My Favorite Business Reads
Continuous education is important to me in business as it is in medicine. I read tonnes of business books and articles every year.
One thing that has helped me, is downloading the audible.com app to my phone allowing me to listen to books whilst I am in the office or driving. It also has a feature that allows me to see the amount of hours I have spent listening on a weekly/daily basis. This keeps me even more focused.
So here is the list of my top 12 business reads!!
- Entreleadersip By Dave Ramsey
I just think the author here is very authentic and very practical. He addresses a lot of general issues that small-medium size businesses face. It reads like a grand-dad giving a grandchild good wholesome, basic advice on how to run a business.
2.The Entrepreneur Rollercoaster by Darren Hardy
Darren Hardy’s book is much more fast paced, he emphasizes in a no holds barred way, the difficulties of being an entrepreneur anywhere in the world. Completely busts the myths about entrepreneurship being extra difficult only in Nigeria. Every environment comes with its own challenges
3 .HBR: Just make it a daily ritual
HBR is the Bible for corporates . A lot of international corporations/consultancy firms have avid HBR readers working for them. Its great insight into the way the global corporate world is thinking. I have read/listened to thousands of articles over the years.
4.The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
This is a really cool book that makes you think about how you want to live and forces you to design your business around your life, not the other way round
5.The Intelligent Entrepreneur by Bill Hardy
This book is heavily criticized on amazon for promoting Harvard business school, but the stories of the protagonists/how they built their business and the conclusions that the author is able to draw take us way beyond Harvard business school.
6. The magic of thinking big by David Schartz
We Nigerians are excellent at making excuses and blaming the government for all our woes. We haven’t had the worlds finest leadership over the past few decades, but we also haven’t made the most of the opportunities we do have. This book has a whole chapter called ‘Excusitis’ taught me to stop blaming external factors for my challenges and focus on things within my locus of control
7. The Lean Start up by Eric Ries
I honestly didn’t this book lived up to the hype. But if you are starting a business, you must read it as the book is so influential .
8. Never give up by Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s book is the first real, practical guide written by a billionaire that I have come across. Its not unrealistically optimistic, but real. Solid business book.
9 Eat that frog by Brian Tracey
Taught me how to focus and avoid distractions/procrastination. An oldie, but a goodie.
10. The dip by Seth Godin
I like Seth Godin, but this is the only one of his books I consider good enough to make my top 12.
11. Personal MBA by Jos Kauffman
Don’t waste your time with an MBA if you want to start a business. MBA’s are for employees. There are enough resources online for you to construct your own MBA whilst gaining the most important education experience of all; actually running a business. Think this is the main message of this book.
COI: I don’t have an MBA
12. The 15 invaluable laws of growth by John C Maxwell
Baba Maxwell does well in this book, helped me to develop habits that have made me not just a better entrepreneur, but a better person too
