10 Books Every Early Career Insurance Professional Should Read in 2020

Want to go straight to the top in your insurance career? Weather you are undergoing a job change, gearing up for a promotion or new to the insurance industry you will want to check out these 10 books to skyrocket your career in insurance and set you apart in 2020.

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1. Presence

Amy Cuddy

Amy Cuddy has galvanized tens of millions of viewers around the world with her TED talk about "power poses." Now she presents the enthralling science underlying these and many other fascinating body-mind effects, and teaches us how to use simple techniques to liberate ourselves from fear in high-pressure moments, perform at our best, and connect with and empower others to do the same.

Brilliantly researched, impassioned, and accessible, Presence is filled with stories of individuals who learned how to flourish during the stressful moments that once terrified them. Every reader will learn how to approach their biggest challenges with confidence instead of dread, and to leave them with satisfaction instead of regret.

2. Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life

Bill Burnett, Dave Evan

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.

“Designing Your Life walks readers through the process of building a satisfying, meaningful life by approaching the challenge the way a designer would. Experimentation. Wayfinding. Prototyping. Constant iteration. You should read the book. Everyone else will."—Daniel Pink, bestselling author of Drive

3. So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

Cal Newport

Cal Newport argues, passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before.

In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.

With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love.

4. The End of Insurance as We Know It

Rob Galbraith

Rob Galbraith, CPCU, CLU, ChFC is an author, keynote speaker and a globally known insurtech thought leader who has been part of the financial services industry for over 20 years.

The End of Insurance As We Know It bridges the divide between the traditional players, startups, and investors to show the areas where opportunities for disruption are ripe and what technologies you need to know about to stay relevant in our revolutionary time. Learn why insurance is the perfect digital product and gain a competitive edge no matter where you stand today in the ecosystem.

5. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

James Clear

James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation states

that habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. Atomic Habits serves as comprehensive and practical guide on how to create good habits, break bad ones, and get 1 percent better every day.

“In Atomic Habits, Clear will show you how to overcome a lack of motivation, change your environment to encourage success, and make time for new (and better) habits. –Glamour.com

6. Network Beyond Bias: Making Diversity a Competitive Advantage for Your Career

Amy C. Waninger

Amy Waninger, CEO of Lead and Any Level and author of Network Beyond Bias, unpacks the 5 critical connections and why diversity is essential to your success as a leader at an level. As a leader, speaker, author, and coach, Amy C. Waninger is passionate about helping others achieve their full potential at work. She has more than a decade of progressive management experience in the information technology and insurance industries.

She asks, "Is your professional network as diverse as the workforce and community around you?" If not, you could be missing important opportunities for your career. This book will help you remove the artificial barriers that may be keeping you from your next mentor, star hire, or big customer.

7. Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

Learn how to handle disagreements and high-stakes communication. It is written on the premise that when you are stuck in any situation–whether it’s at home or work–there is a crucial conversation keeping you from accomplishing the desired results. If you can learn to speak up in these crucial moments effectively, then you can accomplish the results you are after.

The authors support this idea by referring to people who are considered influential by their peers and managers in their work and relationships. They studied successful communicators over a period of 25 years and concluded that what typically set them apart from the rest of the pack was their ability to deal with crucial conversations. They possess a skill-set that is easy to learn and allows them to face any situation with nearly anybody–no matter power, position, or authority.

8. When Words Collide: Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes

William C Wilson Jr

Written by Bill Wilson, the U.S.A.’s foremost authority on insurance policy language: Practical and entertaining guide to understanding insurance policies. The culmination of a legendary career that stretches over six decades. Learn from the actual stories of thousands of real-life claims.

The author denotes, When Worlds Collide will pay for itself many times over if it helps you save a single client, and it's going to save you many customers over the years. With decades of technical insurance experience distilled into a simple book It's like having a mentor who is a world-class technical expert at your side. Chock full of practical examples. This is not a theoretical manual; it's a deeply practical, interesting, and entertaining read that will be useful for decades to come.

9. The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life

Shawn Achor

Shawn Achor states, Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we’ll be happy. If we can just find that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But recent discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that this formula is actually backward:

Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. When we are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive at work.

10. How to win Friends & Influence People

Dale Carnegie

Since its release in 1936, How to Win Friends and Influence People has sold more than 15 million copies. Dale Carnegie's first book is a timeless bestseller, packed with rock-solid advice that has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.

As relevant as ever before, Dale Carnegie's principles endure, and will help you achieve your maximum potential in the complex and competitive modern age.

This classic will teach you the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment

What career books are you reading for 2020?