The 99 Best Business Books - Recommended Reading List

BY JOSH KAUFMANMBA programs don’t have a monopoly on advanced business knowledge: you can teach yourself everything you need to know to succeed in life and at work. The Personal MBA features the very best business books available, based on thousands of hours of research. So skip business school and the $150,000 loan: you can get a world-class business education simply by reading these books.

This page lists all Personal MBA recommended books and resources for easy

printing, bookmarking, and reference. For more information about the PersonalMBA and

book selection criteria, read the manifesto. Purchasing books through this website helps

support the Personal MBA’s ongoing research. See my disclosures for details.

Here are the 99 business books the Personal MBA officially recommends… click on the title to read a detailed description of each book and why it’s important.START HERE: The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

The Personal MBA is a comprehensive overview of everything you’ll

learn reading the books on this list – it’s now an international bestseller.

I wrote this book to summarize the most important concepts in business,

psychology, and systems theory. Istrongly recommend reading this book

first – you’ll get much more from the books on this list if you learn the most

important concepts first. Learn more…

Business Creation

Go It Alone  by Bruce Judson (review) The Lean Startup  by Eric Ries (review) The Knack  by Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham (review, audio) Ready, Fire, Aim  by Michael Masterson (review, audio) Escape from Cubicle Nation  by Pamela Slim (review, audio) Bankable Business Plans  by Edward Rogoff (review)

Value-Creation & Testing

Rework  by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (review, audio) The New Business Road Test  by John Mullins (review) How to Make Millions with Your Ideas  by Dan Kennedy (review)

Marketing

All Marketers Are Liars  by Seth Godin (review, audio) Permission Marketing  by Seth Godin (review, audio)

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing  by Al Ries & Jack Trout (review, audio) Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got  by Jay Abraham (review)

Sales

The Psychology of Selling  by Brian Tracy (review) Pitch Anything  by Oren Klaff (review) The Ultimate Sales Machine  by Chet Holmes (review, audio) Value-Based Fees  by Alan Weiss (review) SPIN   Selling  by Neil Rackham (review, audio)

Value-Delivery

Indispensable  by Joe Calloway (review) The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement  by Eliyahu Goldratt (review, audio) Lean Thinking  by James Womack and Daniel Jones (review, audio)

Finance & Accounting

Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs  by Karen Berman and Joe Knight (review) Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits  by Greg Crabtree (review) The 1% Windfall  by Rafi Mohammed (review) Accounting Made Simple  by Mike Piper (review) How to Read a Financial Report  by John A. Tracy (review) Venture Deals  by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (review)

The Human Mind

Thinking, Fast and Slow  by Daniel Kahneman (review) Brain Rules  by John Medina (summary, review, audio) Making Sense of Behavior  by William T. Powers (summary, review) Driven  by Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria (summary, review, audio) Deep Survival  by Laurence Gonzales (review, audio)

Productivity & Effectiveness

Getting Things Done  by David Allen (summary, review, audio) The Power of Full Engagement  by Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz (summary, review, audio) StrengthsFinder 2.0  by Tom Rath (summary, review) Bit Literacy  by Mark Hurst (summary, review) 10 Days to Faster Reading  by Abby Marks-Beale (summary, review)

Problem Solving

The 80/20 Principle  by Richard Koch (summary, review, audio) Accidental Genius  by Mark Levy (review) Learning from the Future  by Liam Fahey & Robert Randall (review)

Behavioral Change

The Power of Less  by Leo Babauta (summary, review, audio) The Path of Least Resistance  by Robert Fritz (review) Re-Create Your Life  by Morty Lefkoe (review) Self-Directed Behavior  by David L. Watson & Roland G. Tharp (review)

Decision-Making

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions  by Gary Klein (review) Smart Choices  by John S. Hammond et al (review) Ethics for the Real World  by Ronald Howard & Clinton Korver (review)

Communication

On Writing Well  by William Zinsser (review, audio) Presentation Zen  by Garr Reynolds (review) Made to Stick  by Chip and Dan Heath (review, audio) The Copywriter’s Handbook  by Robert Bly (review) Show Me The Numbers  by Stephen Few (review)

Influence

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion  by Robert B. Cialdini (review) How to Win Friends and Influence People  by Dale Carnegie (review, audio) Crucial Conversations  by Kerry Patterson et al (review, audio) The 48 Laws of Power  by Robert Greene (review, audio)

Negotiation

Bargaining For Advantage  by G. Richard Shell (review) 3-D Negotiation  by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius (review, audio) The Partnership Charter  by David Gage (review, audio)

Management

First, Break All The Rules  by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman (review)

12: The Elements of Great Managing  by Rodd Wagner & James Harter (review, audio) Growing Great Employees  by Erika Andersen (review) The Essential Drucker  by Peter F. Drucker (review)

Leadership

Tribes  by Seth Godin (review, audio) Total Leadership  by Stewart Friedman (review, audio) What Got You Here Won’t Get You There  by Marshall Goldsmith (review, audio) The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan  by George Bradt et al (review) The Halo Effect  by Phil Rosenzweig (review, audio)

Project Management

Making Things Happen  by Scott Berkun (review) Results Without Authority  by Tom Kendrick (review, audio)

Systems

Thinking in Systems  by Donella Meadows (review) Work the System  by Sam Carpenter (review)

Analysis

Turning Numbers Into Knowledge  by Jonathan Koomey (review) Marketing Metrics  by Paul W. Farris et al (review) The Economist Numbers Guide  by Richard Stuteley (review)

Statistics

Thinking Statistically  by Uri Bram (review) How to Lie with Statistics  by Darrell Huff (review)

Corporate Skills

The Unwritten Laws of Business  by W.J. King (review, audio) The Effective Executive  by Peter Drucker (review, audio) The Simplicity Survival Handbook  by Bill Jensen (review) Hire With Your Head  by Lou Adler (review)

Corporate Strategy

Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies  by Nikos Mourkogiannis (review) Competitive Strategy  by Michael Porter (review, audio) Blue Ocean Strategy  by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne (review, audio) Seeing What’s Next  by Clayton M. Christensen et al (review, audio)

Creativity & Innovation

The Creative Habit  by Twyla Tharp (review) Myths of Innovation  by Scott Berkun (review) Innovation and Entrepreneurship  by Peter F. Drucker (review, audio)

Design

The Design of Everyday Things  by Donald Norman (review, audio) Universal Principles of Design  by William Lidwell et al (review)

Consulting

Getting Started in Consulting  by Alan Weiss (review) Secrets of Consulting  by Gerald M. Weinberg (review)

Personal Finance

Your Money or Your Life  by Joel Dominguez & Vicki Robin (review, audio) The Millionaire Next Door  by Thomas Stanley & William Danko (review, audio) I Will Teach You To Be Rich  by Ramit Sethi (review, audio) Fail-Safe Investing  by Harry Browne (review)

Personal Growth

Lead the Field  by Earl Nightingale (review, audio) The Art of Exceptional Living  by Jim Rohn (review, audio) A Guide to the Good Life  by William Braxton Irvine (review)