Business Books that Are Actually Good

[rousseau]

Was just thinking it might make for a worthwhile thread for people to share any books on business they've found genuinely useful and not mostly self-help crap.

In my reading one I've come across that's surprisingly good is:

The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success

The title sounds a bit gimmicky but the principles it outlines are solid, almost logical axioms that dictate how to think within a business role.

I also heard a lot of praise for this guy:

Matsushita Leadership

But haven't made my way through it yet

 

[funinspace]

I read this book circa 1992ish, and found it had a lot of common sense, when I was living with the latest fads of TQL, TQM, and Quality Circles. About every 3 years we'd begin the new faddish cycle, ignoring the common sense of management of people and delegation of authority.

It is basically a series of couple page commentariers on a 100 or so topics. And to think that Robert Townsend, thought that differentials beyond 10X, from executive compensation to lowest paid workers, was excessive...
https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Up+the+...rofits,+Commemorative+Edition-p-9780787987756

 

[Bronzeage]

How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling
By Frank Bettger

This book was first published in 1952. The business book genre tends to be very trendy and personality driven, but HIRM is still in print, up to this day. It's the most concise definition of sales and proper sales procedure I have ever read. Anyone in any kind of business can benefit from this book, even if they have absolutely not intention of selling anything. If you deal with salesmen, either supervising them, working with them, or buying from them, you need to read this book.

 

[TV and credit cards]

The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
I read this back in the early ‘90s. Good for understanding and working with people outside your department within a large organization.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Discipline