Best Books About Business

From startups to strategy, essential business books for entrepreneurs and professionals.

Top Business Books

Cover of Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

by Malcolm Gladwell

Intuition is not some magical property that arises unbidden from the depths of our mind. It is a product of long hours and intelligent design, of meaningful work environments and particular rules and principles. This book shows us how we can hone our instinctive ability to know in an instant, helping us to bring out the best in our thinking and become better decision-makers in our homes, offices and in everyday life. Just as he did with his revolutionary theory of the tipping point, Gladwell reveals how the power of 'blink' could fundamentally transform our relationships, the way we consume, create and communicate, how we run our businesses and even our societies.You'll never think about thinking in the same way again.

IntuitionEducationRecovery
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Cover of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

by Daniel H. Pink

From Daniel H. Pink, the author of the groundbreaking bestseller A Whole New Mind, comes his next big idea book: a paradigm-changing examination of what truly motivates us and how to harness that knowledge to find greater satisfaction in our lives and our work.We've been conditioned to think that the best way to motivate ourselves and others is through external rewards like money—the carrot-and-the-stick approach. That's a mistake, Daniel H. Pink says in his transformative new book. The key to high performance and satisfaction is intrinsic, internal motivation: the desire to follow your own interests and understand the benefits in them for you. And Pink has discovered thirty years of scientific data that confirm these ideas and show an exciting way forward.As he did in his groundbreaking bestseller A Whole New Mind, Pink lays out the hard science for these surprising insights, describes how people and corporations can embrace such ideas (some of them are already doing it), offers details about how we can master them, and provides concrete examples on how intrinsic motivation works on the job, at home, and in ourselves.This is a book of big ideas that explains how each of us can find the surest pathway to high performance, creativity, and even health and well-being.

BusinessMotivation (Psychology)nyt:paperback_business_books=2012-02-25
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Cover of The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

by Michael E. Gerber

In this first new and totally revised edition of the 150,000-copy underground bestseller, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business. He walks you through the steps in the life of a business from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective, the guiding light of all businesses that succeed. He then shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business — whether or not it is a franchise. Finally, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in. your business. After you have read The E-Myth Revisited, you will truly be able to grow your business in a predictable and productive way.

BusinessEntrepreneuriatEntrepreneurship
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Cover of The Ride of a Lifetime Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

The Ride of a Lifetime Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

by Robert Iger

<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER • <b>A memoir of leadership and success</b>: The CEO of Disney shares the ideas and values he embraced<b> while reinventing one of the world’s most beloved companies </b>and inspiring the people who bring the magic to life.</b> <br><br><b>AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR</b><br><br>Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it, and think bigger—think global—and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets. <br><br>Today, Disney is the largest, most admired media company in the world, counting Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox among its properties. Under Iger’s leadership, Disney’s value grew nearly five times what it was, making Iger one of the most innovating and successful CEOs of our era.<br><br>In <i>The Ride of a Lifetime</i>, Robert Iger answers the question: What are the qualities of a good leader? He shares the lessons he learned while running Disney and leading its 220,000-plus employees, and he explores the principles that are necessary for true leadership, including:<br><br>• <b>Optimism.</b> Even in the face of difficulty, an optimistic leader will find the path toward the best possible outcome and focus on that, rather than give in to pessimism and blaming.<br>• <b>Courage.</b> Leaders have to be willing to take risks and place big bets. Fear of failure destroys creativity. <br>• <b>Decisiveness.</b> All decisions, no matter how difficult, can be made on a timely basis. Indecisiveness is both wasteful and destructive to morale.<br> • <b>Fairness.</b> Treat people decently, with empathy, and be accessible to them. <br><br>This book is about the relentless curiosity that has driven Iger since the day he started as the lowliest studio grunt at ABC. It’s also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership Iger pursues, from a deep friendship with Steve Jobs in his final years to an abiding love of the <i>Star Wars</i> mythology.<br> <br>“The ideas in this book strike me as universal,” Iger writes. “Not just to the aspiring CEOs of the world, but to anyone wanting to feel less fearful, more confidently <i>themselves,</i> as they navigate their professional and even personal lives.”

