business plan books best sellers

40 OF THE BEST BUSINESS BOOKS TO READ

HBR Press publishes the best business books that set the agenda for organizations and leaders around the world. Here you will find some of our best selling titles that have strongly resonated with our readers. Each book will strengthen your management skills and help you get the results you need in business and beyond. A successful career starts here with these top selling books from HBR.

TIMELESS BEST SELLERS

New classics, practical skills, ceo and executive voices, essential wisdom from hbr, the first 90 days: proven strategies for getting up to speed faster.

In this updated and expanded version of the international bestseller The First 90 Days , Michael Watkins offers proven strategies for conquering the challenges of transitions--no matter where you are in your career. Whether you're starting a new job, being promoted from within, embarking on an overseas assignment, or being tapped as CEO, how you manage your transition will determine whether you succeed or fail. Use this book as your trusted guide.

Leading Change

Millions worldwide have read and embraced John Kotter's ideas on change management and leadership. Needed more today than at any time in the past, this immensely relevant book serves as both a visionary guide and a practical toolkit on how to approach the difficult yet crucial work of leading change in any type of organization.

Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant

In this perennial bestseller, globally preeminent management thinkers W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne challenge everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success. Based on a study of 150 strategic moves (spanning more than 100 years across 30 industries), the authors argue that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating "blue oceans"--untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.

The Innovator’s Dilemma, with a New Foreword: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

In this classic bestseller--one of the most influential business books of all time--innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right yet still lose market leadership. Now with a foreword by Marc Benioff, the cofounder and CEO of Salesforce, Christensen explains why most companies miss out on new waves of innovation.

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

Playing to Win, a noted Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestseller. This is A.G. Lafley's guidebook. Shouldn't it be yours as well? It outlines the strategic approach Lafley, in close partnership with strategic adviser Roger Martin, used to double P&G's sales, quadruple its profits, and increase its market value by more than $100 billion when Lafley was first CEO (he led the company from 2000 to 2009).

Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean

Inc. magazine calls it one of "the best, clearest guides to the numbers" on the market. Readers agree, saying it's exactly "what I need to know" and calling it a "must-read" for decision makers without expertise in finance. Accessible, jargon-free, and filled with entertaining stories of real companies, Financial Intelligence gives nonfinancial managers the confidence to understand the nuance beyond the numbers--to help bring everyday work to a new level.

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

It's time to redefine the CEO success story. Meet eight iconoclastic leaders who helmed firms where returns on average outperformed the S&P 500 by over 20 times. Drawing on extensive research, author Will Thorndike tells many of these leaders' stories for the first time--and extracts lessons for those of you hoping to lead your company to exceptional returns today.

Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Change

It's exciting to think of leadership as all inspiration, decisive action, and rich rewards, but leading requires taking risks that can jeopardize your career. In this classic, renowned leadership experts Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky show how it's possible to make a difference in your organization without getting “taken out” or pushed aside. Through vivid stories from all walks of life, the authors present straightforward strategies for navigating the perilous straits of leadership.

Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence

This is the book that established "emotional intelligence" in the business lexicon--and made it a necessary skill for leaders. Managers and professionals across the globe have embraced Primal Leadership , affirming the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership. The book and its ideas are now used routinely in universities, business and medical schools, professional training programs, and by a growing legion of professional coaches.

Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization

In Immunity to Change, authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey show how our individual beliefs--along with the collective mind-sets in our organizations--combine to create a natural but powerful immunity to change . By revealing how this mechanism holds us back, Kegan and Lahey give us the keys to unlock our potential and finally move forward.

Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World

AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Authors Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani show how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have restricted business growth for hundreds of years.

Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems

When Facebook made "Move fast and break things" an informal company motto, it fueled a widely held belief that we can either make progress or take care of people, one or the other. Leadership experts Frances Frei and Anne Morriss argue that this belief is deeply flawed--and that it keeps you from building a great company. Helping executives and entrepreneurs solve their toughest problems over the past decade, Frei and Morriss learned that the trade-off between speed and excellence is false.

Real-Time Leadership: Find Your Winning Moves When the Stakes Are High

The hardest part of leadership is mastering the inevitable high-risk, high-stakes challenges you will face. Whether you're making a split-second decision when your business is knocked sideways or you're finding the best strategy to navigate business-critical long-term circumstances, how can you be in peak form in those most crucial moments? Leadership coaching legends David Noble and Carol Kauffman show you how with their innovative new framework--MOVE--which equips you with the tactics you need to slow down high-stakes situations before they speed you up.

Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence

Written by three eminent economists, Prediction Machines recasts the rise of AI as a drop in the cost of prediction and lifts the curtain on the AI-is-magic hype to show how different industries can benefit from it. The impact of AI will be profound, but as this book shows, the economic framework for understanding it is surprisingly simple.

The Three Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation

Leaders already know that innovation calls for a different set of activities, skills, methods, metrics, mind-sets, and leadership approaches. And it is well understood that creating a new business and optimizing an already existing one are two fundamentally different management challenges. The real problem for leaders is doing both, simultaneously. How do you meet the performance requirements of the existing business--one that is still thriving--while dramatically reinventing it?

Love and Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life

In his new book, world-renowned researcher and New York Times bestselling author Marcus Buckingham helps us discover where we're at our best — both at work and in life. In understanding our unique strengths and loves, we can choose the right role on a team, mold our existing roles so it calls on our very best, and as leaders, make lasting change for our teams and organizations.

The Unicorn Within: How Companies Can Create Game-Changing Ventures at Startup Speed

Imagine if the multinational hotel groups had founded Airbnb, or the big auto companies had launched Uber and Tesla, or Blockbuster had created Netflix. In The Unicorn Within , Mach49 founder and CEO Linda Yates empowers large companies to beat startups at their own game--to build a pipeline and portfolio of new ventures to drive meaningful growth. How? With a teachable, repeatable, scalable method focused 100 percent on execution across the spectrum of venture creation from Ideate to Incubate, Accelerate, and Scale.

The Founders Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth

Why is profitable growth so hard to achieve and sustain? When Bain & Company's Chris Zook and James Allen, authors of the bestselling Profit from the Core , researched this question, they found that when companies fail to achieve their growth targets, 90 percent of the time the root causes are internal, not external. Through rich analysis and inspiring examples, this book shows how any leader--not only a founder--can instill and leverage a founder's mentality throughout their organization and find lasting, profitable growth.

The Mind of the Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results

Based on extensive research, including assessments of more than 35,000 leaders and interviews with 250 C-level executives, The Mind of the Leader concludes that organizations and leaders aren't meeting employees' basic human needs of finding meaning, purpose, connection, and genuine happiness in their work. To solve the leadership crisis, organizations need to put people at the center of their strategy.

The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

High-performance psychologist Michael Gervais presents a groundbreaking guide for overcoming what may be the single greatest constrictor of human potential: our fear of people’s opinions (FOPO). FOPO shows up almost everywhere in our lives--and the consequences are great. When we let FOPO take control, we play it safe and small because we're afraid of what will happen on the other side of critique. In The First Rule of Mastery , Michael Gervais shows us that the key to leading a high-performance life is to redirect our attention from the world outside us to the world inside us.

How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart about the Numbers

Through entertaining case studies, interactive exercises, full-color visuals, and a conversational style that belies the topic, Harvard Business School professor Mihir Desai tackles a broad range of topics that will give you the knowledge and skills you need to finally understand how finance works.

HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations

Terrified of speaking in front of a group? Or simply looking to polish your skills? No matter where you are on the spectrum, this guide, written by presentation expert Nancy Duarte, will give you the confidence and the tools you need to get the results you desire.

Good Charts, Updated and Expanded: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations

Making good charts is a must-have skill for managers today. But many think that data visualization is too difficult--a specialist skill that's either the province of data scientists and complex software packages or the domain of professional designers and their visual creativity. Not so. Anyone can learn to produce quality "dataviz" and, more broadly, clear and effective information design. Good Charts will show you how to do it.

Harvard Business Review Manager's Handbook: The 17 Skills Leaders Need to Stand Out

The one primer you need to develop your managerial and leadership skills. Whether you're a new manager or looking to have more influence in your current management role, the challenges you face come in all shapes and sizes--a direct report's anxious questions, your boss's last-minute assignment of an important presentation, or a blank business case staring you in the face.

HBR Guide to Better Business Writing

When you are fumbling for words and pressed for time, you might be tempted to dismiss good business writing as a luxury. But it is a skill you must cultivate to succeed. The HBR Guide to Better Business Writing , by writing expert Bryan Garner, gives you the tools you need to express your ideas clearly and persuasively so clients, colleagues, stakeholders, and partners will get behind them.

Getting Along: How to Deal with Anyone (Even Difficult People)

Work relationships can be hard. The stress of dealing with difficult people dampens our creativity and productivity and can cause us to disengage. In Getting Along , workplace expert Amy Gallo identifies eight familiar types of difficult coworkers—the insecure boss, the passive-aggressive peer, the know-it-all, and others—and provides strategies for dealing constructively with each one.

Dealing with Difficult People (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)

At the heart of dealing with difficult people is handling their--and your own--emotions. How do you stay calm in a tough conversation? How do you know if you're difficult to work with? This book explains the research behind our emotional response to challenging colleagues and shows how to build the empathy and resilience to make those relationships more productive.

Mindfulness (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)

The benefits of mindfulness include better performance, heightened creativity, deeper self-awareness, and increased charisma--not to mention greater peace of mind. This book gives you practical steps for building a sense of presence into your daily work routine.

The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right

You've landed a job. Now what? No one tells you how to navigate your first day in a new role. No one tells you how to take ownership, manage expectations, or handle workplace politics. No one tells you how to get promoted. The answers to these professional unknowns lie in the unspoken rules--the certain ways of doing things that managers expect but don't explain and that top performers do but don't realize.

The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism

Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and orchestrator of the retailer's spectacular turnaround, unveils his personal playbook for achieving extraordinary outcomes by putting people and purpose at the heart of business.

Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World

Ginni Rometty led one of the world's most iconic companies, and in Good Power she recounts her groundbreaking path from a challenging childhood to becoming the CEO of IBM and one of the world's most influential business leaders. With candor and depth, Rometty shares milestones from her life and career while redefining power as a way to drive meaningful change in positive ways for ourselves, our organizations, and for the many, not just the few--a concept she calls "good power."

Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take

In this seminal book, former Unilever CEO Paul Polman and sustainable business guru Andrew Winston argue that to thrive today and tomorrow, companies must become “ net positive ” — giving more to the world than they take. With bold vision and compelling stories, Net Positive sets out the principles and practices that will deliver the scale of change and transformation the world so desperately needs.

Breaking Through: Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts, and Change the World

The ability to communicate to reach people and drive public conversation is a rock-hard competency. In this wise and inspiring book, Sally Susman, the renowned head of corporate affairs at global biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer, tells the fascinating story of how the company managed the massive communications challenge that came with Covid-19 and the race to produce an effective vaccine–and the principles that enabled her to break through, connect, and help move people forward.

How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World's Most Successful People

When you put learning at the center of everything you do, you grow your career, your leadership, your relationships, and your joy and fulfillment in life. But even for people who are naturally curious and interested in solving problems, being an effective learner who can turn their learning into action takes insight and practice. With infectious enthusiasm and optimism, David Novak shows you how to master active learning.

Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations

Ron Shaich, founder and former CEO of Panera Bread, shares the lessons he learned from a lifetime of asking what really matters and then making the transformations necessary to bring what really matters to life. He reveals what he learned about entrepreneurship, running large enterprises, business transformation, and life itself.

HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness

If you read nothing else on mental toughness, read these ten articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you build your emotional strength and resilience--and to achieve high performance.

HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself

The path to your own professional success starts with a critical look in the mirror. What you see there--your greatest strengths and deepest values--are the foundations you must build on. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on managing yourself and selected the most important ones to help you stay engaged and productive throughout your working life.

HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence

In his defining work on emotional intelligence, bestselling author Daniel Goleman found that it is twice as important as other competencies in determining outstanding leadership. If you read nothing else on emotional intelligence, read these 10 articles by experts in the field.

HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leadership

How can you transform yourself from a good manager into an extraordinary leader? We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on leadership and selected the most important ones to help you maximize your own and your organization's performance.

HBR at 100: The Most Influential and Innovative Articles from Harvard Business Review's First Century

Harvard Business Review is the foremost destination for smart management thinking. Now, at its 100th anniversary, this commemorative volume brings together the most influential ideas since its inception. With an introduction written by editor in chief Adi Ignatius, HBR at 100 features business publishing's most influential voices on essential topics.

HBR-EXCLUSIVE TOOLKITS CAN HELP YOU PUT THE IDEAS FROM THESE BESTSELLING BOOKS INTO PRACTICE.

Playing to Win Strategy Toolkit

Strategy work can be a frustrating, stressful process that doesn't always lead to actionable results. This time it CAN be different. The Playing to Win Strategy Toolkit delivers an industry-proven strategy framework with step-by-step support to develop and implement successful strategy at any organization.

Real-Time Leadership: The Playbook

As a leader, you will inevitably face high-risk, high-stakes challenges that require you to respond in real time--to master the moment, generate response options, and quickly evaluate those options before acting. Real-Time Leadership: The Playbook is an interactive resource that offers a series of exercises and reflection questions to help you put the principles of real-time leadership into practice.

The Three-Box Solution Strategy Toolkit Set

Help your organization innovate and execute. The Three-Box Solution Strategy Toolkit Set leads you step by step through a powerful process to generate breakthrough innovations and bring them to life.

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More From Forbes

The ten best business books of 2023.

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Which business books should you read in preparation for next year? My top 10 list.

Getting ready for 2024? There is no better way to do so than picking up a good book.

For the third consecutive year, I have put together a list of my favorite business books from the last 12 months. They cover a wide range of subjects including geeks, failure, and cycling (yes, that’s a business book, and a great one). But they all have one thing in common—they are fun to read. That is something that matters when you are devoting your downtime to reading.

One more important point before you begin: this is a list, not a ranking. All books I have included are excellent and I do not recommend any of them more highly than the others.

1 Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most

by Adam Alter—Are you worried about AI? If so, you are not alone, most managers are . Chances are that you look at this primarily as a technical challenge, but the much more substantial shift comes when companies adjust their processes and structures . The problem is inertia. It’s very hard to break away from old habits, not just when it comes to AI. This is where Alter’s book offers help through a systematic procedure that he calls friction audit. Solutions to overcome unhelpful emotions, patterns of thought, and behaviors are often hidden in plain sight. Even though this is not a book about AI, it is one you need to read to adjust to this transformative technology.

