In general, reading is one of the best and easiest ways to gain experience and knowledge without really having to be present yourself; reading books and a variety of texts that focus on personal development, business success, as well as marketing can be one of the most efficient ways to gain insights on how to be a successful individual. The reason for this is because schools do not really teach their students how to run a successful business, and if you plan to build your own business in the future, it is smart to learn information from some of the best business books of all time.
Thousands of these types of books are being published yearly, yet not all of them are considered helpful and efficient to achieve success. So to make things much easier for you, here is a list of the top 20 best business books today.
How to Win Friends & Influence People
By: Dale Carnegie
Carnegie’s classic business book was first published in the year 1936 and it still continues to be one of the best business books today. You will be able to learn the six vital methods on how to make people like you as well as various ways to win and make people agree to your way of thinking.
How to Have a Good Day
By: Caroline Webb
How to Have a Good Day is one of Webb’s books that share a collection of some of the best practices for a successful career which she has learned during her long years of being a consultant. The book is filled with field-tested advice for careers, as well as tips on how to manage productive meetings that tackle on topics like how to deal with annoying colleagues.
Rework
By: Jason Fried
Rework is one of the best business books of all time that shows you a much more effective, efficient, and more convenient way to succeed in business. Reading the book will let you know just how harmful plans can be and it will also explain why you do not necessarily require outside investors. Furthermore, the book also helps give you more ideas and inspiration to perform better at work.
The Four-Hour Workweek
By: Timothy Ferriss
Move forward and forget the classic ideas of retirement right after working almost all your life – there is definitely no reason to follow this trend, simply move forward and continue with your productivity. It does not matter if your biggest dream is to escape this race or to experience traveling all over the world, what matters is that you live your life productively and all the tips and tricks that you will need are written in one of the best business books of all time, The Four-Hour Workweek.
The $100 Startup
By: Chris Guillebeau
Chris is a young man who is already close to completing all the tours in every country on Earth, has visited over a hundred and seventy-five nations, and he has not ever had a real job or even earned the regular paycheck that we all usually receive. This is because Chris has a special way of transforming great ideas into income and then makes use of his earnings to support his life and his exciting adventures. This book is filled with his wise thoughts, ideas, and tricks that will help you lead a great life while simultaneously earning a great deal.
Business Model Generation
By: Yves Pigneur andAlexander Osterwalder
One of the best business books that focus on how businesses work; the book gives us a fresh framework for coming up with ideas and thoughts on how certain businesses can come up with and capture values by studying how customers, partners, costs, distribution channels, etc. all interconnect.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
by Ben Horowitz
This outstanding book was created by a successful entrepreneur who does not sugarcoat anything about business. It has become one of the best business books of all time since the author clearly shares with you just how difficult and challenging running your own business can be; furthermore, you will also be given different types of essential advice that can help establish and run a startup.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
By: Robert B. Cialdini
Influence is one of the best business books that feature the excellence of classic persuasion; it clearly explains and focuses on the psychology of why people almost always say yes, as well as how to apply these ideas and understandings.
The Effective Executive
By: Peter F. Drucker
This is among the classic management books created by Peter Drucker, a famous business guru. He believes that the key job of every executive is to get all the right things done and also identifies a couple of vital practices that enhance the business effectiveness of every executive. The Effective Executive is also among the best business books of all times that feature a variety of ideas to enhance one’s effectiveness.
True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership
By: Bill George
One of the best and biggest changes when it comes to the leadership of a business is to focus on authenticity; instead of endorsing models of strict and uptight leadership, George speaks to inspire you to know yourself further to be able to establish your own style of effective leadership.
Competition Demystified
By: Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn
In this book, Bruce Greenwald shows a way to analyze any industry’s competitive structure, and it also comes with the idea of competitive advantage, moats, and market niches.
The E-Myth Revisited
By: Michael E. Gerber
A revised and updated edition of one of Gerber’s best business books around; The E-Myth Revisited offers wise insights gained from years of experience and reminds every reader how assumptions, expectations, as well as technical proficiency can restrict you from running a successful business.
Purple Cow
By: Seth Godin
Through the stories of well-known companies such as Apple, Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, and Jet Blue, Godin suggests that advertising is no longer highly effective today due to clutter and avoidance of advertising. Instead, he inspires readers to create remarkable products that are worth marketing.
Superbosses
By: Sydney Finkelstein
Superbosses is considered as one of the best business books for both managers and aspiring managers, teaching them to have a variety of ideas when it comes to positive leadership. In this book, the author outlines key behaviors and qualities such as authenticity and fearlessness for a manager to become a superboss.
The Lean Startup
By: Eric Ries
Most startups end up failing; however, there are ways to prevent these unexpected downfalls. The Lean Startup gives all entrepreneurs of small and large companies a scientific approach to enable a company to adjust its directions and alter its plans before it’s too late.
Blue Ocean Strategy
By: Renee Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
In Blue Ocean Strategy, these two authors argue that long-term success does not come from competing with other businesses but it comes from creating “blue oceans” or new market spaces which are open for growth.
Negotiating the Nonnegotiable
By: Daniel Shapiro
Daniel Shapiro, founder and director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program, explains that all people have inner struggles and fears which lead to the same conflicts all over again. In this book, one will learn how to think like a psychologist when negotiating with family members or colleagues, while strengthening your relationships with them.
Smarter Faster Better
By: Charles Duhigg
Smarter Faster Better provides a psychological perspective on one of the everyday problems that everyone faces which is productivity. Duhigg offers a glimpse on how the most productive people work, such as the creators of Disney’s Frozen, Google’s business teams, as well as airplane pilots who were able to make their way through disasters.
Originals
By: Adam Grant
Grant, in his latest book, gives readers a view on some of the most daring, smart, and innovative people during the past one hundred years; these people include Martin Luther King, Jr. and the founders of Google, as well as what goes inside their minds as “originals”.
The Innovator’s Dilemma
By: Clayton Christensen
In one of the best business books around, Christensen shares how every successful and excellent company can do anything and everything correctly yet can still lose their leadership in marketing. In the book, Christensen introduces his theory of disruptive innovation which has altered the way how CEO’s and managers all around the world think of innovation.
