10 Great Reads to Help Grow Your Business

Young Professionals Committee
Published
Contact: Rachel Mackenzie
[email protected]
Director, Membership
(202)266-8639

NAHB’s Young Professionals (YP) compiled a list of books that have helped inspire their careers and grow their businesses. These 10 books make great gifts for the upcoming holiday season, or purchases for yourself to get ahead of the competition.

The list features books on various topics, such as culture-setting reads like “Unreasonable Hospitality” by Will Guidara.

“This topic is very related to home building,” said YP Committee Chair Robert Carroll. “We can excel by recognizing our role in creating experiences around our very emotional and personal transactions. This book creates cultural language to move your sales process from transactional to relational.”

Also featured is “Behind Your Back” by Bradley Hartmann, a book about what purchasing managers say when you leave the room.

“Hartmann is a former area purchasing manager for Pulte Homes, and provides insight to how purchasing managers approach their jobs and how they handle relationships with colleagues,” said Wes Robbins, vice president and partner at W Robbins & Company, LLC. Robbins found the book valuable to those looking for insider knowledge on selling to large-volume builders, especially to learn what is and is not important.

Read the full list of books.

Additionally, NAHB’s Young Professionals are celebrating their end-of-year virtual happy hour on Friday, Dec. 13, at 4 p.m. ET. Members are invited to discuss their favorite books from the year, play games and meet fellow YPs. Holiday attire is welcome. Register now.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Labor

Jul 07, 2026

Labor Market Cools While Construction Industry Faces Headwinds

The U.S. labor market lost momentum in June, with total nonfarm payroll employment rising by just 57,000 — the smallest gain since February’s outright decline.

Labor

Jul 06, 2026

Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to End TPS for Haiti and Syria

A 6-3 Supreme Court ruling on June 25 cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian nationals in the U.S.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jul 07, 2026

Residential Construction Employment Concentrated in Rural and Smaller-Market Counties

Residential construction employment continued to soften in recent months, reflecting elevated interest rates, ongoing affordability challenges, and slower home building activity.

Economics

Jul 06, 2026

Top Ten Builder Market Share Falls in 2025

The top ten builders accounted for 43.6% of all new U.S. single-family home closings in 2025, down 1.2 percentage points from 2024 (44.8%), based on BUILDER magazine data.

Economics

Jul 03, 2026

Mortgage Rates Increased in June as Markets Weigh Inflation and Fed Policy

Mortgage rates continued to increase in June as markets priced in a rate hike due to high inflation and stronger-than-expected labor market.