2 The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results

by Andrew McAfee—“There are kids who immediately take to the violin or chess or fishing. I took to computers.” Clearly McAfee is the person to tell this story. It’s funny with a self-depreciating humour but at the same time profound. This starts with the definition of the word. In case you wonder about the original understanding of the word geek, it was a fool—performers of circus side shows doing crazy things like biting off the head of a chicken. In the 1980s, the meaning changed and geeks was used to refer to those kids who were really into computers. In a way that’s still true, the main change being that they now run the world. McAfee takes it one step further. For him geeks are obsessive mavericks. This book is about them.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, 3 the right kind of wrong: the science of failing well.

by Amy Edmondson—Learning for failure is not exactly a new idea but the distinction between different types of mistakes is. In tune with her well known research on psychological safety, Edmondson argues that the starting point for good failure is openness. This enables organizations to create systems minimizing unproductive failure while embracing the mistakes that fuel progress. The opening story is a good illustration what she has in mind. When the data she collected for her PhD showed a correlation between prescription errors and teams working together well, her hypothesis collapsed. How can strong teams make more mistakes? Her apparent failure spurred Edmondson to think differently and eventually collect additional data that helped her to show that strong teams felt safe to report mistakes. What seemed like a failure in her research turned out to be the inspiration for an entirely new idea.

4 Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems

by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss—I don’t usually like change management books. After you read three, they all seem to be the same. Correction, it is usually sufficient to familiarize yourself with Kotter’s 8 step model. But this is not a typical change management book. It’s a very hands-on, “here is a problem” and “how do we fix it” manual. The style and set-up make it fun to read. The chapters for example are named after days of the week, getting you to a rewarding final chapter titled “Take the Weekend Off”. Who doesn’t like that? Besides the style, it is the ease in how this book can be turned into action that is appealing.

5 The High Performance Mindset: Race Across America - What we can learn from the toughest bike race in the world

by Kurt Matzler—another type of book that I am usually not keen on is leadership books. And once again I have to make an exception here. At times you suffer with the author when he battles extreme heat in Death Valley or crosses the endless plains of the Midwest on a quest to race across America. But as he explains, when we know our "why," we can endure almost any "how"! What makes this book so appealing is that with this and other insights, they rest on the author’s unique background. He is one of the 40 most cited strategy professors and also an athlete. In the book he brings the two elements together, taking us through different situations in the race and connecting them to a series of insights for leaders.

6 Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work

by Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, Emily Field—Are middle managers a cost cutting opportunity? As the authors—three McKinsey consultants—admit, this idea has not been entirely foreign to them in the past. It was the pandemic that made them realize that pastoral care offered by middle managers is not easily measured but incredibly valuable. Baby boomers continue to retire and labour shortage will get worse. That’s where companies with a strong layer of middle managers will have an edge. And unless executives have infinite time, they will rely on them to link to the front-line, translating strategy and feeding great ideas upwards. The book is a celebration of those who had long been underappreciated and about the best way companies can make them excel.

7 Same as Ever. A Guide To What Never Changes

by Morgan Housel—With all of us worried about how to adapt to constant change, this book is a great reminder that some things stay the same. When someone lamented to Warren Buffett in late 2009 how bad things were, the Sage of Omaha asked “Do you know the bestselling candy bar in 1962?” “No” his friend answered. “Snickers,” said Warren. “And do you know what the best selling candy bar is today?” You guessed it right, it is still Snickers. It’s worth figuring out what remains the same, as this creates great opportunities. Housel shows you how to do just that.

8 How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration

by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner—I grew up playing with Lego. So a book with a chapter titled “Find your Lego. Big is best built from small” was always a contender for my best books of 2023 list. But there is obviously more to this. A staggering 92% of all megaprojects come in over budget or behind schedule, or both. It’s easy to come up with examples such as Berlin Airport, Boston’s Big Dig, or the UK’s HS2 railway plans. Flyvbjerg is often regarded as “the world’s leading megaproject expert.” In a book full of engaging stories, he shares candid advice. My favourite: plan slow, act fast.

9 Choose Your Enemies Wisely. Business Planning For The Audacious Few

by Patrick Bet-David with Greg Dinkin—I disagree with the fundamental idea of this book. I don’t think that enemies are more important than allies. But this is exactly why I included the book on my list. It’s always important to see the world from a perspective which is not yours. And while this has neither been my experience nor does it match with my own observations, I can agree with the author that emotions are an overlooked aspect of business. The stories from the book also make a strong case that animosity can be one of those emotions. Bet-David and Greg Dinkin certainly live up to their promise “This is not the boring approach that most people teach”.

10 Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things

by Adam Grant—The last book on my list speaks to me as an educator. On the nature versus nurture debate Grant sides with the latter. As always a masterful storyteller, Grant gets us started with some data from kindergarten teachers. Raj Chetty, an economist, found that the experience of your kindergarten teacher has a significant impact on your earnings age 25 to 27. It’s not that these teachers help kids to develop cognitive skills others cannot catch up with. The main difference to less experienced teachers is that they inspire proactive behaviour such as asking questions, more collaboration between peers, discipline, and determination. The book will help your company to build systems that nurture, as according to Grant it is never too late to discover hidden potential.

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The 33 Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs in 2024

Books can cheer us up when we’re feeling sad, motivate us to make improvements, and teach us new skills. If you’re looking to put together an entrepreneurial reading list, here are the best business books to include.

Reading regularly in adulthood helps you develop analytical skills, makes you a better communicator, stimulates the creative center of your brain, and strengthens your ability to recall information. Books can cheer you up when you’re feeling sad, motivate you to make improvements, and teach you new skills.

Skills like these can benefit just about everyone, but for entrepreneurs , the ability to analyze a situation, apply lessons learned, and come up with innovative solutions⁠ is crucial.

If you’re looking to put together an essential reading list for yourself, here are the best business books to include: 

33 of the best business books

• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
• Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms by Denise Duffield-Thomas
• Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
• How to Be an Overnight Success: Making It in Business by Maria Hatzistefanis
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
• Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
• Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
• Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
• The Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin
• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
• The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
• The End of Procrastination: How to Stop Postponing and Live a Fulfilled Life by Petr Ludwig and Adela Schicker
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
• The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton Christensen and Michael E. Raynor
• The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
• The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
• The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan)
• The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught in America’s Top Business Schools by Steven A. Silbiger
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss
• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
• Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
• The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

1. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Goodreads rating: 4.4

In Atomic Habits , author, entrepreneur, and photographer James Clear offers his personal strategy for rapid self-improvement to anyone looking to change their habits . Clear’s expert analysis of habit formation lifts the veil on why bad habits persist, and offers a plan of action for stopping them. 

He argues bad habits aren’t the result of an unwillingness to change but of a poor strategy for changing them. Atomic Habits offers a framework for understanding why our bad habits exist, and executing effective, practical strategies for changing them.

Clear’s guide covers inspiring stories along the way, from people who’ve used his strategies to build good habits, including Olympic gold medalists, business leaders, and stand-up comedians. Atomic Habits provides entrepreneurs with great inspiration, as well as practical guides to overcoming their bad habits.

Top quote: "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity."

2. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinkingby Malcolm Gladwell

Goodreads rating: 3.9

In Blink , journalist and bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell draws on his knowledge in the fields of neuroscience and psychology to explore how we think without thinking . Decisions that are made in the blink of an eye aren’t as simple as they seem. 

Though decisions can be made quickly, they’re driven by complex cognitive processes. In Blink , Gladwell interviews a host of unique experts in decision-making⁠—from a tennis coach who’s able to predict a fault before a player’s racket hits the ball to antique experts able to spot a “fake” within a second.

Gladwell argues the best decision makers aren’t the people who give the most consideration to the decision, but those who have mastered the art of “thin-slicing”: a process where the few factors that matter are filtered out from an overwhelming number of variables instantly.

Top quote: "In life, most of us are highly skilled at suppressing action. All the improvisation teacher has to do is to reverse this skill and he creates very ‘gifted’ improvisers. Bad improvisers block action, often with a high degree of skill. Good improvisers develop action."

3. Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms by Denise Duffield-Thomas

Goodreads rating: 4.3

Chillpreneur documents money mindset coach Denis Duffield-Thomas’s approach to business and finances. It guides you through identifying business models that work for your personality, how to get comfortable with marketing and self-promotion, and ideas for pricing and dealing with other uncomfortable money matters.

For entrepreneurs seeking a book to help them get on top of their cash flow while avoiding burnout, this is a great book to pick up. It’s full of practical and approachable advice with a friendly sense of humor.

Top quote: "Don’t reinvent the wheel! This is such a classic money block—the feeling that we have to work so hard that we have to reinvent the wheel every time."

4. Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis

Paul Jarvis is a successful solopreneur who shares his approach to business in Company of One . According to him, you don’t need to grow an empire and hire employees to have a thriving business. In fact, smaller businesses are often more fulfilling than big ones.

Jarvis talks about how one of the biggest advantages to being a business owner is you get to create a life of balance. And not only that, the lack of hierarchy and business politics makes you more efficient. Smart entrepreneurship isn’t necessarily big business—it’s better business.

Top quote: "There’s nothing wrong with finding the right size and then focusing on being better. Small can be a long-term plan, not just a stepping-stone."

5. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Goodreads rating: 4.1

Distraction is an issue so many people struggle with. In Deep Work , professor of computer science Cal Newport shares his insight on how to focus deeply on cognitively demanding tasks in a world filled with distractions.

Newport argues the ability to focus without distraction isn’t something people are born with⁠—it’s a skill that must be learned, practiced, and mastered. 

Deep Work offers readers Newport’s personal training regimen, which consists of four rules for practicing deep focus and building good habits. By reframing distraction as an opportunity rather than a burden, Newport offers critical advice to anyone looking for motivation.

Top quote: "To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction. Put another way, the type of work that optimizes your performance is deep work."

6. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins

In  Good to Great , business management consultant Jim Collins describes how good companies make the transition into great ones, using case studies (both good and bad) of businesses that have succeeded in and failed to make the transition. 

Collins’ book is perfect for entrepreneurs looking to understand what gives successful businesses an inside edge. The insight offered by  Good to Great  has been praised by a number of CEOs, with several members of  The Wall Street Journal ’s CEO Council citing it as  the best management book they’ve read .

Top quote: "Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life."

7. How to Be an Overnight Success: Making It in Business by Maria Hatzistefanis

Goodreads rating: 3.7

In How to Be an Overnight Success , Maria Hatzistefanis shares her journey founding skin care brand Rodial . She talks about starting the company in her bedroom, growing it all on her own. She focused on developing her personal brand to build buzz and awareness, and then turned her audience onto her skin care products—eventually embarking on influencer marketing and celebrity collaborations with big names like Kyle Jenner and Jade Jagger.

This isn’t just a business book about Maria’s story. She shares important lessons along the way, proving that anybody can replicate similar success on their own.

Top quote: "Success is about the relentless pursuit of what you want and hard work is an essential ingredient."

8. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Goodreads rating: 4.2

Dale Carnegie was a writer and educator who, over the course of his long career, developed training courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, public speaking tips , and other interpersonal skills. 

Written in 1936, How to Win Friends and Influence People is considered a classic of the self-help genre and, with over 30 million copies sold, is one of the bestselling books of all time . Carnegie’s book was compiled with knowledge he’d gained in the decades he spent teaching business education courses. 

In it, Carnegie explores practical tips for relating to people, both in professional and personal life. He gives advice on making people like you, provides tips on persuading people to your way of thinking, and discusses how to gain respect as a leader without arousing resentment.

Top quote: "It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it."

9. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

Robert B. Cialdini is a professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University. In Influence , he explores the psychology behind persuasion and offers a practical framework for influencing people in the world of business and marketing. 

Cialdini argues that in a world filled with distractions, people rely on generalizations and assumptions to make decisions, rather than relying purely on evidence. Cialdini uses empirical studies conducted in the fields of psychology, marketing, economics, anthropology, and social science to make his arguments. 

Influence identifies six principles that guide human decision making , and gives real-world examples of how these principles can guide your decision making when trying to persuade others . The practical tools provided in Cialdini’s book make it one of the most useful marketing books , especially for aspiring entrepreneurs without a lot of business experience.

Top quote: "The truly gifted negotiator, then, is one whose initial position is exaggerated enough to allow for a series of concessions that will yield a desirable final offer from the opponent, yet is not so outlandish as to be seen as illegitimate from the start."

10. Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg penned Lean In as a book to empower women entrepreneurs and leaders in business. In the book , she talks about how women often hold themselves back and don’t allow themselves to pursue business and leadership opportunities. Backed by research and sprinkled with relatable narratives and stories, Lean In also includes actionable tips for women who want to excel in business.

The book isn’t just for women, though. Sheryl also provides insight and advice for men looking to support women in business and leadership. It’s a must-read no matter your gender.

Top quote: "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."

11. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin

Goodreads rating: 3.8

Seth Godin is a former business executive and a bestselling author who has been cited by Business Insider as one of the most influential thinkers in business . 

In Linchpin , Godin explores the concept of “linchpin” employees : innovative thinkers who are willing to break the rules and re-invent ways of getting things done. Godin argues linchpins are indispensable, and vital to any company that hopes to grow and thrive. 

Whether you’re a creator looking to understand what makes you a valuable asset or a business owner trying to figure out how to find valuable new hires, Linchpin offers crucial insight into understanding this phenomenon.

Top quote: "An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally."

12. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

Carol S. Dweck’s Mindset is packed with research exploring the psychology behind success not only in business but across all areas of life. She concludes people behave in a way that reflects the way they view their abilities. She offers two points of view, a “fixed mindset”—believing your abilities are fixed, or set in stone—and a “growth mindset”—believing your abilities can be developed and improved.

The book also dives into the idea of a false growth mindset. In other words, you might think you demonstrate a growth mindset, but the reality is you’re not developing skills like you think. Those who have a true growth mindset can not only achieve personal success more easily, but can also lead and inspire others to do the same.

Top quote: "No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment."

13. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss

Chris Voss is a business professor, CEO of  Black Swan Group , and a former FBI hostage negotiator⁠—widely considered to be an expert in the psychology of persuasion .

In Never Split the Difference , Voss reveals the strategies he’s used in his own career for approaching high-stakes negotiation. Voss explores how to build trust, overcome emotional obstacles, use empathy as a tool rather than a hindrance, and the language to use to communicate clearly. 

First-time entrepreneurs will need to enter into negotiations with their business partners , investors, employees, contractors, and all sorts of other stakeholders. Never Split the Difference offers tools and techniques for juggling all of the factors of negotiation.

Top quote: "If you approach a negotiation thinking the other guy thinks like you, you are wrong. That’s not empathy, that’s a projection."

14. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Rework comes from Jason Fried, CEO of Basecamp, and David Heinemeier Hansson, the programmer who invented the Ruby on Rails web development framework. 

Fried and Hanson are both entrepreneurs with tech backgrounds who offer great advice for any business owner who might be an expert in their field but a beginner to the world of entrepreneurship. Rework tosses aside conventional business jargon and instead offers advice that’s concrete and straightforward. 

In this New York Times bestseller, Fried and Hanson present their readers with a variety of low-cost ways to grow their business, with lessons on increasing productivity , not getting bogged down by too much planning , and ways of getting exposure for your business without spending too much startup cash .

Top quote: "When you don’t know what you believe, everything becomes an argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious."

15. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

In Start with Why , author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek examines the lives of great leaders, from Martin Luther King to Steve Jobs, and attempts to develop a common thread in the reason for their success, despite having very different goals and aspirations. 

His conclusion: the greatest leaders ask why . Why do customers buy from certain brands? Why are people loyal to some leaders and not others? Why do companies fail? Great leaders want to understand why things happen and do everything in their power to find the answer. 

