Really good (but obscure) business books?

[ChrisV]

"do the work" by steven pressfield

It sounds like you desperately need it , the CEO of a fortune 500 company wouldn't be able to utilize 40 to 60 business books a year. Thats action faking to the max.

You realize a lot of us use Audiobooks right? We have to drive somewhere and just put on an audiobook. There's a false dichotomy here: either read, or work on your business. In reality you can easily do both.

 

[Dan_Cardone]

"do the work" by steven pressfield

It sounds like you desperately need it , the CEO of a fortune 500 company wouldn't be able to utilize 40 to 60 business books a year. Thats action faking to the max.

I'm sorry you lack the necessary time management and/or reading speed to both read books and work on your business.

30 minutes a day can easily add up to one book a week. Little less netflix, little more reading.

 

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[MTF]

For the short of time CEO's out there that want a visual condensed version (warning it's a little cheesy):

Here are some great, obscure or just not as recognized as they should be, titles:

• anything by Jay Abraham (most notably Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got and The Sticking Point Solution) - he's by far the best business strategy expert out there,
• Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia - many interesting thoughts on how to do business in a different, more ethical and thought-out way,
• anything by Richard Koch about the 80/20 principle - he's not that obscure, but I think that his books other than The 80/20 Principle are not getting enough recognition and they provide some additional interesting insights,
• 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall - similar topic as Richard Koch, but a different take on it,
• How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis - I guess some might argue it's not obscure, but I think that because he was a UK businessman, his book isn't really that known in the US while it's a great, honest perspective on business and philosophy with some very valuable lessons.

 

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[TonyStark]

Business @ The Speed of Thought by Bill Gates is an absolute goldmine!

Probably one of my favorite business books out there.

 

[MHP368]

Ah well, egg in my face.

Sorry for being a raging a**hole everyone.

 

[Kak]

I started reading biographies...

If you haven't read anything from Ayn Rand... You will love it.

Try-
John D Rockefeller
Andrew Carnegie
Cornelius Vanderbilt
JP Morgan
Sam Walton
Warren Buffett
T Boone Pickens
Koch Brothers

Now I am on to a bit of history:

Currently reading "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."

And economic theory:
F A Hayek
Robert Nozick

 

[MHP368]

"do the work" by steven pressfield

It sounds like you desperately need it , the CEO of a fortune 500 company wouldn't be able to utilize 40 to 60 business books a year. Thats action faking to the max.

 

[MHP368]

Yeh ok , and how many corporations are you guys the executive officer of?

None? Maybe instead of reading about business you should engage in it. Thats all i'm saying.

Read "do the work" pretty short , doesn't pull punches , for some people the resistance is something obvious like too many video games. For plenty of folks its piddling around on entrepreneur forums and reading books about systematizing and outsourcing and all that.

Get a business that makes money and then read a book neccesary to solve a problem , I guarantee if you have a break through and make a solid company 95% of all that reading wont have applied.

Heres a little reality check , without opening the book can you summarize the...lets say 3rd to last book you read? What did you read in june and how did that apply to your journey? What about may 2018?

Your keeping notes right? Maybe flashcards?

No? , My thats a lot of wasted time.

Whats thats saying? "If more information was the answer we'd all be billionaires with six pack abs"

 

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[Digamma]

Read biographies of the greats.

Worthy of note:

• Napoleon: A Life by Roberts.
• Caesar: Life Of A Colossus by Goldsworthy.

 

[Dan_Cardone]

I read around 40 - 60 business and business rated books a year. In fact, on amazon now almost all the suggested books are books I have already read.

What are some lesser know business books that are worth a read?

I know its a bit vague but just throw some suggestions out there.

Thanks!

 

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[G. Wellthy]

Moreso on wealth than business but:

Every Family’s Business by Thomas Deans

The premise is that every family business must be built to be sold. And if, IF, transitioned to the next generation, it should be sold to them.

Family Wealth by James Hughes redirected my career.

A super famous book here on Canada The Wealthy Barber probably isn’t going to add any value to you. And may have already made your hit list.

The Goal is an operations focussed business fable that I’m sure made your hit list.

