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“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none.” — Charlie Munger, Billionaire Investor
Most successful people will credit much of their success, knowledge, and skills to reading.
When Elon Musk is asked how he learned to build rockets, his response is simple.
“I read books,” he allegedly likes to say.
Reading books is essential for the success of an entrepreneur or even individual, however, what is just as important is reading the right books. Entrepreneurship is a skill. And success can be more easily reached through education.
After sifting through hundreds of book and reading lists from successful entrepreneurs and leaders including those of Fortune 500 and INC 500 and CEOs such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Larry Page, and Warren Buffet, I have compiled this list of the most recommended business and self-improvement books.
These books may help you dive into the minds of the world’s top entrepreneurs and learn what they learn and consider to be valuable and useful to improve your own life and business.
Here are the top 25 books most recommended books by successful entrepreneurs and leaders along with seven other honorable mentions.
1. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t
by Jim Collins
- Over 3 million copies sold
- Recommended by:
- 35 Fortune 500 CEOs
- 18 INC 500 CEOs
- Jeff Bezos, Evan Williams, Pini Yakuel, Max Levchin, Rand Fishkin, John Doerr, Drew Huston, Simon Sinek, Gavin Kerr, Bogdan Iordache, Rand Fishkin
Good to Great was THE #1 most recommended business book by far with a total of 53 recommendations by Fortune 500 and INC 500 CEOs. Many CEOs not only recommended this book but listed it as the best business book they had ever read.
Jim Collins examined the performance of 1,435 good companies over 40 years. In Good to Great, he presents why some companies became great and why others didn’t.
Although this is a business book, it can also be seen as a personal development book. The concepts exemplified by businesses can be applied to personal life as well.
2. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
- #1 New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- INC 500 CEOs
- Elon Musk, Dustin Moskovitz, Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, Danielle Morrill, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, James Altucher, Bogdan Iordache, Deepak Chhugani
Zero to One is written by PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel along with Blake Masters. This book is about starting from nothing into something and exploring the possibilities of an idea. An inspirational and thought-provoking read for entrepreneurs.
“This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world.”
— Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
“Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how.”
— Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla
3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
- Recommended by:
- 4 INC 500 CEOs
- Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Peter Thiel, Dustin Moskovitz, Michael Dell, Omer Molad, Satya Nadella, Danielle Morrill, Dennis Yang, Mark Roberge, Bogdan Iordache, Deepak Chhugani
In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, venture capitalist, Ben Horowitz discusses the difficulties about starting a business and how they can be dealt with. He keeps it real with the fact that there is no one way to success. There are, however, lessons we can learn from the failures and hardships of others.
“Ben’s experience and expertise make him one of the most important leaders not just in Silicon Valley but also in the global knowledge economy. For anyone interested in building, growing or leading a great company, this book is an incredibly valuable resource – and a funny and insightful read.”
— Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
4. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins
- Recommended by:
- 5 Fortune 500 CEOs
- 3 INC 500 CEOs
- Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, Jack Ma, Brian Tracy, Drew Huston, Sean Si, Rand Fishkin, Tim O’Reilly
Author of Good to Great, Jim Collins also wrote a second book on this list, Built to Last along with Jerry Porras. In this book, they showcase the crucial differences between businesses that survive and those that burn out fast. This book is for anyone who wishes not just to reach success but to make it last and stand the test of time, whether for their business or personal life.
“This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies.” — excerpt from the book
5. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Over 30 million copies sold
- Recommended by:
- 7 INC 500 CEOs
- Warren Buffett, Dave Rusenko, Kyle Lelli, John Doerr, Daymond John, John C. Maxwell, Sean Si, Will Schenk
This well-known classic should be a staple in everyone’s library. It’s one of the bestselling self-help books of all time ranking as Amazon’s 11th highest selling nonfiction book.
Times Magazine ranked it as the 19th most influential book of all time in 2011, and the Library of Congress has ranked it as the seventh most influential book in American history.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett claims the book changed his life. He also took a course that Dale Carnegie ran in conjunction with the book. To this day, he still has the diploma from the course hanging in his office.
6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
- Over 25 million copies sold
- Recommended by:
- 2 Fortune 500 CEOs
- 5 INC 500 CEOs
- Bill Clinton, Noah Kagan, Simon Sinek, John C. Maxwell, Sean Si, Jim Collins
Considered as one of the most influential books of all time, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is more than a book. It’s a refreshing way of living through 7 habits. The habits go beyond surface level success though. They involve living with integrity as well which give the book all the more power and influence.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century. Stephen Covey was recognized as one of Time magazine’s twenty-five most influential Americans.
7. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore
- A Businessweek Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 2 INC 500 CEOs
- Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, Andrew Chen, Ken Norton, Nir Eyal, Bogdan Iordache, Neal O’Gorman, James A. Unruh, Tom Kendra, Joe Schoendorf
Crossing the Chasm provides insight into the markets of technology and the adoption of technology by consumers. Many businesses fail to understand their markets. This book will help you, as an entrepreneur better understand your customers’ needs and to cater to them.
