Management

The Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs

March 10,2023

Top 5 Best Books on Leadership For Overall Growth

Elon Musk learned to build a rocket because he was reading. It’s amazing what a reading habit can help achieve. Were you thinking that leaders — the busiest people on the planet — didn’t have time to read! According to an , Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day and Bill Gates reads an average of 50 books per year! You can never stop learning as a leader and what better way to pursue continuous learning than reading. As an aspiring leader, you can start with the best books on leadership. Of course, there are thousands of books on leadership but we have chosen five that focus on different qualities of a leader.

A leader should be:

Self-aware and prioritizes active personal development

Invested in team-building

A strong strategic thinker

Cross-cultural, non-discriminating, empathetic thinking

Invested in thinking radically

These five best books on leadership focus on each of these skills. Read on to see how they can help you.

Top 5 Best Books on Leadership

1. The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Goodreads Rating: 4

Best Suited For: All business leaders

Leadership Skill(s) Addressed: Strategic thinking and innovation

Just like the essence of war, business strategies are often about eliminating competition. Written 2500 years ago, The Art of War is one of the best books on leadership that includes military strategy in history, and its learnings apply to all walks of life, including business leaders. The insights drawn from ancient battlefields will resonate with leaders who deal with conflict in modern workspaces. For example, the concepts of mapping a war plan, understanding your enemy, and winning without fighting will translate to your boardroom.

Goodreads Rating: 4.1

Best Suited For: Women entrepreneurs and leaders

Leadership Skill(s) Addressed: Non-discriminating and unbiased personality

After working in senior roles at Google and Meta (earlier Facebook), Sheryl Sandberg has experienced what leadership demands and looks like for a woman at the workplace. In this book, she encourages women to embrace their leadership aspirations while highlighting the deeply-rooted fears they need to tackle. She also talks to the men, urging them to become partners in ensuring equality at the workplace. In the current environment of inclusivity, her book is important for managers who want to practice transformational leadership and team building.

Goodreads Rating: 4.1

Best Suited For: CEOs, business heads, and project managers

Leadership Skill(s) Addressed: Investment in radical thinking

The Toyota story is about resilience, having thrived in a country which was ravaged by the atom bomb. It is also trail-blazing in the way its lean production system is based on a complete zero-waste policy in a world of mass consumption. The 14 principles discussed in The Toyota Way, which is one of the best books on leadership link business with the realities of life. They also marry two core ideas: respect for people (customers and employees) and the concept of continuous improvement (Kaizen).

Goodreads Rating: 4.4

Best Suited For: CEOs, thought leaders, think tanks, project managers

Leadership Skill(s) Addressed: Active self-development

A great leader is also someone who continually strives to better themselves, and James Clear’s iconic Atomic Habits is a masterclass in self-improvement through sustainable habit-changing behavior. The overarching idea of the book is to make small changes to achieve substantial outcomes, so as not to overwhelm yourself with radical shifts in your own attitude or behavior. As a result, this book is especially ideal for budding leaders who struggle with making changes to their leadership style or even for those who are set in their ways, but recognize the need for change.

5. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

Goodreads Rating: 4.15

Best Suited For: Team coordinators, CEOs, business, and project developers

Leadership Skill(s) Addressed: Team building from scratch

Even the greatest leaders would fail without a strong team. Which is why all leaders need team-building skills. In the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the author talks about the five main dysfunctions that disrupt teams. These include a lack of commitment, trust, accountability, willingness to learn from mistakes, and a fear of conflict. Understanding these issues and overcoming them can set you on the path to great team-building.

Leadership is not just about delivering numbers, and these books are helpful tools in your journey to becoming great at managing people. Combine them with Emeritus’ online leadership courses , and see how they shape you as a leader.

By Bishwadeep Mitra

Write to us at

Top 47 Business Books You Must Read!

Looking for a good read to help you with your small business ventures? There are tons of books on business, entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, and other topics. But it’s hard to filter through the noise and find something useful.

This list will help you find the best books on business topics that are worth your time. We have the books grouped into the following topics:

You can find most of the books on the UpFlip Amazon Shop where we make it easy for you to find business resources.

These are not just any business books, though—these are the best business books of all time! And it’s all available for you in this ultimate list!

