It’s no secret that to be successful, you need to have a winning business strategy. What may be less obvious is that to create a winning business strategy, you need to think like a strategist.

Why? Because business strategy is about making choices—choosing to do some things and not others. It’s also about allocating resources in a way that will create the most value.

In other words, business strategy is about making trade-offs. It’s about saying “no” to good ideas to focus on the best ones.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. This is why we’ve rounded up 8 of the best books on business strategy. These books will help guide you to think like a strategist, make better choices, and allocate resources more effectively.

So if you’re ready to take your business game up a notch, read on!

Essential Business Strategy – Book Summaries

1. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Author: Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras
Publication Year: 1994

We begin our list with one of the most influential business books of all time, Built to Last.

The authors studied 18 “visionary” companies to try and understand what made them so successful. They found that the key to these companies’ success was not their products, their services, or even their business model. But qualities that are a little more nebulous like culture, values, and purpose.

The most successful companies had a few things in common. For one, they had an outrageous goal that the authors termed a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” or a BHAG.

The second thing they had in common was that they were what the authors called “clock builders.” That is, they built their companies to last, not just to make money for the founders or shareholders.

The third quality of these visionary companies was that they had a “core ideology.” This was a set of beliefs and values that guided everything they did.

The fourth and final quality was that they had the right people on the bus. That is, they hired people who fit their core ideology and who were passionate about the company’s BHAG.

Built To Last is definitely a must-read for anyone looking to create a lasting, successful business.

2. Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach

Author: Martin Reeves, Knut Haanaes, and Janmejaya Sinha
Publication Year: 2015

Most businesses have a strategy, but few companies have a good strategy. That’s why Your Strategy Needs a Strategy is great for thinking about strategy in a more holistic and effective way.

This book is a great introduction to the study of business strategy. It covers all the essential concepts, from market entry to growth strategies.

But the real strength of this book is its focus on execution. The authors explain that there are five main types of business strategy: Classical, Adaptive, Visionary, Shaping, and Renewal.

Most businesses only use one or two of these approaches, but the best companies know how to use all four. That’s what it takes to execute a winning strategy. They call this ambidexterity which is analogous to being able to use both hands equally well.

3. BOLD: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World

Author: Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler
Publication Year: 2015

Next on our list is BOLD, a book about how to create wealth and make a positive impact on the world.

In BOLD, Diamandis & Kotler lay out a step-by-step guide for anyone with an idea that could change the world. The book is based on the premise that we are living in an age of “abundance.”

With the help of technology, we now have unprecedented access to resources and capital. This means that anyone with a big idea has the potential to make it a reality.

The book provides readers with a framework for taking an idea and turning it into a world-changing business. It covers everything from developing a product to raising capital to build a team.

When it comes to business strategy, BOLD is all about thinking big. By taking an audacious, moonshot approach to your business, you can achieve incredible things. So, if you’ve got a big idea that could change the world, this is the book for you.

4. Love as a Business Strategy: Resilience, Belonging & Success

Author: Mohammad F. Anwar, Frank E. Danna, Jeffrey F. Ma , Christopher J. Pitre
Publication Year: 2021

Don’t let the title fool you; this book is NOT about finding love in the workplace. Rather, it’s about using love as a business strategy to improve your company’s bottom line.

The mindset is “people first” because, as the authors explain, if you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers and your business.

This book talks about the behaviors that have the biggest impact on business outcomes. The authors focus on emotional intelligence, empathy, and resilience. Because the human connection is at the heart of love, these are essential skills for anyone in business.

But this isn’t just about touchy-feely topics. The authors provide concrete examples and actionable advice that you can use to make your business more successful.

If you want to learn about business strategies that focus on resilience, team bonding, and success, then Love as a Business Strategy is for you.

5. The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

Author: William N. Thorndike
Publication Year: 2012

The CEO of any company has one major responsibility – returning value to shareholders. That’s exactly what The Outsiders sets out to do.

Thorndike looked at how these CEOs ran their companies and what strategies they used to achieve such great results.

The Outsiders is based on the author’s study of eight CEOs who outperformed the market by a wide margin. These “outsiders” all had one thing in common: they followed a radical, rational approach to business.

They were the original “disruptors,” a breed of entrepreneurial CEOs who transformed entire industries by ignoring the conventions of the day.

They built companies that were valued not by the crowds or the press, but by investors for their per-share profit margins. They had a knack for allocating capital as well as human resources; they knew cash flow is what mattered most in determining long-term value.

And their passion was not for empire-building or power, but for doing what they loved and were good at.

6. Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Author: Richard P. Rumelt
Publication Year: 2011

In today’s business world, there are a lot of so-called “strategists” who don’t understand what a good strategy is. They may have read a few books or attended a couple of seminars, but they don’t have the critical thinking skills to make sound strategic decisions.

Too many businesses are being led astray by an overload of information and bad strategy, and it’s costing them dearly. Unfortunately, a bad strategy can lead to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and even bankruptcy.

Good strategy, on the other hand, can help you achieve your goals and create a sustainable competitive advantage.

In this book, Rumelt provides a framework for understanding and evaluating strategy. He draws clear lines between good and bad strategies and provides insights into how to create a good well-informed strategy for your business.

The three parts of this book deal with the difference between good and bad strategy (Part I), sources for potential advantages in making well-crafted plans (Part II), as well how you can think like a strategist (Part III).

This book is all about getting to the “core strategy” that will make your business successful. And that begins with a change in diagnosis. Once the diagnoses are clear, the task is one of creative problem-solving through a guiding policy that is supported by a set of coherent actions.

If you want to learn how to think like a strategist and create sound strategic plans, then this book is for you.

7. The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life

Author: Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff
Publication Year: 2010

The last several decades have seen a revolution in our understanding of strategic behavior. Game theory has emerged as the dominant framework for thinking about rivalry and conflict, and it has been applied to a wide range of business problems.

What is Game Theory? Game theory is the study of strategic behavior. It’s the study of how people interact with each other when they have something to gain or lose.

It is not about winning or losing, but about understanding and predicting what people will do in given situations. Game theory has been called “the science of strategy” because it provides a framework for understanding how people behave in situations where there are conflicting interests.

In The Art of Strategy, Dixit & Nalebuff provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to game theory. They show how it can be used to understand a wide range of business situations, from competition among firms to the pricing of products.

The authors use a variety of case studies to show how almost every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component. This includes examples from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history.

Whether you’re a business person, a student of game theory or just someone interested in how people interact with each other, The Art of Strategy will show you how to think about competition and conflict in a whole new way.

8. Strategy Rules: Five Timeless Lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs

Authors: David B. Yoffie and Michael A. Cusumano
Publication Year: 2015

In today’s business environment, the ability to adapt and innovate is essential for success. However, many companies struggle to keep up with the pace of change, often due to obsolete business models or inflexible organizational structures.

In their book Strategy Rules, David B. Yoffie & Michael A. Cusumano examine the strategies of three highly successful tech entrepreneurs: Bill Gates of Microsoft, Andy Grove of Intel, and Steve Jobs of Apple.

By studying the way these leaders approached strategy and execution, the authors identify five key rules that can help any company stay ahead of the competition.

The authors show how these rules can be applied to a variety of industries and business situations. They also provide insights into the unique challenges that companies face as they attempt to implement them.

Whether you’re a business student or a business professional, Strategy Rules will give you a new framework for thinking about how to create and sustain a competitive advantage.

Strategy Rules is an essential guide for anyone seeking to build a lasting business.

Marketing is everything to your business. Without it, you would have no way of getting eyeballs on the products and services that matter most to your customers.

With a well-rounded marketing strategy, you can increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, and generate leads that turn into customers.

Your ideal marketing scenario is to marry the principles that have stood the test of time with the latest strategies and trends. After all, what worked even a few years ago may not work today.

To help you stay ahead of the curve, we’ve compiled a list of the best marketing books written by the experts. The names in the mix are familiar – Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, and Jay Baer. You may have already read their books.

But we’ve also included some lesser-known thought leaders who are shaking up the marketing world. Like Nir Eyal, who wrote Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.

And of course, no list of top marketing books would be complete without a nod to the classics, like Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People.

This definitive list covers a range of marketing topics, from inbound marketing and copywriting to email marketing, social media, and analytics.

So whether you’re just getting started in the world of marketing or you’re a seasoned pro, there’s something in here for you.

1) How to Win Friends and Influence People

Author: Dale Carnegie
Published: 1936

We start with one of the most well-known marketing books of all time, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People.

This book is more than 80 years old, but the wisdom within is just as relevant today as it was when it was first published. That’s because Carnegie’s advice is based on understanding human psychology – something that hasn’t changed.

Carnegie shows you how to make friends and influence people by being interested in them and their interests, being a good listener, and making the other person feel important.

He also provides practical tips for handling difficult people and situations. If you want to learn how to market yourself and your products/services in a way that’s genuine and effective, then you need to read this book.

2) Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

Author: Nir Eyal
Published: 2014

Hooked narrows in on a specific aspect of marketing – how to create products that people can’t put down.

Hooked dives deep into the psychology of why we form certain habits and how businesses can create products that “hook” us – in a good way.

