The Kalmeer Bookshelf
The books that built this business's thinking — and the tools it actually runs on. Curated, annotated, and honestly recommended.
Books worth your evenings
Every book here earned its place by changing how we coach, teach, or build. The one-line notes tell you why.
Tribes — Seth Godin
The founding text of everything the Circle and I See You are trying to be: people don't follow brands, they join movements led by humans who care. Read this and you'll understand Kalmeer's blueprint.
Find the bookThis Is Marketing — Seth Godin
Marketing as service: find the smallest viable audience and change something for them. The antidote to shouting into the algorithm.
Find the bookTalk Like TED — Carmine Gallo
The mechanics of talks that move rooms — passion, novelty, and stories in an 18-minute frame. Required pre-reading for Own Your Story participants.
Find the bookTED Talks — Chris Anderson
From the man who runs TED: how ideas are built, structured, and delivered so they spread. The craft manual to Gallo's highlights reel.
Find the bookBuilding a StoryBrand — Donald Miller
Your customer is the hero; you're the guide. Seven story elements that fix fuzzy positioning — we used them on this very website.
Find the bookRising Strong — Brené Brown
What happens after the fall: how people own their story of struggle and write a braver ending. The spirit of I See You in book form.
Find the bookDare to Lead — Brené Brown
Vulnerability as a leadership skill, not a liability. For every professional who thinks presence means armour.
Find the bookThe Coaching Habit — Michael Bungay Stanier
Seven questions that make anyone more coach-like in ten minutes a day. For leaders who want to develop people, not just direct them.
Find the bookAtomic Habits — James Clear
Systems beat goals; identity beats willpower. The engine behind every "three posts, five conversations, two calls a week" rhythm we prescribe.
Find the bookThe Phoenix Project — Gene Kim et al.
A novel about an IT department on fire — and the calmest, truest picture of why service management matters ever written. If you work anywhere near IT operations, read it — you will recognise every character.
Find the bookThe tools Kalmeer runs on
Nothing here is recommended that we don't actually use. Some links may earn us a referral — the opinions were formed first.
Scheduling
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CalendlyEmail & newsletter
The I See You letter, the momentum-check results, and every launch announcement run through one simple platform.
MailerLiteDesign
Workshop slides, social posts, and workbooks — professional-looking without a designer on retainer.
CanvaPrefer a guided path?
Books plant seeds. Coaching grows them. If one of these shelves spoke to you, the momentum check will tell you where to start.
Disclosure: this page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, Kalmeer Group may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only list books we've read and tools we genuinely use — a portion of bookshelf earnings goes toward funding I See You scholarship seats.