100 Best Business Strategy Books of All Time
We've researched and ranked the best business strategy books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more
The Challenge
Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.
But what about the company that is not born... more
Jeff Bezos"Collins briefed Amazon executives on his seminal management book before its publication. Companies must confront the brutal facts of their business, find out what they are uniquely good at, and master their fly wheel, in which each part of the business reinforces and accelerates the other parts," Stone writes. (Source)
Dave Ramsey[Dave Ramsey recommended this book on his website.] (Source)
Max Levchin[Max Levchin recommended this book as an answer to "What business books would you advise young entrepreneurs read?"] (Source)
His work is cited by the world’s best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic bestseller—now updated with a fresh new package—innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership. Read this international bestseller to avoid a similar fate.
Clay Christensen—who authored the award-winning Harvard Business Review article How Will You Measure Your... more
Jeff BezosBrad Stone's new book, The Everything Store, describes how Bezos developed this strategy after reading another book called The Innovator's Dilemma by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen. (Source)
Steve JobsIt's important that we make this transformation, because of what Clayton Christensen calls "the innovator's dilemma," where people who invent something are usually the last ones to see past it, and we certainly don't want to be left behind. (Source)
Max Levchin[Max Levchin recommended this book as an answer to "What business books would you advise young entrepreneurs read?"] (Source)
The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.
Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to... more
Mark ZuckerbergThis book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world. (Source)
Eric WeinsteinIf you really understand something that the rest of the world is confused about, and it’s an important truth, [this book] says here are all the ways you might want to make that work. (Source)
In an audiobook that challenges everything you thought you knew, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne assert that tomorrow's leading companies will succeed, not by battling their rivals for market share in the bloody "red ocean" of a shrinking profit pool, but by creating "blue oceans" of untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.
Based on a study of 150 strategic moves, spanning more than 100 years and 30 industries, they provide a... more
Daymond JohnThere are the normal ones that everybody loves. There would be "Rich Dad Poor Dad," "Who Moved My Cheese?;" I love all the Dale Carnegie books; "The One Minute Manager." I love newer ones like "Blue Ocean Strategy" and all the "Freaknomics" books. (Source)
Ryan HolidayI don’t remember who originally told me to read Blue Ocean Strategy but I’m glad they did because this simple recommendation would substantially shape the course of my life and my career. (Source)
Santiago BasultoIt’s hard to pick a favorite business book, they all have a lot of insight spread among different publications. But if I’d need to choose one, it’d be The Blue Ocean Strategy. It completely changed my way of seeing business when I was just getting started. It’s filled with amazing stories and insights. (Source)
Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business. more
Sheryl SandbergProvides a great inside look at how the tech industry approaches building products and businesses. (Source)
Ben HorowitzGreat. (Source)
Dustin MoskovitzAt Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from [the author]'s advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business. (Source)
Minford opens with a lively,... more
Reid HoffmanReid read Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu as a boy, which informed his strategic thinking. (Source)
Neil deGrasse TysonWhich books should be read by every single intelligent person on planet? [...] The Art of War (Sun Tsu) [to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art]. If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world. (Source)
Evan SpiegelAfter meeting Mark Zuckerberg, [Evan Spiegel] immediately bought every [Snapchat] employee a copy of 'The Art Of War'. (Source)
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point... more
Kevin RoseBunch of really good information in here on how to make ideas go viral. This could be good to apply to any kind of products or ideas you may have. Definitely, check out The Tipping Point, which is one of my favorites. (Source)
Seth GodinMalcolm Gladwell's breakthrough insight was to focus on the micro-relationships between individuals, which helped organizations realize that it's not about the big ads and the huge charity balls... it's about setting the stage for the buzz to start. (Source)
Andy SternI think that when we talk about making change, it is much more about macro change, like in policy. This book reminds you that at times when you're building big movements, or trying to elect significant decision-makers in politics, sometimes it's the little things that make a difference. Ever since the book was written, we've become very used to the idea of things going viral unexpectedly and then... (Source)
Winner of the National Academy of Sciences Best Book Award in 2012
Selected by the New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of 2011
A Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2011 Title
One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year
One of The Wall Street Journal's Best Nonfiction Books of the Year 2011
2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
In the international bestseller, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, the renowned psychologist and winner of the Nobel... more
Barack ObamaA few months ago, Mr. Obama read “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman, about how people make decisions — quick, instinctive thinking versus slower, contemplative deliberation. For Mr. Obama, a deliberator in an instinctive business, this may be as instructive as any political science text. (Source)
Bill Gates[On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012.] (Source)
Marc AndreessenCaptivating dive into human decision making, marred by inclusion of several/many? psychology studies that fail to replicate. Will stand as a cautionary tale? (Source)
Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?
People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why. It was their natural ability to start with why that enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things.
more
Tony RobbinsThe basis of this book is so important to anyone looking to increase their influence, profits or impact. People won't truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. When you start with the why, everything else falls into place. This book is so impactful, I consider it required reading. (Source)
Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)
Tony HsiehOver the years he’s [] recommended well over 20 business books — including his own, the 2010 bestseller Delivering Happiness and you can always find what he’s currently reading atop his cluttered desk. Start with Why is amogst those titles. (Source)
Voted #1 business book by Inc. 500 CEOs.
An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points... more
Dave Ramsey[Dave Ramsey recommended this book on his website.] (Source)
Timothy FerrissAfter reading The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber and The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch, I decided that extreme questions were the forcing function I needed. (Source)
Brian ScudamoreThe book that’s had the biggest impact on me is The E-Myth by Michael Gerber (I even wrote about it in my own book). I read it front to back, then reread it right away. Gerber takes you through every step of a running a business from start to finish, and shows you what you need to make it successful. I read it when I was looking to take 1-800-GOT-JUNK? to the next level, and I had an epiphany:... (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
You can take the job you have—and improve it!
You can take any situation—and make it work for you!
Dale Carnegie’s rock-solid, time-tested advice has carried countless people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. One of the most groundbreaking and timeless bestsellers of all time, How to Win Friends & Influence People will teach you:
-Six ways to make people like you
-Twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking
-Nine ways to change people without arousing... more
Dustin MoskovitzSeek to be understood. (Source)
Scott Adams[Scott Adams recommends this book on his "Persuasion Reading List."] (Source)
Daymond JohnI love all the Dale Carnegie books. (Source)
In the fall of 1999, John Doerr met with the founders of a start-up whom he'd just given $12.5 million, the biggest investment of his career. Larry Page and Sergey Brin had amazing technology, entrepreneurial energy, and sky-high ambitions, but no real business plan. For Google to change the world (or even to survive), Page and Brin had to... more
Reid HoffmanWhether you're a seasoned CEO or a first-time entrepreneur, you'll find valuable lessons, tools, and inspiration in the pages of Measure What Matters. I'm glad John invested the time to share these ideas with the world. (Source)
Walter IsaacsonIn this indispensable book, the most important venture capitalist of our era reveals a key to business innovation and success. This crisp and colorful book combines fascinating case studies with insightful personal stories to show how OKRs can add magic to organizations of any size. (Source)
Bill GatesJohn explains how OKRs [Objectives and Key Results] work and shows how you can apply them in all sorts of situations. I’d recommend John’s book for anyone interested in becoming a better manager (and I’d say that even if I hadn’t been interviewed for a super-nice chapter about the Gates Foundation). (Source)
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, The 4-Hour Workweek is the blueprint.