Business & EconomicsLeadershipBiography & Autobiography
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Cover of The Power of Full Engagement

The Power of Full Engagement

by Jim Loehr, Tony Schwartz

“Combines the gritty toughmindedness of the best coaches with the gentle-but-insistent inspiration of the most effective spiritual advisers” (Fast Company). This groundbreaking New York Times bestseller has helped hundreds of thousands of people at work and at home balance stress and recovery and sustain high performance despite crushing workloads and 24/7 demands on their time. We live in digital time. Our pace is rushed, rapid-fire, and relentless. Facing crushing workloads, we try to cram as much as possible into every day. We're wired up, but we're melting down. Time management is no longer a viable solution. As bestselling authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz demonstrate in this groundbreaking book, managing energy, not time, is the key to enduring high performance as well as to health, happiness, and life balance. The Power of Full Engagement is a highly practical, scientifically based approach to managing your energy more skillfully both on and off the job by laying out the key training principles and provides a powerful, step-by-step program that will help you to: * Mobilize four key sources of energy * Balance energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal * Expand capacity in the same systematic way that elite athletes do * Create highly specific, positive energy management rituals to make lasting changes Above all, this book provides a life-changing road map to becoming more fully engaged on and off the job, meaning physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused, and spiritually aligned.

Business & EconomicsBusinessSpecial Topics
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Cover of Shoe Dog A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Shoe Dog A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

by Phil Knight

<b><i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER</b><br> <br> <b>In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.</b><br><br>Young, searching, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year, 1963. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight’s Nike is the gold standard, and its swoosh is more than a logo. A symbol of grace and greatness, it’s one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world.<br> <br>But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always been a mystery. Now, in a memoir that’s surprising, humble, unfiltered, funny, and beautifully crafted, he tells his story at last. It all begins with a classic crossroads moment. Twenty-four years old, backpacking through Asia and Europe and Africa, wrestling with life’s Great Questions, Knight decides the unconventional path is the only one for him. Rather than work for a big corporation, he will create something all his own, something new, dynamic, different. Knight details the many terrifying risks he encountered along the way, the crushing setbacks, the ruthless competitors, the countless doubters and haters and hostile bankers—as well as his many thrilling triumphs and narrow escapes. Above all, he recalls the foundational relationships that formed the heart and soul of Nike, with his former track coach, the irascible and charismatic Bill Bowerman, and with his first employees, a ragtag group of misfits and savants who quickly became a band of swoosh-crazed brothers.<br> <br>Together, harnessing the electrifying power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the redemptive, transformative power of sports, they created a brand, and a culture, that changed everything.

Biography & AutobiographyPersonal MemoirsBusiness
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Cover of Cyber Crisis

Cyber Crisis

by Eric Cole

Based on news reports, you might think there's a major cybersecurity threat every four to five months. In reality, there's a cybersecurity attack happening every minute of every day. Today, we live our lives—and conduct our business—online. Our data is in the cloud and in our pockets on our smartphones, shuttled over public Wi-Fi and company networks. To keep it safe, we rely on passwords and encryption and private servers, IT departments and best practices. But as you read this, there is a 70 percent chance that your data is compromised . . . you just don't know it yet. Cybersecurity attacks have increased exponentially, but because they're stealthy and often invisible, many underplay, ignore, or simply don't realize the danger. By the time they discover a breach, most individuals and businesses have been compromised for over three years. Instead of waiting until a problem surfaces, avoiding a data disaster means acting now to prevent one. In Cyber Crisis, Eric Cole gives readers a clear-eyed picture of the information war raging in cyberspace. Drawing on 30 years of experience—as a professional hacker for the CIA, as the Obama administration's cybersecurity commissioner, and as a consultant to clients around the globe from Bill Gates to Lockheed Martin and McAfee—Cole offers practical, actionable advice that even those with little technical background can implement, including steps to take on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to protect their businesses and themselves. No matter who you are or where you work, cybersecurity should be a top priority. The information infrastructure we rely on in every sector of our lives—in healthcare and finance, for governments and private citizens—is both critical and vulnerable, and sooner or later, you or your company will be a target. This book is your guide to understanding the threat and putting together a proactive plan to minimize exposure and damage, and ensure the security of your business, your family, and your future