Sinek draws on a range of real-life experiences, weaving together a clear vision of what it takes to lead and inspire others. His book is a great read for anyone looking to understand what it means to lead with confidence.

Top quotes: "Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them."

16. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss is an acclaimed entrepreneur, investor, author, podcaster, and lifestyle guru. His book The 4-Hour Workweek (the first in a series of 4-Hour books) spent more than four years on the New York Times Best Seller list and is considered one of the best books ever written on productivity. 

In The 4-Hour Workweek , Ferris argues that the idea that success comes from hours and hours of grueling hard work without rest is flawed. Instead, he instructs readers on how to redesign their lifestyle and focus on freeing up time through a number of strategies, like prioritizing important things, learning how to automate income streams, and dropping unproductive tasks. 

Top quotes: "What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do."

17. The Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin

Goodreads rating: 4.5

In The Art of Learning , Waitzkin gives insight into how he’s cultivated an entrepreneurial mindset and shares his strategy for always learning and adapting. To Waitzkin, failure is an opportunity for more growth. In his book, he teaches readers how to accept failure, learn from it, and use it to grow and understand where your weaknesses are so you can improve.

Top quote: "Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities."

18. The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

Don Norman is a researcher, professor and business consultant, renowned as one of the foremost experts in the field of usability engineering . In The Design of Everyday Things , he offers advice on how to design a good product, based on what he’s learned in his long career. 

Norman starts by exploring some of the most timeless product designs⁠—such as doorknobs, light switches, and oven burners⁠—asking us to consider why the most timeless designs tend to be the simplest. 

The answer has to do with how human brains process information. So many designers make the mistake of ignoring human cognitive psychology in an effort to create a product that does everything, rather than a product that does one thing very well. 

Norman’s book is the perfect primer for anyone in the process of designing a new product.

Top quote: "Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible."

19. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

Goodreads rating: 4

Michael E. Gerber is the founder of Michael E. Gerber Companies , a business skills training company based in California. In The E-Myth Revisited , Gerber explores why 80% of small businesses fail, and offers insight into how to make sure your business isn’t among them. 

Gerber’s thesis is that people mistakenly believe that technical knowledge will translate into business success, which isn’t usually the case. Gerber instructs readers on how to break out of this mindset and set-up a business that relies on “systems” rather than the skills of individuals. 

The E-Myth Revisited is a must-read for tech entrepreneurs, exploring how companies with an innovative product can self-sabotage by not considering how that innovation translates into business success.

Top quote: "Contrary to popular belief, my experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more."

20. The End of Procrastination: How to Stop Postponing and Live a Fulfilled Life by Petr Ludwig and Adela Schicker

We live in a high-tech world with endless distractions: overflowing inboxes, endless app notifications, and never-ending social media feeds. It’s never been easier to fall into the trap of procrastination. 

In The End of Procrastination , co-founders of Procrastination.com Petr Ludwig and Adela Schicker put forth a practical strategy for overcoming unwanted procrastination and argue that procrastination is not just a waste of time, but detrimental to leading a happy and fulfilled life. 

Ludwig and Schicker explore how the brain responds to motivation and self-discipline, outlining eight easy-to-use tools for anyone looking to overcome their procrastination tendencies .

Top quote: "The amount of opportunities that today’s world offers is staggering. Imagine the extent of these opportunities as if it was the space in between an open pair of scissors. The more opportunities you have, the wider this imaginary pair of scissors— the scissors of potential —opens. Today, they are open wider than they have ever been in history."

21. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Ben Horowitz is an entrepreneur, investor, author, and co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. In The Hard Thing About Hard Things , he draws on his own experience starting a business to offer advice to anyone looking to become a successful entrepreneur. 

Horowitz doesn’t shy away from talking about challenges that few business writers want to talk about. He explores the hard things about running a business: dealing with failure, conflicts among employees, layoffs, persevering through tough times, and making big, tough decisions that impact the livelihoods of stakeholders in the business.

The essential advice and practical tips that Horowitz offers in his book provide entrepreneurs with crucial advice for taking action in the face of tough choices and leading a successful business into the modern world.

Top quote: "Whenever I meet a successful CEO, I ask them how they did it. Mediocre CEOs point to their brilliant strategic moves or their intuitive business sense or a variety of other self-congratulatory explanations. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers. They all say, ‘I didn’t quit.’"

22. The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton Christensen and Michael E. Raynor

Business consultant and academic Clayton Christensen is world-renowned for developing the theory of “ disruptive innovation ,” which is an innovation that creates an entirely new market, displacing established products. 

In The Innovator’s Solution , he and business consultant Michael E. Raynor expand on the idea of disruptive innovation, arguing that companies can and should become disruptive to their own industries, especially in the modern, hyper-accelerated digital world. 

Touching on real-world examples, Christensen and Raynor explore companies that have successfully (and unsuccessfully) disrupted their industries, and provide a framework for creating the right conditions and identifying the right time for disruption.

Top quote: "Research suggests that in over 90 percent of all successful new businesses, historically, the strategy that the founders had deliberately decided to pursue was not the strategy that ultimately led to the business’s success."

Learn more : How This Direct to Consumer Brand Disrupted the Cookware Industry

23. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham is an economist, professor, and investor⁠, widely known in the business world as the " father of value investing .” 

Written in 1949, The Intelligent Investor offers advice on investing in the stock market that’s still relevant today. Graham focuses on investments that minimize economic risks and instructs the reader on how to find longer-term, risk-averse investments based on research rather than speculation. 

The Intelligent Investor is a must-read for anyone looking for more guidance on personal finance and wanting to learn how to make sound, financial decisions.

Top quote: "The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists."

24. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

Goodreads rating:   4.1

Pages:  299

Eric Reiss is an entrepreneur known for his work in the field of information architecture, usability, and service design. In The Lean Startup , Ries explores why most startups fail and gives insight into how to avoid failure in the early days of your business. 

Ries touches on how the most successful startups leverage human creativity while keeping costs low , with a focus on rapid experimentation, effectively measuring success by eliminating superfluous vanity metrics, and adapting to customer needs.

Reis’s book offers a way for companies to test their vision continuously, and describes how to use innovative techniques to adapt to change. The Lean Startup is a must-read for anyone looking to avoid the pitfalls of startups that failed.

Top quote: "We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want."

25. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan)

In The ONE Thing , real estate entrepreneur and bestselling author Gary Keller discusses his strategy for success by narrowing his workload to focus on more important tasks without getting bogged down by less important ones. 

Keller argues that while we tend to apply importance to everything, not everything matters equally. Keller’s approach to achieving success involves narrowing your focus to the one thing that matters most. He says that multi-tasking tends to lead to a breakdown in the quality of work performed on each task, and labels the idea of multitasking a lie. 

Keller’s wisdom can be used by anyone, but it’s especially important for entrepreneurs looking for an effective way to evaluate their biggest priorities and effectively manage their time.

Top quote: "Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls—family, health, friends, integrity—are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered."

26. The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught In America’s Top Business Schools by Steven A. Silbiger

In The Ten-Day MBA , MBA and marketing director Steven A. Silbiger gives readers a crash course in everything he’s learned in his years teaching business, covering theoretical concepts along-side practical skills like accounting , finance, marketing strategy , quantitative analysis, operations, economics, organizational behavior, and ethics.

Silbiger’s internationally acclaimed comprehensive guide compiles lessons from business schools across the world, based on the notes of MBA students attending programs at Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Northwestern, and the University of Virginia.

Top quote: "Marketing is a special blend of art and science. There is a great deal to be learned in marketing classes, but no amount of schooling can teach you the experience, the intuition, and the creativity to be a truly gifted marketer. That’s why those with the gift are so highly paid."

27. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Goodreads rating:  4.1

Pages:  233

Originally published in 1937 during the Great Depression, Think and Grow Rich is a classic of the self-help and personal development genre. In writing it, Napoleon Hill researched the lives of more than 40 millionaires to discover what common thread ran through them.

He concluded that the starting point of achievement is the desire for something better, and that failure, even when it’s frequent, is a necessary obstacle to achieving success. 

Hill offers practical knowledge about tackling goals by focusing on a single, defined one—arguing that the biggest successes often follow the biggest failures.

Top quote:  "The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat."

Read more:   101 Entrepreneur Quotes from the Most Successful Business Owners

28. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Daniel Kahneman is a psychologist and Nobel Prize–winning economist renowned for his expertise in the psychology of judgment and decision making. In Thinking, Fast and Slow , he explores how two systems⁠— intuition and slow thinking ⁠—work together to shape our judgment and help us make decisions. 

An expert in the field of behavioral economics, Kahneman uses his insight to offer readers an explanation for how decision making can be affected by stress and explores how confirmation bias can make us jump to conclusions. 

Kahneman’s insight is great not only for merchants looking to improve their own decision-making skills, but also for marketers looking for insight into how consumers make decisions.

Top quote: "Intelligence is not only the ability to reason; it is also the ability to find relevant material in memory and to deploy attention when needed."

29. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss

On his acclaimed business podcast , The Tim Ferriss Show , Ferris interviews all kinds of guests, including famous actors, legendary athletes, accomplished scientists, artists, and business leaders. In Tools of Titans , he summarizes and distills the habits, tactics, and routines of the wide-range of guests he’s had on his program. 

Ferriss skips over vague platitudes about effort and attitude and instead focuses on real-world actionable techniques that he’s come across from guests on his show. In Tools of Titans , Ferriss paints a vivid picture of how the lifestyles habits of the most-successful people have contributed to their success. 

Tools of Titans is inspirational, but it also offers practical solutions to readers, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the most successful people have grown to operate.

Top quote: "Creativity is an infinite resource. The more you spend, the more you have."

Read more:  The 32 Best Entrepreneur Books of All Time

30. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Peter Theil is a billionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund. Zero to One is based on a series of essays taken from notes of a lecture Theil gave on startups in 2012. 

Zero to One is a primer on innovation that explores how entrepreneurs develop new ideas by learning to think outside the box, making it a great book for business people looking to carve out a profitable niche . Atlantic writer Derek Thompson cited Zero to One as maybe the best business book he’s ever read .

Top quote: "The founding moment of a company, however, really does happen just once: only at the very start do you have the opportunity to set the rules that will align people toward the creation of value in the future."

31. Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt

Goodreads rating: 4.1 Pages: 320 Richard Rumelt is a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a renowned consultant on corporate strategy. With a background in engineering and management, Rumelt has been a leading voice in strategic thinking for several decades, known for his clear and insightful analysis of business and competitive strategy. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy  offers a critical look at the often misunderstood and misapplied concept of strategy in business. Rumelt emphasizes that good strategy is about making clear, coherent decisions and setting priorities, while bad strategy is characterized by fluff, failure to face challenges, and a lack of focus. Rumelt delves into the hallmarks of effective strategy and the common pitfalls that lead to poor strategic decisions. He uses real-world examples to illustrate how good strategy involves identifying the key issues and developing a coherent action plan to address them. The book is both a critique of the current state of strategic thinking and a guide for creating better strategies. Top quote: "The most basic idea of strategy is the application of strength against weakness."

32. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

Goodreads rating:  3.95 Pages:  242

Daniel H. Pink is an acclaimed author and former speechwriter for The White House. With a background in law and business, Pink has written several bestselling books on the changing world of work, motivation, and behavior. His work often draws on social science research to challenge conventional wisdom and provide fresh insights. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us challenges traditional notions of motivation that rely on rewards and punishments, commonly referred to as the "carrot and stick" approach. Pink argues that these methods are outdated and that true motivation comes from intrinsic factors—autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Pink explores the science behind what drives us and presents a new framework for understanding motivation. He explains that people are more motivated by internal desires to direct their own lives, improve their skills, and contribute to a greater cause. Pink supports his arguments with a wealth of research from psychology, economics, and sociology, and provides practical advice for individuals and organizations to foster a more motivated and productive environment.

Top quote:  "Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives."

33. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Goodreads rating : 4.13 Pages : 452

Robert Greene is an author and speaker known for his books on strategy, power, and seduction. With a degree in classical studies and a varied career that spans several industries, Greene has become a prominent figure in the self-help and business strategy genres. His works are often characterized by their in-depth historical analysis and practical insights. The 48 Laws of Power is a complete guide to understanding and wielding power. Drawing on historical examples from a wide range of fields, including politics, war, and business, Greene distills centuries of knowledge into 48 concise laws designed to help you navigate the complexities of power dynamics. This book explains the tactics and strategies used by powerful figures throughout history. Each law is accompanied by historical anecdotes and practical advice on how to apply the principles in various aspects of life. The 48 Laws of Power has been both praised and criticized for its candid and sometimes ruthless approach to achieving and maintaining power. Top quote: "When you show yourself to the world and display your talents, you naturally stir all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity... you cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others."

Remember, reading is fundamental

Perhaps because it’s also a leisure activity, it can be hard to think of reading the best business books as part of your entrepreneurial journey. In a fast-paced, digital world, a leisurely activity like reading can seem like a waste of time⁠—but this just isn’t true.

Reading is exercise for your mind. We’d never think of jogging or lifting weights as being a “waste of time” for an athlete, and reading shouldn’t be viewed as a waste of time for entrepreneurs.

Reading is learning : it helps us destress, while also nurturing skills in communication, problem solving, and creative thinking that are absolutely necessary in building and growing your own business.

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Best business books FAQ

What should i read for business.

• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins 
• The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business  by Clayton M. Christensen
• First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham

Do business books work?

Yes, business books work. If you choose the right book for your reading needs, you can find a business book to help you achieve your next goal. Books can help you develop market leadership skills, build high performance teams, and so much more. 

Which one book should every entrepreneur read?

Every entrepreneur should read Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek.

Is it good to read business books?

Yes, it’s good to read business books. You can find inspiration and motivation, gain valuable insights, and learn new skills through reading business books.

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Books | Best Sellers

Business - january 16, 2022.

This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only.

ATOMIC HABITS

by James Clear

• Apple Books
• Barnes and Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Bookshop.org

PRINCIPLES FOR DEALING WITH THE CHANGING WORLD ORDER

by Ray Dalio

Avid Reader

THE HOUSE OF GUCCI

by Sara G. Forden

Custom House

by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

DARE TO LEAD

by Brené Brown

Random House

EMPIRE OF PAIN

by Patrick Radden Keefe

THINKING, FAST AND SLOW

by Daniel Kahneman

Farrar, Straus & Giroux

EXTREME OWNERSHIP

by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

St. Martin's

FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS

by Oliver Burkeman

FLYING BLIND

by Peter Robison

The New York Times Book Review

In liane moriarty’s bustling new novel, fate takes flight.

There are stakes on the plane in “Here One Moment,” the latest from the Australian fiction powerhouse.

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The 12 Best Books for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business

Successful people read.

Bill Gates reads 50 books a year .  Mark Cuban reads for more than 3 hours every day .  And, when asked how he learned to build rockets, Elon Musk simply said, “ I read books. ”

Is this a coincidence?  Nope.

Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals , studied the role that reading plays in success .  His findings? 

Wealthy people (defined as those with an annual income of $160,000 or more, and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million-plus) read for education, self-improvement, and success. 

But, poorer people (defined as those with an annual income of $35,000 or less, and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less) read primarily to be entertained.

Bottom-line? 