In a nutshell, the book is about understanding your customers and designing your product in a way that fits their needs and wants. If you want to create products that people can’t help but use, then you need to read Hooked.

He details the four steps of the “Hook Model” – trigger, action, variable reward, and investment – and shows how companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have used it to achieve massive success.

This book has a unique perspective on marketing – instead of thinking about how to get people to buy your product, think about how to get them addicted to it.

3) Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is about Help, not Hype

Author: Jay Baer
Published: 2013

If you’re sick of traditional marketing tactics that rely on interruption and manipulation, then you need to read Jay Baer’s Youtility.

In this book, Baer makes the case for why businesses should focus on being useful instead of trying to sell people things they don’t need. He argues that in today’s world of information overload, the best way to stand out is by actually helping people.

This book provides lots of practical tips for creating useful content and marketing it in a way that’s non-intrusive and helpful, not pushy and sales-y.

One key takeaway from the book is the importance of creating content that is both informative and entertaining. If you can do that, you’re well on your way to creating marketing that people will want to consume.

4) The Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

Author: Seth Godin
Published: 2002

Standing out from the crowd is not an easy task. For every niche market, a thousand other companies are vying for attention. So how do you make your business the one that people remember?

Seth Godin’s book, The Purple Cow, is all about being remarkable. He argues that to succeed, you must be willing to stand out from the rest – even if it means being weird or different.

Godin provides plenty of examples of companies that have achieved success by being different, including Jet Blue, Starbucks, Google, and IKEA.

It’s inspiring and thought-provoking and though it’s over 20 years old, the book’s message is still super relevant today.

5) Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

Author: Ann Handley
Published: 2014

As the title suggests, this book is all about creating good content. Ann Handley is a well-respected authority on the subject, and in this book, she provides plenty of practical tips for creating content that is interesting, useful, and shareable.

She covers topics like how to come up with ideas, how to write headlines that grab attention, and how to use storytelling to make your content more engaging.

The truth is if you are in marketing, you’re a writer. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “writer”, you still have to produce content regularly – whether it’s blog posts, social media updates, or email newsletters.

Everybody writes is packed with actionable advice on how to write better and its comprehensive approach makes it an essential read for anyone who wants to improve their writing skills.

Some of the key takeaways include:

• The importance of having a distinct voice and personality in your writing
• How to make your writing more readable and engaging
• The difference between good and bad writing, and how to avoid common mistakes

Whether you’re a professional writer or not, this book will teach you how to write better and create content that people will want to read.

6) Invisible Selling Machine

Author: Ryan Deiss
Published: 2007

If you’re like most people, you probably underestimate the power of email. After all, it’s just a digital version of a letter, right? Wrong.

As Ryan Deiss explains in The Invisible Selling Machine, email is one of the most important tools in any business’s arsenal. Not only is it a great way to stay in touch with your customers, but it’s also an incredibly effective marketing tool.

With just a few clicks, you can send out updates, special offers, and reminders that keep your customers coming back for more. Not to mention, email is incredibly cheap – if you were to pay for advertising that had the same reach and impact, it would cost you a fortune.

The Invisible Selling Machine is essential reading for anyone who wants to use email to its full potential. It’s packed with great information that’s sure to help you create a strategy that works for your business.

7) Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk
Published: 2013

As the title suggests, Gary Vaynerchuk’s book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is all about how to tell your story on social media.

In a world where everyone is fighting for attention, it’s more important than ever to create content that cuts through the noise. Vaynerchuk provides plenty of examples of brands that are doing just that, and he offers up actionable advice on how you can tell your own story in a way that resonates with your audience.

With social media becoming increasingly saturated, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to create content that stands out from the rest.

8) The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking

Author: Robert B. Cialdini
Published: 1984

Marketing is all about persuasion – getting people to see things your way and convincing them to take action.

In The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini draws on his years of experience in the field to explore the psychology behind why people say “yes”.

In it, Cialdini outlines six principles of persuasion that have been proven to be effective time and time again. These principles are:

• Reciprocity
• Commitment and consistency
• Social proof
• Authority
• Liking
• Scarcity

Each chapter dives deep into one of these principles, providing plenty of examples of how they can be used in optimizing your marketing efforts.

9) The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!

Author: Al Ries and Jack Trout
Published: 1993

This book is a great example of why marketing basics are so important. Maybe you could say it’s the marketing equivalent of The Elements of Style.

Al Ries and Jack Trout layout 22 immutable laws of marketing, which they argue, if violated, could lead to disaster. Some of these laws include:

• The Law of Leadership: It’s better to be first than it is to be better
• The Law of the Category: If you can’t be first in a category, create a new category you can be first in
• The Law of the Mind: It’s better to be first in the mind than it is to be first in the market

Ries and Trout’s book is a great reminder of why marketing basics are so important, and why you should always keep them in mind when planning your marketing strategy.

10) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant

Author: W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Published: 2004

You’re probably familiar with the term “red ocean”. It’s used to describe a market that’s crowded with competitors and where there’s not much room for growth.

In contrast, a “blue ocean” is an uncontested market space where there is plenty of room for growth and opportunity. In other words, it’s a market that hasn’t been fully explored yet. And this is where you want to be.

In Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne lay out a framework for creating blue oceans. They provide plenty of examples of companies that have used this strategy to great success.

The key is to look beyond your existing industry and find new ways to reach your target market. This may seem like a daunting task, but Kim and Mauborgne provide a framework that makes it much easier to do.

So if you’re feeling stuck in a rut, pick up a copy of Blue Ocean Strategy. It just might be the key to success.

11) Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

Author: Seth Godin
Published: 1999

This book was ahead of its time when it was published in 1999, and it’s even more relevant today.

In Permission Marketing, Seth Godin argues that the future of marketing lies in obtaining permission from customers before trying to sell them something. This means building a relationship with them first and providing them with value on an ongoing basis.

This is different from traditional marketing, where businesses interrupt people with their message whether they want it or not.

Over 20 years later, permission marketing is more important than ever. With the advent of social media and the rise of ad blockers, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reach people with traditional marketing techniques.

But if you have a solid relationship with your customers, they will be more likely to see your message and take action.

12) UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging

Author: Scott Stratten
Published: 2010

Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there. You’re talking to someone at a party and they suddenly start trying to sell you something. It’s uncomfortable, and you usually try to get away from that person as soon as possible.

In UnMarketing, Scott Stratten argues that this is what traditional marketing techniques are doing to people. Instead of engaging with them, we’re interrupting them and trying to sell them something they may not even want.

Stratten advocates for a new approach to marketing, one that is based on relationships and providing value first. Only then can you hope to sell something to someone. So next time you’re thinking about making a sales pitch, think about how you would want to be treated and take a step back. Chances are, the other person will appreciate it too.

13) Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business, 4th Edition

Author: Jay Conrad Levinson
Published: 2007

Jay Conrad Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing is one of the most classic marketing books out there. It was originally published in 1984 and has been updated several times since then.

Levinson coined the term “guerrilla marketing” to describe low-budget, creative marketing techniques that can be used by businesses of any size.

This book is chock full of examples of businesses that have used these techniques to great effect. If you’re looking for some inspiration on how to market your business on a shoestring budget, this is the book for you.

14) Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics

Author: Richard H. Thaler
Published: 2015

Economics is all about making choices that are in your best interest, right? WRONG. In Misbehaving, Richard H. Thaler explores the field of behavioral economics and how it can be used to make better marketing decisions.

Turns out, we’re often irrational and make choices that don’t make sense from a logical standpoint. Whether it’s because of emotions, social norms, or other factors, our choices aren’t always based on what is best for us.

However, by understanding behavioral economics, we can make more informed decisions that are likely to lead to better outcomes. If you’re interested in the subject, this book is a must-read. It’s both entertaining and informative, and it will give you a new perspective on the way you make decisions.

15) Building A Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

Author: Donald Miller
Published: 2017

Have you ever wondered why some businesses just seem to “get it” when it comes to marketing, while others always seem to be struggling? According to Donald Miller, the answer lies in their ability (or lack thereof) to tell a good story.

In Building a Story Brand, Miller uses the framework of a story to help businesses Clarify Their Message and Connect With Their Customers. The book is based on the premise that people are more likely to remember and act on a story than they are on a list of facts.

Miller walks readers through the process of Clarifying Their Message and then creating a Brand Story that will resonate with their customers. By the end, you’ll have a much better understanding of how to connect with your customers and make your brand more memorable.

16) Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Author: Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Published: 2007

Have you ever wondered why some ideas stick in our heads while others fail to make an impact? In Made to Stick, brothers Chip and Dan Heath explore this question and offer some insights into what makes an idea successful.

The Heath brothers argue that six factors make an idea more likely to stick: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotion, and stories. Getting into the mind of the customer and understanding how these factors play into decision-making can be the difference between a successful marketing campaign and one that falls flat.

After all, if you can’t get your customers to remember your message, it doesn’t matter how good it is.

Do you know that “time” is the most commonly used word in the English language? It makes sense. Every time we converse, make plans, or look over our day, our questions revolve around time.

Do you have the time? How long will this take? Are you running late? Do you have a minute?

