Are you searching for the top 10 books for business? Well, I can help you with some of the best books then! People who wish to start a business should not have a plan for the profit-making, they must create a mindset of accepting failures and struggles. If you are looking for some of the best strategies to make your business successful or some motivation to make you keep going, you can find everything in these books. Let’s see what experts tell us about doing business!
Top 10 Books For Business That Must Be In An Entrepreneur’s Bookshelf
1. The First 90 Days
Doesn’t the name The First 90 Days seem a bit odd to you? Here is the reason: The author says that the first 90 days when you join a company or start a business are very crucial. This period decides how successful you are going to be in your business.
The author also suggests following the 7 Habits to prepare yourself well for your new role which you will come across while reading the book. He also tells us to take up something called the STARS model to understand and accept the new responsibilities. I’m sure you will agree that this is one of the top 10 books for business owners and other working professionals.
- Author: Michael D. Watkins
- Published Date: January 1, 2013
- Why business people must read this book: It provides a guide for leaders in transition, offering strategies for getting up to speed faster and smarter in new roles.
2. Blue Ocean Strategy
I guess most of us when starting a business, often tend to choose a niche that has less competition. This type of business niche that has less or no competition is called the Blue Ocean Strategy. The author gives some of the best Blue Ocean strategic ideas and tactics to excel in these businesses.
In this world of modern technology, almost every business is a red ocean i.e., every business has a high competition. You have to put in enough effort and work smart for you to get into the blue ocean! especially for those who own startups.
- Author: W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
- Published Date: 2015 (Updated and Expanded Edition)
- Why business people must read this book: People who want to lessen the competition around them must know the blue ocean strategy.
3. Rich Dad Poor Dad
Would you believe that more than 30 million copies of this book have been sold?! The reason is it had a unique life story of the author. In this book, the author tells that he had two fathers in his childhood. One is his father and the other is his best friend’s father.
So how does this help for business people? Well, he has rightly distinguished the mindset of both his fathers, one being poor and the other being rich. He also suggests the readers work for learning and earning as well. Moreover, he has also shared some of the best practices about earning that make it one of the top 10 books for business people.
- Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Published Date: May 14, 2019 (20th Anniversary Edition)
- Why business people must read this book: It shares the financial knowledge and mindset that distinguish the wealthy from the poor, emphasizing the importance of financial education.
4. Nine Lies About Work
Do you know about the nine lies about work? I bet you don’t. Here is Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall who have unveiled the truth of working in a company. There are several truths that they have conveyed in this book. Some of them are working as a team, the best intelligence is the one that wins, etc.
You will get to know the other truths about work when you read the book. I can say that this is one of the top 10 books for business, that I have read and it also helped me find the truths of work and my life as well.
- Author: Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall
- Published Date: April 2019
- Why business people must read this book: It challenges conventional beliefs about work and leadership, offering insights to improve engagement and results.
5. Leading Change
I believe in the saying “Change is the only constant.” Do you? Well, here is a book by John P. Kotter where he explains why changes and change management are important to business and life. He comes up with the eight best steps for effective change initiatives.
Some of them are creating a sense of urgency to make people understand about the need for changes, developing a vision and strategy for handling the changes, and more. This is one of the top 10 books for business that I suggest to understand about change management in work.
- Author: John P. Kotter
- Published Date: August 21, 2007
- Why business people must read this book: It outlines an eight-step process for successful change management and leadership.
6. Playing to Win
If you like to build a strategic framework for your business to achieve success, I recommend you read this book to learn about the working of strategies. The book talks about the Five Choices Framework which acts as a strategic model to prompt leaders to express decisions on their organization’s future.
I found that reading the book was engaging as there were many incidents that emphasized making tough choices. If you want to win in your life, I suggest reading this book once as I found it to be one of the top 10 books for business people.
- Author: A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin
- Published Date: January 1, 2013
- Why business people must read this book: It provides a framework for creating a strategy based on a decade of work at P&G, focusing on winning in business.
7. The Mind of the Leader
Do you have the mindset of a strong leader? How should our mindset be in order to lead business successfully and to excel in life? You can find the answers to these questions in this book written by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter.
The authors say that the three most important qualities of a good leader are mindfulness, selflessness, and compassion. If you can develop these, then you can touch greater heights.
- Author: Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter
- Published Date: March 13, 2018
- Why business people must read this book: It explores how mindfulness, selflessness, and compassion can improve leadership effectiveness and create a positive impact in the workplace.
8. The Heart of Business
This is one of the top 10 books for business people that talk about the eight most important principles that one must follow. Some of those principles are Empathy, Employee, Purpose, Human Leadership, etc. These are the ones that the author says are the heart of business.
The author Hubert Joly, is the former CEO of Best Buy, who was the person behind bringing up the company by his effective administration. I’m sure you will be inspired by the book and apply these principles in your life as well.
- Author: Hubert Joly
- Published Date: Not specified in the search results
- Why business people must read this book: It recounts the remarkable turnaround of Best Buy by building a people-centric culture focused on a higher purpose.
9. Human + Machine
Is the emergence of Artificial Intelligence a concern about your work? Well, I think it shouldn’t be a concern unless you become a master of using this technology in your work. The book also suggests the same thing.
By reading this book, you will learn about how other companies are using this AI tech in order to promote innovative ideas that can lead to a profitable business. All you have to do is learn AI so that you can survive in this digital era.
- Author: Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson
- Published Date: March 20, 2018
- Why business people must read this book: It discusses how AI is transforming business and provides a management playbook for success in the new age of AI.
10. The Founder’s Mentality
Would you like to gain sustainable growth for your company in a short period? Then, there are certain things that you need to look into, and the first thing is being bold. Some other aspects of a founder’s mentality are the Owner’s mindset, Obsession with the frontline i.e., engaging with the customers, and insurgency with the underserving customers.
You will come to know what they exactly mean while reading the book, and it might be one of the top 10 books for business people and others as well.
- Author: Chris Zook and James Allen
- Published Date: June 7, 2016
- Why business people must read this book: It emphasizes the importance of maintaining a startup mindset to sustain growth and success in large organizations.