These types of books for entrepreneurs are powerful. But , to tap into this power, you have to read the right books.

In this article, we share the top 12 books for entrepreneurs starting a new business .

Post Contents

1. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

2. the 4-hour workweek: escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich by tim ferris, 3. purple cow: transform your business by being remarkable by seth godin, 4. the $100 startup: reinvent the way you make a living, do what you love, and create a new future by chris guillebeau, 5. deep work: rules for focused success in a distracted world by cal newport, 6. mastery by robert greene, 7. never eat alone: and other secrets to success, one relationship at a time by keith ferrazzi, 8. the lean startup: how today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses by eric ries, 9. the 22 immutable laws of marketing: violate them at your own risk by al ries & jack trout, 10. rework by jason fried and david hansson, 11. the hard thing about hard things: building a business when there are no easy answers by ben horowitz, 12. crushing it: how great entrepreneurs build their business and influence – and how you can, too by gary vaynerchuk, bonus business book: the ultimate guide to starting your first ecommerce business by tomas slimas, summary: pick one book for entrepreneurs.

You’ve probably heard of ‘The Art of War,’ written in the 5th century BC by renowned military strategist Sun-Tzu.

In comparison, Steven Pressfield’s ‘ The War of Art ,’ is Sun-Tzu for the soul.

What really prevents us from reaching our full potential? How can we combat the negative forces inside ourselves that lead us to procrastination, self-doubt, and self-sabotage?

This book for entrepreneurs identifies the most powerful enemy to our dreams that we all face: ourselves.

Simply, Pressfield believes our biggest enemy is ‘resistance.’ Resistance is our natural tendency to procrastinate and self-sabotage.

And, he doesn’t just expose resistance so you can understand what’s really holding you back. Pressfield also outlines a battle plan to help you conquer this internal foe.

So, if you ever struggle with self-doubt , overthinking, or procrastination, this book will help you carve a path to success, through fulfillment and productivity.

Bottom-line?

This book is a succinct, captivating, and no-nonsense guide to achieving success in any creative field.

No list of books for entrepreneurs would be complete without The Four Hour Work Week .

Having sold over 1.3 million copies and been translated into 35 languages, this business book held a spot on The New York Times bestseller list for over seven years .

Often referred to as “The Bible of Lifestyle Design,” Ferriss shows you how to live more and work less.

This business book constantly challenges conventional thought.

The idea is to start thinking outside the box, to always test commonly held views, and push boundaries further than you ever knew was possible.

Ferris will show you why you should forget the outdated concept of a working life, followed by retirement. You’ll also learn how to use time and location to gain financial leverage.

At its heart, this book for entrepreneurs is about productivity and effectiveness — covering topics such as prioritizing, outsourcing, and automation.

Whatever you want to accomplish as an entrepreneur, this business book provides a set of invaluable tools to help you achieve your goals.

This bestselling book for entrepreneurs comes from multi-bestselling author and marketing guru Seth Godin.

In Purple Cow , Godin demonstrates how the traditional P’s of marketing (product, price, promotion, place, etc.) don’t work like they used to.

Because there’s a new ‘P’ that’s now more important: the ‘Purple Cow’.

A ‘purple cow’ is Godin’s metaphor for something phenomenal, counterintuitive and remarkable.

Simply, cows are boring after you’ve seen a few. But a Purple Cow? Now, that would grab everyone’s attention.

This book for entrepreneurs explains how, in today’s market, your business is either remarkable or invisible.

And in it, you’ll learn why safe is dangerous, and why very good is actually bad.

Godin also provides examples of companies that have succeeded by becoming Purple Cows and urges you to emulate them to drive explosive growth through word of mouth.

To thrive, every new entrepreneur needs to understand how to stand out from their competition.

This book will show you how.

In 2013, Chris Guillebeau accomplished his goal of visiting all 193 countries in the world.

And, he’s never had a ‘real job,’ or earned a regular paycheck. Instead, he finds ways to turn ideas into income to support his life of adventure.

In The $100 Startup , Guillebeau hammers home the fact that you don’t need a lot of money to start a successful business.

This book for entrepreneurs features 50 case studies of people who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a small investment — often $100 or less.

And, most of these people had no special skills to begin with, but discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized.

Guillebeau then distills the most valuable lessons from those who’ve learned how to turn their passions into profit.

The book dives deep too –y ou’ll find out exactly how much each entrepreneur had to get started, and what they did in the first weeks and months to gain traction.

It also covers the key mistakes they made, and offers insights into what made each business stick.

This book will help you find the intersection between your passions and skills, and what other people are willing to pay for.

Author and professor Cal Newport defines ‘ Deep Work ’ as the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task for extended periods of time.

And it’s a skill that’s becoming rare, just as it’s becoming more valuable.

While most people are frittering away their valuable time in a frantic blur of shallow tasks — like email and social media — the most successful people are focusing their attention on the tasks that truly matter.

Simply, deep work is the skill that’s vital to your ability to master complicated tasks and produce better results in less time.

And, not only will this skill supercharge your effectiveness, Newport also argues that it’s the key to a true sense of fulfillment.

This book for entrepreneurs is divided into two parts.

The first argues how cultivating a deep work ethic will produce monumental results in almost any profession.

In the second, Newport presents four detailed ‘rules’ for transforming your mind and habits to develop the ability to ‘go deep.’

In summary, in an increasingly distracting world, the ability to go deep will put you miles ahead of the competition.

And, this business book will show you how.

New York Times-bestselling author Robert Greene believes that we all have the potential to become a Master.

And, in this book for entrepreneurs, Greene lays out the path to Mastery : Learn the secrets of your field, commit to a rigorous apprenticeship, and absorb the knowledge of those with years of experience.

Additionally, Greene presents the behaviors of great masters, such as Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, as well as nine contemporary masters interviewed especially for the book.

Then, he distills the common traits held by these masters to show that success isn’t about what you know, but about who you are. And, that a true master from any field can find a way to succeed in any other.

Also, this business book will show you which master traits you already possess, and how to develop the ones you don’t.

If mastery is the path to greatness, this book is your roadmap.

Ferrazzi originally came from humble beginnings, but his network of relationships now stretches from Hollywood’s A-list to Washington’s corridors of power.

In this essential book for entrepreneurs, Ferrazzi demonstrates the power of relationships in business. Additionally, he lays out the mindset, and the steps he uses to connect with thousands of people.

Basically, think of Never Eat Alone as a modern version of, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’

What’s so refreshing, is that Ferrazzi shuns the traditional glad-handing usually synonymous with ‘networking.’

Instead, he advocates basing relationships on generosity and connecting friends with other people.

This business book also outlines the timeless strategies used by some of the world’s most connected people, such as Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton, and the Dalai Lama.

And, it presents a set of proven principles and actionable tactics that you can use to further your career and happiness.

Not to mention, in the time since Never Eat Alone was published in 2005, the rise of social media has only made Ferrazzi’s advice and strategies more valuable to every entrepreneur.

Thankfully, the new edition also includes in-depth advice for making connections in the digital world.

In summary, master networker Keith Ferrazzi shows you how to grow your success by consistently reaching out to other people, and creating relationship dynamics where everyone wins.

Eric Ries is the creator of the Lean Startup revolution.

And in this timeless book, he shows entrepreneurs how to bootstrap a business , gain traction, and keep it lean for maximum results.

Constant digital innovation means that businesses need to continuously adapt and learn or, they’ll be outpaced and left in the dust.

Ries argues that “the only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.”

This book for entrepreneurs is centered around taking action, constantly testing, and relentlessly adapting. And in it, Ries provides an innovative, hands-on process for becoming a more adaptable company.

The Lean Startup is also chock-full of case studies that demonstrate the principles Rie’s teaches within.

This business book is particularly good if you’re prone to overplanning and preparing while putting off the inevitable action needed to make progress.

So, whether you want to create a scrappy startup, a small business, or a corporate machine, read this book.

Because the lean startup methodology is the new blueprint for business success.

If you build an airplane but ignore the laws of physics, it will never fly.

So it goes with the laws of marketing if you want to build a successful brand.

In this timeless classic, world-renowned marketing consultants Al Ries and Jack Trout expose The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing .

These include the Law of the Mind; “It’s better to be first in the mind, than to be first in the marketplace.” And, the Law of Leadership: “It’s better to be first than it is to be better.”

What’s more, this succinct business book is full of useful case studies to illustrate each law.

These essential insights have stood the test of time, and present a clear path to lasting marketing success

As Ries and Trout write, “Violate them at your own risk!”

So, read this business book to make sure that your marketing efforts adhere to these immutable laws.

After all, prevention is better than cure.

Most business books offer the same advice to entrepreneurs — study up, write a business plan, pitch investors…

But, this New York Time’s best-selling book shatters outdated notions — challenging mainstream business mindset and culture.

And then, it provides a whole new way of thinking.

Minimalist in delivery and ideology, Rework shows you that you need far less than you think to start a successful enterprise.

You don’t need an office. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need more staff or investors. You don’t even need meetings.

What you need is to prioritize more. To say ‘no’ more. To stop talking, researching, and planning and start doing.

You’ll also learn why plans are harmful, outside investors are unnecessary, and ignoring the competition is best.

Overall, this playbook is full of counterintuitive, revolutionary ideas.

Presented in powerful bite-sized chapters, Rework shows you a better, faster, and easier way to succeed in business today.

So, whatever your entrepreneurial dreams, get this information in your head to help make them a reality.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things is endorsed by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Peter Thiel.

So, you should probably read it .

As one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, Ben Horowitz offers essential advice on building and running a business.

Many people highlight the excitement of life as an entrepreneur.

But in this business book, Horowitz also shines a light on the difficulties and struggles entrepreneurs face.

What’s particularly interesting is that Horowitz starts by arguing that there’s no formula for success. But, that you can learn invaluable lessons from others’ failures and hardships.

It’s full of Horowitz’s trademark humor — including stories of what it’s like to poach competitors and fire friends.

This business book was born out of Horowitz’s long-time personal blog.

And, it includes most of his original posts, compiled and adapted into an incredible guide to navigating the inevitable problems that occur in business.

Overall, this book for entrepreneurs is a no-nonsense, uncensored view of what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur.

Four-time New York Times bestselling author Gary Vaynerchuk turns up the heat with his latest book, Crushing It!

Not to be confused with his 2009 business book, Crush It, in which Vaynerchuk argued that a vibrant personal brand is vital to business success.

This book for entrepreneurs showcases new lessons, advice, tactics, and strategies taken from his own experiences, and that of many other powerful influencers and entrepreneurs.

These successful entrepreneurs all shunned the traditional corporate life.

And instead, they built businesses on their own terms to become richer — financially, and personally.

In this lively and inspiring business book, Vaynerchuk dissects every major social media platform and shows you how to use it to increase your brand awareness and grow your business.

So, if you’re looking for actionable advice on how to build a powerful brand on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram , and Snapchat , this book is for you.

But, this isn’t just about professional and financial success.

This is about living life on your own terms .

Tomas Slimas is an ecommerce force of nature.

In The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your First Ecommerce Business , Slimas leads you step-by-step through the process of starting your first ecommerce business.

You’ll learn how to find great products, how to find suppliers, how to launch your ecommerce store, and how to market your products .

And, want to know the craziest part? This book is completely free.

Because Slimas is on a mission to help new entrepreneurs create the business of their dreams.

First, he founded Shopify — the platform to help you build a successful ecommerce store fast.

And now, with this book for entrepreneurs, he teaches you exactly how to make it happen .

More than any other book on this list, this book for entrepreneurs offers extremely specific advice on starting your business. 

That’s a lot of reading!

So, don’t try to do it all at once.

Pick one of these business books to start with. Which one seems the most useful to you right now?

Whichever book you pick, it’ll be worth the time.

Just listen to Warren Buffet…

When asked about the keys to success, he said, “ Read 500 pages every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

But, he’s not talking about you.

You’re going to ‘read to lead’ — so, pick a book and get to it.

Did I miss any awesome books for entrepreneurs? Let us know in the comments below — we read them all!

Want to Learn More

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• How to Retire Early in 9 Steps
• An Ultimate Guide to Peer-to-Peer Lending in 2021

The 30 Best Business Books of 2023

Published: May 22, 2023

When did you last invest time or money into your personal or business development?

Reading business books will improve your mindset, teach you new skills, or allow you to think outside the box. It’s also a great way to become the best version of yourself and inspire others to do the same.

There’s no better time to curl up in a comfortable armchair with your favorite pet in your lap, drink a cup of tea, and dive into some of the best business books of 2023.

Table of Contents

The Benefits of Reading Business Books

Best business books for startups, best business leadership books, best business management books, best books on business strategy, best books about dei in business, best innovation books, best business books for agencies.

No matter how successful you’ve been in your business or job, how much time you spent in school, or how amazing your team might be, you’re bound to face challenges as you move through your career.

Business books — whether they be about starting a business, leading or managing a business, or improving your business — can help you see the problems ahead and create strategies to overcome them.

Most of these books are written by people who have experienced challenges in the business world and lived to tell the tales. Who better to learn from than someone who has already beaten whatever you’re dealing with (or will deal with in the future)?

There are books for every stage of your career, and here are our favorite reads for those interested in startups, management, DEI, and more.

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If there's any silver lining to the economic turmoil we’ve faced, it's that all that unrest has inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs to bring new solutions to market. Starting a new business has a high failure rate — but with the right books, you can increase your chances of surviving.

1. Trajectory: Startup: Ideation to Product/Market Fit by Dave Parker

• Rating: 4.7
• Available on Amazon

This book promises to remove the mystery from the startup process. It offers a path from ideation to launch and revenue in six months with easy-to-follow tasks and timeframes.

What we love: Parker provides a practical guide for aspiring entrepreneurs. You can learn how to turn your ideas into successful products that prospective buyers will love.

Best for: Entrepreneurs

2. The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less by Sahil Lavingia

• Rating: 4.5

The Minimalist Entrepreneur is written for a new generation of founders who would rather build great companies than big ones. Lavingia uses his experience building his company, Gumroad , to help entrepreneurs make smart investments, manage remote workers and gig workers, develop and release products quickly and successfully, and become profitable.

What we love: The idea of achieving more with fewer resources is highly desirable in this digital age.

Best for: Startups with lower budgets and few resources

3. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

• Rating: 4.6

When starting out, you might get caught up spending months building your product or service — only to find that no one wants to buy it. The Lean Startup will help you create a product that customers want (and are happy to pay for) quickly by identifying and testing key assumptions early on. Why waste valuable time, energy, and money when you could avoid the hassle?

What we love: Ries is a founder and CTO of startups. His practical guidance comes from experience and true customer feedback.

Best for: Startups and entrepreneurs

4. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

Want to start a business without capital? This is the book for you.

Guillebeau provides a roadmap for aspiring entrepreneurs on how to identify a profitable niche, create a simple business plan, and launch a business with little financial risk. If you’ve got a passion, Guillebeau believes you can turn it into a business idea.

What we love: Guillebeau emphasizes the role of passion rather than building businesses solely to make money.

Best for: Freelancers, entrepreneurs, graduates

Whether your title implies it or not, everyone can benefit from learning to be a leader. Leadership isn’t just about managing others. It’s about managing yourself and inspiring those around you to be the best possible versions of themselves.

5. Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact by Jenn Lim

• Rating: 4.3

Named a Top Business Book of 2021 by Forbes, Beyond Happiness draws on the science of happiness to show readers that true joy comes from living your true purpose. The book shows company leadership how to help individuals align their purpose with the company mission.

What we love: Beyond Happiness is a refreshing read with a great perspective. We love the emphasis on connection and sustainable contentment.

Best for: Company leadership

6. Trusted Leader: 8 Pillars That Drive Results by David Horsager

Horsager uses his research and experience to teach the Eight Pillars of Trust — clarity, compassion, character, competency, commitment, connection, contribution, and consistency.

He sees trust as an asset and believes that you lose influence when you don't have it. Readers will learn strategies to increase alignment, overcome attrition, and clarify their priorities.

What we love: This book is full of practical and actionable insights. The eight fundamental principles keep the teachings succinct and enriching.

7. Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams

• Rating: 4.8

With a mixture of memoir and instruction, Abrams argues that knowing your own passion is the key to success. Minority Leader speaks to anyone who exists beyond the structure of traditional systemic power and encourages them to make a difference.

What we love: It’s no surprise that Minority Leader is one of the highest-rated books in this roundup. Abrams considers minorities and their challenges, giving the topic a unique perspective.

Best for: Leaders from underrepresented backgrounds

8. Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success by Gary Vaynerchuk

For too long, leaders have relied on "hard skills" to make decisions and ignored the importance of emotional intelligence. In his sixth business book, Vaynerchuk focuses on soft skills like self-awareness and curiosity to accelerate business success.

What we love: High levels of emotional intelligence are crucial for business success. We love Vaynerchuk’s unique perspective and focus on soft skills.

Best for: Leaders, entrepreneurs, graduates

9. MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins

At 688 pages, Tony Robbins’ MONEY Master the Game is the longest book in this roundup, but it covers a lot. That includes asset allocation, diversification, tax planning, and how to manage risks.

What we love: Robbins interviewed over 50 of the world's top investors to uncover their strategies for achieving success in the financial markets.

Best for: Leaders and entrepreneurs

Be the manager you’ve always wanted to work for with these books on business management.

10. Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People by Renee Evenson

Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People promises to create a more harmonious work environment by learning how to deal with difficult personalities — whether they're employees, colleagues, or bosses.

In this book, you’ll learn thirty common personality traits and behaviors. Then, you'll get the best phrases to use with each. Evenson also outlines a five-step process for moving from conflict to resolution. This book will help you stay calm and diffuse conflict in the workplace.

What we love: Business is all about relationships, and building better relationships is key. We love Evenson’s vision and approach to resolving conflict.

Best for: Leaders

11. The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhuo

You’ve been promoted to management… Now what? After struggling as a brand new manager at the age of 25, Zhuo now believes that great managers are made — not born.

This field guide provides insights on what it takes to be a great manager, how to build trust and rapport with your team, what to focus on in the first few months, and how to deal with the increased responsibility. This book is everything Zhuo wished she had known when she accepted her promotion.

What we love: Zhuo shares practical advice and leads with examples through her own stories.

Best for: New managers

12. Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman

As a manager, you have two options for how you’d like to lead your team. You could be the genius that everyone turns to in a bind — or you can unlock the genius in each of your employees.

Multipliers is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller that helps you take the latter approach. Become the manager who makes everyone around them smarter, more capable, and more effective. You can achieve amazing results when you tap into the multiplier mindset.

What we love: Multipliers encourages leaders to amplify the intelligence and capabilities of their teams, leading to increased productivity and success.

13. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

Discover practical and effective strategies for negotiating in both personal and professional contexts. Voss stresses the importance of empathy, active listening, and building rapport in negotiations.

What we love: As a former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss knows what it takes to be adequately persuasive for optimal negotiation.

Best for: Leaders and salespeople

14. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Read How to Win Friends & Influence People and expect to improve your interpersonal relationships in your business and personal life. Carnegie gives you the tools to make people like you and become more influential while gracefully handling difficult situations.

What we love: This book will help you endlessly in both your personal and professional life.

When was the last time you took a bird’s eye view of your business, got out of the daily grind, and focused on your organization’s strategy?

15. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant

What if the most important skill is no longer to think and learn but to r ethink and unlearn ? Grant argues that too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt.

We entertain opinions that make us feel good, rather than ideas that make us think hard. Rather than surrounding yourself with people who agree with our opinions and conclusions, it’s time to look for those who challenge our thought processes.

Grant invites us to release the views that no longer serve us and position ourselves for excellence at work.

What we love: Grant offers insightful strategies for improving critical thinking skills. Expect to have your assumptions challenged so you can foster a growth mindset.

16. Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy by Patrick Bet-David

What if you approached business like a grandmaster in chess? Bet-David invites business strategists to plan five moves ahead — the sweet spot of thoughtful strategy and swift action. Readers will learn to master knowing themselves, building the right team, crafting a strategy to scale, and making power plays.

What we love: Your Next Five Moves offers practical, actionable advice for developing a winning business strategy, backed by real-world examples and insights from successful entrepreneurs.

17. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

How’s this for strategy? If you’re lucky, you’ll live to be around 80 years old. That means that you’ve got 4,000 weeks on this earth. Knowing that your time is finite, what will you do with it? How will you spend your days?

Will you cram in as much work as possible — even if it’s unnecessary — or will you fill your time with what matters? This book offers a fresh perspective on managing your time and, more importantly, how to strategize your life.

What we love: We all have a limited time on earth, and Burkeman offers a thought-provoking perspective on time management. Read this book, and you can expect to make the most of your time by prioritizing what truly matters in life.

Best for: Entrepreneurs, graduates, and leaders

18. Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

Blue Ocean Strategy separates markets with little to no competition (blue oceans) from crowded, highly competitive markets (red oceans) and advises that businesses can create new blue oceans by focusing on innovation instead of blending into existing markets.

What we love: This book offers case studies and examples of successful blue ocean strategies, as well as practical tools and frameworks.

Best for: Entrepreneurs and business strategists

19. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Clear introduces the concept of "atomic habits," which are tiny changes in behavior that can significantly impact long-term success. He argues that the key to changing behavior lies in focusing on small, incremental improvements that compound over time.

What we love: Clear interviews business leaders in Atomic Habits . However, the lessons learned can be valuable for anyone in the business world. You’ll find practical tips that you can apply in your day-to-day life.

Best for: Entrepreneurs and leaders

20. Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

• Rating: 4.4

It’s no secret that lots of us struggle to pay attention in today's fast-paced world. Stolen Focus offers practical solutions for developing deeper thinking skills. Hari explores how technology and constant distractions (like text messages and emails) make it difficult to focus for extended periods.

What we love: Stolen Focus was voted Business Book of the Year by Porchlight . This book is a great read for anyone in business and can transform all aspects of your life.

Best for: Anyone who wants to improve focus

21. We Can't Talk about That at Work!: How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics by Mary-Frances Winters

Conversations on race, religion, and politics are happening at work. The goal should be for these conversations to take place in a way that is effective and not polarizing. In her book, Winters provides the exercises and tools to help leaders and organizations become aware of their cultural backgrounds and increase their understanding of others.

What we love about it: Winters draws on her 36 years of experience to help readers gain skills and understanding for optimal communication and conflict resolution.

Best for: All readers can benefit from Winters’ book and the included self-assessment

22. Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces by Karen Catlin

If your goal is building a more inclusive, engaging workplace, Karen Catlin’s Better Allies is the book for you. In just 282 pages you can expect to find out how you can become a better ally. And better, how you can build a creative and inclusive culture within your business.

What we love about it: Catlin has over 25 years in tech, including a role as the vice president of engineering at Adobe. During her 25 years, Catlin noticed a sharp decline in women working in tech. Catlin sets out to encourage others to become better allies.

Best for: Those in managerial positions who want to better DEI in their teams and organizations

23. Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams by Stefanie K. Johnson

It’s not uncommon for companies to create a culture where inclusivity isn’t at its core, but it should be. In her book, Johnson challenges companies to take sustainable efforts to help everyone feel engaged and included in the workplace.

Johnson’s research finds that leaders who embrace DEI have better relationships and stronger and more cohesive teams. Clearly, there’s a lot to gain from Inclusify .

What we love about it: Johnson lives and breathes inclusivity. She has experience working for some of the biggest companies in the world.

Best for: Team leaders looking to improve workplace relationships and team cohesion

24. The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

Explore how cultural differences impact international business in The Culture Map. Throughout the book, you will decode the nuances of language and cultural expression through research, anecdotes, and examples.

What we love about it: The special focus on international communication.

Best for: International businesses or businesses thinking about expansion

25. Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis

Jarvis believes that staying small has advantages. He shares his own experiences and those of other successful entrepreneurs in Company of One .

He demonstrates how smaller businesses can thrive in today's fast-paced and competitive business landscape through greater flexibility, increased autonomy, and the ability to focus on delivering exceptional products or services to a niche audience.

What we love: Jarvis challenges the traditional idea of business growth. Company of One encourages entrepreneurs to build sustainable, profitable businesses that prioritize quality over quantity.

Best for: Startups, freelancers, and entrepreneurs

26. Freelance Your Way to Freedom: How to Free Yourself from the Corporate World and Build the Life of Your Dreams by Alex Fasulo

The book also has real-life examples, practical tips, and advice for getting your mindset geared for success.

What we love: Alex Fasulo has more than eight year’s experience working in the freelance gig economy. She made her first million on Fiverr and has since shared her freelancing insights on social media.

Best for: Freelancers, graduates, and entrepreneurs

27. The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

Sometimes staying small is advantageous, but why? Clayton Christensen argues that established companies fail to innovate, allowing smaller, more agile competitors to disrupt their industries.

Christensen provides reasons for this and encourages companies to focus less on optimizing existing products and processes. Instead, he inspires the reader to pursue new and untested ideas.

What we love: This classic business book explores why successful companies often fail to innovate and adapt to disruptive technologies and offers strategies for avoiding this dilemma.

28. $100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No by Alex Hormozi

This is the comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs and business owners on how to create irresistible offers that customers can't refuse. Hormozi draws on his own experience as a successful entrepreneur.

You will also learn how to craft compelling offers that drive sales and growth. Plus, you'll find out what it takes to charge what you’re worth and have the courage to ask for it.

What we love: In just 161 pages, Hormozi teaches you how to price products and services so that your customers can’t resist saying yes.

Best for: Entrepreneurs and agency owners

29. Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow

Warrillow provides a step-by-step guide to transforming a service-based business into a product-based one. This book guides you in identifying your agency's unique selling proposition and creating a repeatable sales process.

Plus, this book offers insights into building a management team that can run the business without the owner's constant involvement, making it attractive to potential buyers.

What we love: This book offers advice to agency owners on how to create a sellable and scalable business.

30. T he New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott

Learn how to navigate the marketing and public relations landscape, which is essential and inevitable for every business. Scott emphasizes the importance of using digital tools to engage with customers directly, build brand awareness, and drive revenue.

What we love: This book offers practical advice on creating compelling content that resonates with customers, leveraging search engine optimization (SEO) to improve visibility, and measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Stocking Your Library

If you’re ready to up your business game and be the best you possible, it’s time to update your reading list and get started. There’s a world of wisdom in these books, and it’s yours for the taking.

Don't forget to share this post!

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The 10 Best Business Books of 2020, According to Amazon

Amazon is out with its annual best business books of the year list, just in time for holiday gift giving (and reading)..

Looking for a gift for the reader on your list (or just a few ideas for your own pile of books for holiday reading )? Then Amazon has a few suggestions. Just like every year, the editors are out with their picks for the best books of the year, including a sub-list for various topics and genres. 

You can find all their recommendations here , but if you're  most interested in books that cover business and leadership topics, here are their top 10 picks in that category. 

1. Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg.

"The director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford, [BJ] Fogg has spent years trying to figure out what makes habits stick," said Amazon's editors. In this book , he uses the lessons he's learned from coaching more than 40,000 people to help you achieve whatever goal you're aiming for in 2021. 

2. If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future by Jill Lepore.

Also a finalist for the Financial Times 's  best business book of the year award , this title by Harvard historian  Jill Lepore traces the history of the Cold War-era company, the Simulmatics Corporation. Controversies about the company's data mining and message targeting eerily echoes today's worries about social media. 

3. The Passion Economy by Adam Davidson.

If you're looking for an optimistic read to finish off a pretty grim 2020, you could do a lot worse than this book from New Yorker staff writer Adam Davidson. " The Passion Economy is exactly what everyone needs today: Examples of how to thrive in an economy that can seem overwhelming, and crystal-clear explanations of how to succeed," said best-selling author Charles Duhigg. 

4. Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual by Jocko Willink.

A field manual to leadership from the former Navy SEAL-turned-best-selling author, " Leadership Strategy and Tactics explains how to take leadership theory, quickly translate that theory into applicable strategy, and then put leadership into action at a tactical level," said Amazon. 

5. Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir by Marsha M. Linehan.

In this one , Marsha M. Linehan "tells the story of her journey from suicidal teenager to world-renowned developer of the life-saving behavioral therapy DBT, using her own struggle to develop life skills for others," according to Amazon. Grit author Angela Duckworth called it, "a brilliant memoir by one of the greatest pioneers in psychotherapy history."

6. The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler.

Here's Tony Robbins's rave review of this title : "[Peter] Diamandis and [Steven] Kotler have written a powerful and beautiful masterpiece outlining a compelling future for humanity.  The Future Is Faster Than You Think offers CEOs and entrepreneurs a clear vision on the transformation of every major industry this decade. Required reading for anyone who wants to surf above the tsunami of change."

7. Designing Your Work Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.

You don't have to go back to pre-pandemic normal  at work if you don't want to. Designing Your Work Life , from two Stanford Design School professors, "teaches readers how to create the job they want--without necessarily leaving the job they already have," said Amazon. 

8. Leadership Is Language by L. David Marquet.

A fascinating read by a former nuclear submarine commander, Leadership Is Language argues that your mental image of leadership is probably all wrong and offers a modern alternative to the outdated command-and-control approach. Wharton professor Adam Grant called the book, "full of compelling advice on how to lead more effectively." 

9. Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty

Piketty's unlikely doorstop of a bestseller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century , was one of the most-discussed books of the decade. Now the French economist has followed it up with Capital and Ideology . Wired describes the book as, "nothing less than a global history of inequality and the stories that societies tell to justify it."

10. The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac

In The Future We Choose , Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac--who led negotiations for the United Nations during the historic Paris Agreement of 2015--outline two possible scenarios for our planet. In one, they describe what life on Earth will be like by 2050 if we fail to meet the Paris climate targets. In the other, they lay out, "What it will be like to live in a carbon neutral, regenerative world," said Amazon. Which will we choose?

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7 Top Business Plan Books for New-age Entrepreneurs

Free Ultimate Guide On Writing A Business Plan

• October 18, 2023

12 Min Read

Business Plan books are the first thing to go for once you have decided on the idea you want to pursue as an entrepreneur.

Starting up as an entrepreneur is not as simple as it seems. Transforming your idea into a business that creates value for the world is a long process.

The process is full of uncertainties, hurdles, and burnout. To make consistent efforts without giving up, you need a plan you can rely upon.

