Confederacy of Dunces -- so you don't take yourself or your company too seriously.
Positioning, the battle for your mind -- so you learn that it's not about features, it's about the gestalt.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Dunces - yes. Good choice dave
steveplace
· 4 months ago
A good reading theme for entrepreneurs is to read biographies about people who were the absolute best in their field. This goes outside of business and into historical leaders, sports icons, stock traders... the more diverse set the better, then find the underlying threads within each person that led them to greatness in their field.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Totally agree
Nigel Walsh
· 4 months ago
agreed - pick the folks you admire and work out how you get under the covers.
Philip James
· 4 months ago
Any of the books relating to Ernest Shackleton, the great polar explorer, ("South" or "Endurance") are good examples of this.
Elie Seidman
· 3 weeks ago
iCon about Steve Jobs is fantastic
Dan Martin
· 4 months ago
Patrick Lencioni's library is an absolute joy & must read. Patrick's "leadership fables" are quick to digest and deep with valuable lessons applicable to any level of any organization. Highly recommended: http://bit.ly/8Uqtu
aaronklein
· 4 months ago
I just searched this page for Lencioni and you beat me to the punch.
I discovered his books later than I wish I had. The two best ones, imho, are The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive.
For some reason, I seem to learn better from fiction than your typical "textbook" business book.
Sam Snyder
· 4 months ago
Here's a comprehensive list of books written by successful entrepreneurs and top business leaders & investors: http://www.bigwinner.org/books/
chrisdorr
· 4 months ago
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (with Alex Haley), an inspirational story of hustling, education and transformational leadership.
Sekou Murphy
· 3 months ago
You're the 3rd person I heard reco this book for entrepreneurs in the last week...
Rodrigo Mazzilli
· 4 months ago
Jessica Livingston's "Founders at Work" is the best book for entrepreneurs in my opinion. It has lots of interviews with founders where they share the moments of fear, hard work and success. It's also a very inspiring book!
David Semeria
· 4 months ago
Catch-22 : to fully appreciate how inflexible and immobile a big company can become (which is where the opportunity for agile disruption arises).
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
that's a good one!
Dax Brady Sheehan
· 4 months ago
Couldn't agree more and should be a "force read" in business 101 not literature 101 on Campuses around the globe.
S.t
· 4 months ago
I can't believe a right-wing book like ATLAS SHRUGGED showed up on this blog
One of my other fav's is "Selling the Wheel" (on my list above). I have given away over a dozen copies to people and keep a stash of extra copies in my office.
"Great book for those that believe they have a "breakthrough" product that will help EVERYONE doing EVERYTHING better"
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
oooh. shackelton. now that an insipring story!
Name
· 4 months ago
Kavalier and Clay? That was one of the flabbiest and most pompous books I've read in a long, long time.
dan_DTE
· 4 months ago
Fred, I can't believe you've listed The Prince! I'm a huge fan and always tell people they should read Machiavelli in the context of business management and entrepreneurship. Whenever I do, nobody seems to understand what I mean. By the way, also Discourses on Livy, which is actually even more of an entrepreneur's guide as it relates to the building of Rome, the governance of new regimes, etc. The Prince always hit me as more of an M&A book. But I love them both. Thank you for including on your list.
Also, since we're on the topic, Plato's Republic, which is about thousands of things, but at least a couple of these are entrepreneurship and the building of something from nothing.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Jerry Colonna, whom I mentioned in the post, used to teach a management course using Plato's Republic and The Prince as competing views of how to manage
dan_DTE
· 4 months ago
I wish I was there. I'm far from being an expert, but the main difference I see between Machiavelli and Plato in this regard (there are huge differences in general), is that Plato puts forth his thesis on how one could build a [Republic] if one could wipe out all of human history and start over again, but this time thoughtfully and with the benefit of experience, while Machiavelli deals very much in the way things are and management strategies within our given reality. Both are useful, I think, for any entrepreneur, and for that matter any MBA student, and come to think of it, anybody, for different reasons.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
he also made them watch citizen kane and startup.com
i've never watched startup.com although there is apparently a scene in the former flatiron partners conference room
dan_DTE
· 4 months ago
By the way, since we're on the subject, and in keeping with themes of similarities and differences, entrepreneurship, management, etc., two more ideas: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus of Wittgenstein. Both written on the battlefield! Both meditative in their own way, and both seeking to strip away noise to arrive at some pure truth. In the latter, that truth is in the form of logic, and mathematical thought, and in the former, a logic of the spirit. I bring these up because logic, clear thinking, and spiritual balance, can add measurable value in a business environment, and certainly in an entrepreneurial setting in which all these things are prone to get lost in the rapid pace and chaos.
DaveinHackensack
· 4 months ago
You should watch Startup.com and blog about it here. It would be interesting to read a V.C.'s take on that.
I wonder, too, if the founders of that company would have benefited from reading some literature -- specifically, Greek tragedies. The word hubris comes to mind.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I know the team from that startup. That's how they got into our conference room. And you are so right about greek tragedies
Descarga
· 4 months ago
Hey Fred, In many cases such as this the discussion around the post ends up being more interesting than the post itself. You clearly understand this and hence your investment on disqus. Congrats on the great reader base...
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
All I have to do I get people talking and they'll do the rest
javajames
· 3 months ago
You got to watch startup.com; It's a must watch for an entrepreneur or VC. Citizen Kane is a great movie but I don't get it's relevance.
kidmercury
· 4 months ago
i love business books but i have a passionate dislike for most fiction books. too long, not enough pictures, should've just made a movie and put it on the web for free instead. maybe then if i'm feeling generous with my time i'd watch it.
here are biz books that i feel gave me the knowledge, confidence, inspiration, and strategy to help me launch my own business:
+ the core clayton christensen trilogy -- innovator's dilemma, innovator's solution, seeing what's next. christensen is too smart for his own good and his books are unnecessarily complex as a result. seeing what's next was written by some of his disciples and is a much easier read. if you're lazy and don't want to read hard and complicated stuff, i recommend starting with that one.
+ built to last by jim collins
+ good to great by jim collins (collins has another book too about how companies end up failing....i haven't read it yet but i have high expectations for it)
+ anything and everything by john hagel. like christensen too smart for his own good and thus unnecessarily complex, though not to the extent that christensen is.
+ the keystone advantage by marco iansiti -- for those with aspirations of building the next great platform/OS, i highly recommend. not a technical book, but gives great insight into platform strategies and pitfalls. i would probably vote for this as the most underrated business book of all time.
+ dealing with darwin by geoff moore
+ brand hijack by alex wipperfurth
+ here comes everybody by clay shirky -- for internet entrepreneurs
+ information rules by hal varian and carl shapiro -- best explanation for the free media vs non-free media. varian is now an economist advising google. after we all read this book we can stop the stupid debates and jump on the free media train and get on with the program
+ permission marketing by seth godin
+ unleashing the ideavirus by seth godin
+ seo book by aaron wall -- for web entrepreneurs, particularly the low budget/unfunded ones
as entrepreneurs benefit from understanding what is going on in the world, here are my favorite truther books -- fact filled and written by an author striving to be as objective as humanly possible
+ rule by secrecy by jim marrs
+ rise of the fourth reich by jim marrs
to understand real economics:
+ economics in one lesson by henry hazlitt
+ creature from jekyll island by g. edward griffin. this book blurs the line between monetary economics and kookology. griffin is an excellent writer who makes the subject fairly straightforward and easy to understand while still remaining true. highly recommended
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
These are the kinds of books most people recommend. They are fine for what they are
But they don't provide the kind of insight you can get from someone like shakespeare
artignacio
· 4 months ago
Reference to Geoff Moore's Dealing with Darwin is interesting in the context of business books vs fiction/literature. The Crossing the Chasm guy has a doctorate in literature, dissertation somewhere in the area of Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene. For sure something there about insight.
kidmercury
· 4 months ago
i didnt know moore had a doctorate in literature, but i think it shows. he is a very lucid writer, i'm always impressed at how clearly he articulates abstract concepts that his peers manage to make too complicated.