8. The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter Drucker
- Recommended by:
- 5 Fortune 500 CEOs
- 2 INC 500 CEOs
- Jeff Bezos, Guy Kawasaki, Jim Collins, Tim Ferriss
The Effective Executive is about the ability to get the right things done, effectiveness in business. Peter Drucker identifies five practices essential to effectiveness in business. This book will teach you the skills on how to properly manage and get results in business.
Jim Collins, author of three different books on this list, considers Peter Drucker the greatest management thinker of all time.
“I think it’s much more valuable than 99% of the so-called time management books out there.”
— Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur and Author of The 4-Hour Workweek
9. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change) by Clayton M. Christensen
- Recommended by:
- 1 INC 500 CEOs
- Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Mark Cuban, Guy Kawasaki, Evan Williams, Andrew Grove, Andrew Chen, Bogdan Iordache, Tim O’Reilly, Garrett Moon
The Innovator’s Dilemma is written by Harvard Business School professor and seasoned business consultant, Clayton M. Christensen. This book interestingly explores why great companies fail even when they’re seemingly doing everything right. Christensen highlights strategies that can help businesses avoid these failures.
“This helped me make sense of why things worked and didn’t work in the technology industry.”
— Mark Cuban, Shark Tank Investor
“This was a formative read for me: it taught me why it’s so hard to come up with a second hit and why startups often have the advantage when creating curve-jumping innovation.”
— Guy Kawasaki, Entrepreneur
10. Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck-Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen
- Recommended by:
- 7 Fortune 500 CEOs
- 2 INC 500 CEOs
- Angela Ahrendts
A third book on this list by Jim Collins along with Morten T. Hansen. This approach takes a look at business in difficult, uncertain and even chaotic environments that prevail against extreme odds based on nine years of research. We can also take this approach from businesses to apply to our own lives and help us to thrive in difficult times and circumstances.
11. The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William Thorndike
- Recommended by:
- 5 Fortune 500 CEOs
- 1 INC 500 CEOs
- Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Michael Dell, Jim Collins
The Outsiders follows eight unconventional successful CEOs and their radical approach that led them to their success. This book is #1 on Warren Buffett’s recommended reading list.
“An outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation.”
— Warren Buffett, Billionaire Investor
“A book that details the extraordinary success of CEOs who took a radically different approach to corporate management.”
— Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation
“Thorndike explores the importance of thoughtful capital allocation through the stories of eight successful CEOs. A good read for any business leader but especially those willing to chart their own course.”
— Michael Dell, CEO of Dell
12. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Over 15 million copies sold
- Recommended by:
- 5 INC 500 CEOs
- Tony Robbins, Daymond John, John C. Maxwell, Mark Hunter, Evan Carmichael
This one is another old-school classic you can’t go wrong with which shows that it has proved the test of time. Napoleon Hill studied and interviewed more than 500 self-made millionaires over a span of 20 years. He shares their stories on how they achieved their wealth along with the 13 principles they used that can help us reach our own success. His studies focused on the psychology and mindset for mastering money.
13. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
- Recommended by:
- 2 INC 500 CEOs
- Tony Hsieh, Bill Gates, Jyoti Bansal, Deepak Chhugani, James Altucher, Neal O’Gorman, Rand Fishkin, Fabrice Grinda
Outliers shows, through research, the differences between those who achieve great feats and those who fail to reach their full potential. Malcolm Gladwell goes deeper than what successful people are like and instead uncovers their education, culture, their family, their generation, and their unusual experiences. This book takes a look at the many factors that go into success to help us better understand how we can increase our likelihood to succeed.
14. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
- The New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 2 INC 500 CEOs
- Sheryl Sandberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew Chen, Ken Norton, Tommy Bar Av, Jeffery Immelt, Bogdan Iordache, Tim O’Reilly
The hard truth about startups is that most of them fail. In the Lean Startup, Eric Ries illustrates how many of the failures could be prevented. He introduces the Lean Startup approach that entrepreneurs—regardless of their business size— can use to learn to adapt and adjust to change.
15. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan
- The #1 New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 8 Fortune 500 CEOs
- Jamie Dimon
Execution focuses on how to get things done. It’s the difference between success and just trying. Not getting things done is one of the main reasons why businesses fail. Execution covers three core processes for execution: people, strategy, and operations. This book is useful for both application to business and personal life.
16. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
- #1 New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 4 INC 500 CEOs
- Michael Hyatt, Simon Sinek, Evan Carmichael, Bob Metcalfe, James Altucher
The 4-Hour Workweek shows how we can step out of conventional ways of working and living—how to work less and live more, having both time and money. This book is for anyone who wants to escape the 9-5 rat race, earn passive income, and be able to work while traveling or living anywhere in the world. This book will teach you how to automate, prioritize, and optimize.
17. Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street by John Brooks
- New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 4 INC 500 CEOs
- Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Christy Lamagna
Business Adventures features 12 unique and fascinating stories about the failures and successes of businesses which includes the failure of Ford Edsel, the rise of Xerox, and the scandals at General Electric.
