10 Best Business Strategy Books to Read in 2023!

The business strategy enables businesses to better understand their strengths and weaknesses and how they perform externally and internally. With introspection, businesses can capitalize on their strong points and work on improving their weaknesses. An effective business strategy ensures more efficiency and better and more effective business plans.

For every business to succeed, policy on the ground is very important. On top of that, reading business strategy books is the best way to learn. Books are always the primary source of knowledge. Therefore, in business also, it’s better to empower your mind with the best books on business strategy rather than hiring business consultants. Business strategy books will provide insights into how successful entrepreneurs have their business strategies on point and how you can implement those methods.

So, without wasting any further time, let’s have a look at the 10 best business strategy books of all time that can help you grow your business in 2023.

1. Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by A. G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin

No doubt, this book is one of the best business strategy books that you might come across. The strategy explained in this book sounds simple but not that easy. If you are looking for brand-building techniques, then this is the best book.

It will guide you to make more difficult decisions than easier ones. You will learn that having a business strategy can be risky, but having no policy can be more hazardous. The authors of this book, A. G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin, provide you with two more strategic tools to choose the best business strategy — Structured Methodology and Reverse Engineering.

The Structured Methodology will help you analyze the industry, customers, and your position in the market as compared to your competitors. On the other hand, Reverse Engineering will enable you to test the potential strategies.

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

This is one of the best books on strategic thinking. The author has analyzed in detail various effective strategies and highlighted the qualities that make these plans succeed. Moreover, the book also points out the harmful elements that fail to yield an assessable result. It also discusses topics such as leverage, proximate objectives, and chain link systems. Each section of the book includes examples in the form of stories from companies like Wal-Mart, Apple, Toyota, and Roche.

The book can be a field guide for crafting and evaluating strategic systems. The book will not only help you create a good plan but will also help you understand that the main task of a leader is to strategize.

3. Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy
by Patrick Bet-David and Greg Dinkin

This book on business strategy is one of the best books on new strategic planning. While going through the book, you would be challenged to think like chess grandmasters and anticipate the chains of events. The authors urge business owners to plan their next moves in succession to each other instead of considering each as an individual decision. Besides, this guide advises on clarifying company missions, developing team-building skills, and gaining the upper hand against competitors.

Further, the book touches on leadership, introspection, communication, and negotiation. There are tons of learning points. It is for you if you’re stuck or looking to take your life to the next step.

4. Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-Making
by Jeremy Kourdi

It is one of the most comprehensive business strategy books. The book emphasizes having better decision-making skills to increase the chances of success in the business. If you are a startup owner and want to know about business strategies to implement in your business, this book is for you.

After reading this book, you will learn about all the fundamentals of creating a good business plan. It not only talks about the role of leaders but also highlights the importance of managers of companies in implementing the strategy. If you are experienced in strategic thinking and planning, this book is a nice refresher and a reminder about the fundamentals.

If you are not experienced, this is a wonderful book to help you better understand business strategy.

5. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
by Jim Collins and Jerry I Porras

This book on business strategy dissects the characteristics and behaviors of “visionary companies” — industry leaders that maintain dominance for 100 or more years across various generations and product cycles. The authors use this book to analyze the factors that lead companies to survive and thrive through tough times and competitive landscapes.

It also explains why some companies with the same shot in life — same industry, same size — falter and fade away. The book compares companies like Walt Disney, Procter & Gamble, and Marriott with lesser competitors and points out the keys to industry leaders’ success and longevity.

Setting goals, building a cult-like culture, and managing change are some topics covered in this book that can help businesses lay out a framework for creating enduring enterprises. It is a must-read for you if you want an engaging, reader-friendly description of the fundamentals upon which visionary companies are based.

6. Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking is your Best Short-Term Strategy
by Michael Useem, Brian Dumaine & Rodney Zemmel

This business strategy book inspires users to have a short-term mindset to create long-term strategic goals for businesses. The book's objective is to instigate the readers to develop business goals to succeed and grow in a market filled with competitors. It provides insightful analysis and inspiring stories to prove how purpose-driven strategies can significantly benefit the economy and society.

If you are a startup owner and looking for a good book on business strategy that gives you compelling thoughts, you should go for this book. It will not only clear your small doubts but also give you a hold of how to plan more extended business strategies with a short-term mindset. It is one of the best books you can find in this category.

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

This is a thought-provoking read that details what it takes to turn good into great. Although it centers around 11 companies and their not-so-great comparisons, the book's purpose extends far beyond companies or businesses. It is one of the most popular books on business strategy.

Good to Great discusses concepts like cultures of discipline, leadership competencies, and technology in detail and depicts how each factor helps organizations grow. The book is a lesson on surviving in the business world and leading it for extended periods.

8. The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life
by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff

It is one of the best business strategy books for beginners. Based on the principles of game theory, the book explains how to predict and prepare for your competitors’ next moves. The authors show how you can identify patterns in seemingly random occurrences and illogical behavior through mathematical and scientific logic.

Enriched with case studies and solid examples, the book makes understanding game theory easy and applicable to various business settings. Filled with many questions, the book compels the readers to think twice before making their next decision.

The book also includes recipes to use game theory analysis in split-second situations and case studies demonstrating game theory's power.

9. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors
by Michael E. Porter

The book answers the question, “How do you outperform competitors and acquire a better understanding of key profitability drivers in your industry?” This business strategy book has redefined how Fortune 500 companies formulate their business strategy. It has become a must-read in top MBA programs worldwide. There are three sections: General Analytical Techniques for analyzing the structure of an industry and its competitors; Generic Industry Environments to understand how the framework can be applied to a wide variety of environments and industries; and Strategic Decisions which focuses on making strategic decisions that a company will face and insights into how competitors will make similar decisions.

Originally published in 1980, the book reads like a market advantage encyclopedia.

10. Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen
by Rita McGrath

The book focuses on how inflection points can create growth opportunities and entire outdated industries. Rita McGrath, the author of this book, is a world-renowned expert on innovation. She explains in this book how one can predict major shifts in the industry and prepare for them.

Changes in customer needs or expectations, competitor evolution, and technological advancement can impact a business’ market rankings. Smart companies foresee these challenges and are ready to adapt. The book outlines techniques to identify signals early, think beyond industries, and innovate for the future with risk management in place. The book is a guide to safeguard your business from any disruption.

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