The Top 10 Plus 1 Most Impactful Books of 2010

By Rich Cavagnaro
President, AdEdge Technologies

In 2010 I had the stated goal to read or listen to two books a week. With Christmas rapidly approaching I completed book 104 two days before Dec 25 and rewardingly met my self-imposed goal. There was no particular reason for two books a week other than to see if I could do it. The discipline required to meet this pace required on average about 40 pages a day and listen to around one hour of books on CD each workday. Books were recommended to me by friends, blogs, magazines or other books. I didn't necessarily have an agenda of what to read but I focused heavily on books that provided something new to learn. The breakdown by category ended up as follows:

• Fiction-11
• Non-Fiction/Autobiographical-5
• Spiritual-7
• Investment/Money-3 
• Self Help-17
• Leadership-5
• Business (56)
• Relationships-8
• Management/Strategy-21
• Sales-6
• Marketing-4
• Economics/Behavioral Economics-7
• Motavational-8
• Social Media-2

When all is said and done and undoubtedly people will have far ranging opinions but for me this is the Top 10 plus 1 of the most impactful books I read in 2010:

10 Plus 1. What Matters Now? by Multiple Authors: A simple ebook format presented almost as a PowerPoint presentation concerning provocative words and how they apply in the coming business environment. This book makes it possible for me to see the benefits of how future ebooks can be presented in a stimulating fashion.

10. Ask And You Will Succeed by Kenneth Foster: A terrific management tool covering multiple business categories and well thought out questions to guide a discussion.

9. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker: He is the master! A very useful book to read and re-read.

8. Wisdom Walkers by Dan Britton & James Page: I was given this book by a friend and it has 31 daily doses of wisdom with a spiritual tie in. Enjoyed it very much.

7. Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel: Those who are new to social media should put this book on your must read list.

6. The Management Mythbusters by David Axeson: He tosses the conventional management practices upside down. I truly enjoyed his practical advice of how management should really act.

5. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman: A terrific book on leadership, the title says it all!

4. Hot Flat & Crowded by Thomas Friedman: This book is an eye-opener into so many current and emerging societal issues. This book opens your eyes to the world, every person especially college age kids should make this required reading.

3. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel: Truly one of the most inspiring books I have ever read and to think he had this ability to be so impactful while in a Concentration Camp during World War II.

2. The Case For Christ by Les Strobel: Fascinating analytical approach to proving the existence of Christ. He approaches the evidence as a crime reporter would do so. The result is compelling.

1. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy: I have never read a book that was such an excellent laid out plan to improve one's life. I followed the plan diligently for over a year and had the most rewarding year of my life. Enough said.

For a complete list of all 104 books with a brief comment, please email me at rich@adedgetechnologies.com