The biggest question we all seek to answer around time is: Do I have enough time?

Because we all have the same 1,440 minutes each day and 168 hours each week–and nearly all of us can improve how we relate to them.

Maybe you’re sick with regret, as for the second time this month, you’ve missed a flight or arrived late for an appointment, simply because you let time get away from you. Or you’re completely burnt out from working non-stop, yet completing things never brings any peace of mind. Or you’re guilt-ridden, as whenever you look around the house, you see dozens of things to do–so many, in fact, you can’t muster the will to begin any single one.

Maybe you feel torn and frustrated, as everyone wants your time; your friends, your boss, your spouse, your kids. And all you want is some time to kick back, put up your feet and feel respite from the grind.

Sometimes those 1,440 minutes feel more like a tumbleweed, rolling across a prairie, laughing at us as it bobs and blows just beyond our grasp. Or those 168 hours feel like getting onto a half-broke horse. It neighs, bucks, turns and pulls us in all directions, and we have no choice but to climb back on, day after day.

We all know how we would like to relate to the hours and minutes of our day. We want a routine that allows us to produce consistent quality work, a lifestyle with plenty of time for family and leisure, and a calm disposition, with respite from the frenzied feeling of having too much to do.

But how do you tame something so uncontrollable and independent as time?

It’s not an easy question to lasso and get your head around. But fortunately it’s been written about at great length. According to some, making small changes is the solution. Compounded over time, these routines determine who we become. To others, aligning our daily lives with our core values brings continuity to our routines. Others advocate capturing to-dos with a list. Still others believe in escaping from our time-is-money paradigm altogether, and returning to a time when all work stopped with the set of sun.

With every answer, the objective is the same: developing a relationship with time that unleashes our potential and secures our peace of mind. Let’s peruse some books to read on time management and discover some great methods, ideas and time management tips to incorporate into our daily lives.

15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students and 239 Entrepreneurs by Kevin Kruse

Publisher: The Kruse Group
Year Published: 2015
Number of Pages: 202

If someone asked you what the most important thing in your life was, what would you say?

According to Kevin Kruse, author of 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, the correct answer to this question is “time.”

Why is time so important? Because unlike everything else in your life, including money, a job and even a spouse (he asserts), you can’t get it back. But time “is irreplaceable. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.”

Kruse has interviewed hundreds of successful people for this book, including Sheryl Sandberg, Marissa Mayer and Jack Dorsey, and shares the common themes he’s gleaned from them.

“Highly successful people don’t think about time much at all. Instead, they think about values, priorities, and consistent habits.”

“The single most important thing when it comes to time and productivity isn’t a tactic or a trick—it’s a shift in mindset.”

He recommends identifying priorities, then creating systems around them. The first step is identifying your MIT, or most important thing. Next, create a habit of dedicating the first two hours of your day to your MIT, because that’s when your cognitive powers are the sharpest.

A great schedule (not a list, he makes clear) releases stress, as it creates a slot for all your priorities. Anything on the schedule is treated like an appointment with the dentist. It’s not shifted around or cut short.

Kruse doesn’t waste his readers’ time with 15 Secrets. In only 200 pages, he covers a lot, including sections titled: Procrastination Cure, How to Leave the Office by 5:00, Master Your Email, and Meeting Hacks. It’s written in first person and includes many personal anecdotes.

It’s helpful for people with all sorts of lifestyles. He ends each section by clarifying how his lessons apply if you’re an entrepreneur, a stay at home parent, a student, a freelancer and an executive.

Kruse is a prolific writer. He’s contributed over 100 articles to Forbes, and has written the books Employee Engagement 2.0 and Unlimited Clients. Readers find his style and voice relatable, and his presentation in 15 Secrets upbeat and fun.

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Publisher: Farrar Straus and Giroux
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 288

Four Thousand Weeks touches on this notion of “living versus existing.”

Its British author, Oliver Burkeman, notes that in modern society, we regard time like it’s a resource, the same way we regard water, food and money. Assuming we live into our 70s, our entire life, then, can be codified, valued, sized up and measured into around four thousand weeks.

He contrasts this attitude with peasants in pre-industrial England, where there was no clock hanging on the wall or daily planners at anyone’s desk. The seasons determined daily tasks, and the sunset determined when one fell asleep at the end of the day.

He ventures that our modern approach to time robs us of our peace of mind. When time is seen as a scarce resource, we’re haggling ourselves over whether we’ve spent it wisely. This leaves us feeling chronically dissatisfied after a hard day’s work.

This book is helpful for someone who never finds any satisfaction for a job well done, or who’s guilt-ridden for mis-managing time. He asserts that removing ourselves from a treadmill-approach to life makes us more productive in the long-term.

Burkeman presents methods for developing a healthy relationship with time, drawing on lessons from psychologists, philosophers, and spiritual teachers, “all who rejected the struggle to dominate or master [time].”

He also discusses a concept called “deep time,” which is similar to timelessness. In deep time, we forget about the treadmill and the ticking clock. “The boundary separating the self from the rest of reality grows blurry, and time stands still.” Deep time is the realm of prayer and contemplation, “a realm where there is enough of everything, where we are not trying to fill a void in ourselves and the world.”

In Four Thousand Weeks, Burkeman evaluates modern lifestyles through the lens of a historian. Chapters include “The Loneliness of the Digital Nomad” and “Becoming a Better Procrastinator.”

Readers have found that the themes and ideas in the book flow naturally, and that it’s a substantive self-help book.

Burkeman also writes a blog and a column for The Guardian called “This Column Will Change Your Life.”

The Procrastination Cure: 21 Proven Tactics for Conquering Your Inner Procrastinator, Mastering Your Time, and Boosting Your Productivity! by Damon Zahariades

Publisher: Art of Productivity
Year Published: 2017
Number of Pages: 166

Procrastination is a bit of a conundrum. For example, why do we put off something so simple as paying a bill? All it entails is either making a few clicks on the computer or putting a stamp onto an envelope then walking to the mailbox.

“We tend to pursue what is easiest and most likely to deliver immediate gratification, even if doing so is inconsistent with our long-term goals,” Damon Zaharaides writes in The Procrastination Cure.

He writes this book for the dilly-dallier, the chronic procrastinator, the person who can put off a boring task even when the stakes are high. To some extent, this is all of us.

Zahariades stresses that procrastination is a fact of life. We’ll never entirely recover, but his book aims to decrease procrastination tendencies and so “increase productivity, and better manage your time.”

A procrastinator not only pays practical consequences, but emotional ones as well: he lives with the guilt and angst that comes from putting off necessary tasks. The Procrastination Cure is about creating emotional well-being through living a responsible, productive lifestyle.

“Taking action causes the discomfort and guilt associated with procrastination to evaporate. It also erases the stress and worry of doing the task. And just as importantly, it gives us the momentum we need to continue working until the task has been completed.”

The book is well organized. It begins with a simple definition of procrastination, then covers Zahariades’ personal history as a chronic procrastinator, paying car tabs after they’re due (and getting his car towed), ending relationships way too late and turning projects in way past their deadline.

Then he provides reasons why we procrastinate (“Fear of Failure,” “Fear of Success,” “Feelings of Overwhelm,” “Laziness,” “Inability to Make Decisions”) and finishes with 21 tactics for overcoming procrastination, including “Eat the Frog,” “Reward Yourself,” “Ask Others to Set Deadlines,” “Take Small Steps” and “Get Rid of Distractions.”

Zahariades runs a content marketing agency, and has a blog called the “Art of Productivity.” Readers say the book provides motivating tips that really work; Netflix is getting shut off, the sock drawers are getting organized and the lawn is getting mowed.

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

Publisher: Picador
Year Published: 2011
Number of Pages: 240

We’re living in a complex world. Even an everyday activity like going to the gym entails collecting at least fifteen items into a duffel bag. How many times have you gotten to the car, put the gym bag in the back seat and then returned to the house to retrieve a forgotten water bottle or towel?

The bestseller Checklist Manifesto promises to be a powerful antidote to the complexity we face in our everyday lives.

In the book, surgeon and author Atul Gawande recounts numerous anecdotes he’s heard over the years from colleagues overlooking “small” details in what otherwise is an earnest effort to treat a patient.

In one anecdote, a man shows up at the Emergency Room with a stab wound. “Everyone involved got almost every step right…except no one remembered to ask the patient or the emergency medical technicians what the weapon was.” As it turns out, the weapon was a bayonet, and due to this lack of knowledge, the patient nearly died.

In the modern world, Gawande argues, the cause of failure is more commonly due to ineptitude than ignorance. We know what we need to do, but things are so complex that we fail to capture and execute on all the details.

The checklist, he proposes, captures all of the requirements in a project, a task or a routine and keeps them front of mind. It is a system that applies to all areas of our lives.

The Checklist Manifesto is for anyone who feels overwhelmed or suffers from “brain clog.” Creating a list for everyday things such as what to pack for a weekend trip, a camping vacation or a session at the gym reduces brain clutter and keeps us from thinking too hard about any one thing.

Gawande is a surgeon working in Boston, a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of another bestseller, Complications.

