One of the best ways to gain knowledge is through reading. If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, or anyone involved in business, reading should be a part of your lifestyle.
Top 5 CEO Recommended Must-Reads for Improved Business Acumen
The internet is full of websites, books, white papers, blogs – everything you can think of covering all topics in business.
You can even get free samples of e-books and Kindle discounts. It is your responsibility as an entrepreneur to make sure you find the knowledge to build your success.
We researched different books that’ll help you start your business and guide you along the way. Here are the 5 CEO recommended books that will help you to improve your business acumen:
Startup CEO by Matt Blumberg
When Matt Blumberg started his company Return Path, he created a blog called “Only Once”, where he wrote about his experiences as a first-time CEO.
He has since changed the blog title to “Startup CEO”, but from this blog, the book was born.
In this book, Blumberg shares his experiences and knowledge to help other beginners.
He covers topics such as planning and creating the story of your business, team building, the ups and downs of execution, building and dealing with boards of directors, self-management, and finances.
The book is broken up into 47 short chapters.
From dealing with tough times to outmaneuvering competition, each chapter offers insight into various topics.
Blumberg gives a glimpse into the world of Return Path, including his board meeting agenda and the practical aspects of running the business.
He also includes features with advice and anecdotes from other entrepreneurs and different perspectives, VPs, CFOs, and his executive assistant.
Rakesh Soni, CEO of LoginRadius suggests that you read the book a few times; read it when you employ your tenth employee, when you employ your fiftieth employee and when you’ve employed one hundred people.
Different stages of the book are for different stages of the business, and he recommends keeping it on your bookshelf to refer to specific chapters as your business grows.
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
When Shoe Dog was released in 2016, it was an instant hit. This book is Knight’s personal story and details how he created the extremely popular brand Nike.
It didn’t start with Nike from the get-go. Knight’s journey began with one seemingly crazy idea and a journey around the world. In 1962 when he graduated from business school, he decided he wanted to import running shoes from Japan to America.
He set his sights on Japanese company Onitsuka and made a deal with them to ship 300 pairs of Tiger shoes to get him started. Over a few months, he sold every single pair out of the trunk of his car.
After that, he traveled around the world and gained inspiration from what he experienced and saw. The rest is history. You get a glimpse inside this brilliant entrepreneur’s mind, as well as the peaks and valleys he experienced as he built the company.
The book is both amusing and insightful; Knight takes a different approach; rather than writing a narrative of how success in business is always a step away, he is honest about the rollercoaster ride one will experience.
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
In this book, the CEO of Zappos presents an idea of business that is revolutionary.
He places value on happiness – and the idea that profit, excellent customer service, and happiness go hand in hand.
He decided to take this approach after realizing that his first company had grown too big too fast, and the mission and culture had been lost to employees that were only interested in money.
For Hsieh, business is about delivering happiness; creating a positive culture in your company, living a life of purpose and passion in order to satisfy your customers.
Through a retelling of the journey of Zappos and its employees, Hsieh shares ways to build a culture of happiness including:
- Discovering one thing you are passionate about- and making decisions based on that.
- Slow, intentional growth. Hiring people that are aligned to the mission of your company.
- Connecting success to culture and seeing culture as a brand and employees as brand ambassadors.
- Making short-term sacrifices and sticking to core values for long-term rewards.
- The importance of connections between employees.
- Pursuing learning and growth.
- Engagement and trust over hype and popularity.
- Having a goal bigger than profits, sales, and the size of your company.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Other’s Don’t by Jim Collins
How can a company move from merely being good to being absolutely great?
In this book, Jim Collins gives answers to this question in an extensively researched and well-structured way.
Over five years, Collins engaged in a research project involving 1436 established companies. Out of those companies, they chose companies that made extraordinary leaps and achieved great results. Only 11 companies made it.
Collins then examined financial reports, articles, books, case studies, and annual reports covering each company.
He also conducted interviews with senior executives and board members, looked at the records of CEOs, the role of technology in the companies among other methods of research.
After examining these companies and their strategies, he combined his findings in this book.
Some of the concepts included in the book are Level 5 Leadership, First Who, Then What, The Hedgehog Concept, and The Flywheel. Collins shows that success does not come out of circumstance and one miracle moment.
Instead, success comes out of intentionality, making conscious choices, and discipline.
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
There are a lot of challenges that come with growing a business, but you do not have to deal with them blindly.
In this book, Gino Wickman identifies 5 challenges that a business might have: lack of control, lack of alignment between the people involved in your business and your vision, lack of profits, lack of growth, and lack of strategies.
He then discusses six parts of a business that you should nurture and strengthen if you want to grow. He uses The Entrepreneurial Operating System ® (EOS®) to address these areas: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction.
Through examples, illustrations and tips, you will learn how to:
- Develop and communicate a strong vision
- Identify and keep the right people for the right positions in your business
- Collect data and use it to your advantage.
- Build an environment for your business that is aware of problems and has the right solutions.
- Create a set system or a way of doing business.
- Bring your vision to life.
Conclusion
This book will show you how to transition from working in your business to running it, something that all entrepreneurs desire but often overlook or don’t know how to do.
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