This step-by-step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches:
How Tim went from $40,000 per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per month... more
Eric Weinstein[Eric Weinstein recommended this book on Twitter.] (Source)
Tim DraperWith this kind of time management and focus on the important things in life, people should be able to get 15 times as much done in a normal work week. (Source)
Marvin LiaoSUCH a hard question to answer because there are so MANY favorite books of mine. For Business, i'd say either 80/20 Principle (Koch) or 4 Hour Work Week (Ferriss) for the principles it teaches on how to optimize work & life. (Source)
In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Forty years later, Bridgewater has made more money for its clients than any other hedge fund in history and grown into the fifth most important private... more
Mark CubanThe book I wish I had as a young entrepreneur. (Source)
Tony RobbinsI found it to be truly extraordinary. Every page is full of so many principles of distinction and insights—and I love how Ray incorporates his history and his life in such an elegant way. (Source)
Bill GatesRay Dalio has provided me with invaluable guidance and insights that are now available to you in Principles. (Source)
In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, draws on his own story of founding, running, selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology companies to offer essential advice and practical wisdom for navigating the toughest problems business schools don't cover. His blog has garnered a devoted following of millions of... more
Larry PageBen's book is a great read - with uncomfortable truths about entrepreneurship and how to lead to a company. It's also an inspiring story of a business rebirth through sheer willpower. (Source)
Mark ZuckerbergBen's experience and expertise make him one of the most important leaders not just in Silicon Valley but also in the global knowledge economy. For anyone interested in building, growing or leading a great company, this book is an incredibly valuable resource - and a funny and insightful read. (Source)
Dustin Moskovitz[Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book during a Stanford lecture.] (Source)
Jeff BezosEncourages companies to identify the biggest constraints in their operations and then structure their organizations to get the most out of those constraints. (Source)
Kevin SystromAbout basically manufacturing and supply chain management. It sounds really boring, but I promise you it’s really good. (Source)
Chris GowardHere are some of the books that have been very impactful for me, or taught me a new way of thinking: [...] The Goal. (Source)
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into... more
Dustin Moskovitz[Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter.] (Source)
Daniel PinkEmphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence without sacrificing deal-making power. From the pen of a former hostage negotiator—someone who couldn’t take no for an answer—which makes it fascinating reading. But it’s also eminently practical. In these pages, you will find the techniques for getting the deal you want. (Source)
Adam Granteval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'theceolibrary_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_6',164,'0','1'])); This book blew my mind. It’s a riveting read, full of instantly actionable advice—not just for high-stakes negotiations, but also for handling everyday conflicts at work and at home. (Source)
His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player,... more
Bill Gates[On Bill Gates's reading list in 2011.] (Source)
James AltucherGladwell is not the first person to come up with the 10,000 hour rule. Nor is he the first person to document what it takes to become the best in the world at something. But his stories are so great as he explains these deep concepts. How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March? And so on. (Source)
Cat Williams-TreloarThe books that I've talked the most about with friends and colleagues over the years are the Malcolm Gladwell series of novels. Glorious stories that mix science, behaviours and insight. You can't go wrong with the "The Tipping Point", "Outliers", "Blink" or "David & Goliath". (Source)
In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper,... more
Bill GatesA bunch of my friends recommended this one to me. Carreyrou gives you the definitive insider’s look at the rise and fall of Theranos. The story is even crazier than I expected, and I found myself unable to put it down once I started. This book has everything: elaborate scams, corporate intrigue, magazine cover stories, ruined family relationships, and the demise of a company once valued at nearly... (Source)
Brad FeldEvery entrepreneur and VC should read this book. John Carreyrou has done something important here. Maybe this book will finally put a nail in the phrase “fake it till you make it”, but I doubt it. The amount of lying, disingenuousness, blatant and unjustified self-promotion, and downright deceit that exists in entrepreneurship right now is at a local maximum. This always happens when... (Source)
Andrew ChenFinished “bad blood” on the Theranos scandal. Wow. Just wow. It’s a must read for everyone in tech and startups. Just 1-click buy it :) Amazing how far charisma and social proof got them. Here’s the NYT review of the book https://t.co/PyMGxfoG2R (Source)
Getting to Yes has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. One of the primary business texts of the modern era, it is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution.
Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict. Thoroughly updated and revised, it offers readers a straight- forward, universally applicable... more
Charles T. Mungerrecommends this title in the book "Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger". (Source)
Dustin Moskovitz[Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter.] (Source)
Drew HoustonAbout principled negotiation, and I still think about and apply a lot of those concepts today. (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Kaci Lambe KaiThis was a great book, because it opened up the idea of what a business model is supposed to be vs what it can be. It doesn't have to be a stuffy, boring document. (Source)
Alexandra Stroe[I'd recommend] The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur and Zero to One by Peter Thiel when they are in the starting phase of a business that needs to validate its business model. (Source)
Ashley HathawayI could probably name a dozen books here, but I’ll point out The Business Model Generation and Value Prop Design from Strategyzer. I steal from these constantly and are engrained in my work process. These books put into practice really taught me how to think. As soon as I saw that everything should have a foundation of empathy, what good user-testing looks like, how to test and iterate it changed... (Source)
Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior. Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products reach their ultimate goal of bringing users back again and again without... more
Matt MullenwegHooked gives you the blueprint for the next generation of products. Read Hooked or the company that replaces you will. (Source)
Tee-Ming ChewHooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal. It changed the way I think about product and helps you to be hyper focused on what matters rather than what is cool for your users. (Source)
Irina MarinescuAlready a classic about how to build successful products. Also, retention is a priority goal for any Product Manager, but you can't have retention if you are not setting a good engagement rate. It was a great starting point for me as part of my first startup and continues to help me today as acquired knowledge about user behavior. (Source)
Combat, the most intense and dynamic environment imaginable, teaches the toughest leadership lessons, with absolutely everything at stake. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin learned this reality first-hand on the most violent and dangerous battlefield in Iraq. As leaders of... more
Casey NeistatMy favorite Jocko book. (Source)
Timothy FerrissJocko is also the co-author of Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win — which I loved. (Source)
Roger AilesThis is the SEAL Leadership book we have been waiting for. Poignant, powerful, practical. A must read for every leader. (Source)
Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader, whether the CEO at a Fortune 100 company, an entrepreneur, a church pastor, the head of a school, or a government official. Richard Rumelt shows that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate Mom-and-apple-pie values, fluffy packages of buzzwords, motivational slogans, and financial goals... more
Stephen KinsellaGood Strategy/Bad Strategy, by Richard Rummelt. The kindle edition has thousands of highlights for the first 2 chapters, then almost none thereafter. I find that telling. This a great, non-bullshit book on a topic usually full of bullshit. https://t.co/2xyeoZ4e7R (Source)
Louis GrenierIf you want to think about strategy, the proper strategy, how to understand what to do, what not to do, read: “Good Strategy, Bad Strategy”, “Good to Great” and “Blue Ocean Strategy”. (Source)
What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the qualities of today’s so-called celebrity CEOs—charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.
