This is a response to a question I was asked to respond to at LinkedIn Answers.
There of course no “BEST” answer.
Each company and each individual will need their own set of “Best Books”.
The books are of course dependent on what the individual needs. They need to understand what it takes to launch a business.
I can suggest a number of different books and why each book can provide help and guidance.
I have ordered the books via authors since that is the way I select books.
As you will see – most of the books I recommend are on building the skills required to run and grow a company.
The main issue that most people starting a business don’t get – you need revenue. Once you have your first dollar of revenue. You need to think long and hard about how it happened. And then you need to figure out how to re-apply it again and again.
Here are the classics. Each has passed the test of time.
Napoleon Hill
- Think And Grow Rich – Excellent introduction by the master of success on how to focus and achieve your goals
- The Wisdom of Andrew Carnegie as told to Napoleon Hill – Many of the details that are missing from Think and Grow Rich on how to achieve greatness
Books By Dale Carnegie
- How To Win Friends and Influence People – Core skills and methods on how to work with people
- How To Stop Worrying and Start Living – If you are not worried when running your business, you don’t know how risky it is. But you need to manage that risk
Warren Bennis
- On Becoming a Leader - You need to understand the skills required in running a company.
Peter Krass – not a classic per se – but the content is.
- The Book Of Business Wisdom – Great stories about Business from Great leaders.
- The Book of Business Leadership - More great stories
Zig Ziglar
- Secrets Of Closing The Sale – Great book on what it takes to sell something.
Stephen Covey
- Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People - Learn how to handle yourself and your time.
Geoffrey Moore
- Crossing The Chasm - The definitive guide to creating a marketing strategy for a new tech company
Non-classics. The following books are very helpful – but by their very nature they will never be considered classics.
Dummies guides.
- Select the Dummies Guide to your target market – The guide provides you a prospective on what’s important and what’s not.
- Small Business Guide - The guide provides an overview on what is important and what is not
- Dummies Guide To Selling – Provides an overview of the sales process. Without it – a company won’t be able to generate revenues and will fail.
Tim Ferris
- The Four Hour Work Week – While I recommend this book, it will not be a classic. Read my review for why.
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