Trades & TechnologySocial AspectsProfessional, Career & Trade
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Cover of Hit Refresh The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone

Hit Refresh The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone

by Satya Nadella, Greg Shaw, Jill Tracie Nichols

<p>“At the core, Hit Refresh, is about us humans and the unique quality we call empathy, which will become ever more valuable in a world where the torrent of technology will disrupt the status quo like never before.” – Satya Nadella from Hit Refresh</p><p>“Satya has charted a course for making the most of the opportunities created by technology while also facing up to the hard questions.” – Bill Gates from the Foreword of Hit Refresh </p><p>The New York Times bestseller Hit Refresh is about individual change, about the transformation happening inside of Microsoft and the technology that will soon impact all of our lives—the arrival of the most exciting and disruptive wave of technology humankind has experienced: artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and quantum computing. It’s about how people, organizations, and societies can and must transform and “hit refresh” in their persistent quest for new energy, new ideas, and continued relevance and renewal.  </p><p>Microsoft’s CEO tells the inside story of the company’s continuing transformation, tracing his own personal journey from a childhood in India to leading some of the most significant technological changes in the digital era. Satya Nadella explores a fascinating childhood before immigrating to the U.S. and how he learned to lead along the way. He then shares his meditations as a sitting CEO—one who is mostly unknown following the brainy Bill Gates and energetic Steve Ballmer. He tells the inside story of how a company rediscovered its soul—transforming everything from culture to their fiercely competitive landscape and industry partnerships. As much a humanist as engineer and executive, Nadella concludes with his vision for the coming wave of technology and by exploring the potential impact to society and delivering call to action for world leaders. </p><p>“Ideas excite me,” Nadella explains. “Empathy grounds and centers me.” Hit Refresh is a set of reflections, meditations, and recommendations presented as algorithms from a principled, deliberative leader searching for improvement—for himself, for a storied company, and for society.</p>

Biography & AutobiographyBusinessBusiness & Economics
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Cover of Cashflow Quadrant

Cashflow Quadrant

by Robert T. Kiyosaki

'Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant' will reveal why some people work less, earn more, pay less in taxes, and feel more financially secure than others. It is simply a matter of knowing which quadrant to work from and when. Have you ever wondered . . .7 What is the difference between an employee and a business owner? 7 Why do some investors make money with little risk while most other investors just break even? 7 Why do most employees go from job to job while others quit their jobs and go on to build business empires7 Why, in the Industrial Age, did most parents want their children to become medical doctors, accountants, or attorneys . . . and why, in the Information Age, are these professions under financial attack? Have you noticed that many of the brightest graduates from our universities want to work for college dropouts . . . dropouts such as Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Michael Dell, and Ted Turner? Dropouts who today are the mega-rich of society. This book will answer some of these questions and also assist in guiding you to find your own path to financial freedom in a world of ever-increasing financial change. It is a book written fo

Personal FinanceRich peopleInvestments
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Cover of The Idea Factory

The Idea Factory

by Jon Gertner

The definitive history of America’s greatest incubator of innovation and the birthplace of some of the 20th century’s most influential technologies “Filled with colorful characters and inspiring lessons . . . The Idea Factory explores one of the most critical issues of our time: What causes innovation?” —Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book Review “Compelling . . . Gertner's book offers fascinating evidence for those seeking to understand how a society should best invest its research resources.” —The Wall Street Journal From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs-officially, the research and development wing of AT&T-was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital communications to cellular telephony, it's hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn't been touched by Bell Labs. In The Idea Factory, Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century's most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men-Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker-who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born.

Business & EconomicsBusinessCorporate & Business History
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Cover of Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich

Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich

by Robert T. Kiyosaki

This book is about how we started with nothing and retired financially free in less than ten years. Find out how you can do the same. If you do not plan on working hard all of your life...this book is for you. Why not Retire Young and Retire Rich?