"+ creature from jekyll island by g. edward griffin. this book blurs the line between monetary economics and kookology. griffin is an excellent writer who makes the subject fairly straightforward and easy to understand while still remaining true. highly recommended" - Every potential voter should read this book
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Kookology sometimes describes these comment threads. But not this one!
reecepacheco
· 3 months ago
I just finished Good to Great. Awesome book. Also, reading Purple Cow (Godin). One more business book I'd add to this list is Made to Stick.
ErikSchwartz
· 4 months ago
Moby Dick to understand and accept the necessary obsession.
Sun Tzu to understand tactics. It helps keep you away from obvious blunders.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Excellent additions erik
howlvenice
· 4 months ago
Wow. I was waiting for someone to add Tsun Tzu. i use the knowledge I gained from this book every day.. and not just in business.
Satish
· 4 months ago
Exodus was a great read. It really takes Paul Graham's "Relentlessly Resourceful" paradigm to a whole different level. :) http://www.paulgraham.com/relres.html .
(Dame) Ellen MacArthur - Taking on the World ... truly inspiring. We are capable of anything. Never give up.
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything ... just to remind oneself how little we actually know (unless you're a polymath - and I, sadly, am not one) - and to never forget the joy of curiosity.
Agree re: Catch-22, David!
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
sometimes i wish we could turn this comment thread into a wiki
such a good list we are putting together
David Semeria
· 4 months ago
For me Catch-22 has always been a major, major, major source of inspiration!
Garp's another good one - not quite sure why - probably something to do with ploughing your own furrow.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Garp is one of my favorite books, but i never thought of it in the context of entrepreneurship
David Semeria
· 4 months ago
You're right, the link is pretty tenuous - but as George Bernard Shaw said, "All progress depends on the unreasonable man" (because the reasonable man will just adapt to his environment, rather than the other way round).
Garp's not unreasonable, but he definitely sees the world in his own terms. And this attitude, I think, is apparent in many entrepreneurs.
egoboss
· 4 months ago
Richard Bach - Jonathan Livingston Seagull ... even though I didn't really understand its greater meaning at the time, it helped me a lot, as a kid - my mother had just passed away after a long illness. The book had just come out and I read it dozens of times over the subsequent years.
I still dip into the same battered copy now and then for inspiration.
PS: this is why on my Last.fm playlist, Neil Diamond's soundtrack to the eponymous film often pops-up in-between contemporary indie bands, old punk rockers and electropop, lol!
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
that's a good one carl
David Semeria
· 4 months ago
I forgot to mention that "A Short History of Nearly Everything" is a stunning book and really does remind us of how little we know. Case in point: last night I discovered my next door neighbour here at the beach has created a motor which runs on just pure magnetism. I told him that was impossible, and he laughed. Apparently the technology was invented in the 1930s, and my neighbour has a fully-functioning prototype - go figure!
kevinselle
· 4 months ago
I get a lot of inspiration from the "stories" and love them. I have trouble with the mechanics, would you consider a few recommendations to help in that area? Many thanks.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
mechanics?
kevinselle
· 4 months ago
Things like finding capital, proper registrations (state filings, taxes), business plans, budgeting. The "business books" that you mention in the post that you like. Thanks!
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
nope. i don't know if you can find that stuff in books
kevinselle
· 4 months ago
Well...that is what I am learning. Sorry about the eagle putt.
Susan
· 4 months ago
Very wise! The subject of business is really just the subject of human nature. Those who master that will succeed.
Dan Thornton
· 4 months ago
My main inspiration tends to be biographies, but not necessarily business-related e.g. something like Rossi: MotoGenius by Matt Oxley which looks at all the elements which contributed to the personality and talent of a motorcycle hailed as the best of all time, and also how his team contributes to that success. Some great examples of how to keep things simple, how to be able to focus on absolute domination on the track but be completely relaxed away from it, and above all, etc...
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I love biographies too. They are also stories. Just true stories. And very inspirational ones
David Meiselman
· 4 months ago
I would recommend all of James Clavell's Asian series - Shogun, Tai-Pan, Noble House, etc. Not only do many of them make business seem exciting within a historical time and place, they also treat many of the themes that are required for success in business, such as thinking strategically, building relationships and partnerships based on mutual benefit, and dealing with threats from competition.
Abhishek
· 4 months ago
1) How about adding "Seabiscuit" here. Story of a legendary horse which can teach how you can overcome your disabilities and bad luck and become legend.
2) I would also like to add "Mavericks at Work" here. It can be termed as Business book but it has many stories about maverick entrepreneurs, executive who turned their companies' future.
davidroberts
· 4 months ago
If its a book with a story that you are looking for then the best read of modern times has to be Hoppers "The Puritan Gift"
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Added to my list. Thanks
Eyal S. Goldwerger
· 4 months ago
My additions:
The Fountainhead (power of independent thinking, passion and conviction in one's chosen path).
Pillars of the Earth (meaning of true long-term planning and build up, and consequences today of irreversible decisions, designs and technologies chosen yesterday).
Catch 22 (over-analyzing reality is pointless, seeking logic in every aspect of life is futile, and only way to cope with this chaotic thing we call "life" is with heavy dose of self-aware humor).
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I do love the fountainhead too. It was hard for me to pick between the two books
farhanlalji
· 4 months ago
Excellent list so far.
Only one I would add is a recent novel, The White Tiger by Aravid Adiga - great thriller where you can learn lessons about emerging markets, social entrepreneurship, and just all round being nice to people cause you never know how things may end up.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Gotham Gal loved white tiger. I need to read it
Manu Kumar
· 4 months ago
A few recommendations that are at the top of my list are:
The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar Outrageous Optimism: Wisdom for the Entrepreneurial Journey by Jack Roseman and Steve Czetli The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Darren Erik Vengroff
· 4 months ago
I'd nominate Setting the Table by your Union Square neighbor Danny Meyer.
It's technically a business book, but it's much more interesting when read as a study in how and why people enjoy experiences, and how you can help them do so.
Fantastic review. I always try to squeeze in a meal at one of Danny's places when I visit New York.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
There's a link in this comment thread to a review I posted of that book a few years ago
Jonathan Bruck
· 4 months ago
Fred you said "The point of this list is that there is way more insight to be gained from stories than from business books." I would be curious to see a future post on the insights you have gained from the books above.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I'd have to do one on each. Which would require a re-read of each. Which I should do anyway
iamronen
· 4 months ago
I would offer this as a small anecdote for the relationship between entrepreneurs and investors. I have a 25th edition copy of Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - and in the end there is a documentation of correspondence between James Landis (editor) to Robert Pirsig (author) at the beginning of their relationship. (keep in mind that over the ensuing years, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" would be rejected by 121 publishers, before being published by James Landis!). The following is from Mr. Landis to Robert Pirsig:
"... I'm more interested and intrigued then ever and just want to say there's no rush at this end - you should take your time and under no circumstances sacrifice art to haste for fear that my willingness to read your book will either diminish or be forgotten. I shall be here and ready whenever your manuscript comes in.."