In... more
Warren BuffettIn his 2012 shareholder letter, Buffett praises The Outsiders as "an outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation." Berkshire Hathaway plays a major role in the book. One chapter is on director Tom Murphy, who Buffett says is "overall the best business manager I've ever met." (Source)
Michael DellThorndike explores the importance of thoughtful capital allocation through the stories of eight successful CEOs. A good read for any business leader but especially those willing to chart their own course (Source)
Mason HawkinsThe Outsiders is a must-read for leaders—and aspiring leaders—striving to become exceptional CEOs, and for investors interested in partnering with exceptional stewards of corporate capital. (Source)
The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives.
Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to... more
Bill Gates[On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012.] (Source)
Jeff Bezos[From the book "The Everything Store: and the Age of Amazon"] “The scholar argues that people are wired to see patterns in chaos while remaining blind to unpredictable events, with massive consequences. Experimentation and empiricism trumps the easy and obvious narrative,” Stone writes. (Source)
James AltucherAnd throw in “The Black Swan” and “Fooled by Randomness”. “Fragile” means if you hit something might break. “Resilient” means if you hit something, it will stay the same. On my podcast Nassim discusses “Antifragility” – building a system, even on that works for you on a personal level, where you if you harm your self in some way it becomes stronger. That podcast changed my life He discusses... (Source)
Two are mice named Sniff and Scurry. And two are "Littlepeople"—beings the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw.
"Cheese" is a metaphor for what you want to have in life—whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money, a possession, health, or spiritual peace of mind.
And the "Maze" is where you look... more
Dave Ramsey[Dave Ramsey recommended this book on his website.] (Source)
Daymond John[Daymond John said this is one of his most-recommended books.] (Source)
Darren ChuaWhen asked what books he'd recommend to young people interested in the same career path, mentioned Who Moved My Cheese. (Source)
Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal... more
Bill Gates[On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012.] (Source)
Gary VaynerchukI've read 3 business books in my life. If you call [this book] a business book. (Source)
Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But its visionary founder, Jeff Bezos, wasn't content with being a bookseller. He wanted Amazon to become the everything store, offering limitless selection and seductive convenience at disruptively low prices. To do so, he developed a corporate culture of relentless ambition and secrecy that's never been cracked. Until now. Brad Stone enjoyed unprecedented access to current and... more
Doug McMillon[I read and give this book because] you need to understand what you’re up against. (Source)
Santiago BasultoI love to read biographies and stories of companies. Hatching Twitter is a really good book, and if you’re into that sort of books, bios of Steve Jobs (by Isaacson) or Jeff Bezos are great too. (Source)
Tracy DiNunzioIt's a great book and especially for people starting out. (Source)
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose... more
Malcolm GladwellI don’t need to say much here. This book invented an entire genre. Economics was never supposed to be this entertaining. (Source)
Daymond JohnI love newer books like [this book]. (Source)
James Altucher[James Altucher recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show".] (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Thaler and Sunstein invite us to enter an alternative world, one that takes our... more
Dan ArielyNudge is a very important book. One of the reasons Nudge is so important is because it’s taking these ideas and applying them to the policy domain. Here are the mistakes we make. Here are the ways marketers are trying to influence us. Here’s the way we might be able to fight back. If policymakers understood these principles, what could they do? The other important thing about the book is that it... (Source)
Ryan HolidayThis might feel like a weird book to include, but I think it presents another side of strategy that is too often forgotten. It’s not always about bold actors and strategic thrusts. Sometimes strategy is about subtle influence. Sometimes it is framing and small tweaks that change behavior. We can have big aims, but get there with little moves. This book has excellent examples of that kind of... (Source)
Charlamagne Tha GodThese are the books I recommend people to listen to on @applebooks. (Source)
Marvin LiaoMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make... (Source)
Ryan HolidayThere is no living writer (or person) who has been more influential to me than Robert Greene. I met him when I was 19 years old and he’s shaped me as a person, as a writer, as a thinker. You MUST read his books. His work on power and strategy are critical for anyone trying to accomplish anything. In life, power is force we are constantly bumping up against. People have power of over us, we seek... (Source)
Gennady BatrakovReading improved my self-discipline and consistency. It helped me to focus on the right things. This book, in particular, opened my eyes to how extraordinary results can be achieved – The ONE Thing by Gary Keller. (Source)
Erik RostadFor career books, I'll focus on more overarching themes. You can get books on particular skills you need for a given job, but these books will help having the right mindset for a career and how work should fit into the greater story of your life. For focus: The One Thing by Gary Keller. (Source)
Charles Poliquin[Charles Poliquin recommended this book in the book "Tools of Titans".] (Source)
Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas--entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, and journalists--struggle to make them "stick."
