11 books every entrepreneur (and business leader) must read
- Alistair Bezuidenhout
- Jan 21, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 11, 2020
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“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain
As we move into a new decade it may seem like reading is an old hack for old hacks. This could not be further from the truth. The best leaders and most successful business owners read, and do so voraciously.
The US News & World reports studied 1,200 of the wealthiest people in the world and found that one common thing; they all read. And above all they valued reading.
Mark Cuban reads for three hours a day. Dr. John Demartini reads three books a day. While one of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffet, reads between 600 to 1,000 pages a day.
Why read?
The best knowledge is in books. When will you be able to speak to Warren Buffet one-on-one to find out how he solved some important problems in his life? Probably never. But if you read some of his books you get that valuable information.
As the saying goes, we stand on the shoulders of giants.
And most of our most successful giants have placed their knowledge in books. So why not read their thoughts, see what they did to succeed and do that. You just may be the most successful person to walk this beautiful planet of ours.
Here are 11 books every entrepreneur and business leader should read at least once in their lifetime.
Good to Great, by Jim Collins
How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? Over five years, Jim Collins and his research team analyzed the histories of 28 companies that succeeded and went from good to great. Collins and his crew discovered the key determinants of greatness - why some companies make the leap and others don't. Can you afford not to find out what these are?
7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
An evergreen favorite and book featured on most business reading lists, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People deserves its many accolades. In it Stephen Covey outlines steps to creates habits that will not only make you effective but influential as well.
The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferriss
The 4-Hour Workweek is your blueprint to escaping the rat race and living the life you deserve to live. It's a step-by-step guide that shows you how to, among other things, trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent "mini-retirements". You deserve to live a luxury life.
The Essays of Warren Buffett, by Warren Buffett
As one of the richest people on Earth, Warren Buffet surely has ideas on creating wealth and living an abundant life. This collection of shareholder letters and other writings distils Warren Buffett's views on everything from investing to management. It has been carefully curated by long-time Buffett expert, Lawrence Cunningham.
The Four Steps to the Epiphany, by Steve Blank
Hailed as one of the most influential books in Silicon Valley, this best-seller lays out practical exercises to weed out faulty assumptions. It provides practical business tools that will ensure that businesses no matter their size, can uncover flaws in product and business plans and correct them before they become costly. The book will leave you with new skills to organize sales, marketing and your business for success
The Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton M. Christensen
From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen’s work continues to underpin today’s most innovative leaders and organizations. In The Innovator's Dilemma, Christensen lays out why most companies miss out on innovation waves and thus fall behind in the market. With cogent examples, the author shows readers ways they can capitalize on disruptive innovations.
Tribes, by Seth Godin
It's human nature to seek out a tribe. And each tribe has a leader. In the age of social media this phenomena has only been magnified. The challenge for the entrepreneur and business leader is how to lead without forcing followship. And how to lead in a world with constant disruption and distraction. Seth Godin's book will make you think about the opportunities to mobilize an audience that are already at your fingertips. It's not easy, but it's easier than you think.
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
One of the best-selling books of all time, Think and Grow Rich was published during the Great Depression and still endures. It was the first book to boldly ask, "What makes a winner?" In the first edition of the book, Hill drew on winners of his time, such as Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, to illustrate his principles. The updated edition on sale here, shows how contemporary millionaires and billionaires, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and Sir John Templeton, achieved their wealth.
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport
Social media is good and bad. We can leverage it for things like marketing and social connections. But it has become one of the leading addictions of the modern age. Which is why this book is so timely. In it, Cal Newport aims to make you better at what you do. This should provide the sense of true fulfilment that comes from craftsmanship. And when you practice deep work, it is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. This book is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world.
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
This book is a classic for a reason, to succeed in business (and life) you need to know how to deal with and relate to people. Influence is about relational and social capital. And with this book you will learn how to make people like you and give you what you want without causing resentment. Achieve your maximum potential, read this book.
by Simon Sinek
This is a book that is sure to become a classic. Simon Sinek has built his methodology on finding your why. When you know your why, you can tolerate any how. This book shows that the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way -- and it's the opposite of what everyone else does. Simon calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.
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