create a Brand Action Plan for both online and offline success.

BrandingPays is jam-packed with templates, charts, and action lists that will help you "Bake the Cake, then Ice It," as well as inspiring real-life examples, many of which come from under-represented groups in top business leadership. Whatever your issues are, BrandingPays will assist you in developing your formula for effective branding.

Author: Karen Kang

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0988437503/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 146 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #795,040 in Books

#3,933 in Job Hunting & Career Guides

#10,450 in Personal Finance (Books)