best-selling business books of all time
Are you looking for inspiring and informative business books to add to your library? Our guide on the best-selling business books of all time is just the resource you need. Here, we have hand-picked and listed some of the most popular books in this genre published over the years. From timeless classics to modern bestsellers, these works explore key business strategies and offer operational insights into running a successful venture.
Reading bestselling business books can benefit your business in several ways. First, these books offer insights and practical strategies from successful entrepreneurs, leaders and experts in their fields. You can learn from their experiences and apply their wisdom to your own business. Second, they provide a fresh perspective and new ideas, which can help you think outside the box and stay ahead of the competition. Finally, reading business books helps to continuously educate and grow as a leader, as well as stay motivated and focused on your goals. Overall, reading bestselling business books is a great investment in yourself and your business’s success.
Key takeaway: Work on your business rather than in your business.
Michael Gerber gives easy-to-follow examples on how you should make standard operating procedures to consistently satisfy your customers. He also provides important metrics and reports to maintain the good health of your business. In The E-Myth Revisited, this will definitely save your business from shutting down.
Review: “This book literally changed my life. The E-Myth was the driving factor that took my small business which had been controlling my life and transformed it into a business I could run remotely.”
Key takeaway: Don’t use your mind as storage, use it for planning.
From The New York Times bestselling author David Allen, Getting Things Done is one of the most influential books of its era. If you are looking for a productivity book that perfectly details how to build a system for capturing ideas, then this one is definitely for you. GTD paves its way for aspiring businessmen by giving lessons about how to approach professional and personal tasks. As Allen writes, “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
Allen has rewritten this book from start to finish with the condition of the new workplace in mind, to make it more relevant and fresh for years to come. Truly, Getting Things Done will be welcomed by this generation — and even by the next generations to come.
Review: “This revolutionized my life!. The clarity and specific depth of insight and clear instructions have helped me to completely reorganize my office so that projects get completed and nothing backs up.”
Read: 30 Ways to Challenge Yourself Daily
Key Takeaway: Your growth is related to your confinement within the limits of your Hedgehog Concept.
This list won’t be complete without any Jim Collins title. What makes his works worth-the-read is he profiles large companies and the decision-makers behind them so excellently and meticulously.
Even ten years after the bestseller Good to Great, Collins still managed to come up with this groundbreaking work. And just like every book he has ever written, Great by Choice was so meticulously made and rigorously analyzed. This book must certainly be on top of your to-read list if you’re into engaging stories,
You may also want to check out Collin’s recent study titled Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great (2019). It can be paired nicely with Great by Choice, both of which are creatively thematic.
Review: “A sensible, well-timed and precisely targeted message for companies shaken by macroeconomic crises”
Read: 10 Keys to a Successful Life that are Proven Effective
Key Takeaway: “If you’re not keeping score, you’re just practicing.”
What I love about this book is how straightforward it can be. This gem tackles the 4 disciplines of execution — focus on the wildly important, act on the lead measures, keep a compelling, scoreboard, and create a cadence of accountability. By following these four disciplines, you will be able to render successful results, even though it requires a significant change in your team’s behavior.
Make sure to read this to discover why most entrepreneurs set delay measures for the goals they have no control over. This book also explains the importance of setting lead measures. Truly what every leader should read!
Review: “This book is about creating change, getting people to implement a new strategy by changing what they do through commitment rather than compliance.”
Key Takeaway: Everything leads back to knowing the “why”
I’ll start by saying that Start with Why is among the best leadership books that illustrate the new theory of success. Simon Sinek managed to compare the characteristics of successful people and find their common denominator, which is the driver behind their excellent leadership.
Start with Why argues that successful leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Steve Jobs only had little in common — all their questions started with why. Additionally, this book explained that all the greatest influencers act and communicate the same way — and it’s exactly the opposite of what we do.
Intriguing enough? Be sure to check this book out to satisfy your curiosity.
Review: “Start with Why is one of the most useful and powerful books I have read in years. Simple and elegant, it shows us how leaders should lead.”
Key Takeaway: Set your goals high…then exceed them!
Dr. Schwarts shares the secrets of success through The Magic of Thinking Big. What millions of readers (including me) love about this masterpiece is how Dr. Schwarts detailed the perfect method toward the path of success in every area of our lives. It doesn’t matter whether you are an intellectual or not, this book will promise you the habits of behaving and thinking, which are what cultivate success.
The Magic of Thinking Big is surely for those who want to find greater happiness and peace of mind.
Review: This book is a classic, the bible of success, and though over 60 years old is still found on the shelves of every bookstore you go into.
Read: 60 Productive Things to Do in Times of Crisis
Key takeaway: Instead of trying to beat your competitors focus on making them irrelevant by creating a vault in value for consumers and your company.