Find a Book About Business Strategy

It makes sense to start a list of the best entrepreneur books with titles about business strategy.

Strategy is focused on decision-making, which should be the primary focus when starting a business.

Check out these strategy books we include on our list of the best small business books.

#1. Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy by Patrick Bet-David

Combining these principles and revelations drawn from Patrick’s own rise to successful CEO, Your Next Five Moves is a must-read for any serious executive, strategist, or entrepreneur. Check on Amazon

Patrick Bet-David, the creator of Valuetainment, explains the skills and methodology behind thinking ahead. This business book explains the five areas the best business leaders need to stay ahead in the business world. His methodology covers:

Clarifying who and what you want to be

Defining your strategy in the boardroom

How to grow in expansions and during recessions

Building solid teams with great values

How to apply pressure to achieve your goals

#2. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

Voted #1 business book by Inc. 500 CEOs An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels myths related to starting your own business. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business. Check on Amazon

As I started my own business, I had no idea precisely what it would take. I just wanted to be my own boss and knew that I had the stick-to-it-iveness to find financial success. I’m an avid learner and will keep pushing forward no matter how hard something is.

I made some assumptions and I learned from my mistakes, then moved on.

If you are just thinking about starting a business, The E-Myth Revisited is a must-read business book. This book teaches about the faulty assumptions that cause good companies to fail, the stages of a business, and the lessons you can learn from franchise models to make every business better.

#3. The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone

Learn the “Estimation of Effort” calculation to ensure you exceed your targets.

Make the Fourth Degree a way of life and defy mediocrity.

Discover the time management myth.

Get the exact reasons why people fail and others succeed.

Know the exact formula to solve problems. Check on Amazon

Grant Cardone believes the reason that most businesses fail is that owners don’t put enough effort into their companies to succeed.

This book discusses the three types of actions people usually apply: no action, retreat, or normal action, but Cardone believes those are not enough (he’s right).

You have to go above and beyond to achieve your dreams, and Grant Cardone refers to this as “Massive Action” in The 10X Rule. He goes on to explain how to:

Perform an “Estimation of Effort” calculation to determine the effort needed to meet your goal

Turn “Massive Action” into a way of life

Understand time management better (there’s always time for what we prioritize)

The 10X Rule also provides examples of how people have applied it and succeeded where others have failed.

#4. Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

A new preface by the authors: Help! My Ocean Is Turning Red.

Updates on all cases and examples in the book, bringing their stories up to the present time.

Two new chapters and an expanded third one—”Alignment, Renewal, and Red Ocean Traps”—that address the most pressing questions readers have asked over the past 10 years. Check on Amazon

Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne explain the Blue Ocean Strategy. The Blue Ocean Strategy helps develop a business that serves customers so well that competitors become irrelevant.

Part of the process is to create a business that does not have current competitors. However, even if your business is currently in a competitive field, you can learn how to apply these lessons as a differentiating marketing tool.

#5. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

In Think and Grow Rich, Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate his principles.

This book will teach you the secrets that could bring you a fortune.

It will show you not only what to do but how to do it. Check on Amazon

Before writing this book, Napoleon Hill spent 20 years interviewing Titans of Industry and U.S. Presidents. Most of the industries we see today were created by the interviewed men.

Not many of us have ideas that will survive multiple generations, but the men interviewed here showed leadership skills and influenced people to create industries that have changed the world.

This is one of the best business books you can ever read. Discover how great leaders changed the world by buying Think and Grow Rich.

#6. The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen

A Wall Street Journal and Businessweek bestseller. Named by Fast Company as one of the most influential leadership books in its Leadership Hall of Fame. An innovation classic. From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen’s work continues to underpin today’s most innovative leaders and organizations. Check on Amazon

In today’s world, major businesses consistently struggle to keep up with innovation. With technology accelerating so quickly, all the rules have changed.

Clayton M. Christensen wrote The Innovator’s Dilemma to provide leaders with a process of determining whether to embrace disruption or stay with tradition.

The Innovator’s Dilemma is on our list of best business books because influential leaders like Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs have all suggested reading this business book.

Here’s what Jeff Bezos had to say:

“It’s important that we make this transformation, because of what Clayton Christensen calls ‘the innovator’s dilemma,’ where people who invent something are usually the last ones to see past it, and we certainly don’t want to be left behind.”

