“Being an entrepreneur is like skydiving every day,” someone once quoted.
As that quote goes, entrepreneurship can be a very adventurous journey with many uncertainties, and drama. In fact, the most thrilling aspect of entrepreneurship is that no one can accurately predict whether a product or service would be a phenomenal hit or utter failure.
While the financial risks involved can be quite haunting to an individual, it’s this sheer excitement of creating something new that spices up the very entrepreneurial journey. And, even if he/she fails miserably, the lessons learned can help them in building their next venture in a more wise and faster way.
After all, what else on this earth could give someone (or at least, an entrepreneur) more satisfaction than building a company from scratch and leading it to greatness?
With that being said, entrepreneurs by nature are highly rebellious. It is this incredible trait that pushes them to take some of the boldest risks in their lives. However, this rebellious nature has its own flipsides too. For the most part, it is reluctance.
Entrepreneurs, at times, become reluctant to acquire knowledge from other outside sources. This can be anything like not listening to the opinions of others, or sometimes proven data!
Similarly, many also refrain from reading valuable books that would otherwise add immense value to their life, help them scale their companies faster, and stay sustainable.
So, it is very critical that an entrepreneur gains insights from books that are bound to offer priceless business and life lessons. In this article, we have listed the top 5 business books that are proven to provide maximum value to entrepreneurs.
We hope these books would help you tremendously in your entrepreneurial journey.
1. Walter Isaacson – Steve Jobs
This masterpiece by Isaacson isn’t just yet another biography you would come across in your day-to-day life. This could be that one hell of a book you have for so long been searching for. Written at the request of Steve Jobs, this biography covers the complete life history of Jobs from his early hippy life to the time he ran Apple.
Unlike other biographies of Steve Jobs, this biography was written after a number of personal interviews with Jobs himself, with his friends, family members, and colleagues.
It is packed with powerful leadership lessons that can completely change the way you look at things. From lessons in management to entrepreneurship to marketing, Isaacson walks you through the world of Jobs and shows what exactly made Steve Jobs, the Steve Jobs.
2. Simon Sinek – Start With Why
With his book Start With Why, Simon Sinek sparked what people popularly call a “why revolution,” in the world of business. He explains why is it critical for businesses and individuals to concentrate on the “why” of their existence.
Simon not only elaborates on the importance of focusing on our “why” but also shows how we can alter our ways to do the same and unlock the ultimate potential of our organizations.
By clearly understanding the vision of an organization (which is, it’s why) and communicating it to its employees once in a while, he says, an organization can transform from being a finite player to an infinite player with unlimited potential.
This is undoubtedly that one book every entrepreneur should have in their suitcase or as a pdf in their mobile or laptop.
3. Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz – Lean Analytics
We all know that a startup is a numbers game. The more you are skilled at playing with the numbers, the better you are at scaling your startup. Every successful startup you see today is one that knows how to measure data, track them and use them to build better products and services.
In simple words, they are data-driven. And, this book by Alastair and Croll shows you how to do just that.
From mobile apps to SaaS to media sites, this book shows you how to find and track the right metric for different business models. It offers clear insights on how you can scale your business faster by offering data frameworks and ways to execute it the right way.
With numerous real case studies of businesses that lead as an example, this easy-to-read and understand book can play a crucial role in helping you leverage the power of data and build a sustainable business.
4. Akio Morita – Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony
Written by the co-founder of the Sony Corporation, Akio Morita himself, this autobiography takes you on a roller coaster ride with dramatic incidents from his life. Morita had penned down his raw experience of starting Sony from scratch and the kind of innovations he spawned in management, operations, and products to make Sony a revolutionary organization.
And most importantly, he elaborates on how Sony’s growth helped Japan tremendously in building itself again from the losses of World War 2. On an equal note, he explains how Sony set a standard for Japanese products in the global electronic devices market and built its reputation.
This autobiography of one of the greatest visionaries of the 20th century is sure to give you precious lessons in building a great organization.
5. Peter Theil – Zero to One
In his book Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel draws upon his experience at PayPal and Palantir to offer ideas and suggestions for technology startups. He has provided mind-blowing insights on why entrepreneurs should strive to create something totally different than trying to copy something that already works and refine it.
He has also argued that entrepreneurs who build something 10X new become a monopoly and avoid competition, which ultimately leads them to reap huge profits.
This book is bundled with valuable teachings that Peter gained from starting companies and investing in a number of successful companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, Lyft, Yelp, Airbnb, and among others in their early stages.
For anyone who is trying to create and invest in new things that are radically different and unconventional, this book is a treasure trove.
And hey! Which is your favourite book?
Let me know in the comment section below.