I wish that kind of wisdom to investors, and that kind of investor to entrepreneurs.
Catch-22 (obvious. came to mind before reading that five others had recommended also)
Dune (different worlds/different ways are completely viable; fierce warriors can adapt and win with inferior resources, dramatically different tools/weapons and under extreme conditions; ingenuity and passion trump a scaled establishment...)
Foundation Trilogy (sweeping, trans-generational vision, think and operate orthogonally/out-of-phase with the masses)
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Dune. Hmm. Might have to re-read it
mrcai
· 4 months ago
Siddartha by Herman Hesse is the most beautiful, inspiring book I've ever read. The lesson: you have to find your own way in life. siddha (achieved) + artha (meaning)
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Oh god. I loved that book when I read it in college. I think it really impacted me
GG
· 4 months ago
What a good thread ...
Journey to the East also by Hesse is a great commentary on leadership - a bit hard to reread once you know the truth about Leo ...
MarianG
· 4 months ago
Love this post and subsequent comments, completely agree about the value of business learning thru stories. Someone mentioned biographies, which I also devour. And travelogues too.
One book in that vein that I would add is Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari, an engrossing account of his overland trip from Egypt to Capetown, and then back, briefly, to Zimbabwe. I'd never thought of it as a business primer, before this post got me thinking about my favorite stories. It's clearly a natural fit. Theroux starts his journey with a fixed purpose, but a loose plan of how he'll arrive at his end goal. The obstacles and challenges he navigates along the way require patience, ingenuity, flexibility, and adaptability. He encounters people who want to help him, rob him, derail him, befriend him, are suspicious of him. And he must adapt to changing environments and cultures throughout.
In addition to all of those natural business parallels, I think there's great value in being prompted to think about the world beyond our borders. And Theroux wraps in his thoughts along the way on how Africa might effectively address some of the development challenges it faces. Turns out he's an entrepreneur at heart. An inspiring, engaging non-business, business story.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Traveling is such an adventure. I am jealous just reading your comment. I may have to pick up that book
Jason Grigsby
· 4 months ago
The list so far is a great one. Hard to top Plato and Machiavelli. Makes me thankful for my political science minor.
So instead of suggesting a classic, I want to suggest something from left field. The best business book I've read recently was "Project X - Nissin Cup Noodle." http://amzn.com/1569709599
It is a manga (Japanese comic book) retelling of the creation of Cup Noodle. It is a fun and inspiring tale told in a format unlike any other business book that I had read before.
So much fun in fact that I was inspired to convert it into an Ignite presentation. More people should read this book. :-)
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Very cool. Gotta check that out. Hadn't heard of it
alexjmann
· 4 months ago
I agree that the most resourceful books aren't necessarily stated business books. To add to that theme, my top three picks would be:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Art of War by Sun-Tzu
DaveinHackensack
· 4 months ago
Man's Search for Meaning I would recommend to anyone, whether they're in business or not.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Art of war has to get onto my list. Great suggestion by several people today
chrisyeh
· 4 months ago
An oddball but interesting choice for young entrepreneurs: Jean-Christophe
It follows the life of brilliant musician as he struggles with the eternal issues in life. It made a huge impression on me when I read it at 19; the sheer volume of detail makes you feel like you've lived an entire life after finishing it.
Given your tweet about your missed putt (couldn't resist) I thought I'd add a book that was recommended to me which I reluctantly read.
So... Golf is all about freeing the mind. This book is all about just that- "Golfing with God" by Roland Merullo. It is one of those books that you just keep reading but you are not quite sure why and then it falls into place, at least for me anyway.
I could use some help with my golf game. Will this provide that?
kevinmurphy
· 4 months ago
I do not know if it will help your golf game but it did mine. And, it can't hurt.
It is focused on the mind (no swing mechanics, no drills, no videos and no teaching aides!). Roland, among other things is a low single digit handicap...
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
My golf issues are almost all emotional. I don't handle adversity well on the golf course
Like this lie I got on my tee shot on 17 this morning
must admit, i did laugh when i saw the picture, sorry for your bad break. But in perspective that should have cost you one shot/hole (ex skins and doubles and other compounding bets you may have been involved with). I can honestly say that as many times as I have ended up in a spot like that there are at least as many times that I received a good break (bounce off of a tree into the fairway, rolled through a crappy bunker, skipped across the water, hit a putt nowhere near where I planned but it went in anyway).
Gotta take the good with the bad in the game of golf or it will eat you alive. And we all seem to remember the bad more than the good breaks...
Emotionally i always think that the shot i just hit is in the worst possible situation until i go see that it is or it is in better shape than i thought- which means I can only be pleasantly surprised- which usually adds up to positive thought during eighteen holes of randomness. Glad YOU were able to play this morning!!! : )
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I started bogey, par, birdie and it was downhill after that. But I had fun
chrisyeh
· 4 months ago
Oh, and if anyone wants to convert this into a wiki, PBworks will be happy to comp an upgrade to our highest-end product.
It helps listeners discover hip-hop mixtapes by both known and underground artists. People seem to really love it! Traffic is growing every day.
Mayson
· 4 months ago
Peter Drucker's Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Carol Dweck's MindSet, subtitled: The New Psychology of Success.
If I were a VC, I would buy copies of these for anybody I was funding...
Harish Venkatesan
· 4 months ago
I always recommend "zen mind, beginner's mind", by shunryu suzuki, as required reading to my friends. simple yet profound http://bit.ly/cJYfz
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Great quote
DaveinHackensack
· 4 months ago
When I was a business development guy for an early-stage start-up, the first outside V.C. investor had me read "Inside the Tornado" by Geoffrey Moore. I can't say it was a huge help though. Regarding the books you mentioned above:
I first read Atlas Shrugged after reading a few articles in the WSJ about successful entrepreneurs who mentioned it as an inspiration.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was a great book, but I would never have thought of it as a business book. It's better, incidentally, than Chabon's more recent novel (The Yiddish Policeman's Union) which was still good.
BTW, if this new version of Disqus doesn't automatically send me an e-mail after this post asking me to confirm registration (I'm guessing it won't), that will be an improvement over earlier versions, as far as unregistered guests are concerned.
timraleigh
· 4 months ago
I would add the Bible, old and new testament. Some of the shit those folks got into and out of teaches you that success in life and business is not a straight path.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I can't argue with this suggestion
daryn
· 4 months ago
I never got into Shakespeare -- too much forced at me at an age when I wasn't interested. I went to an amazing k-12, and it was a struggle to accept a 16th century playwright when we had so much other fascinating history and contemporary literature to learn.
