Must Reads for Your Christmas Holidays

With Christmas coming up I hope you will have some time to take a bit of a break and spend some quiet time away from the pressures of business ownership. If you are a retailer, this probably won't apply and so I hope you are flat out with queues of customers buying up everything that you have available! Your time for rest will come at a different time if the year. For the rest of us, I recommend spending some of that time off in reading a good business book or two. But with literally thousands of titles out there, where should you start? Over the next couple of posts I will suggest 10 titles that you should consider as must reads that will give you much needed skills in a range of business ownership areas. In no particular order, here are my first five:-


Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

Here are money-making secrets that can change your life. Inspired by Andrew Carnegie's magic formula for success, this book will teach you the secrets that will bring you a fortune. It will show you not only what to do but how to do it. Once you learn and apply the simple, basic techniques revealedhere, you will have mastered the secret of true and lasting success. And you may have whatever you want in life.


The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

If you own a small business, or if you want to own a small business, this book was written for you.


The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard

An easily-read story which quickly demonstrates three very practical management techniques - you will understand why these apparently simple methods work so well with so many people.

The book is brief, the language is simple, and best of all...it works.


The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer

This book is an absolutely essential tool for every serious business owner.
“It should be read, reviewed and referred to every single day."
It can be digested in quick bite-sized lessons and contains 100’s of proven techniques and healthy thinking about building business relationships.


Good To Great by Jill Collins

Making the transition from Good to Great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of the rare and truly great companies is a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organisation would do well to consider.


Why should you spend time reading business books rather than fishing magazines this summer? The answer can be summed up by Edward Demming, the quality expert: "Learning is not compulsory, but neither is survival"

If you have some "must reads" of your own, I would love to know and so would other readers of this blog. Please leave a comment below by clicking on the link.