3 Must-Listen Audiobooks to Boost Your Success in Expediting
As an expedite owner-operator or fleet owner, you may not have a lot of time to read books. But you can always find time to listen to good books-while you're driving, working out, cleaning your truck, or performing other tasks-to expand your knowledge, learn new skills, and become a more profitable expediter.
So, which audiobooks can help you change the trajectory of your business and your life? Here are three to check out.
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
Michael Gerber
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-E-Myth-Revisited-Audiobook/B002V1LGZE
Just when you think you're about to get ahead in your business as an owner-operator or fleet owner, your engine blows, freight slows down, or you lose a driver.
How do you respond?
After all, you feel like you're always stuck in "survival mode." And no matter how hard you work, you can't seem to take your business to the next level.
In The E-Myth, Michael Gerber explains why that happens to so many entrepreneurs-including expediters: You've been stuck working IN the business when you should also be working ON the business.
This book teaches you how to work ON your business-by developing systems, processes, and procedures-so that the business will start working for you to achieve your financial goals no matter what market challenges you might face.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
James Clear
https://www.audible.com/pd/Atomic-Habits-Audiobook/1524779261
Perhaps you want to become a fleet owner in the next 12 to 18 months and need to start putting away more of your income to fund your business expansion.
Or, maybe you want to lose 25 pounds by July, but you struggle with making good food choices when you're out on the road for several weeks at a time.
Whatever your goals, you need the right habits in place to help you reach those targets.
In James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, you will learn practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
Clear says that if you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
The big idea here is this: "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." Clear's book gives you a proven step-by-step system that can help take you-and your business-to new heights of achievement.
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
Chris Voss
https://www.audible.com/pd/Never-Split-the-Difference-Audiobook/B01CF5O89G
As an owner-operator or fleet owner, you're negotiating every day, whether you think of it as "negotiation" or not.
When you're working with dispatch to ensure acceptable terms for a load, you're negotiating.
When you're working with shippers to get them to unload you as soon as possible, you're negotiating.
When you're working with vendors to get the best possible price on the products and services you need, you're negotiating.
And this book by former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss, can help you negotiate like a boss, without coming across as too aggressive or hurting the relationship.
You'll enjoy his stories of negotiating face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists.
But you'll also get a lot of practical advice with nine effective principles-counterintuitive tactics and strategies-you can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life.
I've read a lot of great books on negotiation in my career. But Never Split the Difference is so good and useful that, after listening to the audiobook, I also bought the hardcover to have on hand for reference.