Being a good entrepreneur largely depends on who you learn from. With the right books you can learn from the world’s greatest business leaders and begin your own venture with confidence or steer your business in the right direction of growth. Here’s a compendium of 10 great business books that every entrepreneur must read and learn from.
Good to Great, by Jim Collins
There are certain elements that differentiate a thriving business from an enduring business. Want to find out how to infuse the success factors in your company’s ethos? Then this is the perfect book for you. Collins researched 28 companies, studying data and conducting interviews to pinpoint the key elements of a company’s success and failure.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
A global bestseller and business classic, this book sold over 25 million copies in 40 languages. Covey explores a habit-based approach to locate your “true north” and how to stick to it in order to achieve your goals. Develop the right business habits with this read.
The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferris
What if someone told you how to eliminate half of your work and make more money at the same time? Timothy Ferris shares effective hacks to reshape your “lifestyle design” that enables you to live your dream life. And if you are wondering about the book’s efficacy then we must tell you that this book stayed on New York Time’s Best Sellers list for over four years.
The Essays of Warren Buffet, by Warren Buffet
No entrepreneurial learning can be called complete without reading Warren Buffet, the legendary investing wizard. In this book Buffet shares his opinions on the basic principles of business and sheds light on the best ways to align your and your investors’ interests.
The Four Steps to the Epiphany, by Steve Blank
Recommended by many renowned industry leaders, this book is one of the most powerful books in Silicon Valley. Blank provides entrepreneurs with an excellent framework to achieve “product/market fit”. It not only offers practical exercises to eliminates faulty assumptions, but also guides you about organizing your company’s sales and marketing strategies with practical examples.
The Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton M. Christensen
This book is an invaluable business book of the current times. Even successful leaders in the field of innovation, the likes of Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, swear by this book, admitting that it played a crucial role in shaping their thoughts about innovation and company management.
Tribes, by Seth Godin
Seth Godin, the renowned marketing guru explores the role of community in a brand’s success story in this book. Godin demonstrates the innate nature of humans to gather around “tribes and explains in great detail how to inculcate the sense of community or “tribe” around your business to steer it ahead.
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
One of the best-selling “self-help” books of all time, Think and Grow Rich was published as a novelty during the trying times of the Great Depression. Hill interviewed over 500 most successful people, including the likes of Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison, to put together the principles that help in building million-dollar fortunes. Hill, then derives a six-step guide from his findings that can be put to practical use by businesses.
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport
Deep Work is an extremely relevant book in the current times replete with incessant distractions from social media, mails and push notifications. Newport explores the arena of work culture and lays out four effective rules to propagate a deep work ethic.
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
Being a natural charmer is a boon for entrepreneurs, but if you need lessons in making people like you then this is a must-read for you. Carnegie presents a classic playbook to help you win over people and make them root for your ideas.