I'm a big fan of memoirs and biographies, they are probably 80% of what I read outside of tech books and cookbooks. I find most business books to be light reads that mainly reaffirm what I consider common sense, but I do enjoy them. Although a bit dated now, Cluetrain had a big impact on me at the time, as did The Nordstrom Way, but I agree there's a lot to be learned indirectly through sources other than from what I'd categorize as the business self-help section :)
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Read the shakespeare histories. The whole henry series is amazing
boblozano
· 4 months ago
"The Red Horse" by Eugenio Corti http://bit.ly/28SJPk, tremendous story of perseverance, maintaining your humanity when pushed to the breaking point. Originally in Italian, reads well in English translation.
"Confessions" by St. Augustine of Hippo http://bit.ly/2Ut9zS & http://bit.ly/MU7Mj, The search for meaning of a towering intellect. Widely considered the first western autobiography, written about 397. As a bonus it has some cool philosophical discourse on the nature of time.
In any case I recommend both of these books for fellow entrepreneurs because 1) perseverance is a commodity, like pitching, of which you can never ever have too much, and 2) even as we build (hopefully substantial) companies from scratch, the ongoing search for the meaning of it all haunts us.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I rate tenacity at the very top of traits I look for in entrepreneurs
mojo
· 4 months ago
Essays -- Michel de Montaigne The Histories -- Herodotus
hunterwalk
· 4 months ago
Harold and the Purple Crayon: Children's book but wonderful metaphor for entrepreneurism. Little boy takes a crayon and draws the world around him the way he imagines it could exists.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I love that book. Also where the wild things are and the little prince
Yule Heibel
· 4 months ago
I wonder if any of you have read Gregory Clark's A Farewell to Alms? (Here's a NYT review by Nicholas Wade.) I've read it - hated the first half of it, then became very intrigued by the second half, and now am re-reading it with an eye toward what he says about innovation, and how his ideas might help me understand innovation today. Not sure I understand it all that well - all the numbers and charts (which the book is full of) tend to go over my head, but Clark's ambition (to provide "A brief economic history of the world") is compelling, for sure.
PS: Re Machiavelli's The Prince (which is excellent and a must-read) - I would also suggest Frederick the Great's Anti-Machiavel (the link goes to an online version of the essay). Some great insights, for example why 18th century Holland was superior in democratic freedoms and economic advances over, say, Russia (Holland had people power, all Russia had was vast tracts of land: it's the people, stupid!), which contradicts Machiavelli's ideas that it's all about power and conquering territories. IOW, there's a fairly sophisticated understanding of what makes for modern societies in the Anti-Machiavel, which is kinda ironic, given how politically backward the German principalities - and the German nation (1870ff) remained until the country finally became a democracy (again) after WWII.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Yule - you should teach a course about these books!
Grocio.com Founder
· 4 months ago
"Mastery" is a super book. Highly recommend it.
Mike Millar
· 4 months ago
Can I suggest "The Soul of a New Machine" by Tracy Kidder. Incredibly easy to read and, to my mind very good in terms of when to delegate and when to get your hands dirty .
As there is a fairly philosophical bent to the thread to this, Thomas Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" - the reason people talk about paradigm shifts. Not for any entrepreneurial reasons but to counter balance Kuhn, Popper's "The Open Society" - also interesting as a balance to Plato.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Great suggestion. I love Kidder's book. First it is a story. Second it captures the passion of engineers who are driven to ship a revolutionary product. Great read
ShanaC
· 4 months ago
Understanding Media, By Marshall McLuhan Discipline and Punish (Trying to get through this one) By Foucault Aristotle's Politics Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau, so that one understands social contract theory. The Second Sex Walden, selections Selections of Marx and Engels. Inferno, Dante The Bible, Plato, The list goes on...
And I second a lot that has been written here. I think I might write up a post how b-schools might want to think up a year long liberal arts curricula, ala the classic UChicago, St. John's, or Columbia core. It seems it still is necessary to ask the questions of what is power, what is humanity, what is money, what is love, what drives us, what make us, well us.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Excellent idea shana
alexismichelle
· 4 months ago
Excellent thread, enjoying everyone's suggestions (and am glad to say I've read several already!). A couple additions:
1) The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry (Kathleen Flinn): I think there are an awful lot of life lessons to be learned in the kitchen, so I generally get a lot of out books about chef's and food, I recommend this one in particular because in addition to kitchen lessons, it is a story of tenacity, and following one's dreams (not to mention its set in Paris, at Le Cordon Bleu :).
2) The Four Agreements (Miguel Ruiz) and/ or the Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu): Both of these books depict ways of thinking and being that if incorporated can lead to an absolute sense of centeredness and calm, both of which are (in my opinion) essentially to being an effective leader amidst the tumult of starting a company.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Great additions. I sure hope someone wikifies this thread
Leisa
· 4 months ago
Warren Bennis had this wonderful piece in his book, which is useful for any in sizing up any undertaking and his/her fitness for it. It's something that I share with young people embarking on their careers, and even colleagues finding their current situation a struggle. A nice piece for some focused introspection. (I wandered in here from Tim Knight's blog to see the new 'disqus format!).
On Becoming a Leader Warren Bennis 1989, Perseus Books
How can you best express you?
The first test is knowing what you want, knowing your abilities and capacities, and recognizing the difference between the two.
The second test is knowing what drives you, knowing what gives you satisfaction, and knowing the difference between the two.
The third test is knowing what your values and priorities are, knowing what the values and priorities of your organization are, and measuring the difference between the two.
The fourth test is - having measured the differences between what you want and what you're able to do, and between what drives you and what satisfies you, and between what your values are and what the organization's values are - are you able and willing to overcome those differences. (pp 123-127)
Leisa
· 4 months ago
I'd offer this selection for entrepreneurs: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
It's about leadership and tenacity under the most extraordinary of circumstances.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Yeah. That's been mentioned a few times. Talk about tenacity
Chris Waldron
· 4 months ago
Reading The Great Gatsby in high school taught me a lot about social class. My family grew up poor and I despised money and success. It was the first time I realized that I could do something good with money. That book motivated me to do well to get into college.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Then it taught you something important. Money for money's sake is shallow. But you can do amazing things with it. I grew up an army brat and knew nothing about money. But I've learned a lot about it in the past 20 years
It helps listeners discover hip-hop mixtapes by both known and underground artists. People seem to really love it! Traffic is growing every day.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Thanks for wikifying this thread. I'll blog it
I don't know if I can evaluate your new web service very well but I'll let my friend anil dash know about it since he's into hip hop
DaveinHackensack
· 4 months ago
Ta-Nehisi Coates has an open thread every day on his Atlantic blog. You should mention your website there. Coates seems to have drifted away from hip hop somewhat in recent years, but he (or his readers) might find your site of interest.
I'm not a fan of that genre, but I like your site design though. Looks clean and functional.
sachmo
· 4 months ago
Wow...
Shout outs to: - Man's Search for Meaning - The Tao Te Ching - Dune - Walden
I think the single best book an entrepreneur can read is The Alchemist.
"Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible to realize their Personal Legend...
there is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth... To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation."
Coolest thing about the book - Paulo Coelho was hardly known by anyone before he wrote it. It is now one of the best selling books in history (by any living author). It became sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy for him personally.
I'd also recommend The Book of Five Rings and The Chuang Tzu. Both are excellent in their own right.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Great comment and suggestions
Sandy Mckinnon
· 4 months ago
Digging back a bit - Candide by Voltaire and Don Quixote by Cervantes are both excellent and funny (to get the madness of the world in perspective (nothing new under the sun).