In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan... more
Cristian-Dragos BaciuI highly recommend all the books written by the Heath brothers, especially Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die. This one's a must-read for marketers. The reason I enjoyed their work so much is because they offer real-life stories and insights that makes it so much easier for the reader to imprint that information in his mind (Source)
Tudor MihailescuFirst thing first, finance people need to be decent communicators, ideally awesome communicators. There is an art in building a case or in delivering a presentation and we need to treat this step as seriously as we have treated the other steps. I do believe this is a top priority for an aspiring or practicing CFO - There are plenty of books on this topic, I would recommend the works of Chip and... (Source)
Steve LanceMade to Stick is about what makes a message memorable. Why is it that we can all say ‘Call me Ishmael’ and remember this opening line to Moby Dick, and yet none of us can say the second sentence. Made to Stick is a thoughtful, fact-based empirical study about this idea of stickiness. (Source)
Jeff BezosExpounds on the principles of discount retailing and discusses his core values of frugality and a bias for action—a willingness to try a lot of things and make many mistakes. Bezos included both in Amazon’s corporate values. (Source)
Rob "Crypto Bobby" Paone@tmac604 Read it earlier this summer, a great book 👍 and also hilarious to compare to current corporate excess ala WeWork (Source)
Some of the biggest problems facing the world—war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation—are essentially system... more
Tobi Lütke[Tobi Lütke recommended this book on the podcast "The Knowledge Project".] (Source)
Kate RaworthIt was a real revelation for me to discover such a different approach to thinking and analysing challenges. (Source)
Mira KirshenbaumA nice overview of how initial conditions lead to patterns that determine what the relationship feels like to the people in it (Source)
Winner of the 2015 National Indie Excellence Award for General Business
Winner of the 2015 Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold Medal for Non-Fiction Business
Winner of the 2015 Paris Book Festival Award for Business
Winner of the 2015 Amsterdam Book Festival Award for Business
Winner of the 2015 San Francisco Book Festival Award for Business more
Patrick LencioniVerne Harnish is more committed to helping companies grow than any other person on the planet. Really. He's also radically practical in his approach and that is reflected throughout this terrific book. (Source)
Graham WestonFast-growing companies - not small ones or big ones - create almost all the jobs and innovation in our economy, and Verne has been an invaluable guide to leaders of such companies, like me. Scaling Up helps us put in place the disciplines critical to building a significant business. (Source)
Alexandra Stroe[I'd recommend] Scaling Up by Verne Harnish, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz and Measure what Matters by John Doerr for scaling and managing the business. (Source)
Marketers at Procter & Gamble study videos of people making their beds. They are desperately trying to figure out how to sell a new product called Febreze, on track to be one of the biggest flops in company history. Suddenly, one of them detects a nearly imperceptible pattern—and with a slight shift in advertising,... more
Naval RavikantI also recently finished The Power of Habit, or close to finish as I get. That one was interesting, not because of its content necessarily, but because it’s good for me to always keep on top of mind how powerful my habits are. [...] I think learning how to break habits is a very important meta-skill that can serve you better in life than almost anything else. Although you can read tons of books... (Source)
Blake IrvingYou know, there's a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Simple read book about just how to build positive habits that can be I think I what I'd call you know whether in your personal life or whether in your business life to help you build you know, have a loop that can build your success and that's one I mean there are so many great books out there. (Source)
Santiago BasultoAnother book with great impact was “The power of habit”. But to be honest, I read only a couple of pages. It’s a good book, with many interesting stories. But to be honest, the idea it tries to communicate is simple and after a couple of pages you’ve pretty much understood all of it. Happens the same thing with those types of books (Getting things done, crossing the chasm, etc.) (Source)
Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you'll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don't need to be a workaholic. You don't need to staff up. You don't need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You... more
Jeff BezosUnperturbed by conventional wisdom, [the authors] start fresh and rewrite the rules of business. Their approach turns out to be as successful as it is counter-intuitive. (Source)
Mark CubanIf given a choice between investing in someone who has read Rework or has an MBA, I'm investing in Rework every time. This is a must read for every entrepreneur. (Source)
Tony HsiehThe wisdom in these pages is edgy yet simple, straightforward, and proven. Read this book multiple times to help give you the courage you need to get out there and make something great. (Source)
Understanding Michael Porter sets the record straight, providing the first concise, accessible summary of Porter’s revolutionary thinking. Written with Porter’s full cooperation by Joan Magretta, his former editor at Harvard... more
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In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey A. Moore shows that in the Technology Adoption Life Cycle--which begins with innovators and moves to early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards--there is a vast chasm between the early adopters and the early majority. While early adopters are willing to sacrifice for the advantage of being first, the early majority waits until they know that the technology actually offers improvements in... more
Drew HoustonIt’s [about] how do technology products make their way from early adopters t the mainstream. (Source)
Ron ConwayBestselling guide that created a new game plan for marketing in high-tech industries. (Source)
Seth GodinThis is a key component in my Purple Cow thinking, but with a twist. I'm not as worried about the chasm as I am about the desire of marketers to go for the big middle. (Source)
Drawing upon a six-year research project at the... more
Jeff Bezosrecommends this book because it shows how to create a long lasting company. (Source)
Tim O'ReillyBuilt to Last, by James Collins and Jerry Porras. The idea here is that great companies aren't afraid to have strong values. In fact, their cult-like values are what make them stand out from the norm. (Source)
Alden MillsBuilt to Last focused my daydreaming mind into what it takes to build truly great companies. (Source)
If you read nothing else on strategy, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you catalyze your organization's strategy development and execution.
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy will inspire you to:
-Distinguish your company from rivals
-Clarify what your company will and won't do
-Craft a vision for an uncertain future
-Create blue oceans of uncontested market space... more
Mark Zuckerberg[Andy’s] book played a big role in shaping my management style. (Source)
Ben HorowitzAndy Grove, who built himself from nothing to run Intel, stopped what he was doing to teach us his magic. And not through some ghostwriter either — Andy wrote this book himself. What an incredible gift. (Source)
Drew HoustonThe best book on management ever written. (Source)
Cat Williams-TreloarThe books that I've talked the most about with friends and colleagues over the years are the Malcolm Gladwell series of novels. Glorious stories that mix science, behaviours and insight. You can't go wrong with the "The Tipping Point", "Outliers", "Blink" or "David & Goliath". (Source)
Catalina PenciuBusiness-wise, my goal for this year is to improve my collection and my mindset, but my favorite so far has been David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. (Source)
Robert KataiBuy Malcolm Gladwell’s book “David and Goliath” and read the interesting stories about how the Davids of that moments have defeated the Goliaths. (Source)
Why do some people succeed and others fail? Sharing new insights from her landmark research on grit, Angela Duckworth explains why talent is hardly a guarantor of success. Rather, other factors can be even more crucial such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments.
Drawing on... more
Benjamin Spall[Question: What five books would you recommend to youngsters interested in your professional path?] [...] Grit by Angela Duckworth (Source)
Bogdan LucaciuGrit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - it was frustrating to read: “Where was this book 20 years ago!?” (Source)
Stephen LewWhen asked what books he would recommend to youngsters interested in his professional path, Stephen mentioned Grit. (Source)
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most... more
Marvin LiaoThe Joy of Not Working (Zelinkski), Flash Foresight (Burrus), The Art of Worldly Wisdom (Gracian), Sapiens (Yuval), The End of Jobs (Pearson), Deep Work (Newport), Sovereign Individual (Davidson), The Fourth Economy (Davison) & The Monk & the Riddle (Komisar). Every single one of these books completely changed how I looked at everything in the world & literally pushed my life in a new direction.... (Source)
Daniel PinkAs automation and outsourcing reshape the workplace, what new skill do we need? The ability to do deep work. Cal Newport's exciting new book is an introduction and guide to the kind of intense concentration in a distraction-free environment that results in fast, powerful learning and performance. Think of it as calisthenics for your mind-and start your exercise program today. (Source)
Seth GodinCal Newport is a clear voice in a sea of noise, bringing science and passion in equal measure. (Source)
Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how... more
Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)
Tony HsiehIt's always interesting just to learn different perspectives, but to be careful of not trying to just say, 'Oh this book is the Bible, and we should copy that,' [...] Instead, I want us t0 take the parts that make sense for Zappos and try to incorporate them." (Source)
Arianna HuffingtonA fascinating, eye-opening read that will help you not just recognize your own unique gifts, but find the strength to challenge conventional wisdom to bring them to life. (Source)
Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized?