A plan that helps you in making wise decisions in your entrepreneurial journey is known as a business plan.

It also helps in refining processes and keeps you in line with your business goals.

Now, how would you create a business plan?

Well, you can anyhow get to know what it contains. However, to easily create a business plan that covers all aspects of your business, you must read these books.

In this article, we are going to discuss the 7 top business plan books written for ambitious entrepreneurs like you!

Best Business Plan Books

• Art of the Start 2.0
• The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies
• The Founder’s Dilemma
• The One-Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur
• The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan
• Anatomy of a Business Plan
• The Complete Book of Business Plans

1. Art of the Start 2.0

Goodreads rating: 3.87/5

The author of this book is American millionaire Guy Kawasaki. Though his name is enough for anyone to stand up from their seats let me tell you a few things about him.

• He worked with Apple in 1984 as a part of the marketing team for Macintosh computers.
• He is the author of 12 books including The Art of Social Media, and Enchantment.
• He is currently working as the chief evangelist of Canva which is a graphic designing software.

Now coming to what this book holds for you, it’s one of those books that focus on transforming your business idea into a full-fledged organization.

Guy Kawasaki explains why it is important to have a vision and how you, as an entrepreneur, can feed your team with the same vision.

If your team does not adhere to the same vision, there will always be chaos in the workspace.

You must also share stories about your product and your journey. Everyone loves stories. You don’t have to write a 300-page book but a few social media posts, and videos that resonate well with your target audience.

The book also guides entrepreneurs while hiring. It tells you to hire people who are new in the industry. They are most likely to innovate new products as they consistently ask questions.

Key Highlight:

This book will help you in writing a business plan along with guiding you in various steps of entrepreneurship. This book holds something for every aspect of entrepreneurship.

It also stresses how you can use the internet and cloud tools to make the processes more accessible and more efficient. In the modern era, businesses are equipped with tools that are affordable and accessible to everyone.

Moreover, the book also throws light on socializing and partnering with the right people for leadership roles or to get funding.

By reading this book, you will feel more powerful as an entrepreneur and will be ready to take on challenges that come along with entrepreneurship.

This book doesn’t sound like rhetoric and probably that’s why this book received appreciation from all across the world.

Book Link- Art of the Start 2.0

A reader’s review:

The focus is on tech entrepreneurs. While much of the advice is applicable to other industries, the book will hit the bullseye specifically with those starting technology businesses.

Anita Campbell (via Goodreads)

2. The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies

The author of the book is Rhonda Abrams who has written more than 12 books on entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur herself, the knowledge she shares is absolute gold and trustworthy.

She also writes one of the most popular columns in the US known as Small Business Strategies.

Let us now discuss what Rhonda Abrams has taught in her book.

The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies is a complete guide for anyone stuck in writing. It is one of those books that give you a push to start working on your idea.

This book contains various worksheets and charts which makes it consumable as well as practical.

You will get enough examples of various parts of a business plan , giving you an in-depth idea of what it looks like and how it is written.

This book not only teaches you to write a business plan that reminds you about your vision but also this plan can help you get investors on board.

It also equips you with strategies to get funds at the best possible rates and also to minimize the costs involved in running a business.

It gives you an in-depth understanding of positioning your brand in the market to gain the attention of your target audience and thus derive maximum profit.

Moreover, you can also use it for competitions related to showcasing plans for their businesses. The book is used by many entrepreneurs and is recommended to every small business.

Book Link- The Successful Business Plan

There’s enough information here to help you get almost any business started. This is a proven source, for it’s been through several re-prints since 1991.

Jeffrey Brown (via Goodreads)

3. The Founder’s Dilemma

Goodreads rating: 4.01/5

The book, The Founder’s dilemma, is one of the best business plan books by Noam Wasserman. Apart from this, he has written another bestseller known as Life is a startup.

Noam Wasserman served as a professor at Harvard Business school for 13 years and is currently working at the University of Southern California as a founding Director at the Founder Central Initiative.

The book he wrote is an absolute beauty. Not because he has told some hidden secrets but because he has addressed a problem that many entrepreneurs often ignore.

And that problem is the company’s leadership. You might have a billion-dollar business idea and even have cracked the tech for it, but you might still fail because of listening to the wrong advice.

If you want your business to not suffer due to wrong decisions made by top leadership, you must read this book.

This book will help you in deciding whom you want to work with, and how to share the equity among co-founders and employees without being emotional.

However, this book might not be useful for small businesses but is a gem for someone planning to launch a high-growth business.

Book Link – The Founder’s Dilemma

I’ve never seen a book before that was particularly helpful – to a founder – about the wide range of issues a founder will face.

Brad Feld (via Goodreads)

4. The One-Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

Goodreads rating: 3.86/5

The author of this mind-blowing book is none other than Jim Horan.

Known for his expertise in solving complex business problems , Jim has helped many entrepreneurs in turning their businesses into profit-making machines.

Jim Horan has also been a Fortune 500 executive and has written six books in the One Page Business Plan for Creative Entrepreneur series.

This book is quite different from other books as it is written for entrepreneurs who do not understand a lot about business figures but want to get started soon.

There’s a saying that if you cannot write your business plan on a single page, you are probably doing it wrong.

The book enables you to write it in a couple of hours which includes your mission, objectives, and plans.

It will be crisp and easy to understand for your investors as well as the team. In this fast-moving world, it becomes really uncomfortable to give a week preparing a business plan.

You have the idea and with the help of this book, you can turn the idea into a business in no time.

Having said that, this book is not recommended to someone who is building a high-growth company or a business with many manufacturing units.

This book is specially designed for small businesses to increase their profits and improve their vision.

Book Link – The One-Page Business Plan

One of my favorites! I have used these templates many times. It really forces you to be concise and focus on your vision. Highly recommend!

Teri Temme (via Goodreads)

5. The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

Goodreads rating: 3.70/5

The author of this book Hal Shelton is an extremely experienced executive who has worked with many corporations, non-profits, and investment companies.

Hal Shelton completed his BS from Carnegie Mellon University and then pursued an MBA from the University of Chicago.

The secrets to writing a successful Business Plan focus on each section of the plan to help you create one that stands out in front of the investors.

The book also informs you about the common errors entrepreneurs make while writing. These errors sometimes cost very high as they might create confusion for investors as well as for the team.

You will also learn to do the market analysis and write the same in your plan. You will be able to answer questions like how big is the market and whether it is sufficient to run a successful business or not.

Investors receive a lot of business plans and going through each one of them is not feasible. Therefore writing an executive summary becomes extremely important.

The executive summary is an easy way to grab investors’ attention and help them understand your business without going through lengthy documents.

If you are launching a non-profit organization, this book can help you in many ways as a section of the book is dedicated to non-profits.

Moreover, the book also consists of secret strategies for writing a business plan and getting bank loans or funding from investors.

Book Link – The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

This book provides a very solid foundation to write your plan. The author also provides excellent examples and instructions as to what to and not to do in writing your business plan

Kirk G. Meyer (via Goodreads)

6. Anatomy of a Business Plan

The author of this book, Linda Pinson, has worked very closely with the U.S. small business administration to write the government business plan publication.

She has also been honored as Education Advocate of the year and SBA regional women in Business advocate of the year.

Apart from this book, she has written many books on entrepreneurship such as Keeping the books and steps to start a small business startup.

This is one of the best business books for people who do not know anything about business plans.

This book provides you with an in-depth understanding of different business plans and will enable you to choose your ideal kind.

After reading the book, you will learn to update your plan according to the needs of your business and the position of your brand in the market.

The author also highlights the importance of mentioning the table of contents and executive summary in navigating smoothly through the book.

Apart from this, it also throws light on how you can efficiently market your business. You will also learn how to mention the financials of your company which is an important thing to do.

The Anatomy of a Business Plan also contains five real-life business plans which give you an understanding of how successful businesses can be explained in a few pages.

You also get a few worksheets which makes the overall experience of reading the book delightful.

Book Link – Anatomy of a Business Plan

This book is like “a mentor for your business plan”. Really informative and helpful.

Marvin Musfiq (via Goodreads)

7. The Complete Book of Business Plans

Goodreads rating: 3.47/5

The authors of this book are Brian Hazelgran and Joseph A. Covello. Both of them have a great understanding of how businesses operate in this book. They have told us that one size doesn’t fit all.

That means business plans for different businesses cannot be written in the same way.

This book contains 12+ plans that give you an idea of how you write one for yourself.

This book also focuses on how you should bring people into your business and what vision you should have to run the business for decades.

Moreover, when you read the book you will have to ask a lot of questions to yourself. The book will compel you to ask questions yourself that are immensely important before writing it.

Once you give satisfactory answers to the questions asked, you will feel more motivated to start a business , and writing a business will look like a cakewalk.

The above quote shows how important it is to plan your business and create a visionary plan for your business.

Book Link – The Complete Book of Business Plans

Great book encompassing everything about writing business plans.

Denny Troncoso (via Goodreads)

Bottom Line

All the Business plan books that we discussed above are going to help you in some way or the other.

But don’t worry you don’t need to read all of them. Just figure out where you stand and where you would want to go and select a book accordingly.

Innovative tools present in the industry like Upmetrics have helped many entrepreneurs in business and financial planning. If you need more help writing a perfect business plan, check out Upmetrics NOW and grow 2X faster.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

Related Articles On Business Plan Writing

• A Guide to Write an Effective Business Plan Executive Summary
• Formulating a Detailed Business Plan Outline
• Get Your Business Plan Written by Expert Writers
• How Many Pages Should a Good business Plan Be
• Understand the Operations Plan Section in a Business Plan
• How to Design a Compelling Business Plan Cover Page
• Guidelines for Formulating a Business Plan Table of Contents
• Importance of a Confidentiality Statement in a Business Plan

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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The 10 Best Business Books – Essential Reading for Success

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With so many books about business out there, it’s tough to know which ones to read — and believe. 

These 10 best business books are critically acclaimed best-sellers, recommended over and over by both readers and experts. Read them all for a crash course in business success!

Zero to One

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s #1 New York Times bestseller rethinks the American way of innovation, encouraging entrepreneurs to create new concepts by truly thinking for themselves. If you’re part of a startup and planning for the future, there’s no better place to start than Zero .

Key takeaways

• Doing something new = going from 0 to 1
• New inventions are waiting to be created
• How to make your ideas a reality

What reviewers say

“ Zero to One should be read not just by aspiring entrepreneurs but by anyone seeking a thoughtful alternative to the current pervasive gloom about the prospects for the world.” — The Economist

Shelve under: #economicpolicy #entrepreneurship #startingabusiness

The E-Myth Revisited

Think you know everything about entrepreneurs? Michael E. Gerber wants you to think again. The revised version of this classic from “the world’s #1 small business guru” further dispels the assumptions and misconceptions involved with starting and growing a successful company. 

• Most business starters are not entrepreneurs 
• The differences between working on and in your business
• Knowing how a business works is not the same thing as running one

“Gerber loves to exhort people to develop powerful visions for their companies.” — Fortune

Shelve under: #businessmanagement #entrepreneurship #leadership

Good to Great

After the success of Built to Last — a bestseller based on a six-year business research project — Jim Collins returned with five years of findings from a 28-company study. The first in a six-book series, Good to Great is essential for entrepreneurs seeking greatness. 

• Types of leadership required to make the leap
• Why some companies succeed and others don’t
• Data and interviews reveal the keys to greatness 

“One of the top ten business books of 2001.” — Business Week

Shelve under: #businessmanagement #companybusinessprofiles #leadership 

The Lean Startup

In his investigation of successful startups and the entrepreneurs behind them, Eric Ries examines what keeps businesses going when the future is uncertain. Adopting an approach based on lean manufacturing, Ries shares innovative ways to achieve success while remaining agile in the business world.

• What it takes to succeed despite uncertainty
• Launching and maintaining a successful startup 
• How lean manufacturing facilitates business agility

“If you are an entrepreneur, read this book. If you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, read this book. If you are just curious about entrepreneurship, read this book. Starting lean is today’s best practice for innovators. Do yourself a favor and read this book.” — Randy Komisar, founding director of TiVo & author of The Monk and the Riddle

Shelve under: #businessmanagement #entrepreneurship #startingabusiness 

Start with Why

Simon Sinek’s inquisitive bestseller has seen success ranging from TikTok to TED Talks, but why? Investigating the motivations behind influence and innovation, Sinek answers the question of what it takes to make it — and keep making it — in today’s competitive business world.

• The big questions great leaders ask 
• Inside the success of top influencers 
• Why some are more successful than others

“ Start with Why fanned the flames inside me. This book can lead you to levels of excellence you never considered attainable.” — General Charles Horner, air boss in Operation “Desert Shield/Desert Storm”

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey’s study on success is considered the #1 most influential business book of the 20th century, and for good reason. With 40+ million copies sold since its first publication in 1989, Covey’s step-by-step guide to personal and professional achievement is still highly effective. 

• Proactive solutions for personal and professional problems
• How to wield the effective power of discipline and character
• Tips for effectively adapting to and taking advantage of change

“Every so often a book comes along that not only alters the lives of readers but leaves an imprint on the culture itself. The 7 Habits is one of those books.” — Daniel Pink, author of Drive and When

Shelve under: #businessmanagement #leadership #selfhelp

Even if you’ve never owned a pair of Nikes, this memoir from the footwear company’s creator and CEO is worth checking out. Following founder Phil Knight’s journey from startup to success, the story of the famous Nike swoosh takes an inspiring jog down memory lane to show just how he did it.

• Insights on Knight’s success despite setbacks
• How forming the right relationships led to success
• The tale of Nike’s first sales from the trunk of a car

“The best book I read […] was Shoe Dog by Nike’s Phil Knight. Phil is a very wise, intelligent, and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller.” — Warren Buffett, Chairman & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

Shelve under: #biography #memoir #startingabusiness 

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Initially published in 1997, Robert T. Kiyosaki’s unflinching insights on generational wealth have only gained value over time. The 20th anniversary edition of “the #1 personal finance book of all time” revisits the Kiyosaki family’s financial advice and features new lessons from both of his father figures.

• Being rich doesn’t require a high income
• Passing family wealth to future generations
• Lessons on making your money work for you

“It’s interesting that, no matter how successful you get, it’s really difficult to shake your mindset. I still have a poor-person mentality. I can’t shake it, and it gets really detrimental when you can’t just shake off the ideas.” — Will Smith, discussing Rich Dad Poor Dad on Oprah

Shelve under: #economics #moneymanagement #personalfinance 

The 4-Hour Workweek

Named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People,” lifestyle guru Timothy Ferriss kicked off his 4-Hour self-help book series with this excellent guide to escaping the grind. Whether you want to get rich quicker or just get away from the 9–5, this is the book “4” you. 😉

• Real-life stories of lifestyle success
• A guide to working smarter, not harder
• Ways to maximize money and minimize work

“ The 4-Hour Workweek is a new way of solving a very old problem: just how can we work to live and prevent our lives from being all about work? A world of infinite options awaits those who would read this book and be inspired by it!” — Michael E. Gerber, Founder & Chairman of EMyth and author of The EMyth Revisited

Shelve under: #economics #selfhelp #timemanagement 

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ben Horowitz confronts the difficult truths of starting and sustaining a business from scratch in this hard-hitting book. Praised by Peter Thiel as “the first true guide for protecting a startup from self-sabotage,” this read is just what the subtitle suggests: a guide to building a business when there are no easy answers.