Crime and Punishment - by Dostoyevsky (for the internal turmoil stuff.
Snowcrash by Neil Stephenson (his Baroque cycle trilogy are hard work by ultimately rewarding)
- and if you have to read on Philosophy book - the Metaphysics as a guide to morals by Iris Murdoch (benefits from her novelist style but is no less profound for that).
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Snowcrash is our guidepost at usv. Shh. Don't tell anyone
Sethop
· 4 months ago
One of my all time faves. I'm at least somewhat curious as to how you use it as a guidepost :-) Certainly a book ahead of it's time...and the only one I've ever started again from the beginning the moment I finished it. After finishing it the second time I gave it to one of my mates and said "you have to read this". He finished it as fast as I did, and said "Can I loan this to Jennifer?" (his gf, who'd done her honours thesis on Gibson's cyberpunk novels) who read it and suggested we give it to another mutual friend...and I finally got it back after it'd been read by 14 people in our social group...I started my own little snowcrash "virus" :-)
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
A lot of what we invest in and how we look at the future comes from that book
DaveinHackensack
· 4 months ago
That was a great book, but are you serious about its influence on your venture capital business? I never thought about it, but maybe someone at Harris & Harris read Stephenson's The Diamond Age, and that prompted the firm's move into nanotechnology and tiny tech investments.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I'm serious enough
DaveinHackensack
· 4 months ago
Interesting.
Coincidentally, there's a science fiction writer named Michael Swanwick, and today -- for the second time in less than a month -- I found out that one of his tech ideas had essentially become reality. I'm about to blog about it. Maybe a V.C. needs to start reading Swanwick?
fredwilson
· 3 months ago
I think so
Sandy McKinnon
· 3 months ago
As a vision of a near future dystopia, I think Snowcrash's prescience is awesome - it nails google earth - and so much more... See with Diamond Age - as a current IT VC and a lapsed Nanotechnologist - the suspension of disbelief was just too much - I do think the vractor meme has legs wrt Twitter and social media communication - but the self-replication stuff broke too many physics laws (and lapsed into magic).
Still, both are better than Vinge's Rainbow's End - which I found contrived... Hey as well as movies we should do poetry ;-) - and nothing better than a boy's own IF by Rudyard Kipling ;-)
Tanya Monteiro
· 4 months ago
for some reason I was drawn to share "Father, Son & Co." My life at IBM and beyond by Thomas J. Watson Jr and Peter Pertre.
James Andrews
· 4 months ago
"Thick Face, Black Heart" by Chin Ning Chu. Wonderful book that I read in my early years as a sony music exec. It's about applying ancient Chinese military wisdom to business and life. Great book and I later befriended Chin Ning and brought her to Sony Music to speak
martinowen
· 4 months ago
Marquez's Los cientos annos de soler -One hundered years of solitude. A remarkable story on so many levels, however I am always reminded by the gypsies who visited Macondo bringing new ideas - all too often adopted but mistakenly - the ice seen as cool building material, the telescope to make people appear further away. However there is underlying theme of complexi, sometimes paradoxical societal stasis and change.
I want the product I bring to market to have a profound effect; to change business models in its sector; to make the world a better place. Dream big. Marquez's magic realism encourages that.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Another amazing book that made me see things differently
Tereza Nemessanyi
· 4 months ago
Julius Caesar -- on how not to manage a 'board', and the dangers of misaligned interests. Shakespeare is structural perfection.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
That's why shakespeare is still so influential after so many years. His work will last forever
Aruni
· 4 months ago
Funny, I've been working on a post re: books I read that I haven't gotten around to finishing and the vast majority of them are not business books. When I taught entrepreneurship at UT, three books that I made required reading (well one I gave them all as a gift) were The Alchemist, The Monk And The Riddle, and Siddhartha.
Business is only as good as the humans involved and as we all know humans range from genius to quite fallible at times.
On another note, I hope you make it to SXSW this year!
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Only if they move it forward a week
You'll note that your books have all been mentioned in this thread
Amazing how we are coming together around a couple dozen essential reads
Aruni
· 4 months ago
Yes, you should do another post on the dozen or so essential reads as put forth by your readers.
If things change re: SXSW and you can fly in for a day to sit on a one hour panel, let me know. Alternatively, if you can recommend someone else at twitter who will be here, that would be great as well. I'm thinking of reaching out to Seth Godin, who doesn't know me at all, but I have read (and very much enjoy) his blog for quite some time.
Guest
· 4 months ago
test
William Mougayar
· 4 months ago
A couple of marketing classics by Al Ries & Jack Trout which are foundational marketing stuff: - Positioning: The Battle for your Mind (the title says it all) - Marketing Warfare (It outlines the 4 key Strategies: Offensive, Defensive, Flanking & Guerilla)
And 2 other war strategy classics: - On War, by Karl von Clausewitz , or - The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
PKafka
· 4 months ago
Want to start a separate list for movies and/or TV? In all seriousness, let me suggest two food-themed ones: Big Night, and Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. On the latter, I'm not a knee-jerk Anglophile, but make sure you see the Brit ones, not the extra-stupid Fox version (http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/154/episodegu...). B
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I suppose we could do this for all media. Thanks for the suggestions peter
Derek Skaletsky
· 3 months ago
So agree on the Kitchen Nightmares -- even agree more with you on the BBC version. So good. A bit embarrassing to admit, but I actually started blogging lessons learned from each episode last year! Here's an example: http://phase2strategy.typepad.com/p2_business_s...
PKafka
· 3 months ago
Not embarrassing at all! I thought about doing the same thing -- or at least writing a single post about it -- but never did it. Good for you!
werwer
· 4 months ago
ewrwerwer
Dax Brady Sheehan
· 4 months ago
"Get Rich" by Felix Dennis, Awesome rules for the hustle and for big business I highly suggest we toss that one in the list.
CS
· 4 months ago
RE: "I can't believe a right-wing book like ATLAS SHRUGGED showed up on this blog"
I can't believe a crunchy granola bleeding heart is reading this blog! Seriously? What a silly statement regarding "Atlas Shrugged", I can't believe you have even read it......
Haynes
· 4 months ago
I am reading The Soul of a New Machine now and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
David Semeria
· 4 months ago
Here's a great one: "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time". by Dava Sobel
It's a classic story of invention, entrepreneurship and, above all, persistence.
Roosevelt Islander
· 4 months ago
A great series of novels about 19th Century industrial capitalism in the post Civil War Era is Theodore Dreiser's Financier Trilogy composed of The Financier, The Titan and The Stoic based upon the life of Charles Yerkes - the Gordon Gekko of his time.
Hmm. Sounds like my kind of books. I'll check them out
Jim Kovarik
· 4 months ago
Glad to see some of my favorites listed above. Soul of the New Machine my hands down favorite - read about a dozen times - incredibly inspiring.
Catch 22 - brilliant. Milo Mindbender. I'll be no-one can guess the opening line. Atlas Shrugged - pretty good but I prefer The Fountainhead.
Jim Kovarik
· 4 months ago
that should've read "I'll BET no one can guess the opening line of Catch 22"
agree that Founders at Work is excellent as well
Travel, Wine and Web
· 4 months ago
The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives After reading this book the entrepreneur will realize that randomness plays more of role in our lives (start-up) than we realize.
