Top 5 Intro to Business Books
These are the top 5 books I think every person interested in starting a business or leading a business well needs to read. There are dozens of business books that I think are must reads but if I had to tell someone to read 5, this is where I would start.
These 5 books will give you a solid working knowledge of these topics:
Financial Intelligence
Designing your business
How to run your business
How to build culture
How to build good habits and consistency to attain your goals
Some of them are conceptual, while others are prescriptive. This is a pretty holistic framework to understand the strategies and tactics of a well run business.
What’s missing?
Department Interaction: I would add a working knowledge of how different departments of a business interact (accounting, sales, operations). I don’t have a well written book for that but some self lead research can accomplish that.
Basic Skill Sets Needed: Sales and project management. I don’t have recommendations I like for either of these topics. Send me your recommendations for these!
Top 5 List
Rich Dad, Poor Dad Click
By: Robert Kiyosaki
Rating: A+
This is THE BOOK that gives most real estate entrepreneurs their start. It gave me mine. It was a paradigm shift for how I view my career and money.
Money is simply a tool. We are not taught financial intelligence in school, we have to develop it on our own using our own minds. Once you focus on making money with your mind and not just your hands, the world opens up.
I think this paradigm is essential for anyone looking to start their own business and vital for anyone looking to grow in their career.
Buy the physical copy:
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Buy the audiobook:
Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You
By: John Warrillow
Rating: A+
This is a business book told through an engaging story. That is a difficult line to toe but this book does a fantastic job.
The lesson here is about designing and creating a business that doesn’t require you to operate and grow.
So many business owners think they started a business but they really just created a job for themselves. If they aren’t working in it, they are losing money. You don’t have enough space for creativity, critical thinking, or even free time for your family in that case.
This book teaches that lesson and gives really practical advice to design and operate your business.
Buy the physical copy:
Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You
Buy the audiobook:
Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You
The Great Game of Business
By: Jack Stack
Rating: A+
I am convinced this book teaches the only way to run a business.
Teach people the big picture of your business and how to run a business financially.
Gather their input and involve them in setting the goals and vision of the company.
Give your people a financial stake in the game.
Use open book management to keep score of where you are.
Pay meaningful profit sharing bonuses when the team hits their financial goals.
There is so much more to this one but it is a play book on how to run a business.
Buy the physical copy:
The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
Buy the audiobook:
The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
The Dream Manager
By: Matthew Kelly
Rating: A+
The ability to attract, engage, and retain talent will be the number one strategic objective of every successful modern leader and organization for the foreseeable future. Especially in a Post-Covid World.
Why do you need talent?
What is an employee’s purpose?
To help the company achieve its purpose? That is part of an employee’s role but an employee’s primary purpose is to become the best version of themselves.
“An employee is responsible for adding value to the life of a company, and a company is responsible for adding value to the life of an employee.”
I am convinced that this book is one of the best ways to add value to the lives of your employees! This is a playbook on how to build culture.
Buy the physical copy:
Buy the audiobook:
The Dream Manager: Achieve Results Beyond Your Dreams by Helping Your Employees Fulfill Theirs
The Compound Effect
By: Darren Hardy
Rating: A
This book is about success and what it really takes to earn it.
There is no magic bullet, secret formula, or quick fix to success. You don’t lose thirty pounds in a week with a “Hollywood diet,” rub twenty years off your face with a cream, fix your love life with a pill, or find lasting success with a get-rich-quick scheme.
It would be great if you could buy your success, self-esteem, good relationships, health, and well-being in a nice and neat package at the local Walmart, but that’s not how it works.
This is my go to to get motivated to develop good habits and consistency to pursue my goals.
He is as practical as he is motivating.
Buy the physical copy:
The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success
Buy the audiobook:
The Compound Effect: Multiply Your Success One Simple Step at a Time
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