#7. Business Adventures by John Brooks

John Brooks tells 12 stories about how businesses respond to both opportunities and public relations nightmares. This is told from a journalistic mindset and examines failures by General Electric, Ford Motor Company, and Texas Gulf Sulphur.

View on Amazon

Marketing

#8. The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Alan Dib

How to get new customers, clients, or patients—and how to make more profit from existing ones.

Why “big business” style marketing could kill your business and strategies that actually work for small and medium-sized businesses.

How to close sales without being pushy, needy, or obnoxious while turning the tables so prospects beg you to take their money.

A simple step-by-step process for creating your own personalized marketing plan that is one page. Simply follow along and fill in each of the nine squares that make up your own 1-Page Marketing Plan.

How to annihilate competitors and make yourself the only logical choice.

How to get amazing results on a small budget using the secrets of direct response marketing.

How to charge high prices for your products and services and have customers actually thank you for it. Check on Amazon

Many small businesses avoid marketing because they never really learned the skill set. Those who attempt it usually try different strategies that they’ve heard work, but they often have no plan.

Alan Dib wrote this book to help small businesses put together a winning marketing strategy.

Marketing is the driver that turns unaware customers into potential clients and potential clients into paying customers.

We’ve included some of our favorite marketing books in our list of books on entrepreneurship. Read our reviews of the best-selling business books in marketing.

#9. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

I was looking for something interesting to listen to, and this was the marketing book I found with the highest rating on Amazon. It’s focused on communicating better with your customers so they care enough to buy your product.

Donald Miller wrote Building a StoryBrand to help others to clarify their messages. After he applied his book’s writing strategy, he applied it to his own businesses and doubled his sales for four years in a row (that’s 16X what it was beforehand!). Here are some concepts Miller includes:

The seven universal stories (SB7 framework) points that drive humans to action

Why do customers spend their money

How to communicate your story better

How to tell your stories on websites, brochures, and social media

Learn to be a better storyteller by reading Building a StoryBrand.

#10. The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin

In Greek mythology, Icarus’s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. The concept was the perfect propaganda for an industrial economy. What boss wouldn’t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success? Check on Amazon

This marketing book uses the story of Icarus to explore the risks of flying too high and too low. Seth Godin uses this analogy to help marketers and other creatives understand that while risks are associated with flying too high, the stakes are even greater if you take the safe road.

Also by Seth Godin: This is Marketing

Accounting and Financial Books

After a successful business finds clients, it must manage the financial aspects of the customer relationship. Accounting and financial books cover how to make your ideas survive and make a profit. Read our reviews and pick up one of the top books for entrepreneurs struggling with accounting and financial management.

#11. Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz

Following four simple principles can simplify accounting and make it easier to manage a profitable business by looking at bank account balances.

A small, profitable business can be worth much more than a large business surviving on its top line.

Businesses that attain early and sustained profitability have a better shot at achieving long-term growth. Check on Amazon

Profit First is the number one selling accounting book on Amazon. Mike Michalowicz explains that if you want to make incredible profits in business, you need to accurately estimate what to charge to make a profit.

Most people can’t do that with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) because they don’t match our natural thought processes. The author proposes approaching it from a much easier standpoint.

The author explains that Revenue – Profit = Expenses makes it easy for small business owners to make the profit they need. He also provides case studies and other practical advice to help people form good habits and run profitable businesses.

#12. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Rich Dad Poor Dad is an excellent pick for youth and adults.

Even non-business-minded thinkers will benefit from this book. Check on Amazon

Rich Dad Poor Dad is the first personal finance book I remember reading. It’s one of the best business books of all time because it strikes home important lessons taught by some parents but not by others. It does it in a way that is fun to read, too.

In the book, he shares the lessons that he was lucky enough to learn from his best friend’s “rich dad,” despite his “poor dad” knowing nothing about all the rules that people can use to grow rich.

If you haven’t already read this classic business book, I suggest ordering it from Amazon today.

He has numerous other business books that are still relevant today. Check out some of his books on Amazon.

Business Books About Team Building

Team building books must be on the list of top entrepreneurship books. After all, entrepreneurs are extraordinarily good at what they do, but they do not always have experience leading other people.