• Business lessons in the form of lyrics
• Insider insight on launching and leading startups
• Practical business wisdom based on personal experience

“There is more than enough substance in Mr. Horowitz’s impressive tome to turn it into a leadership classic.” — The Economist

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The 10 Best Books for Writing a Business Plan

• Ivaylo Durmonski
• Reading Lists

There are a lot of insightful thoughts around the concept of planning. In a sense, planning helps you forecast the “weather” of your business. Prepares you for what might happen. And distance you, hopefully, further away from your business going to dust. Most importantly, it allows you to think about the type of tasks you should focus on doing today. Do we know how to plan our business if we’re not business owners , though?

There is nothing wrong with having a regular job.

A lot of people are doing it.

Theoretically, since we’re born. We enter a sophisticated system of government-operated institutions that aim to spit us out after approximately 20 years, ready to help someone else grow his dream business.

You’re thought -sort of – how to plan your career. But you’re never thought how to plan your business.

Regardless of your current situation. The idea of starting a business or learning basic business skills will surely reach your mind at some point.

If you’re still not sure whether or not this is something you can achieve on your own. The business books mentioned below are specifically selected to boost your planning skills.

These books, of course, primarily serve business owners or people that are dreaming of becoming such.

Yet, these reads will definitely expand your horizon even if you don’t plan on starting your own thing right now. They will give you a perspective that will force you to think long term – the best way of thinking.

The 10 Best Books for Writing a Business Plan:

1. the goal by eliyahu goldratt, 2. the one page business plan for the creative entrepreneur by jim horan, 3. mind your business by ilana griffo, 4. business plan template and example by alex genadinik, 5. the best-laid business plans by paul barrow, 6. smart business by ming zeng, 7. measure what matters by john e. doerr, 8. your next five moves by patrick bet-david, 9. business model generation by alexander osterwalder, 10. playing to win by a.g. lafley.

What’s the book about?

The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt is a novel. A fascinating story that describes the life of a business owner who is facing a series of obstacles that, if not handled well, will lead to a catastrophic ending of the company he is running. Mr. Goldratt presents this fictional business environment to teach us an important lesson: That the speed of a convoy is determined by the slowest ship.

Who is it for?

Especially interesting for people who already own businesses but are struggling to grow. For people who can’t adequately articulate what is wrong with what they are doing. Eliyahu Goldratt teaches us that we should observe a business as a series of systems . The faster the systems operate. The faster you’ll grow. To speed up this process, first, you need to identify the weakest link and improve upon the process.

Thought-Provoking Quote:

“Since the strength of the chain is determined by the weakest link, then the first step to improve an organization must be to identify the weakest link.” Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Get the book | Read my summary

In this book, Jim Horan compiles his years of experience as a Fortune 500 executive and business consultant. The pages will help you quickly form a simple business plan based on the most successful companies in the world. The book goes through the 5 stages every organization hoping to make a profit from their products and/or services needs: Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, Action.

This resource is great for people just starting their online or offline venture. Folks who are considering the idea of starting a business but are not quite sure what to do first. The One Page Business Plan For Creative Entrepreneur will show you the exact steps you need to begin your entrepreneurial journey.

Get the book

This long-winded title is here to show you how to start a business from scratch. Ilana Griffo, the author, shares her journey on how she started her side hustle which eventually become a six-figure design studio. A lot of readers describe this title as everything you need to learn about being your own boss. Of course, it all starts with planning.

Great book for anyone dreaming about starting a creative project both online and/or offline. The honest tips and the real-world insights will show you exactly what you need to do. How to start and how to plan your day. The book is the perfect companion that will be your guide in your money-making journey.

Simply put, this title will help you create a professional business plan. The author even boasts that you will do the planning in minutes. Not that you should rush. But the included exercises and the questions Alex Genadinik is asking in the book will help you think critically about your overall structure and the products you will be creating – or refining if you already have existing goods.

The program presented in this title is used by a number of universities to teach students how to plan better. As stated in the description, the book… “will help you identify the most effective business strategies for your situation.” You will start by writing a short 3-sentence business plan which will focus you on what’s truly important.

“Product: What is the product or service? What benefit does it provide and to whom? Can you make it inexpensively and of high quality? What form will it take? Website? App? Brick and mortar business? Marketing: Identify a few of the most effective marketing strategies to promote your business Finances: What are the major sources of revenue? How will this happen profitably? When will you achieve financial sustainability? Do you need to raise money for this? How much?” Alex Genadinik

The first book I read on business planning. Foreword by Richard Branson. This title is dated, but still adequate even though everything is happening online these days. The text will teach you the most important ideas around planning a business. It’s full of case studies about different projects and ideas. The author carefully explains how to present your business plan to others in a way that everyone will get.

This book will explain in a simple way why it’s essential and how you should approach the subject of planning in general. The ideas inside are great for people who are looking to raise money or get approval from seniors for their proposed course of action. Also, if you’re still not convinced that you need planning, this book will surely change your perspective.

Written by Ming Zeng, the former Chief of Staff and strategy adviser to Alibaba Group’s founder Jack Ma. This book presents a framework that will help business owners create a winning future strategy for their companies. The titles reveal some of the revolutionary practices Alibaba developed to rapidly increase efficiency.

We commonly read about what Google is doing or about what other Silicon Valley unicorns are working on. It’s a good idea to take a fresh eastern perspective on how to operate your business. Smart Business will show you how to use cutting-edge technologies to plan and scale your business.

Measure What Matter will teach you how to use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as an approach to make decisions in business. The legendary John Doerr has helped some of the best companies in the world to scale and exceed their yearly goals by using this simple method.

With time, every owner begins to collect all kinds of data to measure whether or not his project is succeeding. Sadly, many entrepreneurs end up being fixated on the wrong things. This book will explain what you need to measure and why. Helping you focus on the right things so you can reach explosive growth.

“We must realize—and act on the realization—that if we try to focus on everything, we focus on nothing.” John Doerr

In short, this book is about figuring out what you should do next. Taking a holistic view of your business is always a good way to think about where you plan to go. Occasionally, though, you also need to think and plan about what you should do right now – planning your next few moves. The steps inside this title will help you gain clarity on what you really want, who you want to be, and what to do to get these things.

For those who are not only working on businesses, but in business as well. Patrick Bet-David explains how to not let emotions cloud your judgment. How to switch from a broad view of your business to a narrower view. Essentially, the lessons inside will help you identify your true self. Understand who you want to be and where you want to go, both in your life and in your business.

“Your vision must align with who you want to be. Your choices must align with your vision. Your effort must align with the size of your vision. Your behavior must align with your values and principles.” Patrick Bet-David

Full of visual elements, Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers will help you soak up the knowledge and figure out your own business model. This is not your regular book where you’ll be presented with a wall of text. The title is full of infographics and design elements that will prompt you to actively work on defining your business plan and your strategy.

I’d say that this book is for people who are kind of tired of the traditional corporate-heavy jargon that is usually part of business literature. This title combines useful information and presents it in an easily digestible matter that will surely increase your comprehension and your participation when using the material.

“People are moved more by stories than by logic. Ease listeners into the new or unknown by building the logic of your model into a compelling narrative.” Alexander Osterwalder

Written by a long-standing Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO, this book might seem a bit dry for your taste. Well, it surely is. Rarely anyone below CEO will relate to the mentioned examples. Yet, this read will change the way you think about your business. You’ll become more strategic with your daily decisions. You will become better at identifying what to do and what not to do.

Great companies do not become great by accident. They become great thanks to the strategic choices they make. Even if you don’t end up getting the book, simply consider the title for a moment: “Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works”. Now, ask yourself, are you playing to win, or are you simply playing? This question alone will disturb your current processes and assist you in finding the best course of action for your business.

“The heart of strategy is the answer to two fundamental questions: where will you play, and how will you win there?” A.G. Lafley

Some Closing Thoughts

Business planning is important for various reasons.

Not only you’ll get clarity on where you’ll want to go. But you will also set a to-do list that will portray how to get to where you want.

More specifically, conducting a business plan will force you to think about what type of business you want to create. Understand your core motivators. Help you find your unique proposition and how you are different from the rest of the businesses out there.

I’ve hand-picked the selection of business books above so you can plan better. Of course, you don’t need to read all of the titles. Usually one or two from the list is enough to get you moving in the right direction.

If you’re looking for more reads on the topic. Make sure to check my must-read business books list. Or, the selection of books on how to start a business (plus my business book summaries ).

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19 Best Business Plan Books of All Time

Our goal : Find the best Business Plan books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

• Type "best business plan books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
• Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
• Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊 (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

• Best Business Plan Books

The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

The fastest, easiest way to write a business plan.

The Art of the Start 2.0

The time-tested, battle-hardened guide for anyone starting anything.

Guy Kawasaki

Successful Business Plan

Secrets & strategies.

Rhonda Abrams

The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

A pro shares a step-by-step guide to creating a plan that gets results.

Hal Shelton

The Lean Startup

How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses.

The Founder's Dilemmas

Anticipating and avoiding the pitfalls that can sink a startup.

Noam Wasserman

How to Write a Business Plan

Mike P. McKeever

The Complete Book of Business Plans

Simple steps to writing powerful business plans.

Joseph A Covello

The 1-Page Marketing Plan

Get new customers, make more money, and stand out from the crowd.

Business Model Generation

A handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers.

Alexander Osterwalder

Starting a Business QuickStart Guide

The simplified beginner’s guide to launching a successful small business, turning your vision into reality, and achieving your entrepreneurial dream.

Ken Colwell

Mind Your Business

A workbook to grow your creative passion into a full-time gig.

Ilana Griffo

Writing Winning Business Plans

How to prepare a business plan that investors will want to read and invest in.

Garrett Sutton

Burn the Business Plan

What great entrepreneurs really do.

Carl J. Schramm

Anatomy of a Business Plan

The step-by-step guide to building a business and securing your company's future.

Linda Pinson

The Book on Business Planning

Writing a Convincing Business Plan

Arthur R. DeThomas Ph.D.

Hit the Deck

Create a business plan in half the time, with twice the impact.

David Ronick

Creating a Business Plan For Dummies

Veechi Curtis

• 12 Books You Should Read Before Starting a Business www.businessinsider.com
• Business Plan Books www.mymoneybooks.com
• The 9 Best Business Plan Books www.thebalancesmb.com
• 20 Best Books on The Business Plan - Bigger Investing www.biggerinvesting.com
• 20 Best Books on How to Write a Business Plan in 2023 www.profitableventure.com

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The most famous book set in every state

• Business Insider identified the most famous book set in every state through surveys and research.
• The list features various genres, from historical fiction and thrillers to romance novels. 
• This compilation highlights America's diverse literary landscape.

One of the best ways to learn more about a place and its people is by traveling there — but when you can't do that, books are your next best bet.

To borrow from Dr Seuss ' "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! " : "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

In the US, where each state has a storied past and varied cultures and traditions, there's so much to explore. If you're curious about life in Louisiana or itching to experience the many neighborhoods in New York City — or just love reading about new places — one way to travel across the country without going through the trouble of rental cars or airports is by picking a book in the comfort of your home.  To ensure you have the most wholesome literary tour around the country, Business Insider scoured published listings and surveyed our reporters for their best picks, rounding up the most famous book set in every state — and, as a bonus — Washington DC, too.  Here are the most famous books set in every state. 

Melissa Stanger contributed reporting on a previous version of this post.

ALABAMA: "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

When a local attorney is asked to defend an African American man accused of rape, he has to decide between doing what's right and doing what society expects of him, launching his children right in the middle of the conflict.

This Pulitzer Prize winner is set in Maycomb, a community divided by racism and inspired by Lee's hometown of Monroeville.

Find out more about this book here.

ALASKA: "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Christopher McCandless, a young man from a family of money, donates all of his savings to charity and abandons his possessions before hitchhiking into the Alaskan wilderness to reinvent himself.

This true-story survival-drama was made into a movie of the same name in 2007, directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch, shedding light on McCandless' idealism of a life unburdened by material possessions and the harsh realities of the Alaskan wild.

ARIZONA: "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver

Taylor is well on her way to escaping small-town life. But shortly into her journey to Tucson, Arizona, where she hopes to start over, a stranger leaves her with a Native American toddler with a traumatic past.

Kingsolver's story of finding salvation in a barren situation is packed with real places and events.

ARKANSAS: "A Painted House" by John Grisham

Luke Chandler lives on a cotton farm with his parents and grandparents and suddenly finds himself keeping the deadly secrets of harvest workers. The legal-thriller follows the 7-year-old as he grows up and loses his innocence in the 1950s.

The narrator's upbringing in rural Arkansas inspired this coming-of-age tale.

CALIFORNIA: "Play It As It Lays" by Joan Didion

Joan Didion's 1970 novel established her as a master fiction writer in addition to an already acclaimed nonfiction one. Set in Nevada, New York, and Hollywood, it's "an indictment of Hollywood culture" in the 1960s and utterly gripping in its intensity. Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne, adapted the book into a movie in 1972.

COLORADO: "The Shining" by Stephen King

A recovering alcoholic writer accepts a position as winter caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel, which sits in the Colorado Rockies. He moves in with his family, including 5-year-old son Danny, who has psychic abilities and begins to witness aspects of the hotel's horrific past.

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, which inspired the fictional Overlook, offers a Ghost Adventure Package for guests.

CONNECTICUT: "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates

Considered the original anti-suburban novel, "Revolutionary Road" follows a young, bright couple marooned in Connecticut and trying to escape pressure to conform in the 1950s. Their failed attempts to be different lead to self-destructive affairs and a psychotic breakdown.

In 2008, the book was adapted into a movie  of the same name starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

DELAWARE: "The Saint of Lost Things" by Christopher Castellani

Seven years after settling in Wilmington, an Italian couple is still in pursuit of the American Dream. Maddalena sews at a factory, but desperately wants to be a mother, while her husband's nighttime escapades threaten to unravel all their hard work.

Castellani wove bits of his own family history into the book. His Italian father, who emigrated to Wilmington after World War II, dreamed of opening a restaurant in Wilmington's Little Italy neighborhood just like Maddalena's husband did.

FLORIDA: "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

A classic work of African-American literature, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is about Janie Crawford, a woman living in the town of Eaton, Florida.

Hurston was one of the most prominent writers of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s, publishing the novel in 1937. But she slipped into obscurity in the later years of her life, and "Eyes" went out of print until Alice Walker championed her in the 1970s. Now, the book is taught in classrooms around the country.

GEORGIA: "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell

Mitchell's 1936 classic love story, set in the South during the Civil War and its aftermath, introduced the world to Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. O'Hara, the young spoiled daughter of a plantation owner, and her rogue star-crossed lover are torn apart and reunited through the tragedies and comedies of the human existence.

Mitchell spent nine years writing her manuscript, and the ensuing, unwanted fame led her to vow she would never write again.