WealthSeguridad financieraFinancial security
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Cover of Supercommunicators

Supercommunicators

by Charles Duhigg

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of The Power of Habit, a fascinating exploration of what makes conversations work—and how we can all learn to be supercommunicators at work and in life “A winning combination of stories, studies, and guidance that might well transform the worst communicators you know into some of the best.”—Adam Grant, author of Think Again and Hidden Potential ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • FINALIST FOR THE SABEW BEST IN BUSINESS BOOK AWARD Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg blends deep research and his trademark storytelling skills to show how we can all learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation. Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What’s this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?), and social (Who are we?). If you don’t know what kind of conversation you’re having, you’re unlikely to connect.  Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing—and then matching—each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives—and how we see ourselves, and others—shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly. With his storytelling that takes us from the writers’ room of The Big Bang Theory to the couches of leading marriage counselors, Duhigg shows readers how to recognize these three conversations—and teaches us the tips and skills we need to navigate them more successfully. In the end, he delivers a simple but powerful lesson: With the right tools, we can connect with anyone.

Social SciencesPsychologySocial Psychology
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Cover of Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

by Ashlee Vance

<p>In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley’s most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs—a real-life Tony Stark—and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new “makers.”</p><p>Elon Musk spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk, the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, who sold one of his Internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius’s life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits.</p><p>Vance uses Musk’s story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk—one of the most unusual and striking figures in American business history—is a contemporary, visionary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy.</p><p>Thorough and insightful, Elon Musk brings to life a technology industry that is rapidly and dramatically changing by examining the life of one of its most powerful and influential titans.</p>

Biography & AutobiographyBusinessBusiness & Economics
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Cover of 10x Is Easier Than 2x

10x Is Easier Than 2x

by Dan Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Expanding upon one of his high-level foundational teachings: Strategic Coach co-founder Dan Sullivan explains why achieving 10X growth is easier than going for 2X growth. Dan Sullivan, the world's leading coach for highly successful entrepreneurs, wants you to know that achieving 10X growth is exponentially easier than striving for 2X growth. Most find this idea confusing at first because simply imagining 10X growth causes them to think they need to do 10X more work to achieve it. However, being a 10X entrepreneur is nothing like what most people think. 10X is not the outcome; it's a counterintuitive process you can apply every time you want exponential growth in your life and business. To make 10X possible, you must focus on expanding what Dan defines as your four most important freedoms—time, money, relationship, and purpose. As your time becomes 10X more valuable, you increasingly multiply the money you earn both in terms of amount and profitable satisfaction. As money becomes a tool you can increasingly access with greater ease, you will engage with a growing number of other freedom-motivated individuals. As both your professional and personal life fills up with 10X more unique and collaborative relationships, you will realize that your most powerful purposes in all areas become 10X more lasting and positive for everyone involved. You will be impressed by what your life has become, and the meaning and impact you're having. 10X is fundamentally about quality vs quantity, and the quality of your freedoms determines the results you achieve.

Business & EconomicsManagementMotivation
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Cover of Source Code My Beginnings

Source Code My Beginnings

by Bill Gates

<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER • The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age<br><br>“A surprisingly candid memoir of the Microsoft mogul’s early years…Reading this book feels like watching someone take a well-known black-and-white sketch, fill in the details, and paint it in vivid color.” —<i>GeekWire</i></b><br><br>Everyone is programmed a little differently, and Bill Gates' unique insight led to business triumphs that are now widely known: the twenty-year-old who dropped out of Harvard to start a software company that became an industry giant and changed the way the world works and lives; the billionaire many times over who turned his attention to philanthropic pursuits to address climate change, global health, and U.S. education.<br><br><i>Source Code</i> is not about Microsoft or the Gates Foundation or the future of technology. It’s the human, personal story of how Bill Gates became who he is today: his childhood, his early passions and pursuits. It’s the story of his principled grandmother and ambitious parents, his first deep friendships and the sudden death of his best friend; of his struggles to fit in and his discovery of a world of coding and computers in the dawn of a new era; of embarking in his early teens on a path that took him from midnight escapades at a nearby computer center to his college dorm room, where he sparked a revolution that would change the world.<br><br>Bill Gates tells this, his own story, for the first time: wise, warm, revealing, it’s a fascinating portrait of an American life.

Biography & AutobiographyBusinessScience & Technology
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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best books about business?

Our curated list features the top books about business based on expert reviews and reader recommendations. Popular picks include "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell.

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