There is always time to read.
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, then you’re on the eternal quest for the 25th hour. With time being such a scarce commodity, reading is unlikely to feature high up on your to-do list.
Simply choosing not to read, is not an option. To survive in today’s market, you need to be constantly learning, growing and evolving. Bookshelves are flooded with thousands of books, each claiming to have the ultimate quick-fix to success.
Here are five gems hidden amongst those thousands that you must read:
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Considered the modern day gold standard of business philosophy, Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup (LINK: http://amzn.to/2lftA37) is mandatory reading for all managers at GE, and is predicted to do “more to boost global economic growth than any management book written in years,” according to the Harvard Business School.
The Lean Startup’s method is based on utilizing entrepreneurial creativity more effectively in order to mitigate some of the causes of failure. Inspired by the Japanese philosophy of ‘lean manufacturing,’ Eric Reis’ methodology is similar to the idea of A-B testing or split-testing. However, his model of rapid trial-and-error testing also requires testers to incorporate counter-intuitive practices to come up with a “validated” understanding of what customers really want.
Whether you’re the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company, or bootstrapping a startup in your garage, The Lean Startup method will help you shift away from the rigidity of archaic business plans and towards an agile, business strategy that will allow you to make rapid, real-time decisions to cope with the ever-changing market.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers gains a spot on this list by challenging the perception that everyone can be great. Whether you agree with Malcolm Gladwell’s premise or not, this entertaining and illuminating book will take you through the lives of the ‘outliers’ – the biggest and the brightest minds that the world has ever seen and breaks down just what makes them tick into a quantifiable formula for success.
Gladwell claims that the world focuses too much on what successful people have done rather than asking what got them there. Outliers is a comprehensive analysis of what really goes into creating Warren Buffets, David Beckhams, and even Albert Einsteins.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Described as “one of the most important and influential books written in the past half-century”, Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a profound examination of the lives we live and what we can do to make them more meaningful. As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to get caught in a hamster wheel with untold riches dangling just out of reach.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance will simultaneously ground you and teach you to soar. It’s a book that will teach you to dig deep and ask yourself the difficult questions. One of the biggest takeaways in this book is immersing yourself in the present, in order to see every detail. Something every business owner can benefit from.
Creative Confidence by Tom and David Kelly
Tom and David Kelley’s Creative Confidence (LINK: http://amzn.to/2lfCH3N) is designed to challenge the notion of creativity as a binary- that you either have it or you don’t. Creative Confidence operates on the premise that each and every individual is capable of creativity. Inspired by their work at IDEO, Stanford’s design school, Tom and David teach readers to tap into their dormant creativity and channel it towards creating innovative solutions to problems. Creative Confidence is a must-read regardless of what stage your business is in.
To Sell is Human by David Pink
#1 New York Times Business Bestseller, #1 Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller, and #1 Washington Post bestseller. To Sell is Human by David H. Pink is one of the most celebrated business books of all times.
As the name suggests, Pink’s book claims that we’re all selling something, whether it’s an actual, physical product, or an idea, we try and to convince people to do something every day. To Sell is Human using rich data to break down the art of salesmanship into a science. Pink covers a whole host of sales related topics, including how to use your introversion to your advantage, a revamped elevator pitch, empathy and persuasion, and much more. To Sell is Human one of the influential books you ever read, and is guaranteed to transform the way you approach the world.
