There’s only one thing more powerful than a book, and that’s a real life expert mentor.
But you can’t order a second-hand mentor with second-day shipping from Amazon for the cost of a grande mochachino. Mentors also don’t take kindly to dogearing.
And if you devour a mentor in one sitting, you’re liable to end up with a wicked case of indigestion.
Books, on the other hand, lay out everything in a clear narrative, are easy to refer to, extremely portable, amenable to highlighting, dog earing, and writing “!!” in the margins. You can read a book over and over without driving it crazy. You can fall into an impromptu nap using a book as a sweet-smelling eyemask.
And there’s always more.
Now that I’m back on US soil, I’m having a field day on the Amazon marketplace.
If you ever wanted a peek inside my book brain, here’s your chance.
Books I’ve Just Ordered: Biz-Related
I’ll read anything, no matter how cheesy or sleazy it may seem. I have my own beliefs and ethics to guide me, so I’m not afraid of cheese or sleaze.
You never know when you’re going to find a gem hidden under a layer of grime, a gem nobody else will find because they’re too busy being huffy and superior.
So here’s what I’ve been buying lately:
- Raving Fans
- Service Magic
- Predictable Success (a term I use myself, and used before the book was published — fun!)
- Strategy Safari (another book that uses a term I use, Safari… which is half the reason I bought it)
- The Eureka Effect
- Sun Tzu: The Art of War for Managers
- Creating Your Future
- Earning Serendipity
- Burn Rate: How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet (a truly awesome book, and remarkably evergreen — this is just a replacement for the copy I left in Vienna, since it was big & heavy and $0.01 on the used marketplace!)
- Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs (one of many books I have on presenting/speaking/storytelling… always looking to up my game)
- IKEA: The Book (combo sexy design book / fascinating corporate history)
Thassalottabooks. (And doesn’t even include the ones that aren’t biz-related, sheer mountains of cheesy novels and narrative non-fiction.)
You can clearly see current topics I’m most interested in: customer service, customer service as marketing, making a successful workplace with employees (we’re growing!), strategy and insight:
Books I’m Reading or Just Read
And, of course, the newly done or in progress list:
- Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business (finished: nothing new for me, a veteran content marketer, but I highlighted a few sections to for ideas to use when teaching others)
- Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers (finished: light, fluffy, fun, inspiring, with a few good ideas I’m going to turn into a work sheet to help keep my writing & content fascinating)
- The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working (finished: excellent! felt like I highlighted half the book; am going to reread to take more notes and make solid plans for what to do in our own working lives/company/office)
- Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It (started but lost steam, it’s not a page turner; but the authors have coined & implemented Results-Only Work Environments & I’m interested in making one too, will fight thru it for the gems)
- Today We Are Rich (a touching story — and the premise hits home, but I’m already a believer in “giving like you’re rich” & have read more inspiring versions of it)
- Double Double: How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less (about a third of the way thru… jury’s still out)
- The Optimistic Life, Or, In The Cheering-Up Business (partway thru… I love vintage self-help and Marden is a forgotten master who has coined a lot of obscure terms I love, so I’m going to work my way thru his ouvre)
My Top 10 for Freelancers, Soloists & Hired Guns
Oh, and, if you’re a freelancer, consultant, or agency owner — or are thinking of becoming one — you definitely want to check out my top 10 list of great books for you. I wrote that one from experience.
It’s over on the Freckle Time Tracking blog.
What Are YOU Reading?
What’s your biz book habit look like? What topics are you currently investigating or trying to improve upon?
Tweet
Nice! Thanks for the peek!
Thanks for the great list! I will definitely check some of these books out.
I am currently reading “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh.
The first half tells the story of Tony’s life as an entrepreneur. From his first Lemonstand to becoming the CEO of Zappos. The second half shows how Zappos is doing business, why Customer Service is their most important issue and how you create a great company culture. It has been a good read so far.
Jürgen, I’ve wanted to read Delivering Happiness for some time, but thought it might be too fluffy even for me
But good to hear it’s good!
To me ‘The 50th Law’ by 50 Cent and Robert Greene is one of the best business books right now. It’s all about street smart, no bullshit approach and going in big time.
http://www.amazon.com/50th-Law-50-Cent/dp/006177460X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313858146&sr=8-1
I am an unabashed Robert Greene fan so I will check that one out!
Zomg! Books! Yay!
+1 on 50th law, amazing book. I’m a big 50 cent (the businessman) fan since reading it.
I’m into advertising atm:
Also, Get Rich by Felix Denis was instrumental in quitting my job and starting a business.
Hey Marc-Andre
“Influence” is also one of my faves. I too bought “Get Rich” by Felix Denis but haven’t read it yet!
I’ll put in a second vote for “Breakthrough Advertising.” I thought I had lost my copy and bought another, at the full price ($100ish) — that’s the sign of a great book! It was extremely gratifying to see him lay out his process and to find that it was so similar to mine, plus extra stuff I hadn’t thought of.
Mmmmm BOOKS!
Thanks! Your timing for this post couldn’t be better, I’m about to go on a 3 week road trip and was hunting for something new to read.
I’m just starting to get into business related books now that I have a long commute on SEPTA. Thanks for the lists, I’ll have to check them out.
“Get Rich” by Felix Dennis is super entertaining.
Reading “Shogun” by James Clavell; incredible page-turner about an englishman learning the ways of japanese culture society, war, and strategy in the 15/1600s.
If you’re interested in ROWE, check out Maverick and The Seven-Day Weekend by Ricardo Semler; he’s the grandfather of democratic companies. ROWE and Rework by 37S take a lot of inspiration from his success.
Here’s a link to whet your appetite:
http://www.cioinsight.com/index2.php?option=content&task=view&id=881099&pop=1&hide_ads=1&page=0&hide_js=1
Cheers,
Kareem
I just listened to ‘The Dip’ by Seth Godin and if you’re at a point where you have too many things on your plate or if you’re wondering what you need to cut so you can focus I recommend this http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-dip/id361926884?mt=11
Aaaaaaand wishlisted! Thanks!
I also wanted to recommend a recent read that mostly reflected a lot of conclusions I’ve come to recently, while providing a good philosophical and strategic basis. It’s called Early Retirement Extreme, and it’s basically a manifesto against the 9 to 5 and how it can be escaped with the right mindset: http://www.amazon.com/Early-Retirement-Extreme-philosophical-independence/dp/145360121X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1316694665&sr=1-1