Can a Book = Professional Development?

A simple question posed to Patrick Lawler 27 years ago inspired his appetite
for business reading. Lawler, the founder and CEO of Youth Villages in
MA(now with a staff of 2300), was at a conference with Mary Lynn Cantrell, a
leader in the field of children's mental and behavioral health. Cantrell
casually asked what he was reading and Lawler had to admit that he wasn't
reading anything. 

Then in his 20s, Lawler had young children and was working long hours just
keeping Youth Villages afloat. But Cantrell's question, coupled with
Lawler's need to learn more about the business of managing a nonprofit
organization, spurred him to read. Lawler is a devoted reader, and his views
about the value of reading fuel his desire to share the resources that have
helped (and continue to help) him. He assumes everyone has already read -
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and Good to Great
by Jim Collins 

1) The CEO Paradox: The Privilege and Accountability of Leadership - Thomas
R. Horton 
2) On Becoming a Leader  - Warren Bennis 
3) Leadership Is an Art - Max DePree 
4) Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done - Larry Bossidy and Ram
Charan 
5) How to Act Like a CEO: 10 Rules for Getting to the Top and Staying There
- D.A. Benton 
6) Boardroom Verities - Jerold Panas 
7) The Executive in Action - Managing for Results; Innovation and
Entrepreneurship; The Effective Executive - Peter F. Drucker 
8) The Visionary's Handbook: Nine Paradoxes That Will Shape the Future of
Business - Watts Wacker, Jim Taylor, with Howard Means 
9) businessThink: Rules for Getting it Right-Now, and No Matter What! - Dave
Marcum, Steve Smith, and Mahan Khalsa 
10) What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even
More Successful - Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter

How much better equipped we would be if we were reading through this list?
What's your plan?

See the full article with book descriptions at:
http://www.bridgestar.org/Library/AGoodBooksRole.aspx