3 Inspirational Business Books

Did you have a summer reading list when you went to school? Mine was ginormous and it got me into the habit of being quite bookish growing up.

Admittedly, I don't read as much as I used to -- 120 books a year was my average for years before I started to blog. Granted, many of them were fiction, and I will dedicate next week's post to reading quality fiction to improve your writing skills. Still, that was a lot of reading.

If you want to be a writer, the best thing you can do to hone is your skill is read. There are plenty of business books gracing my shelves, and your feedback about my previous list of 10 books that stand the test of time was very encouraging.

So I thought you'd enjoy an encore with 3 business books I continue to find inspirational.

Inspiration has the same root as "in spirit". The definition I pasted above is from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. We used to carry two or three of those to school for Italian, Latin, and Greek. I wonder how students are greeting the news that the Oxford English Dictionary may not be printed anymore. Relief or sadness?

In order of appearance in my reading list and life:

Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (Amazon affiliate link) by Tim Sanders.

Nice people may finish last on the corporate ladder, after everyone else has climbed on their backs. I find that once you decide you're not going to play that game of scarcity. Once you know you're in the camp of abundance making -- for yourself and for others -- it becomes easier to make the pie bigger.

Sanders provides concrete advice on how to go about making that mental and behavioral shift. I don't know if it's a cultural thing, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. In my experience and in my circle of friends back in Italy, that was the way things got done through relationships.

In the book, he weaves knowledge, network, and compassion into a powerful combination for your career, and life.

The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life (Amazon affiliate link) by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

I must have read this book a half dozen times already. It's one of my evergreen resources. Rosamund Stone Zander is an executive coach, family therapist, and private practitioner who brings enormous psychological perspective to enhancing human behavior. Benjamin Zander is the conductor of The Boston Philharmonic and is well known for his orchestra's passionate performances.

With the book they extend an open invitation to possibility with 12 practices that at a first glance seem easy, because simple. We know better, don't we?

From it's all invented, to giving an A, being a contribution, and leading from any chair, the Zanders use examples from their own experiences to illustrate each practice. My favorites chapters are the way things are, giving way to passion, and being the board. What are yours?

Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age (Amazon affiliate link) by Tom Peters.

This is probably the most expensive business book I bought. I picked it up at a Borders store right before going to see Tom Peters at the Muhlenberg college where my good friend Brian had tickets for his talk.

It's probably the most creative format for a business book I've read. The design, the organization, and the flow resemble more how we consume information online than in print. And many of the business disconnects lessons are still very much applicable seven years later.

It's a book that practices what it preaches. It's a collector's item for sure and I often reread chapters when in need of a swift kick into high gear. One of the characteristics I always liked about Peters is the energy he brings into the conversation.

Yup, there are some limitations in the book. The examples miss emerging companies, and some of his messages on marketing to women and the talent war are probably a known quantity, given that he's been saying it for years. In his own words, though, it's not old until it's done. If innovation rules -- the main message of this book -- execution rules, too. Period.

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These are my three inspirational business books. What are yours?

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Comments

[James Chai]

This will now be our 3rd entry (so far) and we weren't being judgemental in our last comment ... just addressed a single thought within your post.

Anyhow looks like some good reading here and will have to check out.

We are new to your site but always enjoy a good conversation!

[Tim Kastelle]

Some that I've found particularly good recently are Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod and Herd by Mark Earls. Both are very insightful, but fun to read. I'm not sure that either is exactly inspirational, at least for anyone other than me. Good books though.

[CV Harquail]

Valeria,

I'm glad to see "Love is the Killer Ap" on your list- I liked that book so much that I've assigned it for years to my MBA students to help them understand what 'networking' really means.

Your post also reminds me how newly timely Sanders' advice is... how often now are we hearing about the 'compassion economy', the 'gift economy', and the role of generosity in creating the surplus we need to be innovative?

Also, I love Sanders' advice about using books and giving books as gifts. He's the only person I ever read/heard of who has articulated the unique joy of receiving (and giving) a book that shows just how much one has been understood and known.

cvh

[Kim Steadman]

I just read my Success Magazine and the article I was reading talked about "taking a mind bath everyday". 30 Minutes of inspirational and motivational reading - and now I read your post and you list what looks like three GREAT books that I need to add to my reading list!

[Nikki Stephan]

Thanks, Valeria. I'm on a business book reading kick right now, and I haven't heard of the second and third books on your list.

I'm finishing up Tony Hsieh's "Delivering Happiness", and I've found it inspirational because Tony's approach to owning and running a business is so unique. I was a bit skeptical when I first learned the book was completely unedited, but I actually like how it reads. This book proves how finding success when owning a business goes way deeper than dollar amounts.