Readers find the stories in Checklist Manifesto gripping, even for someone with no medical background.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Publisher: Avery
Year Published: 2018
Number of Pages: 320

Brushing your teeth every night is such a tiny action. It only takes a few minutes. Yet, looking over the span of thirty or more years, imagine the consequences of not doing it. By the age of 60 or 70 you may well be removing a set of false teeth from your mouth at the end of each day.

James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, is all about the impact of small actions like teeth brushing. He makes a comparison between small habits and compounding interest, claiming that a small lifestyle change, compounded over time, completely alters the course of your life.

“Improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run.”

His message is heartening to someone who struggles with time management or procrastination. The remedy isn’t changing your lifestyle by 180 degrees. Rather, a tiny change has enormous long-term repercussions.

Something like routinely leaving work thirty minutes early in order to eat dinner with the family doesn’t seem like a big deal in the day-to-day. Over the span of a decade, however, that’s a huge chunk of quality family time. Or, spending thirty minutes each weekend decluttering the garage may look insignificant at first, but it starts to make a huge impact after a whole year.

“A slight change in your daily habits can guide your life to a very different destination,” writes Clear.

This “small strokes fell great oaks” message works both ways. Habits like negative thoughts, stress and outrage compound into real effects with consequences that we live with.

Changes don’t happen linearly as we’d expect, Clear points out. Rather, like compounding interest, the effects accumulate slowly, and then at some distant future date, we cash in on our habits.

Clear writes the book in five parts, with chapters such as “The Truth About Talent,” “Walk Slowly, but Never Backward” and “The Secret to Self Control.” It’s easy to read, with plenty of stories and graphs to communicate his compounding message.

Atomic Habits is a bestselling book that’s sold over 5 million copies. Clear speaks to Fortune 500 companies on habits and decision marketing and sends out a “3-2-1” newsletter to a million subscribers.

Readers find Atomic Habits informative, if somewhat redundant.

The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals by Danielle LaPorte

Publisher: Sound True
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 288

Desire Map is for people who’ve set goals and stayed on track to achieve them, only to arrive at the finish line disappointed. They experience no satisfactory emotional payoff.

In order to avert this disappointment, author Danielle LaPorte proposes we establish goals around the emotions we want to experience and feel in our lives, and then build out our daily routines in pursuit of these emotions.

Her method isn’t about setting concrete goals such as taking a vacation or earning a certain income. “Four feelings. Stuck in my Day-Timer. Referred to every day. Guiding my choices,” she writes.

Her system often leads to paradigm shifts in people’s lives, she warns. “So when you get clear on how you actually want to feel, your life-planning process might get turned upside down.”

When readers realize their current track leads to dead-end emotions, they end up in new careers, or find new approaches to things like budgeting.

Desire Map is helpful for someone who feels trapped in a web of “shoulds.” It’s about aligning all of a person’s precious time with her core desires.

It consists of two books: The Theory and The Workbook, with chapters like “Recalibrating the Compass” and “The Benefits of Clear Desires.” She’s also included action sheets to keep goals on track, including monthly and weekly check-ins.

The book reads like online content, which makes sense as LaPorte’s home turf is the internet. The san-serif text changes size frequently. Huge all-cap text and bold text intermingles with the regular-sized text throughout the pages of her book.

Readers love LaPorte for her energy, and believe she’s brought a lot of herself to this book, and that it includes thoughtful details.

LaPorte has an eponymous website that’s been named by Forbes as one of the top 100 websites for women, where she dispenses life and business advice. Her charismatic online presence has amassed an enormous social media following. She also wrote The Fire Starter Sessions.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Year Published: 2016
Number of Pages: 304

Sometimes we may have a solid two hours for a task, yet it barely reaches the finish line even so. Too many “Ya got a minute?” knocks at the office door results in a sloppy deliverable that’s not at all representative of our best work.

According to Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, this level of performance won’t cut it in the current economy. As robots swoop in to replace labor, only highly skilled employees can retain their positions.

Performing at a skilled, elite level requires what he calls “deep work.” Deep work is a method for improving output that maximizes the cognitive value of your brain, and requires “distraction-free concentration.” He contrasts deep work from shallow work, which includes things like sorting papers and answering emails.

Deep Work takes a refreshing spin on time management, as it’s about how to improve the quality of work time, rather than how to structure a workday. It provides specific instructions on how to create an environment to produce exceptional work.

Newport illustrates the concept of deep work with the story of Nate Silver, who in 2008 garnered praise for predicting the presidential outcome by using a thorough analysis of polling data. Using the same “deep work” method, Silver’s gone on to predict things like the recipients of Oscars at the Academy Awards.

Even at the book’s 2016 publication date, the Nate Silver story sounds dated, especially since “deep work” is a cutting-edge phenomenon. Chapters in Deep Work include no-brainers such as “Quit Social Media.”

But the book was a bestseller nonetheless. Newport is a Georgetown professor, and author of other bestsellers, including Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email. He hosts the podcast “Deep Questions” and speaks regularly on NPR.

Readers have noted the concepts presented in deep work have been around for some time. Finding a quiet place to work and eliminating distractions is common sense. And producing high-quality work isn’t a cutting edge notion. It’s been a requirement in several professions for some time now.

Time Blocking: Destroy Procrastination, Get More Done, and Feel Great About It by Abe Wood

Publisher: Thomas Steel
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 47

You know in the movies when the camera focuses on one person’s face, and everything in the background goes fuzzy?

Time blocking is like this. It’s when you focus on one activity for an hour or two, and let everything else around you “go fuzzy.” It’s also known as batching, boxing and chunking.

In his book Time Blocking, author Abe Wood believes time blocking is the key to insane productivity. Sometimes we only have an hour to dedicate to an important task. Time blocking is about maximizing the productivity of that hour.

“The idea of time blocking is to pre-plan your day before it arrives…before you go to sleep, you’ll spend a bit of time creating a plan for the next day. Then, when you wake up, you’ll immediately know what you need to get started on.”

The book has two parts, and includes the chapters “Unload and Free Your Brain,” “Don’t Be a Tyrant with Yourself,” “The Elon Musk Method” and “The Cal Newport Method.”

Readers have appreciated that Wood has packed some great lessons into his quick book. At under 50 pages, you can read Time Blocking in an afternoon, and start applying his lessons the following day!

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

Publisher: Penguin Books
Year Published: 2015
Number of Pages: 352

Are you ever so overwhelmed with everything to do that you can’t even focus on the task at hand? David Allen aims to tackle this problem in his book, Getting Things Done.

He addresses his book both to professionals and non-professionals and his goal is to remove stress and anxiety from people’s work and day-to-day lives.

“This book is not so much concerned with getting things done as it is championing appropriate engagement with your world—guiding you to make the best choice of what to do in each moment, and to eliminate distraction and stress about what you’re not doing.”

It’s a practice, a method, a set of habits that one develops, and he presents both the principles behind it and then the ingredients for practicing it.

“The behavioral ingredients of GTC are…to write something down, decide what the next step is to move forward, record the reminder of that on a list, and review the list.”

The book is structured to present the principles behind his “GTC Method,” then its components, and finally the ingredients to put his method into practice. “Capturing” is central to the method. This essentially entails outlining all of the tasks or components of a process, project or routine.

This is the second edition of Getting Things Done. Allen updated the 2001 version to keep pace with technology.

Allen is a coach to CEOs and business leaders. He’s trademarked his GTD method. It works for anyone, including students, parents and executives. He’s also written Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life.

Some readers really stand by the method, calling it a game-changer and saying it helps them de-clog their brain, while others find it’s a dressed up version of a checklist.

Mind Mapping: Improve Memory, Concentration, Communication, Organization, Creativity, and Time Management (Mental Performance) by Kam Knight

Publisher: MindLily
Year Published: 2012
Number of Pages: 209

We all know how it feels to get drawn into a long, stream of consciousness conversation with someone, where one thing leads to another then another, down the rabbit hole until you have no idea where you started.

This is a little how our brain works, Kam Knight asserts in his book, Mind Mapping. Whenever we encounter a certain smell, for example, our brain makes all sorts of associations with the other times we encountered the smell, going all the way back to early childhood.

And it’s part of the power behind mind mapping. The mind map visually represents what’s going on in our brains. It helps to process complex information and is applicable with all learning styles: verbal, auditory and kinesthetic.

How does mind mapping assist with time management? It’s a powerful tool for organizing ideas, planning a project or capturing requirements.

If you’ve managed a project in the past and certain areas became disaster zones, try mind mapping this time around. For example, a mind map created around costs and responsibilities can help identify known unknowns and minimize scope creep.

In the book, Knight explains how mind mapping is helpful in daily life, with creating things like chore lists and daily schedules.

Knight is a coach who’s written extensively on productivity and time management. He’s also written the book, Speed Reading: Learn to Read a 200+ Page Book in 1 Hour.

Readers find Mind Mapping comprehensive, as it explains how to make mind maps, why they work, and what to use them for. They also stress that mind mapping is a practice that needs to be developed.

Do you ever find a product that’s exactly what you’re looking for? Maybe it’s a coat with pockets in all the right places, manufactured in a fashionable shade of blue, or an office chair that supports your back just right, allowing you to focus on your work for hours.