Bill Gates called this the best business book he’s ever read.
“Brooks’s work is a great reminder that the rules for running a strong business and creating value haven’t changed. For one thing, there’s an essential human factor in every business endeavor. It doesn’t matter if you have a perfect product, production plan, and marketing pitch; you’ll still need the right people to lead and implement those plans.”
— Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft
“Picking up that book was one of the luckiest moments in
my life.”
— Warren Buffett, Billionaire Investor
18. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
- #1 New York Times Bestseller
- #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 5 INC 500 CEOs
- Maartje Frederiks, Ev Williams, Eytan Levit
This book written by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos is the story about Zappos became one of a kind with its powerful and unique corporate culture. A few of the things they did was apply research on the science of happiness to running a business and directed their focus on company culture, helped the personal and professional growth of employees, and made customer service the responsibility of the entire company rather than just a department.
Zappos ranked as the highest newcomer in Fortune magazine’s “Best Companies to Work For” list in 2009 along with grossing over $1 billion annually. This book shows how focusing on the happiness of those around you can do wonders for your own.
19. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John Maxwell
- Recommended by:
- 3 INC 500 CEOs
- Skip Prichard, John C. Maxwell, Sean Si, Stephen Covey
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is a must-read book about leadership as one of the bestselling leadership books of all time. This book is for anyone who wants to be an effective leader. Follow these laws and people will want to follow you.
20. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
- Recommended by:
- 2 Fortune 500 CEOs
- 1 INC 500 CEOs
- Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, Bogdan Iordache, Brian Chesky
Steve Jobs is the highly acclaimed biography on the former CEO and visionary of Apple. It’s based on more than 40 interviews with the late Steve Jobs conducted over two years including interviews of more than a hundred family members, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Interestingly, he encouraged the author and those he knew not to hold back and to speak honestly. He cooperated with the book yet he asked for no control over the writing and never asked to read it before it was published.
21. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors by Michael E. Porter
- Recommended by:
- 5 Fortune 500 CEOs
- Jamie Dimon
In Competitive Strategy, Michael E. Porter explains how thousands of businesses come out on top in highly competitive environments. This book takes into account marketing, economics, and strategy to make it one of the most recommended business books. This book will teach you how to create a competitive advantage.
22. The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel by Benjamin Graham
- Recommended by:
- 1 INC 500 CEOs
- Warren Buffett, Whitney Tilson, Kevin Rose, Jamie Dimon, Bill Ackman
This book is for anyone who wants to secure their future through financial education and anyone who wants to get into stock trading or investing. This is the book that helped Warren Buffet get into investing. He claims that the principles in this book were the ones he learned that helped him become a great investor.
“To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding that framework. This book precisely and clearly prescribes the proper framework. You must provide the emotional discipline.”
— Warren Buffett
“The best book on investing!”
— Whitney Tilson, Investor and Hedge Fund Manager
23. Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
- New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- Mark Cuban, Amir Salihefendic, Seth Godin, Scott Rosenberg, Chris Anderson, Tom Peters
Rework focuses on productivity and grittiness when it comes to starting your own business. This book gives unconventional and new business advice, unlike the same old potentially harmful business advice. Fried and Hansson share inspiring and provoking counterintuitive ideas that will help you succeed better, faster, and easier in business.
“Ignore this book at your own peril.”
— Seth Godin, Entrepreneur
24. How Google Works by Eric Schmidt
- New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 5 INC 500 CEOs
An inside look into Google written by Google executives Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg. This book shows how Google grew into what it is now – a large and valuable known worldwide company worth over $50 billion, with over 45,000 employees, and operations in over 40 countries. How Google Works will teach you the value and ability to constantly learn, experiment, and innovate in a fast-changing environment.
25. Life Is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path to Fulfillment by Peter Buffett
- New York Times Bestseller
- Recommended by:
- 5 INC 500 CEOs
Life Is What You Make It is written by Peter Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett. He claims that the only real inheritance handed down from his parents was this philosophy: Forge your own path in life. In this warm and inspirational read, Peter Buffett shares the strong life values he learned from his parents. This book is about establishing your own identity, getting past your circumstances, taking control of your life, and living your best life.
Honorable Mentions:
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
by Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
by Carol S. Dweck
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
by Angela Duckworth
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
by Tim Ferriss
Principles: Life and Work
by Ray Dalio
Enjoy! Which book on this list is on your reading list? Have you read any on this list that you would also recommend? Comment below and let me know!
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Photography Credit:
My Experience With Tony Robbins and Gary Vee
Tiffany I She's Alive to Thrive
Hi Isabella. Thanks for the list I’ve been looking for more entrepreneurship books to read! I completely agree that to be and entrepreneur you have to be dedicated to learning and growing. Without reading you can’t do either. Thanks!
Isabella
Hi Tiffany, Thank you! I’m happy this list helped you find what you were looking for.