Jorge Barba
· 4 months ago
To add to the list I would add these gems which are tactics told through stories of Napoleon, Alexander The Great, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Machiavelli, Sun Tzu and Musashi to name a few.
- The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene - The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene - Hide a dagger behind a smile
sayemislam
· 4 months ago
My top 3 entrepreneurship books:
- The Making of an American Capitalist (Buffett bio) - Hard Drive (Bill Gates bio) - The New New Thing (Jim Clark bio)
Also, a huge fan of "Poor Charlie's Almanack" and Phil Fisher's "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" - investing books, but full of wisdom on how companies last and trends come and go.
For fiction, "Pere Goriot" by Balzac.
Daniel Sevitt
· 4 months ago
Here's a couple from left field. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and Lolita by Valdimir Nabokov - American classics that plumb the depths of humanity and teach us to embrace what we are and reject what we must never become. Also worth taking a look at American Tabloid by James Ellroy, Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess, Plainsong by Kent Haruf and Watchmen by Alan Moore, just because.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
That's a great list of books. Not sure I totally buy the entrepreneurship connection for many of them though
Cindy Gallop
· 4 months ago
Separate to all wider-ranging literary analogies/metaphors etc, if you want a practical, pragmatic, common sense yet highly inspiring and motivational read, that makes you jolly well get on and DO IT - the definitive guide for all entrepreneurs is 'The Art of the Start' by Guy Kawasaki.
Cindy Gallop
· 4 months ago
In the literary analogy corner - 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding (for lessons in leadership, teambuilding, and how attempting to rally a motley crew of individuals around a common goal that would appear to benefit everyone can all go horribly wrong....)
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
I like this suggestion better than the prior one
tlimongello
· 4 months ago
Kavalier and Clay, Atlas Shrugged both not on kindle!
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Kindlefail
javajames
· 4 months ago
It would be cool if these could be categorized into books that are actually written for entrepreneurs and for stories that have entrepreneurial lessons.
fredwilson
· 4 months ago
Yup. This thread drifted as it went on like most threads
Kim
· 4 months ago
Atlas Shrugged is an instruction manual for misfits, crimianals, thugs you know the type, the capitalists. Bernie Maddof level of thuggery requires constant re-reads of Ayn Rand - the greats assclown of all time.
javajames
· 4 months ago
If we were to categorize the different entrepreneurial books, what categories would you use? This is not easy because entrepreneurs wear so many hats and posess many qualities. But, if we wanted to pick 5 categories or less for entrepreneurial books, what would they be? I'll post mine later.
javajames
· 3 months ago
Mine would be: Case Studies, Motivational, Leadership, Technical, Stories(Fictional)/Lessons Not that everything neccesarily fits into one of them or only one of them, but thats what I came up with based on this thread.
dskaletsky
· 4 months ago
I will add one a bit off topic. Stephen King's best work: ON WRITING. He calls it a Memoir on the Craft and it's f'ing great. It's not about business...it's about becoming an artist in your craft regardless of the insurmountable odds and challenges (who would have bet that a broke, no-name writer working on a mediocre typewriter, from his two room trailer home would become the most prolific genre author in the world...not even Fred would have made that investment!)
I recommend it whenever I can.
I would also recommend a more traditional book, FIRST BREAK ALL THE RULES.
Next topic: Movies for Entrepreneurs!! I'll get it started with just a few:
GODFATHER II HUDSUCKER PROXY BRAVEHEART and of course... THE JERK
Seriously, though, the best move for entrepreneurs was a small documentary called AMERICAN MOVIE. Watch it. You won't be sorry...
fredwilson
· 3 months ago
I knew we'd get to movies at some point
Josh Engroff
· 3 months ago
I would include a couple of sci-fi books in that list, since there is often great vision and creativity to be found in such books (key qualities for an entrepreneur): Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash", William Gibson's "Neuromancer" come to mind.
fredwilson
· 3 months ago
Classics
Harinath Pudipeddi
· 3 months ago
Here is my list. I need to update a lot more, but still a good beginning :)
Antivirus Software
· 3 months ago
Thanks for the great list of books guys! Really appreciate the effort!
Sekou Murphy
· 3 months ago
benjaminjtaylor
· 3 months ago
A belated comment but my Amazon order just arrived! Thanks for the list! I'll add my suggestions to the wiki.
JenH
· 3 months ago
Just read the pre-release of KIDPRENEURS "Young Entrepreneurs with BIG ideas" (my kids loved it!) http://www.Kidpreneurs.org
All Comments
Rogue Warrior - Richard Marcinko - bio of a navy seal
Socialize
Positioning, the battle for your mind -- so you learn that it's not about features, it's about the gestalt.
I discovered his books later than I wish I had. The two best ones, imho, are The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive.
For some reason, I seem to learn better from fiction than your typical "textbook" business book.
It has lots of interviews with founders where they share the moments of fear, hard work and success.
It's also a very inspiring book!
THE GOLD COAST by Nelson DeMille http://bit.ly/19cYWP
STATE OF FEAR by Michael Crichton http://bit.ly/iGz8r
FOUNDERS AT WORK by Jessica Livingston http://bit.ly/4u8xY3
CONFESSIONS OF A STREET ADDICT by Jim Cramer http://bit.ly/8OjMi
i should read state of fear
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/full...
One of my other fav's is "Selling the Wheel" (on my list above). I have given away over a dozen copies to people and keep a stash of extra copies in my office.
"Great book for those that believe they have a "breakthrough" product that will help EVERYONE doing EVERYTHING better"
Also, since we're on the topic, Plato's Republic, which is about thousands of things, but at least a couple of these are entrepreneurship and the building of something from nothing.
i've never watched startup.com although there is apparently a scene in
the former flatiron partners conference room
I wonder, too, if the founders of that company would have benefited from reading some literature -- specifically, Greek tragedies. The word hubris comes to mind.
In many cases such as this the discussion around the post ends up being more interesting than the post itself. You clearly understand this and hence your investment on disqus. Congrats on the great reader base...
here are biz books that i feel gave me the knowledge, confidence, inspiration, and strategy to help me launch my own business:
+ the core clayton christensen trilogy -- innovator's dilemma, innovator's solution, seeing what's next. christensen is too smart for his own good and his books are unnecessarily complex as a result. seeing what's next was written by some of his disciples and is a much easier read. if you're lazy and don't want to read hard and complicated stuff, i recommend starting with that one.
+ built to last by jim collins
+ good to great by jim collins (collins has another book too about how companies end up failing....i haven't read it yet but i have high expectations for it)
+ anything and everything by john hagel. like christensen too smart for his own good and thus unnecessarily complex, though not to the extent that christensen is.
+ the keystone advantage by marco iansiti -- for those with aspirations of building the next great platform/OS, i highly recommend. not a technical book, but gives great insight into platform strategies and pitfalls. i would probably vote for this as the most underrated business book of all time.