How was it made so perfectly, almost like it was made to order?

Chances are, it wasn’t by role of the dice. Not by a long shot. As Marty Cagan writes in his book, Inspired: “Behind every great product there is someone—usually someone behind the scenes, working tirelessly—who led the product team to combine technology and design to solve real customer problems.”

This “behind the scenes” person has come to be known as a product manager. The position of product manager is fairly new; it was first conceived at Procter & Gamble just under 100 years ago. In the last thirty years, the role has developed, becoming a key component in the organizational structure of complex industries such as technology. The demand for the position is high. The pay is attractive.

But the job itself isn’t for the faint of heart. A product manager must sway and influence many disparate groups of people, without having authority over any of them. The position requires thinking creatively and imaginatively while at the same time researching and analyzing hard facts about the market, the customer, the production process and the bottom line.

Successfully balancing these tensions means the difference between developing a product that’s a hit that everyone wants to buy, and a product that’s a dud that disappears from the market immediately.

It’s not a position you can master without some guidance, that’s for sure.

Maybe you understand product management in theory, but struggle with “doing it” in the day-to-day. Or you think you know all the ins-and-outs of the position, but still get thrown curve balls that leave you wondering if you know how to do your job at all. Or maybe you want to embark on a new career, and wonder just what product management entails and what skill set it requires.

Whatever stage you’re at with product management, someone’s been there before. Many have shined a light on what they’ve learned. In an assortment of books, they’ve covered all the facets of product management, from teaching the basics, to explaining theories of efficient production, to navigating the day-to-day, to getting your foot in the door. These are thoughtful books, with lots of practical takeaways, guides, templates and checklists, to get you on track with your product management career.

So whether you’re a newbie to product management or a seasoned product manager who wants to learn more, there’s a book out there for you. Now, without further ado, let’s take a look at the best books on product management.

The Influential Product Manager: How to Lead and Launch Successful Technology Products by Ken Sandy

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Publication Year: 2020
Number of Pages: 384

It’s so common to read inspiring prose about product management, and still be clueless how to apply the ideas to a specific situation.

Author Ken Sandy makes sure you don’t have this problem with his book, The Influential Product Manager.

“My goal is to provide current and aspiring product managers with the tools, techniques, skills and empathy required to be successful in navigating the critical ‘human’ or ‘people’ component of their role.”

He explains how a product manager leverages soft skills (influence, persuasion, charisma) to build a great product.

“What makes a truly outstanding product manager? It’s not just the ability to deliver a product to market. It is also the ability to empathize and determine customers’ needs; to persuade, motivate, and align a cross-functional group of professionals behind a common purpose.”

Then, he shows you how you can become this outstanding product manager. His book is based on a course he teaches, and includes a link for downloading worksheets and exercises for putting his lessons into practice.

He addresses The Influential Product Manager to current product managers, aspiring product managers and even people working with product managers.

The book has a pleasing layout and design. The chapters begin with learning objectives and end with a checklist of activities covered, indicated with a pencil icon. Takeaway tips and tricks are sprinkled throughout, indicated with a rabbit icon. It consists of 12 chapters, organized around the life cycle of a product: ideation, discovery, prioritization, definition, implementation, launch and measurement. They’re easy to read, and include personal anecdotes from Sandy.

Sandy brings over two decades of hands-on experience to the topic, including directing product management for Kodak and Looksmart, and working as the VP for product management at Masterclass. He currently gives lectures and webinars in product management.

Much of this book is communicated through its layout (text boxes, notes in the margin, checklists at the end of chapters), so it’s better to read than listen to. A lot of the meaning and emphasis don’t come across in audio.

Product Management in Practice: A Real-World Guide to the Key Connective Role of the 21st Century by Matt Lemay

Publisher: O’Rielly Media
Publication Year: 2017
Number of Pages: 186

When he first started out as a product manager, Matt Lemay had an experience common to many novices. He found himself sitting at his desk, twiddling his thumbs.

“For all the books that I had read and all the methodologies that I had studied, the only thing I was left with when I sat back down at my desk was, “What the hell am I supposed to do every day?”

Product Management in Practice is about making the leap from theory to practical, so it’s suited for someone new to product management. “This book is intended to help you through the challenges that no tool, framework or ‘best practice’ can prepare you for.”

Lemay argues that product management isn’t a role or a theory, but rather a practice. And in practice, “product management often feels more like a series of interrelated novellas than it does a neatly organized textbook.”

It’s a fun book. The cover is an image of a brand new, doe-eyed product manager, looking around the office, bewildered. His writing is thoughtful, analytical and also humorous. Some chapters include: “The Art of Egregious Overcommunication” and “The Wonderful, Horrible Truth About Agile” He recounts many relatable anecdotes of both of himself and his peers on the job as product managers.

Lemay’s approach to product management leans heavily on the agile methodology; he’s also written the book, Agile for Everybody. His experience includes working as the product manager for Bitly and as an adjunct professor at New York University.

Although a seasoned product manager may not find a lot of takeaways here, Product Management in Practice is a good supplementary book for anyone who’s learned product management in theory and needs some practical input. At just under 200 pages, for the writing, humor and stories alone, you may find yourself reading it twice.

The Product Book: How to Become a Great Product Manager by Carlos González de Villaumbrosia and Josh Anon

Publisher: The Product School
Publication Year: 2017
Number of Pages: 302

This book could just as easily be titled: Product Management 101. If you’re looking for an easy-to-read overview of product management, this is your book.

Over its nine chapters, it provides an end-to-end view of what happens in the position of product manager. Titles include: “What is a Product Manager,” “Idea to Action,” “Working With the Engineer,” “Working With the Designer,” and “Bringing the Product to Market.”

Its large all-caps headings and subheadings make it easy to process the concepts quickly. It’s a great overview for any newbie product manager wanting a refresher course, or an aspiring product manager (although there’s not much in here about getting your foot in the door).

Villaumbrosia is Spanish, and has worked in product management in both Spain and Portugal. He’s earned degrees in management, computer science and engineering. He also founded the Product School in 2014, which offers three online certifications in Product Management, taught by industry leaders from Google, Uber, and Amazon, amongst other businesses. The book’s second author, Anon, is an instructor at the product school.

Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams by Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson and Nate Walkingshaw

Publisher: O’Rielly Media
Publication Year: 2017
Number of Pages: 248

Anyone thrown into product management flails around for a while. The position is wedged between a lot of opposing forces, including a development team, clients, stakeholders and upper management. A new product manager naturally wonders where and how she fits into the scheme.

In their book Product Leadership, authors Banfield, Eriksson and Walkingshaw write that more than completing a set of tasks, product management is about rallying people around your insights, data and inspirations.

“The book you’re holding in your hands will be your guide to navigating product leadership…there is no one right way to build great products, but…there is a right mentality and approach.”

This book speaks to experienced product managers, as well as CEOs, CTOs and startup founders. They discuss the history of product management, and explain how the position evolved during the agile revolution of the 90s.

“Today in the digital world where we hardly agree on much, just about everyone can agree that product managers are essential contributors at the intersection of business, technology and user experience.”

There are different contexts for product management today. But in all of them, the authors find, the role is about leading. The book is written in three parts, and organized to be a “choose your own adventure.” They distinguish between startup, emerging and enterprising organizations, and emphasize how each has a distinctive approach to product leadership.

The authors bring their diverse experience to the book. Banfield is a former CEO and currently an advisor to several companies. Erikkson is a co-founder of Mind the Product, an organization that provides counseling, courses and career support to product managers.

It’s composed mostly of text, with only a few images sprinkled throughout. Although some readers found the book dense and hard to read, others found it a comprehensive overview of product management.

Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Publication Year: 2018
Number of Pages: 368

In Inspired, Marty Cagan argues that there isn’t a formula or recipe for creating an excellent product. The winning formula, rather, is around creating a culture and environment that enables a great product to be built. The product manager is central to shaping this environment.

He states outright that not everyone is cut out for product management. Yet his aim with the book is to help product managers navigate challenges and succeed in the role.

This book is helpful for someone new to product management, as it provides some context for where product managers fit into an organizational structure.
It’s a lengthy book, with three sections dedicated to shaping the organizational framework, titled: “The Right Product,” “The Right People” and “The Right Process.” A fourth section covers how to not do things, and includes a chapter titled: “The Root Causes of Failed Product Efforts.”

The first edition of Inspired was a bestseller, and was translated into several languages. This is a much-revised second edition.

Cagan brings his lengthy experience to the book, which includes working as an executive at Ebay and Netscape. He’s now a partner at the Silicon Valley Product Group, and writes a monthly newsletter and blog.

Some readers have found Inspired helpful with interview preparation, as it outlines the functions of the position.

Pivot to Product Manager: The Ultimate 3-Step Playbook to Kickstart Your Product Management Career by Irving Malcolm

Publisher: Kaiconnections London
Publication Year: 2021
Number of Pages: 190

Even after putting together a flashy, attention grabbing resume, every aspiring product manager has an even higher hurdle to jump over: the interview.

The position requires such a broad array of soft and hard skills, that preparing for an interview brings all sorts of questions to mind, such as: What will they ask? What sort of skills do I present? What does the job really entail?

