If you are looking for a few good books this holiday season for yourself or others, ERE has assembled a collection of recommended business books to sharpen your skills in recruiting, leadership, and management. The list is in no particular order, and includes both newly published books and older gems:

• Growing big in the New Year? Lucky or Smart? is a first-person narrative written for the leaders and entrepreneurs among us. Likewise, Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big is a collection of 14 small companies that focused on their passion, not the bottom line, to grow into profitable companies.

• Struggling with how to manage a supply chain in today’s global environment? For examples from all segments of industries and companies, pick up Supply Chain Management Best Practices.

• For a light-hearted look at handling “problem” employees, read A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Handling Idiots, Whiners, Slackers, And Other Workplace Demons.

• Are you sick of riding the meeting carousel? Death by Meeting will help you examine whether your meetings are more passive than interactive, or sloppy instead of structured. This book will give you some much-needed guidance on making the most of your time.

• Do you ever feel like a chronic people-pleaser? Review When I Say No, I Feel Guilty Vol. II, For Managers and Executives for firm reminders on how to be an effective leader.

• If you are trying to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of the United Kingdom’s 2006 age-discrimination legislation and its effect on current retirement practices around the world, read Age Matters: Employing, Motivating And Managing Older Employees.

• Wondering how to integrate the immigrant worker? Recruiting, Retaining and Promoting Culturally Different Employees looks at various immigrant groups, shows how their degrees can apply to U.S. requirements, and reminds you how you can make full use of this talented labor pool.

• In promoting a more balanced workforce, review To Recruit and Advance Women Students and Faculty in U.S. Science and Engineering, which explores best practices in recruitment, retention, and promotion for women scientists and engineers in academia.