Are you often busy but not productive?
Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas?
If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.
The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. It is not a time management strategy, or a productivity technique. It is a systematic... more
Casey NeistatThis is a great book. I've read it, I've bought it for a friend. (Source)
Noah Kagan[Noah Kagan recommended this book in the book "Tools of Titans".] (Source)
Gilles BernhardEssentialism is a mindset. It is a combination of discipline, long term thinking, identifying goals and the pursuit of less. This is a book I will definitely read again and again, until mastered, because it resonated very much with me. It is also an easy to read book. (Source)
Strategy is not complex. But it is hard. It’s hard because it forces people and organizations to make specific choices about their future—something that doesn’t happen in most companies.
Now two of today’s best-known business thinkers get to the heart of strategy—explaining what it’s for, how to think about it, why you need it, and how to get it done. And they use one of the most successful corporate turnarounds of the past century, which they achieved together, to prove their point.
A.G. Lafley,... more
Meg WhitmanThe entire company has organized around "Playing to Win" which is a book written by A.G. Lafley and a colleague of his. Listen, there are many ways to deploy strategy in companies. This is one I found to be particularly helpful because organizations have a lot of trouble making decisions, particularly at our scale. So this notion of where to play, what countries, what market segments, what... (Source)
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Meltem Demirors@amazon 3/ if we look at bitcoin investing, it follows the cyclical trend outlined by the brilliant @CarlotaPrzPerez in her book "technological revolutions and financial bubbles" bitcoin is a secular investment (if you zoom out, up and to the right) that operates in cycles https://t.co/5e0XRUgzae (Source)
Andrew CurryCarlota Perez comes out of a whole set of arguments which basically go back to Kondratiev. Kondratiev was the Soviet economist who said there seem to be long-wave downturns and upturns in cycles of around fifty years. He got shot by Stalin for his trouble. He first wrote the paper in 1924. There follows seventy years of argument whether it’s true – the price evidence seem to think it’s true: long... (Source)
Denise Morris KipnisQuestion: What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why? Answer: In addition to Built to Change, Process Consultation, and Flawless Consulting, I would add: The Wisdom of Teams by Katzenbach & Smith Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture by Cameron & Quinn Designing Organizations by Galbraith Understanding Research Methods by Patten Competitive... (Source)
Charles DuhiggIf you want to understand how successful groups work—the signals they transmit, the language they speak, the cues that foster creativity—you won’t find a more essential guide than The Culture Code.
For most of the world, the terms "Silicon Valley" and "startup" are synonymous. Indeed, Silicon Valley is home to a disproportionate number of companies that have grown from garage startups into global giants.
But what is the secret to these startups' extraordinary success? Contrary to the popular narrative, it's not their superhuman founders or savvy venture capitalists. Rather, it's that they have... more
Eric SchmidtThe secret of Silicon Valley is that it keeps updating the playbook. Each new success - from Google to Facebook to Airbnb and Uber - develops new techniques for world-transforming products. Blitzscaling paints the picture, with key case studies, of what it really takes to build a market-leading company. If you want to learn how to manage growth amid the controlled chaos that has become the new... (Source)
Sheryl SandbergBlitzscaling shows how companies can build value for customers and shareholders in the digital age. A compelling inside view of how the new economy is being built and is transforming global business. (Source)
Bill GatesThe case studies you’re about to explore and the tools you’re about to gain have never been more relevant. This is an ideal moment to be reading this book. (Source)
From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in... more
Mark ZuckerbergThis book is written by the founder of Pixar and is about his experience building a culture that fosters creativity. His theory is that people are fundamentally creative, but many forces stand in the way of people being able to do their best work. I love reading first-hand accounts about how people build great companies like Pixar and nurture innovation and creativity. This should be inspiring to... (Source)
Timothy FerrissNo matter your circumstances, storytelling and creativity are two 'meta-skills' that can take your business and life to the next level. Ed is a master. (Source)
Ezra KleinAn amazing, amazing book. (Source)
For fans of Good to Great and The First 90 Days, The Four Disciplines of Execution is the foundational text for creating lasting organizational change. A #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller with more than 500,000 copies sold, The Four Disciplines of Execution will radically change your business.
Do you remember the last major initiative you... more
Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the... more
Jennifer RockIn Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the executive asks her senior leaders "Who is your first team?" And they each answer incorrectly that it's the team that reports to him or her. The point is that you need to shift your perspective to understanding your senior leadership peers are your first team. We read that book as a leadership team in a corporation where I worked --... (Source)
Joel GascoigneA leadership fable about a failing Silicion Valley tech company who brings in a new CEO. Kathryn attempts to unite a highly dysfunctional team and through his narrative Lencioni explains the five key ways that teams struggle, and how to overcome the hurdles. I read this book at a key point in time where we were just discovering that we needed to put our values into words and shape the culture of... (Source)
Mikhail DubovOne of the five books recommends to young people interested in his career path. (Source)
Written by Neil Rackham, former president and founder of Huthwaite corporation, SPIN Selling is essential reading for anyone involved in selling or managing a sales force. Unquestionably the best-documented account of sales success ever collected and the result of the Huthwaite corporation's massive 12-year, $1-million dollar research into effective sales performance, this groundbreaking resource details the revolutionary SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff) strategy.
In... more
Mark RobergeThe other book on selling is an oldie but goldie, never goes away: SPIN Selling, by Neil Rackham. It's the one when a founder is trying to learn how to sell, belly to belly, I tell them to check out Spin Selling. (Source)
Santiago BasultoIf you want to make the transition into business, sales is a must. Most sales books are bloated and spand many thousands of pages without much insight, but there are a few that are different and you MUST read: Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness SPIN Selling (Source)
Tudor TeodorescuI can say that my area, or my background involves a lot of practical work, traveling, learning and performing a big variety of sports, meeting new people and making contacts. But taking into account that being a young entrepreneur I wish I had known a lot of things before starting everything. Therefore, what I would suggest people to do is invest a lot in themselves professionally and personally,... (Source)
In the international bestseller The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Christensen exposed the Achilles’ heel of many companies: by ignoring the disruptive technologies that evolve to displace them, they help initiate their own demise. In The Innovator’s Solution, Christensen and Michael Raynor take the idea of disruption one step further—explaining how companies can and should become disruptors themselves.