Pivot to Product Management is for anyone who hopes to land a position as a product manager. It’s the “insiders” guide to crushing the interview and knowing what skill to develop beforehand.

Author Malcolm outlines practices to pick up, including reading for 20 minutes each day (from a list he provides at the end of the book) and perusing tech publications such as Mashable and TechCrunch.

He dedicates the entire second and third sections of the book to the hiring process, covering:

• How to research which companies to apply for,
• How to prepare for the interview,
• How to develop the elevator pitch and
• How to answer questions related to every facet of the position, including product strategy, KPIs and estimating techniques.

Anyone who reads Pivot to Product Manager should close the book with a clear understanding of the purpose of the position, the skills essential to the role and the qualities a manager looks for in potential candidates.

“We know that an excellent product is usually a result of a robust product manager’s vision, skill and leadership…The role is scientific and data-driven but simultaneously requires creative intuition and the ability to trust your instincts.”

Pivot to Product Manager is an elusively easy read, as it’s packed with practical takeaways. Readers love the section on elevator pitches. It’s a must-have for nailing the interview and starting a career in product management.

Excellent Execution as a Product Manager by Clement Kao

Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Year: 2020
Number of Pages: 177

Some people have reasonably predictable jobs. Take toll booth workers, for example. They arrive at work, sit down and stay put. They do the job, then get up and go home.

A day in the life of a product manager doesn’t go exactly like this. The position entails interacting with many groups of people, from stakeholders, to developers, to upper management, to clients. Plus, it’s research heavy. A typical day in the life of a product manager ends miles and miles from where it started, and it doesn’t follow a linear path in between.

All the code-switching demanded of the position begs the question: How does a product manager do the job and do it well without burning out?

Clement Kao answers this question and more in his book, Excellent Execution as a Product Manager. He describes the book as a “look-over-my-shoulder-guide,” and he didn’t write it for newbie or seasoned product managers. It’s written for a very specific audience: product managers in their first few years on the job.

It’s all about how to “do” product management in the day-to-day. Kao gets into the minutia of the daily grind, advising readers to do things such as:

• Take regular walks during the day.
• Goal set at the start of each day.
• Schedule the day using time blocking.

His description of product management places a heavy emphasis on agile, and the book includes chapters such as: “Sprint Best Practices,” “Maintaining Healthy Backlogs” and “Retrospectives.”

He dedicates his book to “all product managers who are dedicated to their own self improvement.” It’s written in a casual style, and reads more like a 177-page blog post than a book.

Kao himself works as a Product Manager at Blend, a startup in San Francisco. He also co-founded Product Manager HQ, an online community for product managers. Product Manager HQ has been featured in Forbes, and hosts live sessions with leaders in product management.

The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback by Dan Olsen

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Publication Date: 2015
Number of Pages: 336

Have you ever gotten so far into a project that reversing just a few steps meant doubling your time? A lean approach to manufacturing aims to eliminate this sort of rework.

The Lean Product Playbook is for product managers who want to develop products using the lean production method, which incorporates working efficiently, minimizing waste and addressing needs of customers. It’s suited for current product managers who want to develop methods for creating products with an improved product-market fit.

The book is very theoretical, but also includes case studies and frameworks and diagrams to make the concepts easy to apply. It’s written in three parts. The second part delves into the Lean process, where author Dan Olsen outlines its five steps, including: determine target customer, identify underserved customer needs and define value proposition.

A great process creates a good product, Olsen asserts. And lean manufacturing is that great process.

The writing is pretty granular, with wordy descriptions of things such as “product,” “market” and “product-market fit.” He does bring in examples, which makes his concepts easier to understand.

Olsen cut his teeth in product management at Intuit. He now consults companies through Olsen Solutions, and stays busy giving workshops and hosting a monthly meetup in Silicon Valley.

On any day of the week, most of us find ourselves saying things like, “He drives a hard bargain,” “She didn’t give me an inch” and “He’s a real pushover.”

Yet while negotiation is a part of our everyday lives, for many it’s still shrouded in mystery. We don’t understand how people we know always seem to get their way, or how others routinely charm customer service representatives, receiving perks and freebies galore.

And we’re well aware of what this lack of understanding costs us. It may mean that we don’t get the raise we know we deserve, or that we overpay for a much-needed vehicle, as we have no idea how to bring the seller down.

Shrewd negotiation can mean the difference between eating a dinner you like and one you can hardly keep down, between sleeping on a delightful, comfortable mattress or one that’s too hard and impossible to fall asleep on. It can mean the difference between receiving a generous Christmas bonus and one that hardly pays the electricity bill. And in some instances, it can mean the difference between life and death.

With the stakes so high, what’s stopping us from climbing into the ring and asking for what we want?

Many of us hold deeply entrenched beliefs about negotiation that keeps us safely on the sidelines. Some believe you’re either born with negotiating chops or you aren’t. So when these people don’t see a natural tendency to bargain within themselves, they don’t put out any effort. Others believe the tough negotiators live in a “you only eat the meat that you kill” kind of a world. Everything is a competition and every interaction determines a winner and a loser. And they don’t want to have any part of it.

Yet, many have disregarded these beliefs. They don’t shy away from bringing their desires to the table, and they’re getting what they want. They earn what they’re due and they purchase their homes at great prices.

Still more have found these beliefs to be false. They know that negotiation is not a trait that’s inherited. It’s not a zero-sum game, where if one person gains the other loses. It’s not a messy conflict that naturally leads to burnt bridges. Believe it or not, you can have your cake, eat it and share a slice with everyone else at the boardroom table. Does that sound like an offer you can’t refuse?

If you’re ready to build some negotiating skills, then dig in. We’re going to look at what the shrewdest wheelers and dealers have to say in this guide to the best books on negotiation.

Negotiation Simplified: A Framework and Process for Understanding and Improving Negotiating Results by Jim Reiman

Publisher: Amplify Publishing
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: 216

Are you tired of books that speak down to you? Or books that go on and on about a concept that could easily be summarized in a few sentences? If so, then Negotiation Simplified is for you.

Author Jim Reiman finds that the other books on negotiation are either too complicated or too simple. His book is neither. It’s the Goldilocks book that aims to “to simplify without being simplistic.”

“Negotiation Simplified is written by a practitioner for the practitioner. It assumes that the reader is intelligent and brings some experience, so you will find no rote set of steps to follow. Rather, it provides a method to analyze and frame situations and facts.”

Reiman pares negotiation down to its leanest form. It’s a great book for anyone new to the topic who’s learning the basics.

“Achieving great negotiating results requires only four skills…they are setting clear goals, being prepared, listening and being self aware.”

The chapters cover things such as preparation (including planning, strategy and tactics) and common negotiation challenges. In the chapter “Experience Speaks”, Reiman illustrates how his ideas apply in the real world, with anecdotes from a variety of professionals.

This book is quiet and direct and super easy to read. A lot is packed into its 216 pages.

Reiman is a lawyer and has also worked as the CEO of several companies, including a cell phone company in China that he expanded from a small chain of stores into a public company sold on the London Stock Exchange.

Readers have found this book helpful in all sorts of scenarios, from buying a home to negotiating pay and opportunities in the workplace.

Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini, PhD

Publisher: Harper Business
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 592

Do you ever find yourself saying “yes” to something you don’t want to do at all? Maybe it’s agreeing to watch your neighbor’s dog while she’s on summer vacation (because she watered your garden when you were out of town that spring).

In Influence, author Robert Cialdini breaks down the psychology behind persuasion and influence, both of which are integral to negotiation. We don’t agree to something simply because it’s what we want. Each of us is far more prone to manipulation or automatic behavior than we’d like to believe.

“[The experts] have identified regular, blindly mechanical patterns of action in a wide variety of species…we, too, have our preset programs, and although they usually work to our advantage, the trigger feature that activates them can dupe us into running the right programs at the wrong time.”

First published in 1984, Influence has sold over five million copies. This newest version includes Cialdini’s expanded understanding on the topic, including an 8th Chapter titled “Unity.”

Influence offers more than a peek behind the curtains into the psychology of negotiation, making it a great read for anyone who’s looking for more than a surface-level understanding of the topic.

He breaks persuasion down into eight distinct methods: reciprocation, liking, social proof, authority, scarcity, commitment and consistency and unity. He incorporates stories and case studies to explain how each method works in real life. He’s quick to explain how we can ethically use these ideas to our advantage.

At nearly 600 pages, Influence is an investment of anyone’s time. But it’s worth it. Although some of the stories and anecdotes sound dated, the lessons are timeless. And Cialdini’s friendly tone makes him sound more like a companion than a lecturer.

Known as the “Godfather of Influence”, Cialdini’s council is highly sought-after in the fields of marketing, politics and business. Currently, he’s the CEO of Influence at Work, where he gives talks and trainings. He also wrote the book, Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade.

His content (not his personality) is very similar to Tony Robbins; it’s all about the psychology behind negotiation. You’ll even hear the two of them using the same anecdotes from time to time.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss, with Tahl Raz

Publisher: Harper Business
Year Published: 2016
Number of Pages: 288

Most of us won’t ever be in a negotiation with a kidnapper or terrorist, arguing over millions of dollars where the stakes are life and death. But for Chris Voss, author of Never Split the Difference, these sorts of negotiations were part of his regular workday.

