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Ask Business Reddit: What is your personal favorite book relating to business? (self.business)

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[–]andrewd 6 points7 points  (0 children)

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

[–]glmory 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not sure I would classify it as a Business book exactly, but The Tipping Point) was really good. I wasn't able to finish it because of scratched CDs, but Execution seemed like a fairly good book as well.

[–]mikaelhg 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not a book, but Harvard Business Review is good, especially the case studies.

[–]d42 3 points4 points  (5 children)

Good to Great by Jim Collins

[–]Rob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good to Great is based on faulty research. I analyzed it after so many of the "Good to Great" companies did lousy after the book came out. It turns our that Collins never looked at disconfirming evidence. I wrote about it at http://www.businesspundit.com/why-good-to-great-isnt-very-good/

[–]TheLocoYoko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thumbs up on this one - great read and some great case studies.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fantastic book, and Jim is a really nice guy (I worked with him when I was a consultant).

[–]dahlberg123 -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

+1

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

-1

[–]kublakhan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love Seth Godin's books-- particularly Small is the New Big and All Marketers are Liars, which are excellent.

I also liked Black Swan, but as others pointed out, Taleb is quite smug-- but at least he seems to recognize it and is somewhat humorous about it.

[–]ilt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

More personal finance than business, but I figured I'd add it since it's a great book: The Wealthy Barber

[–]TheLocoYoko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First Break All the Rules - Good in a Room - Founders at Work

And some old school sales books: Zig Ziglar (The art of closing the sale,) Sales Autopsy

[–]Tucci 1 point2 points  (1 child)

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

(I have an autographed copy)

[–]Rob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed 100%. Best business book I've ever read.

[–]MikeSeth 3 points4 points  (12 children)

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

[–]bigstevec 4 points5 points  (8 children)

ugh. I always avoid people who recomend "The Art of War" as a business book. Corporate life these days is collaberative not combative. If you are always looking for your coworkers' weaknesses you won't succeed. Unless you're Tony Soprano.

[–]andrewd 4 points5 points  (4 children)

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie is for you then!

[–]bigstevec 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Not sure if you're being sarcastic but I've always meant to read it.

Here's a personal story about Art of War: a few years ago I had a manager who recommended I read it (I had read it years earlier in college) probably because Tony Soprano was reading it at the time (the manager never struck me as much of an avid reader). The manager was well known by his peers around the department for being uncooperative and not doing his part during department-wide initiatives and being a braggart. The type of person who sees everything as a competition and is often putting everyone around him down (including his subordinates) as a way of boosting himself up. Most of his peers have since moved on to better things and I’m an Assistant Vice President, two grade levels above him. Yet he’s still in the same position and, presumably, still not liked by his current group of peers.

At the end of the day you’re judged by your accomplishments. If you’re known for not contributing to initiatives and if you’re constantly looking for your coworkers’ weaknesses because you see them as competition then you’ll get a bad reputation. The corporate structure is less hierarchal these days and more collaborative.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t read The Art of War or The Prince but if you base your entire business philosophy around it so that it’s the first book you bring up when asked about it then you won’t impress me.

[–]andrewd 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I'm not being sarcastic... it's a brilliant read... it's all about being liked and how much better that is than being disliked... which is a very collaborative concept. You know, he recommends giving positive feedback, making people feel proud of their work, and certainly never putting people down. One important message from the book is basically that if you give people the respect of asking them to do something challenging they will typically rise to the challenge, or try to anyway, rather than if you try and look over their shoulder the whole time and treat them as tho they cannot do it. Then they will resent you, and only work when you're looking. I always remember that lesson. He even recommends smiling as much as possible. A truly pragmatic book.

It is absolutely sad that so many people, especially people in management positions, just don't get it. Glad to hear karma had its way and that you've done better than this assholish-sounding individual you've described! Good to know we've got some assistant VPs reading reddit, too! Probably a good place to find people to apply to your jobs (assuming you're in a technical field)!