This perennial best-seller challenges what you thought you already knew about strategic success. Blue Ocean Strategy argues that ruthless competition only results in bloody rivalry over a merely shrinking profit. Instead of trying to beat your competitors, the authors claim that lasting success comes from creating “blue oceans.”
Moreover, Blue Ocean Strategy shows the systematic approach for organizations to create their own blue oceans. It also addresses the controversial questions that readers have been asking over the years.
Review: “Amazing and Innovative study material…It has made a difference in my career.”
Read: 30 Goals to Set for Yourself to Live a Better Life
Key takeaway: You can take any situation and make it work for you.
Dale Carnegie’s work stands the test of time for its time-tested advice and success secrets. How to Win Friends & Influence People will teach you the importance of building relationships in business and sales. Plus, this book is jam-packed with life-changing lessons, including ways to make people like you and how to change people without arousing resentment.
While this self-help book is instrumental for the socially awkward, it also aims to help businesses succeed in sales. That’s why this book deserves to have a place on your shelf for must-read business books.
Review: “If you’re having troubles in life and simply can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong, this is a fantastic place to start. Good luck on your journey!”
Key Takeaway: To start a great company, one must have a great idea.
Built to Last is the go-to business book if you want to discover new astounding ideas about companies. What makes this book different from the rest is that Collins and Porras managed to compare visionary companies and made an impeccable, well-written book out of it. They also studied every top company from their very beginnings up to the present day to find an answer to these questions: What makes exceptional companies different from the rest? And what are the common practices that these great companies followed throughout their history?
The amazing yet scary part that the authors pointed out in this book is that there are no right or wrong ideas — what matters is your purpose, vision, values, and passion.
Review: “Build to Last is one of the best business books you must read to help you accelerate towards your dreams”
Key Takeaway: Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable.
In this business book, Eric Ries takes us through a new approach that is more capital efficient and has leveraged human creativity more effectively. The Lean Startup is perfect for those who are determined to discover a successful path to building a perennial business. I’ll tell you what, even businesses across the globe have been adopting to The Lean Startup approach. So I’m confident enough to suggest this book to every entrepreneur- from aspiring to professionals.
This business book will offer suggestions and talk you through some of the innovative online business tools you can use for your business.
Review: “Eric has created a science where there was only art previously. A must-read for every serious entrepreneur—and every manager interested in innovation.”
Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” is a highly regarded business book that identifies the crucial trends between average companies and those that perform exceptionally well. It offers tangible, applicable advice for individuals and organizations to shift from being merely ‘good’ to dramatically improving their performance. With case studies, real-world examples and clear writing, the book demonstrates how any company can make the journey of taking it from good to great.
Stephen Covey’s renowned book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is a self-help classic with a framework for inspiring personal and professional development. Covey’s seven habits that are essential to reaching success and achieving happiness are being proactive, setting priorities, seeking win-win relationships and more. The book provides helpful implementation advice and exercises, making it the go-to read for those looking to improve their life and work productivity. Furthermore, its unchanging message holds relevance for both individuals and organizations alike.
“The Lean Entrepreneur” by Brant Cooper and Patrick Vlaskovits is a book that provides startup entrepreneurs with the tools they need to take their venture to the next level. The authors explain their lean approach, which focuses on rapid experimentation and iteration in order to validate and improve business ideas. Through an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide, they provide everything necessary for success – from developing a minimum viable product to gathering customer feedback and scaling. To top it off, useful case studies bring the principles outlined in the book to life. This must-read business book will help minimize risk while maximizing results.
“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman is a must-have business book for anyone wanting to really understand human behavior and decision-making. The work examines the two systems of thought that govern how people make decisions and the biases they may yield. And by delving deeper, it offers pragmatic approaches to overcoming these biases in order to reach better decisions. It is an important milestone in psychology and decision research.
“Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini is an essential business book that provides a deep dive into the art and science of persuasion. It explains six primary principles of influence — such as social proof, reciprocity, and authority — and outlines practical strategies for leveraging them to increase your ability to influence people. This book offers valuable insights and actionable tips to help salespeople, marketers, and anyone else looking to sharpen their persuasive skills. If you’re wanting to acquire a solid understanding of the psychology behind persuasion and master your ability to lead others, then this book should definitely be on your reading list!
Clayton Christensen’s “The Innovator’s Dilemma” is an essential business book for those interested in innovation, entrepreneurship and strategy. In the book, Christensen provides readers with a framework for understanding how disruptive technologies and business models can challenge established firms and presents strategies for confronting these challenges. This thought-provoking and enlightening work has forever changed the way businesses think about innovation, disruption and staying ahead of the curve.
Ben Horowitz’s “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” is a can’t-miss book for today’s business leaders and entrepreneurs. This comprehensive read provides real-world insights and practical advice on the difficult choices, trials and tribulations that arise when building a successful company. Drawing from his own experiences as the co-founder and CEO of multiple startups, Horowitz shares candid revelations and illuminating examples to help budding business owners develop leadership skills and take their companies to the top.
Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur’s seminal work “Business Model Generation” offers invaluable insights for entrepreneurs, innovators and small business owners. This book provides easy-to-follow steps to defining and testing a compelling business model, combining tools, techniques and actionable strategies. From creating a successful value proposition to identifying necessary resources and crafting a sustainable model – this book has it all. Whether you’re starting a new venture or improving an existing one, Business Model Generation is an essential read for anyone looking to succeed in the world of business.
“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni is an essential business book for anyone looking to build and sustain high-performance teams. Through clear definitions, real-world examples and practical advice, the author examines the five common dysfunctions that tend to undermine team performance: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. The book provides a valuable framework for understanding and tackling these issues so as to create a cohesive and effective team.
Daniel H. Pink’s “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” is a must-have business book for anyone looking to understand and increase motivation, performance, and satisfaction. Drawing from the latest research in the field of motivation, Pink reveals the importance of autonomy, mastery, and purpose for driving engagement. The book provides actionable insights into what truly motivates us in life and at work and challenges conventional wisdom with practical strategies for creating a more motivated workforce. A compelling and well-researched work, “Drive” is one of the best business books currently available.
If you’re launching a new product or technology into the market, Geoffrey Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” is an absolute must-read. With decades of experience in launching innovative tech products, Moore offers practical advice on how to bridge the gap between early adopters and your target market. The book provides timeless insights on the challenges and opportunities of technology adoption and outlines a comprehensive roadmap for successful marketing and sales strategies. It’s essential reading for any entrepreneur looking to bring their monetizable ideas to life!
“The 4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss is an iconic business book that provides invaluable insights into how to lead a more efficient, productive and meaningful life. In this groundbreaking tome, Ferriss outlines advanced strategies for streamlining workflows, leveraging technology, automating tasks and outsourcing in order to maximize happiness and success while creating more free time to pursue personal passions. A must-read for anyone looking to live life on their own terms, “The 4-Hour Work Week” provides a fresh perspective on how to balance productivity with enjoyment.
Jonah Berger’s “Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age” is an essential business book, providing readers with an understanding of and strategies for creating powerful word of mouth marketing programs. The book outlines six key principles for spreading contagious content and provides detailed advice for making products and services shareable in the digital age. If you are looking to build a successful word of mouth marketing strategy, this book is a must-read!
The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook by Michael L. George, John Maxey, and David T. is considered one of the best business books around. It offers an in-depth look at the methodology behind Lean Six Sigma, including the DMAIC process, control charts, and process maps to maximize efficiency in any organization. The book also provides real-world examples and case studies so readers can see how this approach has worked for other businesses. If you want to improve your organization’s performance, this comprehensive guide is a must read!
For anyone looking to master the art of money, “Money Master the Game” by Tony Robbins is the perfect book. This comprehensive guide provides valuable advice and step-by-step strategies to help readers take control of their finances, create and grow wealth, and achieve financial freedom. With insights into investing, diversification, and smart money management, this inspiring work makes it easy to gain a better understanding of personal finance — so you can start working towards your own financial independence today!
Looking to gain insights into how habits shape behaviour? “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg is considered one of the best business books out there. It dives into the science of habit formation, explores the neurological and psychological processes driving it, and provides practical strategies on how to form and break habits for lasting change. An informative and inspiring read that should be on your must-read list!
“The Power of Intentional Leadership”, by D. Scott DeRue and Kristina Workman, is the best business book to read if looking to enhance one’s intentional leadership skills. It outlines a comprehensive framework that is required to be an effective leader; this includes developing self-awareness, emotional intelligence and ethical decision making abilities. With actionable strategies, this book can aid in understanding the power of intentional leadership and its ability to shape organizational outcomes. An insightful and practical work that should not be overlooked.
If you’re in the business world and looking to gain a better insight into success, “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell is the perfect book for you! In this work, Gladwell examines how ideas such as individual talent and meritocracy don’t always exist in reality and explores the other determinates that lead to high achievement. He goes into detail about the various opportunities, culture backgrounds, and situations that can affect success. Through captivating stories and careful analysis, readers will gain a valuable new perspective on what creates success. It is essential reading for anyone trying to comprehend luck and circumstance’s role in our lives.
“Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson is widely praised as one of the best business books to read. This timeless fable follows two mice and two little people in a maze, and it delivers an insightful message about having the insight and courage to embrace change gracefully. With its easy-to-follow story, “Who Moved My Cheese?” offers rich wisdom on how to handle change and overcome fear of unknown opportunities. It’s a must-read for anyone facing big changes in life or work – this book guarantees to help you navigate through change with confidence!
“The 7 Steps to Freedom” provides a roadmap for financial success. Bob Proctor and Mary Morrissey cover all aspects of personal finance, from budgeting to investing. With clear instructions and practical exercises, readers can transform their relationship with money and reach financial freedom. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking financial stability and security.
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