Find one of the top entrepreneurs’ books on team building and expand your business knowledge today.

#13. The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team by John C. Maxwell

A 50-year-old man learning to swim while training for the toughest triathlon in the world demonstrates how the Law of High Morale works.

A former U.S. president taking a bus journey, sleeping in basements, and performing manual labor to understand the Law of the Big Picture.

How an internet company used The Law of the Scoreboard to reach success.

The failure of a 128-year business because they ignored The Law of the Price Tag. Check on Amazon

The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork is a framework of 17 “laws” governing how great leaders can duplicate the success they have found by inspiring others. John. C. Maxwell gives examples of how these “laws” have changed people’s lives.

#14. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People was originally written in 1936, but you will most likely be reading a reproduction of this timeless business book. Dale Carnegie provides the secrets to influence people, including:

Six ways to make friends

Twelve ways to change people’s minds

Nine ways to create change without causing resentment

Find Dale Carnegie’s best business book on Amazon.

#15. Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

The founder of Bridgewater Associates, a privately-held hedge fund in the U.S., shares how “an idea meritocracy that strives to achieve meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical transparency” has impacted everything he does and has created a team that produces impressive results. Through this mindset, he was able to grow rich, and in his book, he shares some of the strategies that have helped him live a principled life while getting the most out of his people.

Find Ray Dalio’s Principles on Amazon.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Based on one of the top-viewed TED Talks, Start with Why focuses on the simple process of how great leaders inspire others to achieve. It’s three simple steps:

Why? How? What?

He calls this process the Golden Circle. Start learning how to inspire others and help increase the social awareness of your brand. Check out the TED talk below:

If it inspires you, get the book on Amazon.

Human Resources

Human Resources manages the areas of recruiting, hiring, paying employees, and making sure that policies are followed in a way that protects the business from lawsuits. Check out some of our favorite human resource business books and find one that interests you.

#16. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

In this Amazon bestseller, Patrick Lencioni tells the tale of a fictional CTO who comes into a company and has to fix a dysfunctional organization plagued by the absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.

Combining fiction with real-world lessons makes The Five Dysfunctions of a Team one of the best business books for human resources. Five Dysfunctions is available on Kindle as a hardcopy or audiobook.

#17. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

Change is inevitable.

You can see signs of change and prepare for it.

Owners need to stop overthinking and get into action. Check on Amazon

Who Moved My Cheese has sold over 28 million copies, making it one of the best business books of all time when measured by sales. The story uses the all-too-familiar rat race to help people understand change.

If you haven’t read this business book, I suggest doing so. It’s a quick, easy read and can be found on Amazon. Read it ASAP and let its lessons guide you in your business adventures.

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is a complex area of business focused on quality control, logistics, and managing vendors.

The pandemic became a tipping point for what happens when supply chains are disrupted. Develop your knowledge to help you prevent disruptions in your small business.

#18. Single Point of Failure: The 10 Essential Laws of Supply Chain Risk Management by Gary S. Lynch

Risk is inevitable, but Single Point of Failure is focused on how to manage risks. Gary S. Lynch explains the “risk parasite” and proves his point with examples. In the process, he answers the following questions:

What are “single points of failure”?

How much risk are customers, investors, other stakeholders, and the organization exposed to?

What is the measurable impact of managing supply chain risks?

Who establishes the “risk paradigm”?

How should organizations manage resources, and why does it lead to overproduction?

How is success measured?

Which sourcing strategies increase and decrease risks?

How can I manage a supply chain holistically as opposed to incrementally?

If you are sourcing products, I highly suggest you become well-versed in risk management. With today’s supply chain issues, entrepreneurs who have not secured million-dollar contracts are at risk of disrupting their supply chain like never before.

Buy Single Point of Failure on Amazon.

#19. Managing Supply Chain Operations by Lei Lei, Leonardo DeCandia, Rosa Oppenheim, and Yao Zhao

This book introduces students to the key drivers of supply chain performance, including demand forecasting, sales, and operations planning, Inventory control, capacity analysis, transportation models, supply chain integration, and project management and risk analysis. It is enhanced by real-life examples and case studies as well as strategies from best practices and a focus on social and economic impact. Check on Amazon

This book is a no-frills supply chain management book based on research conducted with over 100 corporations. Managing Supply Chain Operations uses case studies, real-life examples, and best practices to help people understand supply chain management.