 

[RazorCut]

Great thread. We usually get the same books quoted over and over.

A couple of short ones with very strong messages:

Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life: Amazon.co.uk: Johnson, Dr Spencer: 8601404197116: Books

Buy Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life 1 by Johnson, Dr Spencer (ISBN: 8601404197116) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

For the short of time CEO's out there that want a visual condensed version (warning it's a little cheesy):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOUeHPS8A8g&t=4s


I can't find the second one (it's rather obscure) so I'll add it when find as short on time this morning.

 

[broswoodwork]

Napoleon

That gave me an idea. The Military Maxims of Napoleon Bonaparte, Infantry Attacks by Irwin Rommel, and A Book of Five Rings by Miyamato Musashi.

 

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[rollerskates]

Not "business" but extremely helpful in business:

The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

 

[eliquid]

Something that escaped a lot of you ( maybe, maybe not ) is that many people use the word "read" in place of "I actually just listened to it on audio".

I am not saying everyone does, but I learned a lot of people that claim many books a month ( 3-5 ) are actually listening to them and not reading.

Does it matter? No. But just letting this out for those of you wondering how it is done. For some reason they still state they "read" when in fact it's audio books.

 

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[Dan_Cardone]

The one business book i've read was a small obscure book. I read it in one sitting.

It didn't taught me a lot about business.

But it taught me a lot about "business books".

And if you are seeking enlightenment you won't find any.

This book was biography of author that sold 100 mln books.

You probably know the name of this author.
I'll let you guess.

P.S. If didn't catch it, the moral of the story is that business books
are one of the biggest scam of 20th and 21st century.

Thats a bold statement.

Are many of them bad? Yep.

Some of them, however, are pretty good.

My first six figures came directly from taking action on a few books I read.

 

[broswoodwork]

I read around 40 - 60 business and business rated books a year. In fact, on amazon now almost all the suggested books are books I have already read.

What are some lesser know business books that are worth a read?

I know its a bit vague but just throw some suggestions out there.

Thanks!

I was an avid reader of western lit before I piled myself in work, and when I started running low on classics for the wishlist, I began exploring Indian, Middle Eastern, and Chinese literature.

Maybe there are some international titles that are huge with business men in other parts of the world that are obscure here? What's the Japanese equivalent to E-Myth, or the Indian Scientific Advertising?

Just a thought, because I know I'm not going to have any western titles you haven't read with numbers like that.

 

[MoneyHacker]

That gave me an idea. The Military Maxims of Napoleon Bonaparte, Infantry Attacks by Irwin Rommel, and A Book of Five Rings by Miyamato Musashi.

A Book of Five Rings is awesome. You remind me of the time reading it along with The Prince and The Art Of War.

 

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[SEBASTlAN]

Uncertainty by Jonathan Fields
Axiom by Bill Hybels

 

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[csalvato]

"do the work" by steven pressfield

It sounds like you desperately need it , the CEO of a fortune 500 company wouldn't be able to utilize 40 to 60 business books a year. Thats action faking to the max.

Here's How Many Books the Average CEO Reads Yearly — And What They're Reading

A well-lined bookshelf may be the key to success.

fairygodboss.com

https://www.inc.com/brian-d-evans/most-ceos-read-a-book-a-week-this-is-how-you-can-too-according-to-this-renowned-.html

The average CEO reads 60 books a year or 5 a month...

 

[ChrisV]

I have bit of a meta-answer: have you considered rating books on Goodreads? then it uses an algorithm to pick out books you might like, which is more book-centric than Amazon's

 

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[csalvato]

Yeh ok , and how many corporations are you guys the executive officer of?

None? Maybe instead of reading about business you should engage in it. Thats all i'm saying.

Read "do the work" pretty short , doesn't pull punches , for some people the resistance is something obvious like too many video games. For plenty of folks its piddling around on entrepreneur forums and reading books about systematizing and outsourcing and all that.

Get a business that makes money and then read a book neccesary to solve a problem , I guarantee if you have a break through and make a solid company 95% of all that reading wont have applied.

Heres a little reality check , without opening the book can you summarize the...lets say 3rd to last book you read? What did you read in june and how did that apply to your journey? What about may 2018?