Now with several new chapters and updated cases,... more
Ashley HathawayWhen it comes to work books I definitely like to ask my leaders what their favorite books are. There are lots of repeats (Crossing the Chasm, Innovator's Dilemma & Solution, Lean Startup, etc), but every now and then someone will have a really unique one that I’ll read. I always read those right away. I’ve also taken book recommendations & then not read the book for like a year. I’ll go back and... (Source)
Jared SpoolThe first framework is from Gallup and was written up in their great book: First, Break All The Rules. https://t.co/w54in9zCyH It’s the Q12 employee engagement measures. Each question makes it simple for a manager to identify where they need to improve. https://t.co/A9L8Yx2NHp (Source)
Jessica Pryce-JonesI’m a sucker for books and I always buy management books when I get on planes. There I am at Heathrow Airport going on a business trip, and I think, ‘I’ve got to read this stuff!’ And normally I pick a book up, read the first few pages, then find I can’t face it and end up leaving it in a hotel room. But this book, I picked it up, started to read it and I thought, ‘Hallelujah! Here is a book that... (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
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All entrepreneurs and business leaders face similar frustrations—personnel conflict, profit woes, and inadequate growth. Decisions never seem to get made, or, once made, fail to be properly implemented. But there is a solution. It’s not complicated or theoretical.The Entrepreneurial Operating System® is a practical method for achieving the business success you have always envisioned. More than 2,000 companies have discovered what EOS can do.
In Traction, you’ll learn the secrets of... more
In The Black Swan Taleb outlined a problem; in Antifragile he offers a definitive solution: how to gain from disorder and chaos while being protected from fragilities and adverse events. For what he calls the "antifragile" is one step beyond robust, as it benefits from adversity, uncertainty and stressors, just as human bones get stronger when subjected to stress and tension.
Taleb stands... more
James AltucherYou ask about success. To be successful you have to avoid being “fragile” – the idea that if something hurts you, you let collapse completely. You also have to avoid simply being resilient. Bouncing back is not enough. Antifragile is when something tries to hurt you and you come back stronger. That is real life business. That is real life success. Nassim focuses on the economy. But when I read... (Source)
Marvin Liaoeval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'theceolibrary_com-leader-2','ezslot_7',164,'0','1'])); My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On... (Source)
Vlad TenevThe general concept is applicable to many fields beyond biology, for instance finance, economics and monetary policy. (Source)
In The First 90 Days, Watkins outlines proven strategies that will dramatically shorten the time it takes to reach what he calls... more
Chip Conley[The author] is a wise guy. Sincerely. He’s one of the wisest and most thoughtful business leaders of the modern age. (Source)
Adam JohnstonInspiring case study into building brand and customer service. (Source)
Julie Rice[At SoulCycle] we’re all big fans of [this book]. (Source)
Kimberly Gloria ChoiI am curious of how strategy can apply on all kinds of industries. By reading this book, I want to find out things I might not have known before, or maybe I have been played by this strategy mind game (As a customer, consumer). And I want to see if this book could drastically change my logical thinking in my daily life. (Source)
Tony HsiehGary Vaynerchuk is one of those entrepreneurs who has discovered the secret to combining passion with business. He is always an inspiration and always entertaining. You owe it to yourself to read this book! (Source)
Ryan HooverI love how he cuts to the point - no BS. (Source)
Garrett MoonGary Vaynerchuk’s original book Crush it was definitely a difference maker. It was before I had taken the leap as an entrepreneur and just hit all the right chords at the time. (Source)
Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company's history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it,... more
Brian CheskyBob's book is great and he's an excellent CEO. (Source)
Brené BrownI expected a book written by the person who has led Disney for decades to be defined by both gripping storytelling and deep leadership wisdom. [The author] delivers, and then some! [This book] is leadership gold—you won’t forget the stories or the lessons. (Source)
Karlie Kloss[Karlie Kloss] says [this book] really inspired her to become a better boss. (Source)
7 Powers breaks fresh ground by constructing a comprehensive strategy toolset that is easy for you to learn, communicate and quickly apply.
Drawing on his decades of experience as a business strategy advisor, active equity investor and Stanford University teacher, Hamilton Helmer develops from first principles a practical theory of Strategy rooted in the notion of Power, those conditions which create the potential for persistent differential returns.
Using rich... more
What makes an effective executive?
For decades, Peter F. Drucker was widely regarded as "the dean of this country’s business and management philosophers" (Wall Street Journal). In this concise and brilliant work, he looks to the most influential position in management—the executive.
The measure of the executive, Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what... more
Drew HoustonI think one of the most valuable concepts from [this book] is measuring your time. (Source)
Timothy FerrissI think it's much more valuable than 99% of the so-called time management books out there. (Source)
Matt MullenwegWe're both big fans of Peter Drucker and his book The Effective Executive, as well as Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change your Life. (Source)
Competitive Advantage introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Porter's groundbreaking concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into "activities," or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage.
Now an essential part of international business thinking, Competitive... more
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
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Eric RipertA fascinating study and still wholly relevant. (Source)
Neil deGrasse TysonWhich books should be read by every single intelligent person on planet? [...] The Prince (Machiavelli) [to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it]. If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world. (Source)
Ryan HolidayOf course, this is a must read. Machiavelli is one of those figures and writers who is tragically overrated and underrated at the same time. Unfortunately that means that many people who read him miss the point and other people avoid him and miss out altogether. Take Machiavelli slow, and really read him. Also understand the man behind the book–not just as a masterful writer but a man who... (Source)
What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel, the fast and incredible rise of Xerox, and the unbelievable scandals at General Electric and Texas Gulf Sulphur have in common? Each is an example of how an iconic company was defined by a particular moment of fame or notoriety; these notable and fascinating accounts are as relevant today to understanding the intricacies of corporate life as they were when the events happened. more
Warren BuffettIn 1991, Bill Gates asked Buffett for his favorite book. In reply, Buffett sent the Microsoft founder his personal copy of Business Adventures, a collection of New Yorker stories by John Brooks. (Source)
Bill GatesBrooks’s work is a great reminder that the rules for running a strong business and creating value haven’t changed. For one thing, there’s an essential human factor in every business endeavor. It doesn’t matter if you have a perfect product, production plan, and marketing pitch; you’ll still need the right people to lead and implement those plans. (Source)
Michael DellIn this 1960s classic, Brooks, a longtime New Yorker contributor, tells the stories of 12 notable companies and how they navigated the trials and tribulations of corporate life in America back in the day. (Source)
Ryan HolidayWidely held as a classic, this book is much more than a manifesto and manual on swordsmanship and martial arts. It’s about the mindset, the discipline, and the perception necessary to win in life or death situations. As a swordsman, Musashi fought mostly by himself, for himself. His wisdom, therefore, is mostly internal. He tells you how to out-think and out-move your enemies. He tells you how to... (Source)