Lei et al. cover demand forecasting, sales, and operations planning, inventory control, capacity analysis, transportation models, and supply chain integration, as well as project management and risk analysis.

Note: this resource is intended for master’s level courses so it may be a challenging read, but it’s worth it if you have to manage numerous vendors and shipping methods.

#20. The Forklifts Have Nothing To Do! Lessons in Supply Chain Leadership by Colonel Joseph L. Walden

Joe Walden shares his experience from 25 years of military supply chain management, giving people practical advice on saving money while managing their supply chain. While his expertise is based on military operations, the lessons apply to all businesses.

The Forklifts Have Nothing To Do! is one of the best books on how to run a business because the military runs with rigorous protocols, and learning to run your business with militant precision can help increase your self-management.

Buy The Forklifts Have Nothing to Do! today.

Project Management Books

Project management books are some of the best business books for learning how to maximize processes. Almost every aspect of business can be broken down into smaller projects that make them easier to accomplish.

Read our reviews about some of the best business books for project management, and improve your efficiency today.

#21. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, Unabridged by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan

Made more than 575 appearances on national bestseller lists

Listed as #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, New York Times bestseller, and USA Today bestseller

Translated into 40 languages

Won 12 book awards

Voted Top 100 Business Book of All Time on Goodreads Check on Amazon

The ONE Thing has two primary messages that make it one of the best project management books:

Don’t multitask. Better results are accomplished by focusing on one thing at a time.

Work backward. Starting with the end goal makes it easier to create milestones and action plans to achieve the goals in your personal life, business, and projects.

This is one of the best business books to read because everyone needs that reminder to stop, focus on one task at a time, and find success on their own terms.

#22. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager by Kory Kogon, Suzette Blakemore, and James Wood

If you’ve never managed a project, this is one of the best books to read when starting a business. This book introduces you to the project management life cycle:

Initiate Plan Execute Monitor, Control Close

You’ll want to consider these steps anytime you initiate a new policy, product, project, or division. This is one of the best business books for beginners because it introduces you to the underlying foundations of systemizing processes, which most entrepreneurs credit as a significant part of their success.

Start learning how to create practical strategies for your new ideas with this step-by-step program by buying Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager on Amazon.

#23. Project Management Book Of Knowledge (PMBOK)

You are no doubt a busy professional with a lot of things going on. It can be challenging to find the time to read and study for the Project Management Professional test! However, the truth is that the PMP exam is a challenging exam. It is normal to have some anxiety about taking this test. Thorough preparation cannot be overlooked! That is why the author Ralph Cybulski developed the PMP PMBOK Study Guide. This edition is a PRACTICE QUESTIONS EDITION. Check on Amazon

The Project Management Book of Knowledge is the study material for the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional certification. It’s dry, boring, and stressful if you are trying to pass the PMP, but it has a ton of helpful knowledge.

I read the book while studying for the lower certification of the Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM), and it’s tedious. I passed after obsessing about it for far longer than any other test.

If you need to manage projects with particular requirements or fields you aren’t familiar with, I strongly suggest reading this book.

Operations

Business books with a strategic focus can help you learn how to navigate your day-to-day operations more efficiently. We’ve provided a list of some of the best business books on functions. Find one you enjoy today.

#24. Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Traction, by Gino Wickman, is about how to create traction for one’s business.

Gino Wickman is a former CEO of two multimillion-dollar companies, and he has coached more than 1,000 entrepreneurs on his Entrepreneurial Operating System. This system includes five key components:

Focus

Clarity

Leverage

Accountability

Metrics

Learn how to apply EOS to your business by reading Traction, Amazon’s current best-selling operations book.

#25. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots. Check on Amazon

David Allen wrote the best-selling book Getting Things Done to help people become more productive in their day job and leave the business at work to enjoy family time when they get home. This is a must-read for every business owner.

#26. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

In Deep Work, Cal Newport discusses how to focus on mentally challenging tasks despite the many distractions the world offers today. He includes a variety of life hacks to improve your ability to focus like:

Embrace boredom.

Turn off your social media notifications.