+ dealing with darwin by geoff moore
+ brand hijack by alex wipperfurth
+ here comes everybody by clay shirky -- for internet entrepreneurs
+ information rules by hal varian and carl shapiro -- best explanation for the free media vs non-free media. varian is now an economist advising google. after we all read this book we can stop the stupid debates and jump on the free media train and get on with the program
+ permission marketing by seth godin
+ unleashing the ideavirus by seth godin
+ seo book by aaron wall -- for web entrepreneurs, particularly the low budget/unfunded ones
as entrepreneurs benefit from understanding what is going on in the world, here are my favorite truther books -- fact filled and written by an author striving to be as objective as humanly possible
+ rule by secrecy by jim marrs
+ rise of the fourth reich by jim marrs
to understand real economics:
+ economics in one lesson by henry hazlitt
+ creature from jekyll island by g. edward griffin. this book blurs the line between monetary economics and kookology. griffin is an excellent writer who makes the subject fairly straightforward and easy to understand while still remaining true. highly recommended
But they don't provide the kind of insight you can get from someone like shakespeare
- Every potential voter should read this book
Sun Tzu to understand tactics. It helps keep you away from obvious blunders.
http://www.amazon.com/Exodus-Leon-Uris/dp/B000G...
(Dame) Ellen MacArthur - Taking on the World ... truly inspiring. We are capable of anything. Never give up.
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything ... just to remind oneself how little we actually know (unless you're a polymath - and I, sadly, am not one) - and to never forget the joy of curiosity.
Agree re: Catch-22, David!
such a good list we are putting together
Garp's another good one - not quite sure why - probably something to do with ploughing your own furrow.
context of entrepreneurship
Garp's not unreasonable, but he definitely sees the world in his own terms. And this attitude, I think, is apparent in many entrepreneurs.
I still dip into the same battered copy now and then for inspiration.
PS: this is why on my Last.fm playlist, Neil Diamond's soundtrack to the eponymous film often pops-up in-between contemporary indie bands, old punk rockers and electropop, lol!
The subject of business is really just the subject of human nature.
Those who master that will succeed.
2) I would also like to add "Mavericks at Work" here. It can be termed as Business book but it has many stories about maverick entrepreneurs, executive who turned their companies' future.
The Fountainhead (power of independent thinking, passion and conviction in one's chosen path).
Pillars of the Earth (meaning of true long-term planning and build up, and consequences today of irreversible decisions, designs and technologies chosen yesterday).
Catch 22 (over-analyzing reality is pointless, seeking logic in every aspect of life is futile, and only way to cope with this chaotic thing we call "life" is with heavy dose of self-aware humor).
Only one I would add is a recent novel, The White Tiger by Aravid Adiga - great thriller where you can learn lessons about emerging markets, social entrepreneurship, and just all round being nice to people cause you never know how things may end up.
The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar
Outrageous Optimism: Wisdom for the Entrepreneurial Journey by Jack Roseman and Steve Czetli
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
http://www.amazon.com/Setting-Table-Transformin...
It's technically a business book, but it's much more interesting when read as a study in how and why people enjoy experiences, and how you can help them do so.
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2007/01/setting_the_tab...
"... I'm more interested and intrigued then ever and just want to say there's no rush at this end - you should take your time and under no circumstances sacrifice art to haste for fear that my willingness to read your book will either diminish or be forgotten. I shall be here and ready whenever your manuscript comes in.."
I wish that kind of wisdom to investors, and that kind of investor to entrepreneurs.
Sidenote: a while back I indulged in applying Pirsig's Quality (which is further developed in Lila - a sequel of Zen) to Twitter: http://www.iamronen.com/2009/07/lets-do-twitter/
Dune (different worlds/different ways are completely viable; fierce warriors can adapt and win with inferior resources, dramatically different tools/weapons and under extreme conditions; ingenuity and passion trump a scaled establishment...)
Foundation Trilogy (sweeping, trans-generational vision, think and operate orthogonally/out-of-phase with the masses)
Journey to the East also by Hesse is a great commentary on leadership - a bit hard to reread once you know the truth about Leo ...
One book in that vein that I would add is Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari, an engrossing account of his overland trip from Egypt to Capetown, and then back, briefly, to Zimbabwe. I'd never thought of it as a business primer, before this post got me thinking about my favorite stories. It's clearly a natural fit. Theroux starts his journey with a fixed purpose, but a loose plan of how he'll arrive at his end goal. The obstacles and challenges he navigates along the way require patience, ingenuity, flexibility, and adaptability. He encounters people who want to help him, rob him, derail him, befriend him, are suspicious of him. And he must adapt to changing environments and cultures throughout.
In addition to all of those natural business parallels, I think there's great value in being prompted to think about the world beyond our borders. And Theroux wraps in his thoughts along the way on how Africa might effectively address some of the development challenges it faces. Turns out he's an entrepreneur at heart. An inspiring, engaging non-business, business story.
So instead of suggesting a classic, I want to suggest something from left field. The best business book I've read recently was "Project X - Nissin Cup Noodle." http://amzn.com/1569709599
It is a manga (Japanese comic book) retelling of the creation of Cup Noodle. It is a fun and inspiring tale told in a format unlike any other business book that I had read before.
So much fun in fact that I was inspired to convert it into an Ignite presentation. More people should read this book. :-)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Art of War by Sun-Tzu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Christophe
It follows the life of brilliant musician as he struggles with the eternal issues in life. It made a huge impression on me when I read it at 19; the sheer volume of detail makes you feel like you've lived an entire life after finishing it.
(For those who need another reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inner_Light_%2...)
So... Golf is all about freeing the mind. This book is all about just that- "Golfing with God" by Roland Merullo. It is one of those books that you just keep reading but you are not quite sure why and then it falls into place, at least for me anyway.
http://www.amazon.com/Golfing-God-Novel-Heaven-...
It is focused on the mind (no swing mechanics, no drills, no videos and no teaching aides!). Roland, among other things is a low single digit handicap...
Like this lie I got on my tee shot on 17 this morning
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredwilson/3847899...
Gotta take the good with the bad in the game of golf or it will eat you alive. And we all seem to remember the bad more than the good breaks...
Emotionally i always think that the shot i just hit is in the worst possible situation until i go see that it is or it is in better shape than i thought- which means I can only be pleasantly surprised- which usually adds up to positive thought during eighteen holes of randomness. Glad YOU were able to play this morning!!! : )
I put 'em up on a Wiki. Check it out here: http://entrepreneurialreads.pbworks.com/
Also, if you get a chance, I would love to hear what you think about my new website. It's Hype Machine + Pandora + Hip Hop Music.
http://www.hiphopgoblin.com
It helps listeners discover hip-hop mixtapes by both known and underground artists. People seem to really love it! Traffic is growing every day.
Carol Dweck's MindSet, subtitled: The New Psychology of Success.
If I were a VC, I would buy copies of these for anybody I was funding...
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
I first read Atlas Shrugged after reading a few articles in the WSJ about successful entrepreneurs who mentioned it as an inspiration.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was a great book, but I would never have thought of it as a business book. It's better, incidentally, than Chabon's more recent novel (The Yiddish Policeman's Union) which was still good.
BTW, if this new version of Disqus doesn't automatically send me an e-mail after this post asking me to confirm registration (I'm guessing it won't), that will be an improvement over earlier versions, as far as unregistered guests are concerned.
I'm a big fan of memoirs and biographies, they are probably 80% of what I read outside of tech books and cookbooks. I find most business books to be light reads that mainly reaffirm what I consider common sense, but I do enjoy them. Although a bit dated now, Cluetrain had a big impact on me at the time, as did The Nordstrom Way, but I agree there's a lot to be learned indirectly through sources other than from what I'd categorize as the business self-help section :)
"Confessions" by St. Augustine of Hippo http://bit.ly/2Ut9zS & http://bit.ly/MU7Mj, The search for meaning of a towering intellect. Widely considered the first western autobiography, written about 397. As a bonus it has some cool philosophical discourse on the nature of time.