Voss spent over two decades at the FBI as the lead kidnapping investigator. He cut his teeth negotiating with criminals who threatened to spare the lives of innocent children only in exchange for money. And over this time he developed a hands-on system that worked.

“In the twenty years I spent at the Bureau we’d design a system that had successfully resolved almost every kidnapping we applied it to. But we didn’t have grand theories.”

Voss presents his system amidst engrossing stories, and convinces the reader that negotiation is a life skill that everyone needs to keep sharp and carry at all times.

“Over the years I had picked up skills, tactics and a whole approach to human interaction that had not just helped me save lives but, as I recognize now looking back, had also come to transform my own life. My years of negotiating had infused everything from how I dealt with customer service representatives to my parenting style.”

Voss takes a street-wise approach to negotiation, one not rooted in academia or theories, but in the gritty world of criminals and thugs. One of his tactics is an open-ended question, which has no fixed answer. It buys the negotiator time, and lets the other side think the ball is in their court. Another tip includes pacing yourself in a negotiation; “going too fast is one of the mistakes all negotiators are prone to making.”

Never Split the Difference is written in ten chapters, including: “Trigger the Two Words That Immediately Transform Any Negotiation” and “Find the Black Swan: How to Create Breakthroughs by Revealing the Unknown Unknowns.”

It’s an intense read, and he frames all negotiations like they’re a win-or-lose competition. His method is all about giving you the edge. It’s a story-driven book, and only a small portion of the content covers the how-to of his method.

After his career with the FBI, Voss pursued a career in academia, working as an adjunct professor at Harvard and Georgetown. He is also the CEO of his organization, The Black Swan Group.

Ask for It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever

Publisher: Bantam Books
Year Published: 2009
Number of Pages: 336

The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, established his career with his wildly popular single, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” This message is so pervasive that it’s easy for a woman to believe that inequalities between the sexes are just the way of things and there’s nothing she can do about it.

Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever present a more hopeful message in their book, Ask for It. In large part, the inequality exists simply because women aren’t asking for things, and men are. Men tend to ask for raises, for better work opportunities, for the corner office, while women are more inclined to accept whatever is presented to them. This naturally results in huge disparities between the sexes in salary and career advancement.

This book is helpful for someone who suffers from “negotiation phobia.” It not only covers how to negotiate, but also what precludes women from asking.

Babcock and Laschever write that the voice of society tells women to be content with what they’ve received and not to ask for more. They encourage women to stop listening to this voice, and point out that someone who doesn’t negotiate leaves money on the table.

Then they get into the practicalities of how negotiation works. The book has four parts, including: Groundwork, Get Ready and Put It All Together (Go for It!). Some chapters include: Negotiation 101, Dress Rehearsal and The Closer. The appendix includes a six-step promotion process.

The authors recount the stories of dozens of women, making it interesting to read. Although perhaps there’s an overt careerist tone to the content, it does provide some great negotiating takeaways.

Ask For It was published on the heels of Babcock’s bestseller Women Don’t Ask. She’s a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Laschever coaches women on career development and career transition.

Negotiation Genius: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond by Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman

Publisher: Bantam Books
Year Published: 2008
Number of Pages: 352

A common caricature of a skilled negotiator is a person with a dominant, forceful personality who loves a good fight. Anyone without these characteristics may well conclude that negotiating just isn’t for them.

Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman fight against this notion in their book, Negotiating Genius. Negotiators aren’t born; rather, they’re made.

“One problem we’ve encountered is the belief that people are either good or bad at negotiation and little can be done to change that….we could not disagree more.”

Nor do they agree with a belief that negotiation is all about instinct; rather, it’s about strategy.

The book persuades the reader that negotiation is a skill that anyone can learn and develop, and it provides a framework to turn him or her into a “negotiating genius.”

Its lessons include identifying the “ZOPA” zone, the zone of possible agreement, and leveraging within this range.

The authors are Harvard professors and have researched negotiation for decades.

The text is pretty dense, but they begin with several true stories where characters overcome huge obstacles through deft and shrewd negotiation—but they don’t explain how until later in the book. This keeps you turning pages. Some readers even found the book gripping and couldn’t put it down.

The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump with Tony Schwartz

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year Published: 1987
Number of Pages: 384

“Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.”

From building The Trump Plaza and Casino in Atlantic City, to the Trump Tower and The Grand Hyatt in Manhattan, Donald Trump has indeed spent much of his time in the upper-echelons of real-estate deals.

Published in 1987, Art of the Deal stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 48 weeks, reaching #1 for 13 weeks. Even now, over thirty years later, it’s still a good read for anyone looking to sharpen her negotiation skills.

“You can’t be scared, you do your thing, you hold your ground, you stand up tall, and whatever happens, happens.”

In Art of the Deal, Trump retells the minutiae of his daily schedule, revealing how his deals begin, evolve and close. He takes a trust-your-gut approach to negotiation and doesn’t plan his days, but keeps them open to allow opportunities to present themselves.

“You can’t be imaginative or entrepreneurial if you’ve got too much structure.”

Much of this book is a memoir of Trump’s illustrious career, and chapter titles include: “Growing Up,” “The Move to Manhattan” and “Trump Tower: the Tiffany Location”

Trump served as the 45th President of the United States. He’s written several other books, including Think Like a Billionaire and The Art of the Comeback. Tony Schwartz is the CEO of The Energy Project.

Although the takeaways are written between the lines in Art of the Deal, many readers have benefited from learning Trump’s negotiation methods.

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury and Bruce Patton

Publisher: Penguin
Year Published: 2011
Number of Pages: 240

In Getting to Yes, authors Roger Fisher and William Fry argue for a “third way” of negotiation. It isn’t “soft” negotiating, which entails avoiding confrontation and conceding quickly. Nor is it “hard” negotiating, which entails running the other person down through sheer force of will.

This third way they call “principled negotiating,” in which “you look for mutual gains whenever possible, and that where your interests conflict, you should insist that the result be based on some fair standards independent of the will of either side…it shows you how to obtain what you are entitled to and still be decent.”

Their method is helpful for someone who’s shy of negotiating or who thinks it’s too aggressive. It advocates behaving civilly and not burning any bridges during a negotiation. It also covers how to negotiate when the other person is a crook.

The authors are Harvard professors and part of the Harvard Negotiation Process.

Getting to Yes was a best seller in 1981, and they came out with the third edition in 2011. It includes a section that answers common questions they’ve received since the initial publication, including: “What if the other side believes in a different standard of fairness?” and “How do I try these ideas out without taking too much risk?”

Although some readers find the examples dated, it’s a useful book for amping up your negotiation skills in daily life.

Checkers or Battleship

No one becomes an expert negotiator overnight. It’s like the piano. You don’t get good at it unless you sit down every night and work on those scales.

Opportunities to develop negotiation skills present themselves all the time, from hiring employees to buying a car to discussing dinner plans with a spouse. As Fisher and Ury write in Getting to Yes, “Every negotiation is different, but the basic elements do not change.”

Negotiating is about earning your share and getting what you deserve. It is so implicit to our everyday life, that it’s one of those life skills we can hardly afford to not develop.

So whether you’re discussing with your best friend forever whether to have surf or turf for dinner, or vying with conniving businessmen for the penthouse suite at the office building on town square, remember that you only get what you ask for. So make every effort to plan and strategize. Then sit down, and calmly and slowly talk it through.

So you want to start a business? That’s amazing. But before you take the plunge, gathering information from those who have gone before you is crucial.

To help guide you through your first few steps in business, we’ve put together a list of books about creating businesses – all written by experts who have been where you’ll be going soon enough.

To create radically successful businesses, you need to understand how to:

1. Come up with a profitable business idea
2. Acquire the necessary skills
3. Develop a business plan
4. Securing investment from outsiders
5. Competing against other businesses – and winning.

The books on this list will give you the skills you need to be a business owner and not just any business owner – a wildly successful business owner who can master small business growth.

The journey to starting your own business is an exciting one, but it’s also full of uncertainty. These books will give you the foundation of knowledge needed to succeed. So, let’s dive in!

1. One Simple Idea for Startups and Entrepreneurs: Live Your Dreams and Create Your Own Profitable Company

Author: Stephen Key
Publication Year: 2015
Number of Pages: 256

Stephen Key, an award-winning entrepreneur, and inventor has written a how-to guide on generating ideas for businesses. If you need help thinking of what business to start, this book is for you.

With Key’s straightforward advice and easy-to-follow process, you’ll be able to develop your idea, launch your business, and start making money right away. And with his helpful tips for managing and growing your new enterprise, you can be sure that your success will last long into the future.

Key, as an entrepreneur himself, has been on the ground floor of many businesses and he’s now sharing his expertise with you so that you can create your products. Creating, manufacturing, and selling your product does not require a large investment of money or expertise. All you need is a viable concept and the desire to make it happen.

