1. Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler.

In this book, you will learn how not to be so defensive. The key line in the book is “Work on yourself first, others second.”
Hint: The audio CDs are even better than the book. Dave Epstein, my mentor when I was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Crosslink Capital, recommended this book to me.

2. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.

I love the subtitle of this book: Negotiating like your life depends upon it. Voss was the former head hostage negotiator for the FBI, so clearly he’s been in some high-pressure situations.

Voss gives you a very simple framework and rules to follow for negotiating. It’s part analytical and part psychological.

3. The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

If you’ve never read it, you’re probably wondering what you can learn from a 2,500 year-old book written about war? Plenty, of course, and not just about war. “Read this book once a year, and you won’t have to fight. - Ziya Boyacigiller”

4. Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove.

Grove’s message of always monitoring your competition to make sure they don’t overtake you, or you could find yourself dead is relevant in any era.

5. Traction by Gabriel Weinberg.

Traction is by far the best book written on how gain market traction. Everyone starting a company underestimates how difficult gaining traction will be. Traction will give you a systematic methodology for getting there.

6. The Innovators Dilemma by Clayton Christensen.

A must read for anyone even thinking about starting a company. There are a ton of useful nuggets about why small companies have an inherent advantage versus their larger competitors.

Christensen explains, with real life examples, the difference between a disruptive product and product extensions. He also explains, again with real life examples, market-entry strategies that are likely to work. Hint: It’s not what you think.

7. Critical Chain by Elyahu Goldratt.

Critical Chain is a great book on project management. Goldratt wrote another classic on manufacturing called, “The Goal”.

Critical Chain’s concepts help you manage projects, improve time to market, and keep your engineers happy.


8. Scientific Advertising By Claude Hopkins.

Hopkins, the godfather of modern advertising, wrote Scientific Advertising at the turn of the 20 Century. Hopkins revelation is that ads can be scientifically measured for success, so every feature a product has can be tested in ad for user preference. You did it with coupons in Hopkins day. Today, you use web-analytics.


9. The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen.

This is a great book on how to bootstrap yourself to dominating an industry. Cohen's biography of Sam Zemurray, "Sam, the banana man" is riveting; you will not want to stop reading. There are plenty of great nuggets for entrepreneurs in this story

10. Perenial Seller by Ryan Holiday.

For any “build it and they will come” people left standing, Holiday will give you a lot of data and reasons to change your thought process. You’ll come away with a step by step blueprint for how introduce any new project (be it a product, a book, or a company) you’re working on.



Watch out for part 3.

Have'nt read part 1? Read it hear: https://www.nairaland.com/4700411/business-minded-these-10-business.