In any case I recommend both of these books for fellow entrepreneurs because 1) perseverance is a commodity, like pitching, of which you can never ever have too much, and 2) even as we build (hopefully substantial) companies from scratch, the ongoing search for the meaning of it all haunts us.
The Histories -- Herodotus
PS: Re Machiavelli's The Prince (which is excellent and a must-read) - I would also suggest Frederick the Great's Anti-Machiavel (the link goes to an online version of the essay). Some great insights, for example why 18th century Holland was superior in democratic freedoms and economic advances over, say, Russia (Holland had people power, all Russia had was vast tracts of land: it's the people, stupid!), which contradicts Machiavelli's ideas that it's all about power and conquering territories. IOW, there's a fairly sophisticated understanding of what makes for modern societies in the Anti-Machiavel, which is kinda ironic, given how politically backward the German principalities - and the German nation (1870ff) remained until the country finally became a democracy (again) after WWII.
As there is a fairly philosophical bent to the thread to this, Thomas Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" - the reason people talk about paradigm shifts. Not for any entrepreneurial reasons but to counter balance Kuhn, Popper's "The Open Society" - also interesting as a balance to Plato.
Discipline and Punish (Trying to get through this one) By Foucault
Aristotle's Politics
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau, so that one understands social contract theory.
The Second Sex
Walden, selections
Selections of Marx and Engels.
Inferno, Dante
The Bible,
Plato,
The list goes on...
And I second a lot that has been written here. I think I might write up a post how b-schools might want to think up a year long liberal arts curricula, ala the classic UChicago, St. John's, or Columbia core. It seems it still is necessary to ask the questions of what is power, what is humanity, what is money, what is love, what drives us, what make us, well us.
1) The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry (Kathleen Flinn): I think there are an awful lot of life lessons to be learned in the kitchen, so I generally get a lot of out books about chef's and food, I recommend this one in particular because in addition to kitchen lessons, it is a story of tenacity, and following one's dreams (not to mention its set in Paris, at Le Cordon Bleu :).
2) The Four Agreements (Miguel Ruiz) and/ or the Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu): Both of these books depict ways of thinking and being that if incorporated can lead to an absolute sense of centeredness and calm, both of which are (in my opinion) essentially to being an effective leader amidst the tumult of starting a company.
On Becoming a Leader
Warren Bennis
1989, Perseus Books
How can you best express you?
The first test is knowing what you want, knowing your abilities and capacities, and recognizing the difference between the two.
The second test is knowing what drives you, knowing what gives you satisfaction, and knowing the difference between the two.
The third test is knowing what your values and priorities are, knowing what the values and priorities of your organization are, and measuring the difference between the two.
The fourth test is - having measured the differences between what you want and what you're able to do, and between what drives you and what satisfies you, and between what your values are and what the organization's values are - are you able and willing to overcome those differences. (pp 123-127)
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by Alfred Lansing
It's about leadership and tenacity under the most extraordinary of circumstances.
I put 'em up on a Wiki. Check it out here: http://entrepreneurialreads.pbworks.com/
Also, if you get a chance, I would love to hear what you think about my new website. It's Hype Machine + Pandora + Hip Hop Music.
http://www.hiphopgoblin.com
It helps listeners discover hip-hop mixtapes by both known and underground artists. People seem to really love it! Traffic is growing every day.
I don't know if I can evaluate your new web service very well but I'll let my friend anil dash know about it since he's into hip hop
I'm not a fan of that genre, but I like your site design though. Looks clean and functional.
Shout outs to:
- Man's Search for Meaning
- The Tao Te Ching
- Dune
- Walden
I think the single best book an entrepreneur can read is The Alchemist.
"Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible to realize their Personal Legend...
there is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth... To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation."
Coolest thing about the book - Paulo Coelho was hardly known by anyone before he wrote it. It is now one of the best selling books in history (by any living author). It became sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy for him personally.
I'd also recommend The Book of Five Rings and The Chuang Tzu. Both are excellent in their own right.
Crime and Punishment - by Dostoyevsky (for the internal turmoil stuff.
Snowcrash by Neil Stephenson (his Baroque cycle trilogy are hard work by ultimately rewarding)
- and if you have to read on Philosophy book - the Metaphysics as a guide to morals by Iris Murdoch (benefits from her novelist style but is no less profound for that).
Coincidentally, there's a science fiction writer named Michael Swanwick, and today -- for the second time in less than a month -- I found out that one of his tech ideas had essentially become reality. I'm about to blog about it. Maybe a V.C. needs to start reading Swanwick?
Still, both are better than Vinge's Rainbow's End - which I found contrived... Hey as well as movies we should do poetry ;-) - and nothing better than a boy's own IF by Rudyard Kipling ;-)
I want the product I bring to market to have a profound effect; to change business models in its sector; to make the world a better place. Dream big. Marquez's magic realism encourages that.
Business is only as good as the humans involved and as we all know humans range from genius to quite fallible at times.
On another note, I hope you make it to SXSW this year!
You'll note that your books have all been mentioned in this thread
Amazing how we are coming together around a couple dozen essential reads
If things change re: SXSW and you can fly in for a day to sit on a one hour panel, let me know. Alternatively, if you can recommend someone else at twitter who will be here, that would be great as well. I'm thinking of reaching out to Seth Godin, who doesn't know me at all, but I have read (and very much enjoy) his blog for quite some time.
- Positioning: The Battle for your Mind (the title says it all)
- Marketing Warfare (It outlines the 4 key Strategies: Offensive, Defensive, Flanking & Guerilla)
And 2 other war strategy classics:
- On War, by Karl von Clausewitz , or
- The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
I can't believe a crunchy granola bleeding heart is reading this blog! Seriously? What a silly statement regarding "Atlas Shrugged", I can't believe you have even read it......
It's a classic story of invention, entrepreneurship and, above all, persistence.
http://tinyurl.com/mm9a6e
Catch 22 - brilliant. Milo Mindbender. I'll be no-one can guess the opening line.
Atlas Shrugged - pretty good but I prefer The Fountainhead.
agree that Founders at Work is excellent as well
After reading this book the entrepreneur will realize that randomness plays more of role in our lives (start-up) than we realize.
- The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- Hide a dagger behind a smile
- The Making of an American Capitalist (Buffett bio)
- Hard Drive (Bill Gates bio)
- The New New Thing (Jim Clark bio)
Also, a huge fan of "Poor Charlie's Almanack" and Phil Fisher's "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" - investing books, but full of wisdom on how companies last and trends come and go.
For fiction, "Pere Goriot" by Balzac.
Not that everything neccesarily fits into one of them or only one of them, but thats what I came up with based on this thread.
I recommend it whenever I can.
I would also recommend a more traditional book, FIRST BREAK ALL THE RULES.
Next topic: Movies for Entrepreneurs!! I'll get it started with just a few:
GODFATHER II
HUDSUCKER PROXY
BRAVEHEART and of course...
THE JERK
Seriously, though, the best move for entrepreneurs was a small documentary called AMERICAN MOVIE. Watch it. You won't be sorry...
http://www.Kidpreneurs.org
Loved it!