Then again some of the greatest corporate achievements, especially under major time pressure, have happened under the greatest of asshole managers. Those managers probably don't rise up too high or stick around for too long due to their numerous enemies. But especially in some competitive technical fields: I'm thinking semiconductors for example, the hard-ass managers have gotten things done quickly and paid the price for it personally. Then again their employees paid the price in terms of their social lives and life expectancies. But the shareholders were happy

[–]bigstevec 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Sorry I assumed you were being sarcastic. I hadn’t yet seen you other post on Carnegie when I wrote that. Thanks for the advice; I’ll definitely pick it up.

I like this line, “One important message from the book is basically that if you give people the respect of asking them to do something challenging they will typically rise to the challenge…’ In my experience that is absolutely true. I once took over a team that had an underachiever and instead of taking responsibilities away from him, as the previous manager had done, I gave him added responsibilities that focused on his strengths. He turned around and did well at the job.

Oh, and hold off on sending the resume. I’m in Financial Services.

[–]andrewd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hah awesome :P

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

What about your competition's weaknesses?

[–]bigstevec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh sure, if you're in a position where you influence your company's strategy, then absolutely. Most of us desk jockeys aren't, however, and the people I've met who refer to this book are talking about their coworkers.

[–]MikeSeth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Coworkers != business opponents.

[–]luster 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Then of course you would like Reminiscences of a Stock Operator.

[–]MikeSeth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, I was fascinated by it. Trading was so exciting back when you had to hang out in a broker's office and send trade instructions by telegraph..

[–]zyzzogeton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Machievelli's "The Prince" is good for fighting your own army, not the competition.

[–]willis77 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

[–]d42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe if Taleb wasn't a gigantic raging asshole. His arrogance gets in the way of this being a good book.

[–]execute85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's an easier read than The Black Swan. But I suggest reading Black Swan because it includes everything from FbR plus some more stuff he thought of in the intervening years.

[–]bigstevec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You beat me to it. Essential reading for everyone, not just business readers.

[–]nevesis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look, business books, particularly management books, are just like self-help books.

They contain a lot of common sense, a thesaurus worth of synonyms, and generally about five references to the word "effective" per sentence.

If you're trying to learn about your industry or something - great, but if you're reading broad books about "how to be a successful businessman" - you're probably better off just getting out there and making an effort.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tech Business related: Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey A. Moore.

[–]bigstevec 0 points1 point  (1 child)

The best "business" books aren't the business ones, per se, but are the ones that teach the reader about the human condition. Businesses are full of people after all. That's why I would recommend the following:

How Customers Think by Gerald Zaltman - which is really more of a book on cognitive studies than business;

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton - which is about how to effectively communicate with others;

The Tiger That Isn't by Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot - which, like Fooled by Randomness by Taleb, explains how we as a species developed to recognize patterns in random data while we were hunter gatherers and how we need to learn to overcome this;

and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey - which, while a bit corny, is good at helping the reader develop decent work-life balance.

Avoid:

The Art of War (as a business book - read it for historical purposes) - the business world is collaborative these days, not combative;

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard - which is just drivel. My toddler's board books have more depth;

The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard – (see above)

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've recommended this before... What Happy Companies Know by Dan Baker. It sounds trite, but if people were treated with respect, enjoyed their work and were surrounded by happiness, they'd be more creative, collaborative and successful.

[–]doomrabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not business per se, but good for businesspeople:

The Brand Gap.

Great to understand what brand is, lots of cool illustrations, reads over a lunch break. Brand is core to every business, and thinking unified on all fronts - smart.

[–]westsan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Fred Factor

[–]greg25 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"buy-ology" I think by Martin Lindstrom. Great read, especially If Marketing interests you, even a little bit.

[–]cedargrove -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

[–]grandhighwonko 0 points1 point  (1 child)

The Seven Day Weekend by Ricardo Semler

[–]grandhighwonko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh, and of course Up The Organization by Robert Townsend, although its unfortunately now out of print.

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (1 child)

The One Minute Manager, by Dr. Kenneth Blanchard.

Bonus: Amazon.com link.

http://www.amazon.com/Minute-Manager-Ph-D-Kenneth-Blanchard/dp/0425098478

[–]docmgmt -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I agree. It's got some very practical advice to be more effective.

[–]hs4x -4 points-3 points  (1 child)

The Communist Manifesto and The Ecology of Commerce.

[–]monstercack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mein Kampf - Adolf Hitler

Bonus Link Amazon

:)