Recommended Reading

Books and resources PPI's team returns to again and again — for deepening interpretation skills, strengthening debrief conversations, and staying grounded in the science of personality at work.

Hogan & Personality Science

Personality and the Fate of Organizations

Robert Hogan

The foundational text for understanding how personality drives leadership effectiveness and organizational outcomes. Essential reading for any Hogan practitioner.

Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls

Noel M. Tichy & Warren G. Bennis

A practical framework for evaluating leadership decision-making that pairs well with Hogan's approach to assessing judgment under pressure.

The Hogan Guide: Interpretation and Use of Hogan Inventories

Hogan Assessment Systems

The technical reference for practitioners. Covers scale-by-scale interpretation, research foundations, and application guidelines for all three Hogan inventories.

Snakes in Suits: Understanding and Surviving the Psychopaths in Your Office

Paul Babiak & Robert D. Hare

A compelling read on dark-side personality in the workplace — highly relevant to HDS interpretation and derailer risk in selection and development contexts.

Leadership Development

The Leadership Challenge

James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner

One of the most research-backed leadership development frameworks available. Provides useful context when interpreting Hogan data in development coaching engagements.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Marshall Goldsmith

An accessible and practical guide to leadership derailers — a natural companion to HDS interpretation and feedback conversations about career-limiting behaviors.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol Dweck

Foundational for any debrief conversation about development potential and openness to change. Helps practitioners frame feedback in a growth-oriented way.

Talent Management & Assessment

Work Rules!

Laszlo Bock

A fascinating inside look at people analytics from Google's former head of People Operations. Provides real-world grounding for evidence-based talent decisions.

The Talent Delusion

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

A science-based critique of how organizations actually make talent decisions — and how assessment data should play a larger role. Strongly aligned with PPI's approach.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Essential context for understanding why structured assessment reduces bias in hiring and development decisions. Helps clients understand the value of objective data.

Coaching & Feedback

Co-Active Coaching

Henry Kimsey-House et al.

A widely used framework for professional coaches that pairs well with Hogan data — especially for practitioners integrating assessment into an ongoing coaching practice.

Difficult Conversations

Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton & Sheila Heen

Practical tools for navigating challenging feedback conversations. Required reading for any practitioner who delivers HDS or derailer-focused debriefs.

Have a recommendation for us?

We're always looking to expand this list. If there's a book or resource you think belongs here, let us know.