10 Business Books You Should Be Reading
Summer Reading Series- Business Edition
Summer is by far among the most hectic times of the year for mompreneurs. And if there's one thing we've learned, it's that busyness doesn't stop the clock. Try as we might, life keeps coming at us- fast. It's times like this that it can be really difficult to work ON our business, not just IN it. But we really must make it a priority. It's that important. So, amid the chaos, allow yourself to slip away for a bit and hone your skills. Your customers (and your bottom line) will thank you for it.Here are ten business books you may not have read, but really should.
Lean In: Women, Work And The Will To Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. This means that women’s voices are still not heard equally in the decisions that most affect our lives. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg examines why women’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers compelling, commonsense solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential. Written with both humor and wisdom, Sandberg’s book is an inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth. Lean In is destined to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Get it, HERE.
The Art Of Social Media: Power Tips For Power Users by Guy Kawasaki
By now it's clear that whether you're promoting a business, a product, or yourself, social media is near the top of what determines your success or failure. And there are countless pundits, authors, and consultants eager to advise you. But there’s no one quite like Guy Kawasaki, the legendary former chief evangelist for Apple and one of the pioneers of business blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, Tumbling, and much, much more. Get it, HERE.
How The World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through The Science Of Fascination by Sally Hogshead
Author Sally Hogshead believes the greatest value you can add is to become more of yourself. The science of fascination is based on Hogshead's decade of research with 250,000 participants, including dozens of Fortune 500 teams, hundreds of small businesses, and over a thousand C-level executives. Get it, HERE.
Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message by Tara Mohr
While not all women aspire to end up in the corner office, every woman aspires to something. Playing Big fills a major gap among women’s career books; it isn’t just for corporate women. The book offers tools to help every woman play bigger—whether she’s an executive, community volunteer, artist, or stay-at-home mom. Thousands of women across the country have been transformed by Mohr’s program, and now this book makes the ideas and practices available to everyone who is ready to play big. Get it, HERE.
The 5 Choices: The Path To Extraordinary Productivity by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne
Every day brings us a crushing wave of demands: a barrage of texts, emails, interruptions, meetings, phone calls, tweets, blogs—not to mention the high-pressure demands of our jobs—that can be overwhelming and exhausting. The sheer number of distractions can threaten our ability to think clearly, make good decisions, and accomplish what matters most, leaving us worn out and unfulfilled. The time management experts at FranklinCovey share their five critical techniques for avoiding distractions and paying focused attention to our most important goals and tasks in our daily lives. Get it, HERE.
The Innovator's Method: Bringing the Lean Start-up into Your Organization by Nathan Furr, Jeff Dyer, and Clayton Christensen
Have you ever come up with an idea for a new product or service but didn’t take any action because you thought it would be too risky? Or at work, have you had what you thought could be a big idea for your company—perhaps changing the way you develop or distribute a product, provide customer service, or hire and train your employees? If you have, but you haven’t known how to take the next step, you need to understand what the authors call the innovator’s method—a set of tools emerging from lean start-up, design thinking, and agile software development that are revolutionizing how new ideas are created, refined, and brought to market. Get it, HERE.
The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin
In Seth Godin’s most inspiring book, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of art. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isn’t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It’s an attitude we can all adopt. It’s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things you’re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card. Get it, HERE.
Your Network Is Your Net Worth: Unlock the Hidden Power of Connections for Wealth, Success, and Happiness in the Digital Age by Porter Gale and Guy Kawasaki
New ways to network are popping up every day—and Gale tells you how to make the most of them—but even traditional networking opportunities are not the same animals that they once were, and we need to shift our attitudes and approaches accordingly. Networking has evolved from a transactional game to a transformational process. Whereas once it was about power plays, now it’s about charting your own course, following your passions, and making meaningful connections, which in turn increase your happiness and productivity. Get it, HERE.
Time Management Mama: Making Use of the Margins to Pursue your Passions by Sarah Korhnak and Beth Anne Schwamberger
Productivity is hard. Accomplishing big goals is even harder, and trying to grow a business or pursue a great big goal while raising kids feels almost impossible. This book is for those of us who are mixing motherhood with other passions. We are raising babies while working tirelessly at an enormous goal. We are playing with preschoolers while pursuing our passions. It is difficult enough to manage a home and love on our children without adding impossible dreams to the mix. But we know you can do it, and this book can help. Get it, HERE.
Quiet Power Strategy by Tara Gentile
There's a better way to run your business: your way. You've never had more more access to ideas for how to run your business. There's a lot of Noise out there. This book is your opportunity to seize the power of Quiet. You won't find success in the Noise. It's only when you get quiet and find your own path to your vision that you can create the wealth, peace, and ease you truly crave. Get it, HERE. In the comments, we'd love to hear what YOUR favorite business books are and why you love them so much. *Note: While this post contains affiliate links, none of the authors have been compensated in any way for inclusion in this post. These are my own personal choices for some of the books I think will truly help you in your business journey.