Business Books

2. These ten books changed
the business world forever.
Thousands of business books are published each
year, most of which are destined for the
remainders bin. However, there are a handful of
business books that have literally changed the
world. Here's my list …………….

3. 10. The Art of War (3rd Century
BCE)
• While militaristic thinking
sometimes leads to bizarre business
behavior (like treating competitors
as enemies rather than potential
partners), Sun Tzu's magnum
opus really isn't about war, per se.
It's more about how to think
strategically about complex issues,
as well as how to adapt those
strategies to the often limited
reality of the human condition.
• Fun fact: Sun Tzu's patron tested
the strategist's theories on war by
asking him to organize an army of
prostitutes and have them parade
around the courtyards.

4. 9. The Prince (1532)
• While intended for monarchs
rather than moguls, Machiavelli's
real politic view that "the end
justifies the means" is the basis
for modern corporate ethics.
Executives in publicly-owned
companies are constrained by law
to represent the interests of the
shareholders and can only "do
the right thing" when the right
thing makes financial sense.
• Fun fact: Machiavelli was a
complete failure as a military and
civil adviser, and lived to see his
ideas widely ridiculed.

5. 8. The Wealth of
Nations (1776)
• Written when the fastest mode
of communication was a sailing
ship and slavery was legal in most
of the world, this book provides
the basis for popular economic
thought even in the Internet age.
Interest factoid: Adam Smith's
oft-cited "invisible hand" only
appears in a single sentence in
the book.
• Fun fact: While Smith was a
proponent of the "invisible hand"
of economics, he frequently
warned against the formation of
monopolies.

6. 7. How to Win Friends and Influence
People (1936)
• Although he wrote in an era when
the scientific world treated IQ as the
only standard of intelligence, Dale
Carnegie perceived that lasting
happiness and success emerges from
relationships rather than ideas or
facts. While parts of this book now
seem a bit quaint, his basic concept
is now a commonplace among
business leaders, many of whom
now value EQ above IQ in both hiring
and promoting.
• Fun fact: Dale Carnegie changed his
birth name from "Carnagey" to
"Carnegie" in order to create a (false)
connection with the multimillionaire
Andrew Carnegie.
Manish@RMS

7. 6. Atlas Shrugged (1957)
• Ayn Rand's screed against
collectivism utterly transformed
how many business leaders
perceive their role in society. Prior
to Rand, many executives felt
apologetic for their success and
responsible (at least to some
extent) for the welfare of those
less fortunate. After Rand, many
executives now view themselves as
heroic figures, an upper crust of
"makers" amidst a herd of
"takers.“
• Fun fact: Ayn Rand, despite her
dislike of social welfare programs,
was a recipient of both Medicare
and Social Security.
Manish@RMS

8. 5. The Greatest Salesman in the
World (1968)
• When this classic sales book was
written, most people thought of
salesmen as slick, fast-talking
con-men. While that stereotype
still exists, most salespeople now
see themselves the way author
Og Mandino saw them: as
essentially moral people who are
striving to make the world better
and make other people happy.
• Fun fact: Og Mandino flew thirty
bombing missions during World
War II, some of them piloted by
actor James Stewart (of "It's a
Wonderful Life" fame.)

9. 4. The Soul of a New
Machine (1981)
• Credit Tracy Kidder's tome with
popularizing two now-ubiquitous
business concepts: 1) that truly
dedicated workers should spend
most of their waking life at the
office rather than working a mere
40 hours a week, and 2) that
decisions should be made by
"empowered" employees rather
than top down management.
• Fun fact: The "we can change the
world" message in this book is all
the more poignant in that the
"machine" ended up being a
technological dead end.

10. 3. The One Minute
Manager (1982)
• Believe it or not, there was once a
time when most businesspeople
believed managing people was a
fairly difficult job. However, that was
before Kenneth Blanchard and
Spencer Johnson set out their simple
(some say "simplistic") rules for
common-sense management. The
success of this booklet spawned an
entire industry of "management
made easy" consulting.
• Fun fact: Ken Blanchard assigned
himself the title of "Chief Spiritual
Officer" of his company, an idea
which did not spawn many imitators.

11. 2. Guerrilla Marketing (1984)
• In the Mad Men era, marketing
and advertising implied a big
money investment. In this book,
though, author Jay Conrad
Levinson explained how
unconventional efforts can often
create better results at a lower
cost. Amazingly, Levinson had
this insight more than thirty
years before social networking
and smart phone apps became
such a huge part of the corporate
landscape.
• Fun fact: Among other things, the
book suggests tattooing your
corporate logo on your forehead.

12. 1. Reengineering the Corporation (1993)
• Hammer and Champy's
"manifesto" obliterated the
implicit social contract between
employers and employees. Gone
were the notions of lifetime
employment and corporate
loyalty, replaced by an endless
regimen of downsizing,
rightsizing, outsourcing, and off-
shoring.
• Fun fact: The current biz-blab
terminology for "reengineering"
(i.e. layoffs) is "ventilating the
organization.“

13. Readers, what other books
should have made this list?
Leave a comment!

14. Thank You