Reading List for Small Business Owners

 

These books are based on recommendations resulting from a survey of over 4,500 business owners and executives.

 

 

 

Leadership

• Good To Great by Jim Collins
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
• Small Giants by Bo Burlingham
• Built to Last by Jim Collins
• First You Have To Row A Little Boat by Richard Bode
• Reimagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age by Tom Peters
• Leadership by the Book by Ken Blanchard and Bill Hybels
• The Mind of the Strategist by Kenichi Ohmae
• Success is Not an Accident by Tommy Newberry
• The Genius of Sitting Bull by Emmett C Murphy
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
• Lead like Jesus by Ken Blanchard
• The Power Principle by Blane Lee
• Leadership and the New Science by Margaret Wheatley
• Leadership Wisdom From the Monk who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
• Building the Happiness-Centred Business by Dr Paddi Lund
• Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
• A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech
• A Kick in the Seat of the Pants by Roger von Oech
• Why Ireland Never Invaded America by Conor Cunneen
• The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century - Thomas L. Friedman
• Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization - Ken Blanchard

Management

• Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices by Peter Drucker
• Management of Organizational Behavior by Hersey & Blanchard
• The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
• Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham, Donald O. Clifton
• The Dance of Change by Peter Senge
• Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
• The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard
• The 10 Day MBA By Steven Silbiger
• The Path to Corporate Nirvana by Judith Anderson
• Staying in the Helicopter by Roger Harrop
• Zap the Gaps by Ken Blanchard
• The Practice of Management by Peter F. Drucker
• Executive Economics, Ten Essential Tools for Managers by Shlomo Maital
• Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
• Smart Work: The Syntax Guide for Mutual Understanding in the Workplace by Lisa J. Marshall and Lucy D. Freedman

Marketing

• Do-it-Yourself Advertising & Promotion by Hahn, Davis, Killian & Magill
• Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson
• Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? by Bryan & Jeffery Eisenberg
• Positioning by Jack Trout and Al Ries
• Marketing Warfare by Jack Trout and Al Ries
• Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul by Susan Harrow
• Purple COW: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
• Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant - W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne
• Crossing the Chasm - Geoffrey A. Moore

Sales

• Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
• Business by Referral by Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D. & Robert Davis
• You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar by David Sandler
• The Power to Get In by Michael A. Boylan
• Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss
• Bag the Elephant: How to Win and Keep BIG Customers by Steve Kaplan
• How to Become a Rainmaker by Jeffrey J Fox
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
• Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz
• Getting to VITO - Tony Parinello
• The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies - Chet Holmes

Finance

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish
• Own Your Own Corporation: Why the Rich Own Their Own Companies and Everyone Else Works for Them by Garrett Sutton
• Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom by Robert T. Kiyosak
• Raising Venture Capital (The Secrets Of A Serial Entrepreneur Series) (Audio CD) by Bob Norton (Author)
• Key Management Ratios: Master the Management Metrics that Drive and Control Your Business, Third Edition - Ciaran Walsh

Planning

• The One Page Business Plan by Jim Horan
• Guide to Business Planning (The Economist Series) by Graham Friend, Stefan Zehle
• The Business Planning Guide - David H. Bangs
• Business Plans Made Easy - Mark Henricks

Entrepreneurship

• The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
• First, Break All The Rules: What The Worlds Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham
• You Need to Be a Little Crazy: The Truth About Starting and Growing Your Business - Barry J. Moltz
• The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything - Guy Kawasaki
• Seven Years to Seven Figures: The Fast-Track Plan to Becoming a Millionaire - Michael Masterson

Human Resources Management

• Human Resource Management by Robert L. Mathis, John H. Jackson
• I'm Stuck, You're Stuck: Breakthrough to Better Work Relationships and Results by Discovering your DiSC Behavioral Style by Tom Ritchey, Alan Axelrod
• Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment: How to Improve Productivity, Quality, and Employee Satisfaction by William Byham, Jeff Cox
• QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Work and in Life by John G. Miller
• Flipping the Switch...: Unleash the Power of Personal Accountability Using the QBQ by John G. Miller
• The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
• Now, Discover Your Strengths - Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.
• You're Not The Person I Hired!: A CEO's Survival Guide To Hiring Top Talent - Janet Boydell, Barry Deutsch, Brad Remillard

Operations

• The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox
• Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology by Thomas H. Davenport
• Critical Chain by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
• Confronting Reality Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan

The Business of Consulting

• Managing the Professional Service Firm- David H. Maister
• The Trusted Advisor - David H. Maister
• Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice - Alan Weiss
• Flawless Consulting Set, Flawless Consulting (Second Edition) and The Flawless Consulting Fieldbook - Peter Block
• Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully - Gerald M. Weinberg

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