The best business books to read for your business, career, and wealth
There’s no shortage of these articles, however I wanted to share my thoughts about what are the best business books to read to encourage greater growth in your business, career and wealth.
By what criteria do I base these as the ‘best business books’?
I have chosen them for their powerful concepts; I speak from personal experience that each title has transformed my life for the better.
Therefore, I feel it is important to share this knowledge with you. And for full disclosure, I am not promoting these books as part of any affiliate program.
Readers do really earn more money!
If you’re financially motivated like me, here’s an encouraging fact, according to a study in the USA, the following findings were discovered:
- High earners (people earning more than USD 80K annually) read more books than their lower earning counterparts.
- There were fewer high earners that did not read books compared to their lower earning counterparts (basically, more high earners claim to read in a year, and they read a greater quantity of books overall)
Source: Statista.com
So, what are the best business books?
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Your perception of life is dictated by your mindset towards it. Therefore, it makes sense to question if your outlook on life is inhibiting your ability to achieve the goals you desire.
Speaking from personal experience, this book was the most transformative of all as it helped me to self-diagnose my fears, personal limitations and most importantly, remove the frankly stupid excuses holding me back.
Tony Robbins provides a simple to follow framework that can radically alter your outlook and how you perceive your values, beliefs, past experiences, relationships, health and wealth.
Before reading any other book, I strongly recommend you finish this first.
Economics Explained by Robert Heilbroner and Lester Thurow
I’m ashamed to say that this book was more of a recent discovery; I wish that it was read many years earlier in my career.
In short, if you do not have a basic understanding of macro and micro economics, you will never truly understand how to make critical business, career and personal wealth decisions.
This book does an excellent job of explaining how households, businesses and governments all come together to impact the global economy, and once read, you will easily stand apart, and profit from, those that have not studied the field of economics.
Therefore, this is my second recommendation as it sets a macro foundation for your brain to better comprehend the micro economic, business and wealth books that I will recommend next.
Accounting for the Numberphobic by Dawn Fotopulos
This is the third title on my list of best business books.
Many executives live in fear; they know they don’t really understand business numbers, and the financial reports that govern their businesses, careers and personal lives.
If you do not understand the ‘numbers of business and investment’, you cannot make informed decisions that effectively compete with those that do.
If you can say honestly that you know the difference between an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement, and the purpose of each, then you can skip this recommendation.
For all others, this is essential reading. Dawn Fotopulos does an excellent job of explaining these important financial concepts using analogies and language that’s simple to comprehend in a relatively short read.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
If you have ever wondered how the rich get richer, whilst the poor and middle classes seem to get poorer, then this book will explain why.
A heavy proportion is to do with the concept of cash flow, and by that I mean how we as businesses and individuals generate our income, how profitable that income is, and how do we spend (ideally invest) our profits (savings).
Robert Kiyosaki does a great job to help you visualize how cash flow actually works, and the powerful laws of compounding that can rapidly grow your wealth when profits are intelligently invested – this principle is the same for private individuals as it is for business operators.
If you would like to learn more about the subject of personal wealth generation, please read my article on how to make more money.
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
For business operators and individuals always chasing money, and continuously running net losses, there’s a simple tweak you need to make to your financial process.
When income from sales revenue enters your bank account, to the following:
- apply your desired net profit margin
- take the sum of your net profit out immediately (transfer it to another account / sub-account for example where it is not touched)
- With the remaining balance left over, use this amount only to pay everyone else!
For those that do not understand the gravity of the three points above, let me explain their importance. Generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP) usually dictate that after income has been received, that all costs are first paid, and whatever remains (if anything) can then be classified as your ‘net profit’.
So, the advice above is a complete reversal of what GAAP practitioners advocate (which is essentially the entire financial community).
It’s a nightmare for your accountant, but it will help your business immeasurably. This philosophy is very similar to the advice spouted by George S. Clason in the famous book, Richest Man in Babylon. It’s an oddity why GAAP professionals don’t follow this system in the first place.
I rate this book so highly because it immediately highlights to business operators if their business is heading in the wrong direction and can save you from major losses, accumulation of bad debts, and ultimately bankruptcy.
After deducting your profit from your income, if you determine there is not enough money to pay everyone else, that’s the major warning sign! It forces you to determine why there’s not enough money so you can re-work your business model to actually become profitable.
For businesses that successfully implement the profit first model, not only are they more profitable, their bank balances are positive due to the improved cash flow and the removal of wasteful costs in their businesses – win-win.
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
My final recommendation on the best business books list.
The law of compounding returns is fascinating because it can deliver such spectacular results in your life. However, these results can be spectacular in both a positive and negative sense. The formula is as follows:
The law of success = effective action x implemented daily x compounded by time
The law of failure = destructive action x implemented daily x compounded by time
Darren Hardy’s book helped me understand the grander impact of the daily actions I once thought to be inconsequential, and has probably had the greatest impact to improve my once terrible procrastination.
Conclusion
As time passes, I will continue to expand on this list; but for now, there’s plenty of books here to keep you busy. I assure you, these are some of the best business books that you’ll ever read in terms of how powerful their concepts can be when applied to your life, career or company.
For further reading recommendations and to see all of my best business books, please visit here
If you would like to know how to apply the concepts discussed in these books to your life or business, please feel free to schedule a call with me.
