What are you reading these days?

Summer is upon us, and this is typically when I get the most inquiries regarding the best books to read to support your business. The answer? There are so many! 

I’ve compiled a list of must-read books that have had a profound impact on my own small business journey. Discover valuable insights, strategies, and motivation that will empower you and your business to reach new heights in your endeavors. You can find these on Amazon, and be sure to find your local bookstore to support them as well. 

Without further adieu, here’s your list – from me to you:

Business Planning and Strategy:

• The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – How to build a business using an iterative and customer-focused approach.
• Good to Great by Jim Collins – The factors that differentiate great companies from their competitors.
• Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne – How to create uncontested market space and make competition irrelevant.
• My work in this space: The Pumpkin Plan

Marketing and Branding:

• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini – The principles of persuasion to enhance marketing efforts.
• Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age by Jonah Berger – Why certain ideas or products go viral and how to apply these principles to your business.
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – The essential elements that make ideas memorable and effective.
• My work in this space: Get Different

Sales and Customer Relationship Management:

• To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink – Insights into the art of selling and persuasion in various aspects of life and business.
• SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham – A research-based approach to sales, focusing on asking effective questions and understanding customer needs.
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss – Unique negotiation tactics and strategies from a former FBI hostage negotiator.
• My work in this space: Surge, The Pumpkin Plan

Financial Management:

• Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential by Greg Crabtree – Demystifies accounting and allows you to translate your accounting numbers into something suspect.
• The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business By Josh Kaufman – A comprehensive overview of essential business concepts, including finance, without pursuing an MBA.
• Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs: What You Really Need to Know About the Numbers by Karen Berman and Joe Knight – How to understand and interpret financial statements to make informed business decisions.
• My work in this space: Profit First

Leadership and Management:

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni – The common pitfalls that hinder team success and how to overcome them.
• Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek – The importance of leadership in fostering a supportive and thriving work environment.
• First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman – Insights into the practices of exceptional managers and how to apply them to your own leadership style.
• My work in this space: Fix This Next

Human Resources and Employee Management:

• The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle – How to create a positive and high-performing culture within your organization.
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott – How to provide honest feedback and build stronger relationships with your employees.
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink – The factors that drive motivation and engagement in the workplace.
• My work in this space: All In

Business Operations:

• The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen – Why successful companies often fail to adapt to disruptive innovations.
• Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value by Thomas Lockwood – How to apply design thinking principles to foster innovation and create meaningful products.
• Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz – A practical framework for quickly testing and validating ideas.
• My work in this space: Clockwork

Entrepreneurship and Mindset:

• The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau – How to launch a profitable business with minimal resources.
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck – The power of a growth mindset and how it can impact your entrepreneurial journey.
• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters – Key principles and strategies that drive successful startups.
• My work in this space: The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Technology and Digital Transformation:

• The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen – How disruptive technologies can transform industries and how established companies can adapt.
• Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction by Thomas M. Siebel – Insights into the key elements of successful digital transformation and how to navigate the changing business landscape.
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Klaus Schwab – The impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, on business and society.
• My work in this space: TBD!

Time Management and Productivity:

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen – A system for organizing and managing tasks to enhance productivity.
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport – Strategies to achieve deep concentration and maximize productivity in an increasingly distracting world.
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear – The power of small habits and how they can lead to significant personal and professional growth.
• My work in this space: Clockwork

There you have it!  A little light reading for you!

Now, I pose the same question to you: What are you reading right now? Please tell me in the comments so your fellow small business owners and entrepreneurs can benefit from your knowledge!

Wishing you health and wealth always, 

-Mike