If you have a hard time focusing on what you need to accomplish, order Deep Work and listen to it on Audible.

#27. The Real-Life MBA: Your No-BS Guide to Winning the Game, Building a Team, and Growing Your Career by Jack Welch

Mega-bestselling business authors Jack and Suzy Welch return, nearly a decade after publishing their international bestseller, Winning, to tackle the most pressing business challenges related to creating a winning strategy, leading and managing others, and building your own career, in The Real Life MBA, an essential guide for every person in business today—and tomorrow. Check on Amazon

Jack Welch, Legendary CEO of General Electric, and his wife Suzy, former Editor-in-Chief for Harvard Business Review, started an accredited online MBA program.

He was responsible for turning GE into a conglomerate worth approximately $450 billion with the purchase of NBC and GE Capital. Unfortunately, the Great Recession and his successor reduced Jack’s legacy to a far smaller entity.

With significant changes in the gas and real estate industries, spinning GE Capital off to become Synchrony, and exiting out of anything that is not industrial, the company is far different than when he left.

That doesn’t negate his expertise in all areas of GE because he was one of those exceedingly rare people who started in the field and worked up to the top.

The Real-Life MBA is a crash course on some of the most pressing issues in the business world today told by one of America’s most extraordinary Chief Executive Officers.

This is on many lists of the best business books of all time. Make sure to read it.

#28. 2 Second Lean by Paul Akers

If you’ve watched our videos or read our blogs, you know that we think Paul Akers is one of the great leaders in business today. Paul focuses on lean manufacturing principles, and his book explains timeless lessons learned while building FastCap.

Check on Amazon

#29. Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis

Company of One is one of the best business books available because it is specifically written for business owners committed to staying small.

It is written based on Paul Jarvis’ own experience rejecting corporate America. Jarvis gives essential lessons on how to increase your revenue while maintaining the life you want, free of tedious meetings, meaningless policies, and bad bosses.

Check out Company of One on Amazon.

#30. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

“For the last two years, I’ve interviewed more than 200 world-class performers for my podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. The guests range from super celebs (Jamie Foxx, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc.) and athletes (icons of powerlifting, gymnastics, surfing, etc.) to legendary Special Operations commanders and black-market biochemists. For most of my guests, it’s the first time they’ve agreed to a two-to-three-hour interview. This unusual depth has helped make The Tim Ferriss Show the first business/interview podcast to pass 100 million downloads. …” Check on Amazon

This is probably one of the most notable business books you’ll ever read. It’s based on Tim Ferriss’ interviews with successful people across all areas of business, government, and entertainment.

Tim Ferriss tested all of the tips suggested in interviews to see if they were reproducible. If the tips led to stress-free productivity and an improvement in his life, he included them in this monstrous 736-page book.

I’d suggest buying the hard copy, reading it once through to see how many of them you already do, then tackling one of the habits you don’t do each month. This business book will keep you developing good habits for the next several years.

#31. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Reis

The Lean Startup focuses on managing your company with a conscious focus on how to deploy your capital and human resources to achieve the best results with the least input. Eric Reis discusses why most businesses fail and why most failures are preventable.

Purchase The Lean Startup on Amazon.

Time Management

Time is our most valuable resource. None of us have more than 24 hours in a day, but business owners sure could use more.

These time management books will teach you how to make the most of your time.

#32. Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself by Mike Michalowicz

Transfer any task off your plate and trust that your team will get it done right.

Elevate your role in your company (and life) with one single word.

Pinpoint the critical function your business must master to avoid mediocrity.

Leverage the extraordinary power of the 3.2-hour productivity rule.

And finally—do what you want, when you want, in your business and your life. Check on Amazon

Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself is focused on creating a business that will run itself. The author explains business strategies that will free up the business owner’s time and empower the work team to succeed without them.

This book is on our list because it is one of our personal favorites at UpFlip.

The author originally wrote this book in 2018 but has revised it with more tips for business people and aspiring entrepreneurs. Pick up the revised version as a hardcover or on Kindle from Amazon today.

#33. Goals! How to Get Everything You Want, Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy

In Goals! How to Get Everything You Want, Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, Tracy outlines 21 strategies to help you achieve your goals. He explains how to:

Determine your strengths.

Recognize what you truly value in life.

Establish what you want to create most.