Key Takeaways from One Simple Idea for Startups and Entrepreneurs:

• Come up with an idea, test it to see if it works, and then protect it so that no one can steal it from you.
• Prepare and launch your own business.
• Create a product, package it, market it, then sell it and make money.
• Manage and scale your business

2. Crushing it! How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence – and How You Can, Too

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk
Publication Year: 2018
Number of Pages: 288

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our generation. He’s the kind of thought leader who makes you feel like starting your own business is not only possible but easy.

He has created many businesses from the ground up. He started with his family’s wine business and then moved on to start several other companies. He’s a best-selling author, public speaker, and investor.

In his new book, he shares lessons from his own experiences and from the experiences of other entrepreneurs. He shows that a personal brand is essential to business success. And he provides tips on how to create a business model that will make you rich—personally and financially.

Crushing It! is a guide to help you achieve professional and financial success. However, it is not about becoming rich. It is about living life on your terms.

Gary has a unique perspective on business and branding, and he shares his insights in a relatable, down-to-earth way that makes it easy for others to follow his advice and achieve their dreams. If you’re looking for inspiration and practical advice on starting your own business, Gary Vaynerchuk is the man to listen to.

This book is super helpful for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to create a personal brand that sells. It’s also great for business owners who want to take their businesses to the next level.

Key Takeaways from Crushing It:

• Build a personal brand that will make you rich
• No need to start with a product to make money from your brand
• Create a business model that will make you even richer
• Use social media to build your brand and sell your products

3. Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works

Author: Melinda F. Emerson
Publication Year: 2010
Number of Pages: 272

Melinda Emerson is the founder and CEO of Quintessence Multimedia. She’s been a business coach for over 20 years and has started several businesses herself. In Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Emerson outlines a step-by-step plan to create a successful business.

Each month, leading to the launch, readers are given tasks to work on – from getting your personal life in order to build a great team to developing marketing strategies. This book is perfect for those who crave a structure and a plan to follow as they work on starting their business.

So, what makes Melinda qualified to write a book on starting your own business? For starters, she’s been there herself. She knows firsthand what it takes to get a business off the ground, from developing a business plan to recruiting employees and everything in between.

Additionally, she has helped countless other entrepreneurs launch their businesses, so she’s familiar with the challenges and obstacles they face. In other words, she knows what it takes to become your boss in 12 months – and she’s here to help you do it, too.

Reading this book is the equivalent of hiring a business coach, but for a fraction of the cost. It will help you map out your business plan and keep you on track each month. Plus, it’s written in an easy-to-read style, so you won’t get bogged down in boring details.

Key Takeaways from Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months:

• The book is written in a step-by-step style, with each month leading up to the launch of your business.
• It’s perfect for those who crave structure and want a plan to follow.
• The book covers everything from getting your personal life to building a great team and developing marketing strategies.
• It’s an easy read that won’t bog you down with boring details.

4. The Lean Start-Up: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses

Author: Eric Ries
Publication Year: 2011
Number of Pages: 368

The Lean Start-Up is a different kind of business book. It’s not about starting a business the traditional way, with a well-thought-out business plan and years of research. Instead, it’s about starting a business the lean way – with a minimal amount of resources and a maximum amount of flexibility.

Eric Ries, an American entrepreneur, blogger, and author, has come up with a new way to build startups that uses less money and gets more out of people’s creativity. This approach is based on the lessons he learned from leading startups as well as the principles of lean manufacturing, which focus on reducing waste.

This book helps entrepreneurs learn how to deal with uncertainty. You can do this by testing your ideas with a small product first often known as a Minimal Viable Product (MVP). This will help you learn and improve your ideas. This approach has been successfully used by many startups. The Lean Startup book is a well-known guide for entrepreneurs.

The Lean Startup offers a repeatable process. It’s super easy to learn. Essentially you need to figure out what customers want and then give it to them as quickly as possible. This process is called the build-measure-learn feedback loop.

Key Takeaways from The Lean Startup:

• Create an MVP to test and optimize your strategy.
• Validate your ideas with customers
• Iterate quickly on your product
• Use data to make decisions
• Maximize your chances of success

5. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!

Author: Al Ries and Jack Trout
Publication Year: 1993
Number of Pages: 160

Marketing is inevitable for any business, big or small. And while some may view marketing as a “dark art”, the fact is, it’s essential to the success of any business. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the basics of marketing and how to create a successful marketing strategy.

This book is a classic when it comes to marketing. It outlines 22 rules that companies use to be successful. If you want your products and company to be more successful, follow these rules.

Published in 1993, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing was written as a guide for companies on how to make their products successful internationally. You could aim big and try and compete with huge companies, but that would be a mistake. Instead, the authors advocate for finding a niche market and becoming the leader in that space.

Key Takeaways from The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing:

• Don’t worry about coming in the first place if you can’t. Just focus on being the first one people think of instead.
• You can avoid competition by creating your own category.
• Remember that each product comes with an opportunity cost.
• The goal of a startup is to figure out what customers want and will pay for as quickly as possible.
• Use MVPs to test your value and growth hypothesis quickly.

6. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Author: Clayton M. Christensen
Publication Year: 1997
Number of Pages: 336

Technology is essential for businesses to maintain a competitive edge, but it can also be an attractive disruption target.

The Innovator’s Dilemma makes a crucial distinction between “sustaining” and “disruptive” technologies and argues that even the most successful companies are at risk if they don’t recognize when a disruptive technology is threatening their business model.

It’s not easy to take down big businesses, but with Christensen’s framework, it is possible. The competitive edge of a startup is the flexibility and ingenuity to embrace new disruptive technologies.

Startups introduce new products into lower-margin markets. This can be a good way to upset the established markets of larger companies.

Startups can often outpace industry titans when it comes to disruption because they start in lower-margin niche markets. This is because the target customer often has different needs than the larger companies aim to serve.

Big companies are slow to serve these kinds of customers due to their size and rigidity. Their flexibility solely lies in their ability to acquire other companies with their acquired resources. But their values and processes are often incompatible, which can make it difficult and rigid.

Tesla is a perfect example of a company that disrupted the auto industry with its innovative electric cars and unique sales model of cars by order only.

Whereas big auto companies like GM have been trying to play catch up, Tesla was able to come in and quickly snag a large piece of the pie.

For GM to pass Tesla, they need to solve the innovator’s dilemma by giving their independent subsidiaries (if they have them) what they need to succeed.

The key takeaways from The Innovator’s Dilemma are:

• Sustaining technologies improve upon the performance of established products, while disruptive technologies target lower-end markets.
• Even the most successful companies can be disrupted if they don’t recognize when a new technology is threatening their business model.
• Startups have a competitive advantage when it comes to disrupting industries because they are more flexible and can embrace new technologies more quickly.
• If a company’s resources, processes, and values don’t match what the market wants, the company will not be successful.
• Market leaders can solve the innovator’s dilemma by acquiring or founding subsidiaries.

7. The Art of the Start 2.0

Author: Guy Kawasaki
Publication Year: 2014
Number of Pages: 288

The thought of starting your own business is both exhilarating and terrifying. Where do you even begin? What should you focus on? How do you prioritize when there are a million things to do? And how do you stay updated on changing trends?

Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start 2.0 is one of the best books out there for anyone starting their own business. Kawasaki has over three decades of experience in the business world, and he’s distilled his wisdom into this must-read guide.

The first edition of The Art of the Start was published in 2004, and a lot has changed in the intervening decade. Kawasaki addresses these changes head-on in the second edition, with new chapters on social media, open source, and crowdfunding.

But The Art of the Start 2.0 isn’t just about the nuts and bolts of starting a business. It’s also about mindset and motivation. Kawasaki urges entrepreneurs to focus on their mission, not just their product. He also talks about the importance of building a great team and creating a company culture that attracts top talent.

The Art of the Start 2.0 is a comprehensive and practical guide to starting your own business. If you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed, this is the book for you.

Key takeaways from The Art of the Start 2.0:

• As an entrepreneur, your first goal should be to create something meaningful, not just make money.
• Make a plan with your milestones, assumptions, and tasks to have a clear goal in mind from the start.
• Focus on mission over product and you’ll be more likely to create something that people want and need.
• Building a great team is essential to the success of your business

8. Rework

Author: Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Publication Year: 2010
Number of Pages: 288

The problem with getting stuck in your head is that it can happen very quickly. And if your like 99% of the population, once you’re stuck, it’s very difficult to get unstuck.

Rework shows you that you don’t need a lot of money to start your own business. Plans usually aren’t helpful, and people who work a lot of hours usually aren’t very productive. You should only hire or look for investors if you have no other choice.

Simplifying is your best friend, especially when getting started. The less you have to worry about, the better. You can always add on later, but it’s much harder to take away.

And finally, don’t be afraid to pick a fight. If you believe in what you’re doing, you need to be willing to fight for it. Whether that means going up against a competitor or simply standing up for your own beliefs, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

Rework is a quick read and full of useful information for anyone looking to start their own business. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how to be successful on their own terms.

Key takeaways from Rework:

• You don’t need a lot of money to start your own business.
• Plans can get in the way of movement.
• Hiring and investors should be a last resort.
• Simplification is your best friend.
• Don’t be afraid to pick a fight with competitors, if you believe in what you’re doing.