
Robert Cialdini is a legendary psychologist and professor emeritus at Arizona State University whose work on influence and persuasion has shaped marketing, sales, and behavioral science. His groundbreaking book *Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion* became required reading across industries. He continues to research ethical influence and decision-making through his Influence at Work organization.
17 Books Recommended by Robert Cialdini
Ranked by popularity across all reading lists on this site

How to Win Friends and Influence People
20 people recommendedPrinciples are timeless and effective — works well together with Influence. Focusing on others and becoming genuinely interested in them is a scientifically proven method for increasing charisma and business effectiveness.
Also recommended by: Warren Buffett, Dustin Moskovitz, Tim Draper, Ben Greenfield, Alex Hormozi, Barbara Corcoran, Dave Ramsey, Patrick Bet David, Daymond John, Derek Sivers, Dj Vlad, Ken Block, Michael Hyatt, Paul Graham, Sahil Lavingia, Scott Adams, Shay Carl, Strauss Zelnick, Rohan Bhargava

Made to Stick
7 people recommendedTeaches the architecture of ideas — understand why some ideas thrive while others die.
Also recommended by: Brian Armstrong, Changpeng Zhao, Ev Williams, Andrew Wilkinson, Sahil Lavingia, Derek Sivers

Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
2 people recommendedTransforms situations and relationships — converts hostility into civility and civility into affinity. When done correctly, this is more powerful than traditional marketing.
Also recommended by: Aprameya Radhakrishna

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Shows how everyday people achieved dramatic results by uniting both the rational and emotional minds.

The Art of Choosing
Asks the difficult questions about how and why we choose — is choice innate or bound by culture?

Power: Why Some People Have It—and Others Don’t
Essential organizational survival manual — the standard in the field of leadership and management.

To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
A recent book on persuasion and influence that I particularly like — does a really good job showing how to become influential inside an organization.
The Hidden Persuaders
You can go all the way back to the '50s — a foundational text on the topic of behavioral science in advertising.

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
Takes a more organizational view — shows how you wind up being influential inside your organization. Provides real applied insight while generating a fundamental understanding of social science.

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
Terrific book — a combined ability to explain weird things and make you want to keep reading. Read it cover to cover at one sitting and couldn't get enough of it.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
A must-read — subtle environmental tweaks can influence decisions without removing choice. Admired for work that reached the larger community on how defaults and environmental cues steer people toward better outcomes.

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Helps refine your instincts and ethically take advantage of consistent flaws in human decision making.

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
An even more interesting book — delves into the psychological foundations of ideological conflict and why good people are divided by politics and religion. Critical for understanding how shared identity drives influence.

The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind
Persuasion is less about adding pressure and more about removing friction. A wonderful book — more conversational and very easy to understand.

Persuasion Engineering
I certainly recommend this — a wonderful book in the area of NLP and linguistic patterns. It feels like you are being taught these principles live.

Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions
Breaks the mold by showing how to influence other people's memories to impact their future decisions — a practical guide for sales pitches and marketing campaigns.

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
A seminal book in the field — a must-read for successful negotiation.