Check out my recommendations from last year:
My Business Books – 2025
Honourable mentions that I read last year:
– The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More – Jefferson Fisher
You can follow all the books I read and want to read over at Goodreads where I have an account. You can also view my activity via:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/708903-robert?shelf=read
Here’s my current top business books in order:
1. The Art of War – Sun Tzu
The all time classic on strategy. As relevant today as it ever was. A very short read but very deep.
2. The Millionaire Fastlane – M.J. DeMarco
I love the brutal honesty of this book. It doesn’t mince words about what it takes to shift from a pay check to actually living the life you want.
3. The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
The world is all about not what you know but who you know. This book explains exactly how this works and how to use it to your advantage. A lot of Gladwell’s writing have been called into question of late. Even so, putting aside the example he uses, I think the concept surfaced have great merit.
4. The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss
Many people believe this book is about shirking responsibility. It is in fact a blueprint for how to free up your time to do things you want and enjoy. It will challenge the way you look at your career. This book has become some what dated so ensure you get the latest revised edition. Again, I would suggest you read this and consider the 30,000 foot view of challenging many people pre-conceived concepts about career. The ability to do anything, anywhere these days has never been truer.
5. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth – T. Harv Eker
The successful are defined by a different mindset. This mindset can be learned. It can be trained. This is a great book to show you how to do just that.
6. Talent is over rated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everyone Else – Geoff Colvin
Demonstrates that the best comes from implementing a system. Having a system allows you to focus on the right thing and do that work that is required. If you want to take yourself to an elite level, beyond just good, then read this book.
7. Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even If You Hate Marketing and Selling – Michael Port, Tim Sanders
You can’t survive in business without a steady flow of customers. Selling to people is the wrong approach, you instead need to attract them to your business. This book helps you achieve exactly that.
8. Profit First: A Simple System To Transform Any Business From A Cash-Eating Monster To A Money-Making Machine – Mike Michalowicz
Business is about making a profit. This then gives you the freedom to do what you want with that profit. This book helps you focus on profit and setting up systems to make the most of the profit you generate.
9. Barking Up the Wrong Tree – Eric Barker
Conventional wisdom does not always apply and in some case can actually be detrimental. Challenging what is taken for granted should be in the play book of everyone who wants to achieve at the highest level. Important lessons can be learned in the strangest places and form the strangest people. Have an open mind and you might be surprised at what you have believed to be bad in fact turns out to get just what you need.
10. Unbeatable Mind: Forge Resiliency and Mental Toughness to Succeed at an Elite Level – Mark Divine
Another mindset book. Business is not always going to be easy or take the intended route. This is when you need to have the determination to see your plans through to success. This book shows you how to develop the mental toughness to make this happen.
11. Mastery – Robert Green
Excellent read with lots of great strategies to take away. Excellence is not a talent it is a skill. That means that it takes hard work to achieve, but hard work is available to everyone, yet few choose the path. There is no secret to Excellence, it is something only time and effort will reward you with and iof you choose that path you’ll be one of the few.
12. Tools of Titans – Tim Ferriss
There are few books that take the learnings for so many exceptional people and puts them at your fingertips. This is one such book that packs a lot of business and life learnings between the covers.
13. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions – Dan Ariley
Although we like to think logic and rationality rule our world emotion is by far the more powerful influence. Understand this in the context of business and you are well on your way to understanding why people make the decisions they do and how to best profit from them.
14. Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink and Lief Babin
Moving beyond blame is tough. This book illustrates the ownership of the problem and the environment is a key to success in the military or in business. It is a path few will elect to take voluntarily, however more may do so after reading this.
15. Peak Performance: Elevate your game, avoid burnout and thrive with the science of success – Brad Stulberg
Success is largely about developing a winning system. This book show you how to approach that pragmatically. If you want to see results use this book to help you build the system.
16. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking – Malcolm Gladwell
The older you get the more experience you get. This experience is aggregated in your ‘gut feel’. Trusting your ‘gut’ may not appear rational but this book will help you understand why it is in fact your best option in many cases. Again, take Gladwell’s examples with a grain of salt but the message is still relevant.
17. The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play – Neil A. Fiore
Plenty of great productivity learnings in here that help you take action. It shows you how to focus on the right stuff in the right priority. Even if you are not a major procrastinator there is plenty in this book that you can take away.
18. The One Thing – Gary Keller
Multi-tasking is a myth. Focus is the key to success to bringing all your resources to bear in unison makes a hell of a lot of difference. Most people can’t do it, so those that can stand a much greater chance of success.
19. Deep Work – Cal Newport
Distractions are wasted energy and time that you’ll never get back. You’d be amazed at how distracting the modern world is. If you can minimise these distractions you can focus more and be far more productive.
20. The E-Myth – Michael Gerber
The classic on ‘procedurising’ your business and creating a structure that doesn’t need you to survive. The simple secrets inside this book can transform any business from hardship to joy.
Let me know what you think. Do these work for you? What’s your top business reads? I’d love to hear.
Some other business books that I read that may be worth considering:
– AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence – A Definitive Insider Chronicle of the Breakthroughs Redefining Our World – Gary Rivlin
– Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology – Chris Miller
CIAOPS 