Summer’s almost over, but there’s still time to squeeze in one more lesson. The professional development books in this round of Summer School cover a lot of ground: hiring your first employee, making peace with AI, redesigning what retirement actually means and learning to show up as yourself instead of who everyone else expects.
Custom-Fit: A Straight-Talking Guide to Hiring Top Talent for Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners by Kate Morgan
Traditional HR models don’t work for a company with fewer than 25 employees, so this book is the ideal hiring guide for small business owners. Author Kate Morgan, founder of Boston Human Capital Partners, draws on more than 25 years in talent acquisition to cover defining core values as a hiring filter, structuring interviews that surface real potential and building a hiring plan sized to a small team’s actual needs. She backs the framework with stories from her own hiring successes and mistakes, aimed at founders who want fewer costly missteps and a team that actually supports the direction they’re building toward.
Out of the Loop, Into the Algorithm: How I Finally Made Friends With AI by Wanjiku Kamau
How do you go from googling “What is ChatGPT” to running two businesses built on the technology? This book follows Wanjiku Kamau as she goes from losing her tech job to becoming a go-to AI guide for executives. In Out of the Loop, she shares a five-category framework for turning AI overwhelm into action, plus practical tools like a privacy check and a conversation technique Stanford researchers linked to AI power users. The book reads more like a candid (and sometimes hilarious) story than a technical manual filled with jargon.
Metamorphustice: From Savior to CHANGEmaker; Stages of Justice Reform by Megan Fuciarelli
This book walks through the foundational principles of social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion work, then asks readers to place themselves within what Megan Fuciarelli frames as stages of transformation. She traces a trajectory from a “savior” mindset to one she calls “CHANGEmaker,” using reflective journal prompts and concrete action steps to move readers past theory and into practice.
Framework for Success: How to Lead a Purpose-Driven Business, Live an Aligned Life, and Build Community That Sustains You by Michelle Egbert
In this book, Michelle Egbert pushes back on the idea that building a successful business requires constant hustle and isolation, emphasizing the importance of clarity and community instead. She walks readers through clarifying their purpose, setting meaningful priorities and building systems that support growth, treating community as a strategic asset rather than something separate from the work. The book targets readers who feel stretched thin or stuck reacting to whatever comes next, aiming to help them build a business that fits their life instead of consuming it.
Win Your Day in 15 Mins or Less: For Introverted Female Entrepreneurs by Patience Ogunbona
After burning out trying to run a business in an “extroverted world,” Patience Ogunbona designed this journal with specific tools built for how introverts actually process and plan. Its structure helps introverted entrepreneurs get ideas out of their heads, set daily priorities and follow through without the overwhelm that often comes from generic productivity systems. Patience, a confidence and business coach for introverted women, frames the journal as a way to work with introvert strengths like introspection and reflection rather than against them.
From Work to What’s Next: Designing a Life You Don’t Want to Retire From by Sarah K. Charles
Most retirement books focus on hitting a savings number and coasting from there, but this one asks how you actually want to fill your days once work stops. Husband-and-wife financial advisors Sarah K. Charles and Jim Charles, CFP, CFA, draw on more than 60 years of combined experience and their own client stories to cover both the practical side of retirement, including tax strategy and estate planning, and the harder questions around identity and purpose once a job title no longer defines you. They introduce frameworks like the Three Tax Buckets strategy and Dynamic Income Planning, along with what they call Financial Ikigai, a way of finding purpose beyond a paycheck.
Navigating the Entrepreneur Sandwich™: Essential Strategies for Balancing Business Demands and Caregiving Responsibilities by Sher Downing
Running a business while caring for aging parents comes with pressures traditional business advice doesn’t address. In this book, author Sher Downing covers how to protect revenue during caregiving emergencies, build systems that don’t depend on constant hands-on management and assemble a support team that actually holds up under strain. The book also gets into financial planning that accounts for both a business and a family’s future, positioning itself less as general advice and more as a framework for a specific, often invisible kind of strain.
Show Up Like You Mean It: Living, Leading, and Speaking Your Truth by Paula R. Jenkins
In Show Up Like You Mean It, Paula R. Jenkins pushes back against people-pleasing, code-switching and the habit of shrinking yourself to meet other people’s expectations, framing authenticity as the foundation for leadership. The book blends storytelling with practical tools, covering emotional intelligence, communication and boundaries alongside reflection questions and action steps meant to move readers from insight into practice. It’s aimed at anyone leading a team, rebuilding confidence or just worn down from trying to be everything for everyone.
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