Build self-esteem and self-confidence.

Approach each hurdle effectively.

Overcome difficulties.

Respond to challenges.

Most importantly, you’ll learn to apply a system for any goal you set for the rest of your life.

You can buy this great business book, Goals! on Amazon.

Great Business Publications

This list of the top books about business would not be complete without some of the most influential publications about business.

#34. Entrepreneur Magazine

In our blogs, we frequently reference They have a bunch of great blogs, and you can subscribe to their publication for about $5 a month or $50 a year. It comes with an annual subscription to their magazine, a weekly newsletter, and no ads.

#35. . Wall Street Journal

I’ve always preferred the Wall Street Journal over other newspapers because it tends to be more economically focused and avoids all the melodrama of many media outlets. Keep up with the world’s business news with a subscription to

#36. Harvard Business Review

Harvard Business Review is the publication released by the #5 Best Business School as ranked by U.S. News and World Report. It belongs on the list of best books for entrepreneurs because they release consistent research about a variety of business matters, including:

New business technology

Business trends

Relationship management

Emotional intelligence

Impacts of tiny behaviors on business success

You can get a subscription to the Harvard Business Review for $10 a month and have access to both digital and physical magazines.

Miscellaneous Reads

This section is for those jewels that don’t fit any of the categories but that need to be included in the list because they are great reads for small business owners.

#37. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great Book 2) by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras

“This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies.” So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time. Check on Amazon

Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras spent six years at Stanford University Graduate School of Business studying how the oldest companies in the country stay relevant for so long. Their studies included General Electric, 3M, Merck, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, Boeing, and eight other companies.

They share with readers what they found to be the most significant differences for these companies. This is part two of a six-book series and is one of the UpFlip team’s favorite books.

Or get the whole series below:

The Good to Great Kindle Edition is available on Amazon.

If you want to buy each title separately, here is the list:

Find these and more great business books on Amazon.

#444. The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco

In the Millionaire Fastlane, M.J. DeMarco explains the not-so-surprising truths on how people (in our personal lives) have falsely highlighted the American Dream (work 30 years, buy a house, save 10%, retire with a pension).

Why jobs, 401(k)s, and indexed funds aren’t the way to build wealth

Why most entrepreneurs fail

How to increase the odds of success

The real way wealth is built

Why do the poor stay poor

How the rich make their money

How to use compounding interest and leverage

Why do so many “gurus” have a master’s in guano

#45. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy)

Overcome a lack of motivation and willpower

Design your environment to make success easier

Get back on track when you fall off course

…and much more. Check on Amazon

James Clear is a self-help author and speaker that presents to Fortune 500 companies about developing good habits that will contribute to increasing productivity.

Atomic Habits is a book about how to change your system for changing bad habits and reinforcing good habits.

He draws on information from psychology, biology, and neuroscience. He then combines it with real-life stories of people who channeled their energy for success and teaches readers how to:

Create new habits in a distracted world

Rise above when feeling unmotivated or undisciplined

Create a successful habit-building environment

Recover from setbacks

Atomic Habits is the #2 book on Amazon. Find out why so many people are reading it.

#46. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Thinking, Fast and Slow was written by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman. He includes his conclusions from his career studying behavioral psychology, behavioral economics, and happiness studies.

In this book, Kahneman explains the areas of decision-making by which intuition should be the driving force, when we should use logic to temper intuition, and how to successfully blend the two for more balanced, successful decision-making.

Read Thinking, Fast and Slow on Kindle Unlimited.

#47. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight

In this instant and tenacious New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh” (Booklist, starred review), illuminating his company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. Check on Amazon

Shoe Dog is the autobiography of Nike founder Phil Knight. He focuses on the history of Nike and covers aspects such as:

Starting the company with $50

Selling shoes out of his car

How the Nike logo came to be

Shoe Dog is an inspirational story of the trials entrepreneurs go through with their businesses. Pick up your copy of Shoe Dog from Amazon.

Bookmark This Page

Make sure to bookmark this page or our Amazon Book List. We’ll continue updating this list of the best business books as we find books we love. If you think there are books that should be on this list, let us know so we can take a look. If we love it as much as you do, we’ll add it to this list.

My motto is:

Never quit learning.

Which book will you read first?