Hand selected by Zenman founder Keith Roberts, these timeless books are for anyone: from those who are just starting out in the world of business all the way to readers who are at the highest level of management. These are the top 10 books every entrepreneur should read, and are great books to share amongst your team or in a leadership group. So feel free to sip on a cup of coffee or tea, and take steps towards your goals with the knowledge contained in these books.
Great by Choice
by Jim Collins
In a life full of uncertainty, how do some companies continue to thrive, not on chaos, but through it? After conducting a nine-year study, Jim Collins shares his insights to what separates the leaders from the rest of the pack when things are out of control.
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
by Marshall Goldsmith
“Everything you’ve ever done prepares you for it, but nothing you’ve ever done prepares you for it.” At the highest levels of management, there isn’t much further to go, but only a few will get to the very pinnacle. In this book, executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shares the 20 behaviors that stifle even the most successful managers and what changes you should make starting today.
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The Surrender Experiment
by Michael A. Singer
What if you surrendered to the flow of life, learned to ignore what is constantly going on in your head, and just let life guide you instead? Sounds crazy, right? Well, think again. In his “experiment,” NY Times best-selling author Michael A. Singer (Untethered Soul) shares how things took a turn for the better when he embarked on this journey of meditation and committed to trusting what life sent his way. The Surrender Experiment is Mickey’s 40-year journey into the flow of life, and what happened every time he put his ego aside and surrendered instead, including starting a spiritual community and selling a billion-dollar company.
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Let My People Go Surfing
by Yvon Chouinard
Let My People Go Surfing is the portrait of a young Yvon Chouinard, who discovered his calling on Yosemite’s big walls as an equipment innovator and went on to change climbing forever as an entrepreneur. In this “blueprint” for creating all facets of responsible business, Chouinard expresses deep concerns about the planet’s health in the face of climate change and how he brought doing good into the heart of his business, Patagonia.
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The Obstacle Is The Way
by Ryan Holiday
Obstacles don’t inhibit success, in fact, they create success. In his third book, Ryan Holiday shares the reasons he says icons from John D. Rockefeller to Steve Jobs have found success turning obstacles into opportunities. Holiday draws from Roman Emperor Aurelius and the philosophy of stoicism to expand the idea that faced with impossible situations, how we respond to is what indeed defines us. This book reveals the “formula” to their success and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage.
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How To Win Friends And Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie’s time-tested advice has helped countless people find success and happiness. One of the most timeless bestsellers of all time, How to Win Friends & Influence People has today become a business person essential. HTWFAIP will teach you how to handle people, make people like you, ways to win people to your way of thinking, and so much more.
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The Startup Playbook
by David Kidder
In The Startup Playbook, New York Times bestselling author David Kidder, shares the compelling experiences of some of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs and CEOs, revealing their most closely held advice. With face-to-face interviews founders give readers key insights into what it took to build mega-brands like PayPal, LinkedIn, TED, and many others into household names. Topics include how to select the right idea to pursue, to finding funding and overcoming inevitable obstacles. In today’s economy, The Startup Playbook is a go-to for entrepreneurs big and small.
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Mastering the Rockefeller Habits
by Verne Harnish
What are the underlying fundamentals that are still relevant today in building a successful firm? For John D. Rockefeller it was the consistent application of a set of habits that are as critical today as they were when he revolutionized the petroleum industry. This book is a compilation of best practices adapted from some of the world’s best-run firms, easy-to-use tools for making strategically smart decisions and for keeping everyone aligned and accountable to those decisions.
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The Goal
by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
The Goal is a gripping novel will transform the way you think about management. The book follows Alex Rogo, a manager working desperately to improve performance at his plant. His factory is rapidly heading for disaster and so his personal life. He only has 3 months to save his plant – or it will be closed permanently, with hundreds of layoffs. The story of Alex’s fight to save his plant is more than compelling, but contains a serious message for all managers and focuses on the ideas which underline Theory of Constraints developed by Eli Goldratt, bottlenecks and how to alleviate them, and applications of these concepts in real life.
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Traction
by Gino Wickman
Do you have a grip on your business, or does your business have a grip on you? Inside Traction, Gino Wickman introduces the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, a practical method for achieving the business success you have always wanted. You’ll learn the secrets of strengthening the key components of your business and discover powerful ways to run your company with more focus, growth, and enjoyment.
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