Zach Even EshLove this book & should have re-read long ago. . It only takes a page or 2 to change your life IF YOU FOLLOW THROUGH. . #musashi #samurai #undergroundstrengthgym #undergroundstrengthcoach #undergroundstrengthbook… https://t.co/zL8zxUwCJG (Source)
Stephane GrandI do not believe there are business and non-business books. Business is life, you do business like the man or woman you excavate from the person you are told you are. Hence, the most potent business books are not about business, in my opinion. What makes a great business book is that it is a book that helps you find a better version of yourself. Therefore, I would say that my favorite business... (Source)
The 10 X Rule unveils the principle of "Massive Action," allowing you to blast through business clichZs and... more
Mark StruczewskiI love what Grant Cardone writes in The 10X Rule, "wouldn't coming up short on a 10X target accomplish more than coming up short on one-tenth of that goal?" In other words, he says it's better to fall short of a one million dollar goal than a $100,000 goal. (Source)
Haris SiddiqueI would say because it influenced me and created an imperial impact on my career path. An amazing book to read as it teaches you How to reprogram your mind in minutes to eliminate fears and phobia. Being a sales and marketing professional. I adopted many great changes in me and used some of the best techniques which are explained very well in this book by Grant Cardone. I would definitely... (Source)
Dzięki tej książce... more
Cat Williams-TreloarJake Knapp, John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz "Sprint" - the go-to guide on how to sprint. You may not follow everything to the tee, but it's simple, clean and full of great examples of how to move fast with structure. (Source)
Javed KhatriThis book details the "sprint" process used at Google Ventures. We follow a similar process at Kustard to validate business ideas and to solve problems without wasting much time, money and energy. If you want to quickly validate an idea, this is a proven model and a must read. (Source)
Gita WirjawanAnother great book by @ericschmidt and @jjrosenberg on how Google hire, manage and help their smart creatives thrive. https://t.co/qqenAmE5qQ (Source)
Russell Poldrack"How Google Works" is a great book, with useful ideas for anyone who manages people and projects and wants to innovate https://t.co/bCPAEdmvfn #SummerReading (Source)
Cynthia JohnsonWhat happens is that we look at things Google, or Facebook, and we see these big corporate enterprises. We don’t see the fact that there are people inside running them, and there have been hurdles. (Source)
Startups search for business models while existing companies execute them. The book offers the practical and proven four-step Customer Development process for search and... more
Ryan HooverToo much (good) info but thankfully there's a summary in the Appendix. (Source)
Matthieu David-ExpertonQuestion: What books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path? Answer: I would recommend the following ones: The Hard Thing About Hard Things Who? How to recruit A players Les Cles du futur by Jean Staune (in French) All the books written by Peter Drucker (The Essentials of Drucker) The 4 steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank Freakonomics The books by Jack Welsh... (Source)
Craig PearceIf you are reading to learn skills that can be implemented in your startup, I’d recommend The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful by Eric Reis and actually avoid its predecessor The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products That Win by Steve Blank until later in your career. (Source)
Mark Moses[ listing the books that had the biggest impact on him] (Source)
Joseph LiuI love this book because it provides some practical case studies about the behaviors that allow certain individuals, teams, and companies to excel that you can then apply to your own personal life and career. (Source)
Practical exercises, process illustrations, and... more
Chandini Jain[One of the five books Chandini would you recommend to young people interested in her career path.] (Source)
Ashley HathawayI could probably name a dozen books here, but I’ll point out The Business Model Generation and Value Prop Design from Strategyzer. I steal from these constantly and are engrained in my work process. These books put into practice really taught me how to think. As soon as I saw that everything should have a foundation of empathy, what good user-testing looks like, how to test and iterate it changed... (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
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Intern JohnMy parents got me this book, love it, and suggest you read! #leadership #leader https://t.co/AI4Yr5Szqi (Source)
AnneMarie SchindlerI picked up Leaders Eat Last when I was going through a lot of transition at work. Our organization had experienced a significant scandal; the leadership team which I really respected was turning over; my direct boss and mentor was leaving; And I was still charged with managing one of the bigger teams in the organization. I would read this quote over and over again to guide my everyday,"the true... (Source)
What do Starbucks and JetBlue and KrispyKreme and Apple and DutchBoy and Kensington and Zespri and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last?
Face it, the checklist of tired 'P's marketers have used for decades to get their product noticed -Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a few-aren't working anymore. There's an exceptionally... more
Joe GebbiaMake something that’s distinct enough that people want to talk about it. (Source)
Marvin LiaoMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make... (Source)
Noah KaganA few months ago, I was drinking a Noah’s Mill whiskey (cute) with my good buddy Brian Balfour and talking about life... During the conversation, we got on the topic of books that changed our lives. I want to share them with you. I judge a book's success if a year later I'm still using at least 1 thing from the book. (Source)
What makes things popular? Why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?
If you said advertising, think again. People don't listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?
... more
Ee Ling Limeval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'theceolibrary_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_5',164,'0','1'])); Contagious by Jonah Berger is another interesting one for those trying to figure out how to market their business. In Contagious, Jonah identifies what makes some things go viral, and narrowed it down to 6 principles STEPPS: Social currency (content that makes people look good when they... (Source)
Vincenzo RuggieroQuestion: What books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path? Answer: Rework, Getting real and Remote - The combo from Fried and DHH. Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso From Impossible To Inevitable by Aaron Ross & Jason Lemkin How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross Content Machine by Dan Norris Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and... (Source)
Gilles BernhardIf you are building a business or a brand and want to know how to make it go “viral”, if you want your idea to be talked about, or if you simply want to know some of the science behind it, this book is a must have. It gave me a lot of ideas for my business, and I didn’t even scratch the surface of what can be done thanks to it! The next time I read it, I will write down everything that comes to... (Source)
Now in a striking new hardcover edition, Fooled by Randomness is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business and the world. Nassim Nicholas Taleb–veteran trader, renowned risk expert, polymathic scholar,... more
James AltucherAnd throw in “The Black Swan” and “Fooled by Randomness”. “Fragile” means if you hit something might break. “Resilient” means if you hit something, it will stay the same. On my podcast Nassim discusses “Antifragility” – building a system, even on that works for you on a personal level, where you if you harm your self in some way it becomes stronger. That podcast changed my life He discusses... (Source)
Howard MarksReally about how much randomness there is in our world. (Source)
Anant JainThe five-book series, "Incerto", by Nassim Nicholas Taleb has had a profound impact on how I think about the world. There’s some overlap across the books — but you'll likely find the repetition helpful in retaining the content better. (Source)
The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how business really works.
