The Top Five Business Books that Have Changed My Business
The Top Five Business Books that Have Changed My Business
I’ve been big on reading a lot of books to improve my business in the past few years. Most of the books that I’ve come across have had a positive impact on my business. There are some that have risen to the top and I always find myself referencing one or more chapters from time to time.
Here are the top five books that help drive SNAP Forward, well, forward.
Scaling Up – Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 2.0 by Verne Harnish
No other book has had a greater impact on my business. I have read Scaling Up at least three times in the past two years. I have listened to the audio book five times. It is our Bible at SNAP Forward. Our team has read sections together as we have addressed aspects of our business.
It addresses four key components in any business: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. We have revisited the Strategy section a few times as we have revised and improved our strategic plan. Our meetings follow the cadence and plan of the daily and weekly huddles. We develop job postings and hire based on the Topgrading technique. I can’t list all the techniques that we use at SNAP Forward, this book was that good.
Key Takeaways: Clearly define your target market and develop a killer strategy. Work to help your employees be the best they can.
The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
This is the book that got me off my ass. The 10X Rule made me realize that, while we were doing well, I was not doing enough. I was not prepared for the worst. I was not doing enough to take care of my family and employees. Most of all, I realized that comparing myself and my company to most of our competition was foolish. We needed to be even better.
Grant Cardone may turn people off for some reason or another, but the message is correct. Even if you work smarter, you still need to work harder. Harder than you ever expected. Strive to be better than the best and, even if you fall short in some way, you’ll be happy with the results.
Key Takeaways: Bust your butt. Make outrageous goals. If you shoot for average and hit a roadblock, you’ll get knocked down to “below average”.
The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris
I read this book as a counter to The 10x Rule. Grant Cardone was telling me to work more while Ferris was saying “work less”. By the end, I figured that if I worked forty to sixty hours a week while using Four Hour Workweek techniques, I would be unstoppable. While unstoppable is an overstatement, it did help in my everyday productivity.
What this book did change was my perspective on our own services. It also helped define our target market. Our services help our clients “multiply time”.
It was so clear after reading this book. Some tasks are not worth performing yourself. Why spend an hour doing something to save $25 when you can be making $100? The answer eludes a lot of people except those that know how to grow a business.
Key Takeaways: Identify time wasters and use technology and automation to multiply time.
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber
This book is less technical than Scaling Up, but it has had almost as much of an impact. The E-Myth describes the steps in the life of a business and points out mistakes that we make as business owners.
I started down the road to implementing process in our business years ago. The E-Myth Revisited inspired me to take it to another level.
Key Takeaways: Implement a refined process and offer a highly consistent customer experience.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
For some reason, I resisted this book for a long time. I’m not sure why, but now it sits in our reception area. The 7 Habits changed the way that I think about interactions with others.
It helped me use the tools I had gained in sales training, and previous books, in a more respectful manner. It changed the way that I approached our sales meetings with prospects and how we deal with clients. It also helped me better interact with employees and even my wife.
From a functional perspective, this book would benefit anyone trying to be a better person.
Key Takeaways: Seek first to understand. There is a space between stimulus and response, in that space, we have a choice to react or respond.
To sum it up, I would say this: for motivation, I listened to three of Grant Cardone’s books in as many weeks. Scaling Up and The E-Myth got us directed and organized. The 4HWW taught me to be more efficient and the 7 Habits how to be more effective and responsible.
There are so many more.
I had a hard time whittling down my list to these five books. The Oz Principle, The 8th Habit, 10% Happier, and How to Win at the Sport of Business are all good reads.
So many have had a positive impact on how I go about my business. How about you? What is the most influential book that you have read? I could use a few suggestions.