Your keeping notes right? Maybe flashcards?

No? , My thats a lot of wasted time.

Whats thats saying? "If more information was the answer we'd all be billionaires with six pack abs"

your attitude is shit. You will never be able to lead a team effectively if this is how you handle being confronted with a fact that proves you incorrect.

 

[GoodluckChuck]

Data Driven Marketing

This book gives you the building blocks of any modern sales and marketing system.

It's like learning a programming language for business.

 

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[ChrisV]

Not a book, but check these out:

Amazing Free Online Class from PBS: CrashCourse Entrepreneurship – Check It Out! (+ other great courses)

This is one of my absolute favorite channels. There was this amazing channel that posted entire college-level courses online for free. They became so popular that PBS bought them, and now it's owned by PBS. Ever since PBS bought them, they've been putting out even more amazing content. The...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Guest24480]

Jay Abraham was the first author that came to mind and was glad to see him suggested here. It's the type of stuff that you need to go back and read over more than once. The ideas are more abstract than your average business book, but also packed with excellent examples. Granted I've only read one of his books, forget which one.

 

[AniM]

Here are some in the Sales and Marketing category

System Secrets by Ken McCarthy (about online marketing)
The System Club Letters by Ken McCarthy (about business in general)
Overdeliver by Brian Kurtz (about direct response marketing)
The Secret Of Selling Anything by Harry Browne (best sales book I've read)
Ben Settle's Villains Books (3 short books on persuasion)

A couple general ones:
Obvious Adams (a great short story)
A Technique For Producing Ideas (about using the subconscious mind)
How an Economy Grows And Why It Crashes by Peter Schiff (a short story with illustrations about how our economy and monetary system work)

These are all books I'll be returning to over and over again. Hopefully I can spread the good word to a few people.

 

[StrikingViper69]

Since you're our social sciences person...
Any studies into the effectiveness/retention of audiobooks vs traditional books?
I'm guessing it depends on learning style of the individual? I know there's been a lot of research into learning styles, so I'm assuming any studies would mirror that.

I heard you can boost retention by reading the book while listening to the audio, so it's as if the author is narrating the book to you.

 

[awestbro]

I heard you can boost retention by reading the book while listening to the audio, so it's as if the author is narrating the book to you.

I bought an iPad this month. Having kindle side by side with a handwritten note taking app is doing wonders for my information retention.

 

[Tommo]

on the 'how can you read so many books' topic, according to the netflix documentary, Bill Gates reads 150 pages/hour, and will read 15 books on a short trip. The person being interviewed about him says that he retains 90 percent of what he reads. I believe it based on other stories I've read about him.

Some people can read a lot, and retain almost everything they read. I'm not one of them. I'll read 1-2 books a month.

My book recommendation: The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. The author is highly experienced in business. Every other word is wisdom itself. His main point? Spend 3 hours a week in "Thinking Time." Each of his short chapters in the book is centered around a topic for your to consider during Thinking Time. At the end of each chapter is a list of questions for you to work through.

Great book, halfway through it myself thanks for recommending it

 

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[G. Wellthy]

Yeh ok , and how many corporations are you guys the executive officer of?

None? Maybe instead of reading about business you should engage in it. Thats all i'm saying.

Read "do the work" pretty short , doesn't pull punches , for some people the resistance is something obvious like too many video games. For plenty of folks its piddling around on entrepreneur forums and reading books about systematizing and outsourcing and all that.

Get a business that makes money and then read a book neccesary to solve a problem , I guarantee if you have a break through and make a solid company 95% of all that reading wont have applied.

Heres a little reality check , without opening the book can you summarize the...lets say 3rd to last book you read? What did you read in june and how did that apply to your journey? What about may 2018?

Your keeping notes right? Maybe flashcards?

No? , My thats a lot of wasted time.

Whats thats saying? "If more information was the answer we'd all be billionaires with six pack abs"

I’m surprised you naturally lean/assume failure in your fellow fastlaner... that doesn’t seem necessary or even productive.

Agree we all need to push harder at times, I’m just surprised by the tone.