Josh Kaufman has made a business out of distilling the core principles of business and delivering them quickly and concisely to people at all... more
Brian BurkhartIt’s jam-packed with little digestible bites of wisdom—from finance to marketing to organizational development. It’s the guru bible of business. (Source)
Ola OlusogaFor business, I've read Influence by Robert Cialdini 3 times, and Traction by Gabriel Weinberg twice, so if number of times read indicates favor, then those are it. There are a whole bunch of others, like The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman, Confession of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy, The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, and Running Lean by Ash Maurya, that I've also enjoyed and recommend to... (Source)
How do companies know how to grow? How can they create products that they are sure customers want to buy? Can innovation be more than a game of hit and miss? Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen has the answer. A generation ago, Christensen revolutionized business with his groundbreaking theory of... more
Chris OliverAs for my favorite business book, I'd probably say Competing Against Luck. It talks about the "Jobs to be Done" mindset when you're thinking about why your customers buy your product. I found that it puts you in the right mindset to understand the perspective of your customers so you can serve them better. It's surprisingly hard to understand the reasons why people buy things and this book helps... (Source)
Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so... more
Bill GatesI recommend this book to anyone who reads nonfiction. It is very well written and full of great insights. (Source)
Fabrice GrindaI have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend. (Source)
Keith SlotterThese two gentlemen wrote the first book several years ago and SuperFreakonomics just came out. The books are very interesting on crime theory. Their theories are controversial. For example, they link a decrease in crime to the legalisation of abortion. In a nutshell they say that abortion stopped a whole new generation of criminals from being born. And that is because they say abortion is most... (Source)
Drawing on a... more
Cody McLainWill assume career path is running a startup, getting clients and managing a team of employees or collaborating with founders. These are some of the best books to cover these areas. It’s hard running a startup, let alone being the person who has to make the highest decisions in the organization. These books help provide the framework in how to run a successful organization but also share some of... (Source)
Thomas HellmannIt looks at the human or personal aspect of entrepreneurship. (Source)
An Economist Best Book of 2015
"The most important book on decision making since Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow."
—Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal
Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week’s meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible forecasters. As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even... more
Sheil KapadiaRead the book Superforecasting, had a great conversation with @bcmassey and came up with seven ideas for how NFL teams can try to find small edges during the draft process. Would love to hear feedback on this one. https://t.co/PdN1fKCagl (Source)
Julia Galef[Has] some good advice on how to improve your ability to make accurate predictions. (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
—New York Times Book Review
A #1 New York Times bestseller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date twenty years after the famed deal. The... more
Scott Kupor@JPHampstead @TimParksauthor Barbarians is a great book. Hope you enjoy mine! (Source)
Bogdan IordacheThere are quite a few good business books on technology, and I'll list below some I find to be a good starting point. Personally, I like biographies a lot and I mostly read biographies of dead people, because those are the most honest ones. So because the computer age is still very young, there won't be a lot of biographies in my list. (Source)
Bill Campbell played an instrumental role in the growth of several prominent companies, such as Google, Apple, and Intuit, fostering deep relationships with Silicon Valley visionaries, including Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt. In addition, this business genius mentored dozens of other important leaders on both coasts,... more
Sheryl SandbergBill shared his wisdom generously, expecting nothing back but the joy he got from teaching others. I was privileged to have him as my coach for several years. Many times since then, when asked for advice by others, I think of Bill and try to live up to the example he set. (Source)
Sundar PichaiWhenever I saw Bill, he gave me great perspective about what really matters. At the end of the day, it's the people in your life. Bill had such strong principles around community and how to bring people together. We used those principles - detailed in Trillion Dollar Coach - to form the foundation of Google's leadership training, so all of our leaders can continue to learn from Bill. (Source)
Charles T. MungerIn my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time -- none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren reads -- and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out. (Source)
Steve JobsThis book is about one super-important concept. You must learn about Strategic Inflection Points, because sooner or later you are going to live through one. (Source)
Ben HorowitzAndy Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive is a great book on strategy. (Source)
Why do so many startups fail? According to entrepreneurs Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares, most failed startups don’t get off the ground not because of a bad product, but because they don’t have enough customers. They make the fatal mistake of putting all their effort into perfecting their product at the cost of reaching out to potential users. Instead, they should be putting half... more
Cory ZueThe business book I find myself recommending the most often is Traction, which is an excellent practical and high-level take on strategies for getting traction for your products. I found it particularly helpful because it prevents a framework and strategies you can actually execute and follow yourself instead of just pontificating about ideas. (Source)
Robert Greene’s groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, and his latest book, Mastery, espouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to help readers vanquish an enemy, ensnare an unsuspecting victim, or become the greatest in your field. In The 33 Strategies of War, Greene has crafted an important addition to this ruthless and unique... more
Most people don’t know what they’re doing. They imitate others, go with the flow, and follow paths without making their own.
Best known for creating CD Baby, the most popular music site for independent artists, founder Derek Sivers chronicles his “accidental” success and failures into this concise and inspiring book on how to create a multimillion-dollar company by following your passion.
Sivers... more
Timothy FerrissA true manifesto, a guidebook with clear signposts, and a fun ride you'll return to again and again. (Source)
Marvin LiaoMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make... (Source)
But what does it take to turn your idea into action? Whether you are an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, or not-for-profit crusader, there’s no shortage of advice available on issues such as writing a... more
Deepak HariharanArt of the Start by Guy Kawasaki was my bible when I started up. If you plan to become an entrepreneur – this is an absolute must-read. (Source)
Remarkably, fifty years ago that's the way it was. Businesses made plans, certainly, but without understanding the underlying dynamics of competition, costs, and customers. It was like trying to design a large-scale engineering project without knowing the laws of physics.
But in the 1960s, four mavericks and their posses instigated a profound shift in thinking that turbocharged business as never before, with implications far beyond what even they imagined. In The Lords of Strategy, renowned... more
This revised edition of Peter Senge’s bestselling classic, The Fifth Discipline, is based on fifteen years of experience in putting the book’s ideas into practice. As Senge makes clear, in the long run the only sustainable competitive advantage is your organization’s ability to learn faster than the competition. The leadership stories in the book demonstrate the many ways that the core ideas in The Fifth Discipline, many of which seemed radical when first published in 1990, have become deeply integrated into people’s ways of... more
Josh BrewerAfter working at many startups and now running my own company, the one difference I have observed between good and great companies (and products) is how oriented the org is toward learning, The more people in an organization learn, the more value they create for the whole company. (Source)
Jana EggersMy entrepreneurial and leadership inspiration came from a long line of amazing women in my family that always acted independently and gave me the fire and confidence to chose my path, and some fantastic and inspiring men who always expected me to do more. What I love about 5th Discipline is that it focuses on learning, specifically teaching and inspiring your organization to be a learning org. It... (Source)
Bill GatesQuite good at giving examples of how you create environments that can encourage good ideas. (Source)
Tony HsiehAuthor Steven Johnson argues in his 2010 book that innovation comes from the collision of ideas. This can happen when an individual working in isolation builds off years of existing knowledge to fuel his insights, or it can happen much more quickly when several creative types bounce ideas off each other in a community like Silicon Valley. This theory is one of the reasons why Hsieh decided to... (Source)
James AltucherAlso add to this: “How We Got to Now” by Steven Johnson. Basically: don’t believe the myth of the lonely genius. Ideas come from a confluence of history, “the adjacent possible” specific geographic locations, etc. The connections Johnson makes are brilliant. For instance, The Gutenberg Press (which, in itself, was invented because of improvements in sewing looms), made everyone realize they had... (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Business Strategy books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.