But the book has been criticized for its portrayal of slavery, for romanticizing the Confederacy, and for its inclusion of racist stereotypes. In 2023, a new edition of the book came with a warning from its UK publisher, Pan Macmillan, that "there may be hurtful or indeed harmful phrases and terminology that were prevalent at the time this novel was written," The Telegraph reported.

HAWAII: "Hawaii" by James Michener

The first of Michener's mammoth sagas, "Hawaii" tells the islands' history, from its creation by volcanic activity to its evolving identity as the most recent of the 50 US states.

Michener sought to show how Hawaii harmonizes different cultures and races, as a template that would benefit the rest of the country. However, he and his wife, the daughter of Japanese immigrants, faced harsh discrimination while living there.

IDAHO: "Housekeeping" by Marilynne Robinson

Little to do with housekeeping, Robinson's poetic story follows two orphaned girls who are cared for by eccentric female relatives in the fictional town of Fingerbone.

Robinson describes the town as  "chastened by an outsized landscape and extravagant weather."  This, and many other details in "Housekeeping," conjure images of her own Idaho hometown of Sandpoint.

ILLINOIS: "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair

The story of a Lithuanian immigrant employed in Chicago's stockyards, where Sinclair worked undercover to research for the book, revealed the poverty, hopelessness, and unpleasant living and working conditions experienced by meatpacking laborers in the early 20th century.

The book's graphic depictions of the slaughterhouse work caused a public uproar that contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act six months after "The Jungle" was published.

INDIANA: "The Magnificent Ambersons" by Booth Tarkington

Written by a native Hoosier , the novel centers on characters struggling to preserve their status during the rapid industrialization between the Civil War and 20th century. The aristocratic Amberson family loses its prestige and wealth as "new money" tycoons take over.

Woodruff Place, Indianapolis' earliest suburb , was the setting for Tarkington's "The Magnificent Ambersons," which Orson Welles later adapted as a movie.

IOWA: "A Thousand Acres" by Jane Smiley

When an Iowa farmer decides to retire, he plans to divide his thousand acres of land among his three daughters. The youngest objects, setting off a chain of events that unleashes long-suppressed emotions and secrets. It's a modern-day "King Lear."

Smiley's narrator describes the farm in Zebulon County as "paid for, no encumbrances, as flat and fertile, black, friable and exposed as any piece of land on the face of the earth," like a lot of land in Iowa.

KANSAS: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum

There's no place like the Great Kansas Plains.

Baum's imaginative tale of Dorothy Gale from Kansas and her Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion friends was the best-selling children's story of the 1900 Christmas season and spawned the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz."

KENTUCKY: "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Uncle Tom, a long-suffering enslaved person, is sold by the Shelby family and begins a journey that, for 19th-century readers, depicted the realities of slavery and endorsed the power of Christian love to overcome all obstacles.

Stowe based the abolitionist novel on the first-hand stories of former enslaved people in Kentucky, a slave state, while she lived across the Ohio River in Cincinnati. Its powerful condemnation of slavery fueled the human rights debate in the mid-19th century.

LOUISIANA: "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

"A Confederacy of Dunces" is one of the funniest American novels ever published. It's hard to describe, but it's basically about a 30-year-old man named Ignatius J. Reilly who lives with his mother in New Orleans. Reilly is educated and philosophically opposed to having a job, but has to confront reality when his mom makes him get one.

The story behind the novel is as famous as the novel itself. It was Toole's first published novel, published 11 years after his death after being championed by his mother and the writer Walker Percy. It was released to instant acclaim, winning a rare posthumous Pulitzer Prize.

MAINE: "Carrie" by Stephen King

Carrie, a shy high school girl raised by an unstable, Christian fundamentalist mother, discovers she has telekinetic powers. When her classmates falsely crown her prom queen in an elaborate effort to humiliate her, she enacts her supernatural revenge.

Stephen King is Maine's biggest champion in literature, and "Carrie" takes place in the fictional town of Chamberlain.

MARYLAND: "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant" by Anne Tyler

Another Baltimore-based novel by Tyler, "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant" tells how three siblings remember growing up with their perfectionist mother as she lies on her deathbed. The Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel examines how the siblings' recollections vary drastically.

Tyler's characters live in Charles Village, near her long-time residence.

MASSACHUSETTS: "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau

"Walden" is the product of transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau's two-year retreat into the woods, an experiment in isolation, simple living, and self-reliance. By immersing himself in nature, he hoped to understand society more objectively.

Encompassing 61 acres, Walden Pond is the crown jewel of the greater Walden Woods ecosystem in Concord.

MICHIGAN: "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides

"The Virgin Suicides" is a gripping tale of five beautiful yet eccentric sisters who all die by suicide in the same year in Gross Pointe, Michigan. It is written from the perspective of an anonymous group of boys who are observant, infatuated, and endlessly struggling to explain the tragedy.

Eugenides said he was inspired by the deterioration of the state's auto industry and the "feeling of growing up in Detroit, in a city losing population, and in perpetual crisis."

MINNESOTA: "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis

"Main Street" reveals two sides of Minnesota: the thriving metropolis of Saint Paul, where the heroine is from, and the dried-up small town she moves to after much convincing from her new husband. The young woman falls victim to the narrow-mindedness and unimaginative nature of the townspeople.

The author used his birthplace of Sauk Centre as a mold for the fictionalized Gopher Prairie setting.

MISSISSIPPI: "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

"The Sound and the Fury" encapsulates the decline of the American South through the dysfunctional Compson family, who face financial ruin during the Roaring '20s and lose the respect of the townspeople in Jefferson, Mississippi.

Many readers complained that the book's stream of consciousness style was hard to follow. Faulkner's advice was to "read it four times," he told the Paris Review .

MISSOURI: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain

This classic coming-of-age story set alongside the Mississippi River follows Tom Sawyer, a young boy who preoccupies himself with pulling pranks and impressing a girl — until he witnesses a murder. Tom and his companions run away to an island, but eventually return to take up treasure hunting.

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which inspired the setting  of "Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

MONTANA: "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean

"A River Runs Through It" is the semi-autobiographical tale of everyday life in the west for two brothers who are the sons of a local pastor.

Set amidst the beautiful, wondrous landscape of Montana, the two boys — one dutiful and one rebellious — each grow up and discover themselves, turning, at times, to dark places, but always under the footfalls of their father.

NEBRASKA: "My Ántonia" by Willa Cather

The reader meets Ántonia Shimerda through a written account from the narrator, Jim Burden, a young man who moves to the fictional town of Black Hawk, Nebraska, to live with his grandparents.

Through Jim's lens of love and infatuation, Ántonia is brought to life as a young Bohemian girl with many trials and triumphs. The reader grows to know her and, simultaneously, the author as well, who wrote the novel from details of her own life in Nebraska.

NEVADA: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson

"Fear and Loathing" follows a journalist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, on a trip to Las Vegas to cover an event taking place there.

However, the two are preoccupied and saddened by what they perceive as the decline of 1960s American pop culture and begin experimenting with drugs. Much of the book is seen through their hallucinations and twisted realities, which are only fueled by the hyperreal surroundings of Sin City.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: "The Hotel New Hampshire" by John Irving

Containing all the classic John Irving tropes — a bear, rape, body-building, and social privilege — "The Hotel New Hampshire" follows a peculiar family as they open hotels in New Hampshire, Vienna, and Maine.

The book evokes Irving's upbringing in the back woods of New Hampshire.

NEW JERSEY: "Drown" by Junot Díaz

Based on Díaz's own experiences as a Dominican immigrant who moved to New Jersey, the 10 short stories in "Drown" tell of the struggles the New Jersey immigrant community faces, from poverty to homesickness to the language barrier.

The outlook is often grim, but thanks to Díaz's riveting and intoxicating narrative, we manage to see the characters' unsentimental determination for a better life.

NEW MEXICO: "Cities of the Plain" by Cormac McCarthy

The final book in McCarthy's Border Trilogy, "Cities of the Plain" is about a doomed romance in the American frontier between a man and a sex worker who runs afoul of a pimp.

The novel is set in New Mexico on the border of the United States and Mexico.

NEW YORK: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"The Great Gatsby" tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a young, lovesick millionaire, through the eyes of his friend and next-door neighbor, Nick Carraway. The novel progresses as Gatsby tries to rekindle his love with Daisy Buchanan, Nick's cousin.

Through Gatsby's shady business dealings and his extravagant wealthy lifestyle on Long Island, Fitzgerald reveals a world in New York that is both terribly beautiful and terribly corrupt.

NORTH CAROLINA: "A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks

This Sparks romance novel, made famous by its film adaptation starring Mandy Moore, shows the unlikely, blossoming love between two high school students from Beaufort: Landon Carter, a popular rebel, and Jamie Sullivan, a quiet bookworm.

While Landon tries to get closer to Jamie, she pushes him away, fearing that a secret will end things between them before it begins.

NORTH DAKOTA: "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich

A woman living on a North Dakota Indian reservation is attacked, but police have a hard time investigating the case when she is unwilling to discuss what transpired.

Her son takes matters into his own hands, recruiting his friends to find out what happened and bring justice to his family and tribe.

OHIO: "The Broom of the System" by David Foster Wallace

In Foster Wallace's slightly altered view of Ohio in 1990, we follow our heroine, Lenore Stonecipher Beadsman, a telephone operator and secretary who juggles a job with barely any purpose, a relationship with her much-older boss, and the task of finding her decrepit grandmother.

The grandmother, along with 25 other residents of the Shaker Heights Nursing Home, has managed to disappear without a trace.

OKLAHOMA: "Paradise" by Toni Morrison

"Paradise" chronicles tensions between the patriarchal, all-Black town of Ruby, which was founded by the descendants of free slaves intent on isolating themselves from the outside world, and a nearby community of five women, each seeking refuge from the past.

Morrison conceived the idea for "Paradise" after researching the all-Black towns in Oklahoma that formed when newly freed men left plantations under duress.

OREGON: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey

Randle McMurphy barges into an Oregon mental institution one day and decides to rally the patients against the tyranny of Nurse Ratched. McMurphy stirs more trouble as he smuggles in women, alcohol, and other contraband, leading to an all-out war between him and the institution.

Told through the eyes of one of the patients, Kesey's novel reveals bits of his own background. He previously worked as an orderly in a mental health ward.

PENNSYLVANIA: "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

"The Lovely Bones" is a dark, gripping tale about Susie Salmon, a young girl who was brutally raped and murdered in the cornfields of Norristown. It's told from her point of view after her death.

Looking down on her family from heaven, Susie watches as they come to terms with what happened to her and try to solve a case that, to police, seems to lead nowhere.

RHODE ISLAND: "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult

Anna has always been her older sister Kate's lifesaver. She's undergone countless surgeries, transplants, and donations to help save her sick sister, but when doctors discover that Anna is now a match to be Kate's bone marrow donor, Anna decides to sue for the right to control her own body.

Picoult shows the heartbreaking pull between freedom and family in this Rhode Island-set novel.

SOUTH CAROLINA: "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Lily Owens is a young girl growing up in 1960s South Carolina with an abusive father and an African American nanny who serves as a surrogate mother. When her nanny ends up in jail for insulting some white men, Lily breaks her out and the two run away, seeking refuge among three eccentric bee-keeping sisters.

Monk Kidd injects some of her own Southern upbringing into this contemporary heartwarming novel.

SOUTH DAKOTA: "A Long Way From Home" by Tom Brokaw

"A Long Way From Home" details Brokaw's own "American pilgrimage," from boyhood on the Missouri River into a career in broadcast journalism in the '60s.

In Brokaw's honest narrative, we see how much his life has been shaped by growing up in South Dakota and the historic events he lived through as a child and young adult.

TENNESSEE: "A Death in the Family" by James Agee

"A Death in the Family" is the only novel by the polymath writer James Agee. It's a semiautobiographical book about the emotional reverberations in a family after a father dies in a car accident. Set in Knoxville, it lyrically captures the feelings of every character, from the inner mind of a child to the tragedy of a widow.

The novel was published posthumously, after Agee died of a heart attack at 45, and won the Pulitzer Prize. He was also an acclaimed screenwriter, critic, and journalist.

TEXAS: "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy

Made famous by the film of the same name starring Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men" is Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece about a drug deal-gone-wrong on the Texas-Mexico border. The event left a group of men dead and $2 million in an abandoned truck.

Llewellyn Moss, who discovered the scene, takes the money and gets swept up in the illicit drug business.

UTAH: "The 19th Wife" by David Ebershoff

Ebershoff weaves a novel based on the life of Ann Eliza Young, one of the wives of Mormon leader Brigham Young, who escapes her oppressive husband and embarks on a mission to end polygamy. The tale is juxtaposed against a modern-day story, following a young Mormon man who was cast out of the church and is trying to re-enter to solve his father's murder.

In this work of historical fiction, Ebershoff takes a critical look at polygamy through his side-by-side narratives.

VERMONT: "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Tartt's debut novel tells the story of six classics students at a fictional Vermont college and was a sensation when it was released in 1992. It's narrated by Richard Papen, one of the students, who recounts the story of a murder that happened among them.

The story takes a classic whodunnit premise and situates it in an coming-of-age story as well as the intellectual world of classic literature.

"Forceful, cerebral and impeccably controlled, 'The Secret History' achieves just what Ms. Tartt seems to have set out to do: It marches with cool, classical inevitability toward its terrible conclusion," Michiko Kakutani wrote in The New York Times in her review of the novel .

VIRGINIA: "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Patterson

Jesse Aarons wants to be the fastest runner in his rural Virginia elementary school and almost realizes his dream until a new girl shows up and outruns everyone. This leads to an unlikely friendship between Jesse and the girl, Leslie, who together invent a magic wooded kingdom they call Terabithia.

The book is loosely based on events from Patterson's own childhood, which she spent in the greater DC area.

WASHINGTON: "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

The small town of Forks, Washington, became famous as the setting for Meyer's best-selling vampire book series.

Bella Swan moves from her mom's house to live with her dad in Forks where she meets Edward Cullen, a quiet, handsome young man at her new high school. Edward usually keeps to himself, but he is drawn to Bella and can't seem to stay away from her — for a shocking reason.

WASHINGTON, DC: "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

In this story of espionage, conspiracies, and buried American secrets, "The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown has done it again.

Brown's beloved character Robert Langdon returns, this time chasing down his mentor's kidnapper in DC while trying to decode five puzzling symbols linked to the Free Masons.

WEST VIRGINIA: "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

In Friendly, a young boy finds a puppy he names Shiloh in the hills behind his home. But Shiloh belongs to Judd, a scary town-drunk who beats the dog.

Now the boy, who's made a friend in Shiloh, will do anything to save him.

WISCONSIN: "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The classic characters Laura, Mary, and their family struggle to make a home for themselves in Ingalls Wilder's beloved "Little House" children's book series.

Based in part on Ingalls Wilder's own journey around the Midwest, young Laura and Mary, along with their parents and baby sister Carrie, learn to survive the long winter, fend for themselves, and take care of each other in this true-to-life work.

WYOMING: "The Laramie Project" by Moises Kaufman

Kaufman wrote "The Laramie Project" as a play to recount the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who became the victim of an extreme hate crime in a quiet Wyoming town.

Shepard is remembered and honored from the perspective of family and friends as Kaufman takes a lens to the stubborn intolerance in society.

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