After writing yesterday’s post on lessons learned from eight years in business, I thought I would come up with my listing of great books that have helped me starting out.
I follow Tyler Cowen’s notion that if you you finish every book you start you’re wasting time on crap. On average I finish less than half of the books I start. Since I’ve gotten a Kindle I’ve upped my selectivity considerably. Before anyone asks, I have yet to finish Getting Things Done by David Allen.
With no further ado – here are the books I recommend to start out.
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss – while it sounds like a scam, Ferriss actually write about how to say no to almost everything and focusing on a few things
- Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson – more manifesto than tutorial, but manifestos are important. There is a bit of method involved, but it is mostly manifesto.
- Growing a Business by Paul Hawken – As you might expect, a nice book on growing a business. Worth reading – over time I’ve felt the gardening metaphor to be apt.
- Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi – pretty much the classic on networking.
- Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod – More motivation than method, but motivation is usually more important. Whatever you do consistently defines you, and motivation is the biggest piece of consistency.
- The Art of Profitability by Adrian Slywotzky – Changes how you look at business methods, and helps define your goals.
- Certain to Win by Chet Richards – The thinking of John Boyd applied to business. I maintain that this book is the best introduction to the thinking of John Boyd and the OODA loop.
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – a handy checklist to use when evaluating ideas.
- How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie – the all time classic on working with, for, and around people. Everyone would be far better off if reading this book was mandatory. One of the inspirations for Stronico.
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It Michael Gerber – The classic book on how to systematize your business. It helps you make the shift from owning a job to owning a company.
For another list, arguable much better, check out Derek Sivers’ list of worthwhile books.
This post originally appeared on the Stronico blog – with the absorption of Stronico into Digital Tool Factory this post has been moved to the Digital Tool Factory blog
Tags: Books
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Written By Steve French |
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