Books Recommended by Brian Burkhart

I’ve always enjoyed presentations, it was an area I had some skills. When I decided to make SquarePlanet, a real-deal business which revolves around presentations, the art and science behind them became crucial. One of the first things I did was jump into some TED Talks to try to figure out what made a talk great, versus what made one terrible. At the time, Simon Sinek’s “How great leaders inspire action” TED Talk was in the top five. It was eye opening. Then I picked up his book based on the talk, “Start With Why,” and I was just like—holy crap. As I was reading Simon’s book it clicked, this was what every bad presentation was missing. They didn’t have a core belief—the thing people stood for—presented in any way. They had it all backward. It was a pivotal moment, a brick to the face, that made me stop and say, “This is it!” I knew the model before there was a model—it was already built into my brain. Simon had laid it out in front of me, and it made complete sense. In some ways, it was like Rosetta Stone—unlocking so many ideas. Afterwards, it was easy for me to teach the model.

Jim Collins’ “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t,” which is about acquiring the right talent. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim and working with him. Just watching him and the way he talked about businesses—from tiny firms you’ve never heard of to global giants everyone knows—meant a great deal to me. Early in my career, there were times when I let some less-than-great team member stick around. After working with Jim, it was a different story.

Another is Seth Godin, who wrote “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.” The entire Godin experience, his books, videos, podcasts, blogs, is all about making waves. He’s made an extraordinary career for himself telling people to stop being like everyone else. His concepts are a form of validation for me. Here’s a guy who’s clearly doing well, has an amazing client roster and experience, and he’s saying the same things I’d been thinking for years. It’s like Michael Phelps telling you you’re a good swimmer.

This book is essentially a biography of all the people who’ve led to the technology of today—it’s fascinating. The most important point of the book is everything is one long, connected chain. There isn’t just one person or one industry that makes anything happen—it all goes way back. For example, the communication theory I have espoused and taught throughout my career is from Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato. Yeah, I’ve got my own spin on it—instead of ethos, pathos and logos, we say “know, feel, and do.” But it’s still based on their philosophies. Reading this book, I realized it’s not just someone like Steve Jobs who’s responsible for the era we live in. Rather, it’s Steve Jobs plus a whole lot of people from the last 200-plus years.

This book is a masterpiece and absolutely hilarious. In subtle ways, you realize the main character is questioning not just the notion of authority, but the way authority thinks and how we must react to it. To me, a guy with the core belief “make waves,” it has a great message, which is, “It’s okay to question the status quo.” For people just starting their careers, it’s easy to think our superiors know everything—they’re not quick to admit their insecurities, flaws, and blind spots, but they have them. And having a healthy dose of skepticism isn’t such a terrible thing. Plus, it’s just a fun read.

I love this book. Everyone is a salesperson in some regard. You may not have a product to sell, but you certainly have yourself, your ideas, and your value to sell. Convincing people you, your principles, and your thoughts matter is a never-ending project. In Beckwith’s book—which is about selling services versus widgets—this theory definitely holds up. He also offers up a few profound thoughts on how people are wired.

But the book which really hit home was “Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences,” by Nancy Duarte. It’s interesting, I didn’t agree with her methodology or like much of what I read. It was too complex and not realistic for people to use in everyday life. That said, it did help confirm to me that I was onto something. It was a different kind of validation than Godin—that the power of a great presentation isn’t just one man’s opinion. There’s real science behind it.