Looking for Good Business Books(2021)?10 Books Jam-Packed with Actionable Advice That Will Change Your Life and Grow Your Business.

Ever wondered what those sophisticated and successful businessmen like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Ratan Tata are fond of? Well! They weren’t successful to start with but built their respective empires with knowledge, effort, and determination. And you can make efforts too but the question is where to get that knowledge? For an answer, all those tycoons turn to read. Although online blogs are great tools to learn new things nowadays, even today’s entrepreneurs take their key lessons from books.

This might have left you thinking about what books they must be reading. So, here’s a list of top books on the business you can start reading with. But before that let’s explore a bit more about why business leaders prefer books over blogs.

What differentiates leaders from the pack is their ability to explore more than others, think better, and make wiser decisions. And for this, you need better knowledge of developments, trends, and the fundamentals. So, if you are wondering how that connects to books, reading makes you wiser. Books contain information that shapes better minds and lets you explore the world. So, regular reading habit directly translates to better-thinking abilities and this is crucial for business owners.

In addition to enhanced thinking, reading brings another positive attribute, i.e., nurturing creativity. It does so by making the mind explore things beyond what eyes can see and encourages imagination. This comes from an author’s ability to keep the reader using self-creativity to visualize what’s written as text. However, picking the best books for business from top authors can have a better impact here. Businessmen use creative minds in marketing, product, and other segments.

If anyone’s under stress, he/she has a few options to try. One is to kill the reason for stress, the second is to start taking some medication, and the third one is to find an escape. Since overthinking is the key cause of stress, the escape route can be your easiest approach. Books can do wonders at that. What could be better than closing doors in the face of stress and gaining knowledge plus ideas at the same time? This allows you to focus on the important things and work towards personal as well as business growth.

The more you read, the more you learn. This particular benefit comes automatically when you start reading. A better choice of words enables individuals to add impact to their conversations and speeches. This characteristic of having a good bank of vocabulary and the ability to choose the right one is what makes leaders successful.

That’s strictly related to what you need to run a business successfully. By reading the best books on business, you develop the much-needed acumen. The books can teach ideas, business fundamentals, and a lot more that you will need almost every day. This could be the biggest reason why the top tycoons and sophisticated industrialists follow the habit of reading without fail.

By now, you have an idea of why reading is slowly becoming a part of successful people’s life. Below, you will see a list of top ten books on business that can help you grow personally as well as professionally.

As the name suggests, the book contains secrets to converting your business from good to great. You know about Amazon today as one of the world’s biggest firms. But do you know the venture wasn’t able to report a profit after four years of business? It was in 2001 when the founder Jeff Bezos had a conversation with Jim Collins and got the much-needed advice. Yes! It’s the same Jim Collins, the author of this book.

The game-changing advice Amazon received from Jim is one of the secrets he provides in his book “Good to Great.” You must be wondering what that advice was. Collins asked Amazon to focus on long-term goals instead of short-term gains. This key to success brought the author to the limelight and led to over 10 million copies being circulated. You can learn how to ensure sustainable growth for your business by getting this book’s hardcover version from Amazon for Rs. 2,013. Audio CD and Audiobook versions are also available for Rs. 645 and Rs. 2 respectively.

The book focuses on an innovative approach termed “The Lean Startup” to reduce the startup failure ratio. As you already know a major portion of new businesses fails within the first years only. The primary reason behind this is not the idea or implementation but the problem with getting it to the masses. This book helps solve such problems with a different approach. One of the author’s proposals includes modifying business development strategies based on results of rapid product testing on real consumers.

Similarly, the book covers a lot of knowledge that you can use to save from falling prey to large-scale losses and pitfalls. The book is a must add-on to your to-read list if you want to learn to do successful business. You can get it from Amazon in the hardcover format for Rs. 1,877 or the paperback format for Rs. 470. The Kindle edition is available for Rs. 151 while the audiobook version is priced at Rs. 2.

As previously mentioned, many startups fail to efficiently deliver their message to their target audience. Despite the social tech changing ways people communicate, the basics still matter. And this matters more to small businesses and entrepreneurs. They need to impress investors, consumers, and other people around with their personalities before bringing their business forward.

Here’s where this classic title by Dale Carnegie offers the best lessons. It covers ways you can use to make people like you, win them with your thinking, and change them without resentment. The book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” goes a long way in helping new business owners establish a stronghold through communication. And you can start working on this skill by buying the book from Amazon for Rs. 153 (paperback) or Rs. 125 (hardcover). Audio and Kindle editions are also available.

A book highly acclaimed by innovators like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, Zero to One is a Classic title. Its author, Peter Thiel, is a known risk-taker, an angel investor, and a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. In this book, he doesn’t talk about how to launch a business and make it flourish. Instead, he focuses on how to disrupt an industry and the world with your innovation and creative ideas.

Zero to One takes you away from the idea of building another Windows or Hyperloop but innovating something never done before. Although it doesn’t teach you what to create and how to create, it guides you on how to use your creativity to cause a disruption. And this book isn’t restricted to the tech world, where most current innovations are coming from. So, if you have something unique in your mind but don’t know how to proceed, read this book. It’s available on Amazon in the paperback version for Rs. 144. You can also read Zero to One by Peter Thiel on Kindle for Rs. 101.65.

You all know the popular shoe brand Nike. But do you know the story behind how it all began? Phil Knight, the man behind the iconic brand’s success shares his journey and lessons for creating a brand out of scratch. You can walk through his journey in his book Shoe Dog.

It all started with Phil borrowing money from his dad and following a simple mission to kickstart what we know today as Nike. He started selling high-quality shoes, imported from Japan at low costs. However, it wasn’t as easy as saying to import, sell, and build a fortune. Like every other business owner, Phil had been through ups and downs. And how to overcome such challenges is what this book tells us all about. Get your copy of the Shoe Dog by Phil Knight in paperback version from Amazon for Rs. 205. You can read it on Kindle for Rs. 247 or get an audio CD for Rs. 1,710.

Even if you are not running a business, a job is still your business. And you need to nurture your skills to compete with others in the same industry (if not the company) to avoid losing an opportunity. A stagnated career is as (or could be more) risky as a business that isn’t growing. So, with automation and AI taking up many jobs, you need to be ready for the change.

Casnocha, one of the LinkedIn founders, shares his experience of business network evolution through the digital age. So, the authors want to encourage all types of workers, from freelancers to full-time, and entrepreneurs to stand out using self-reliance and innovation. Get this book from Amazon to understand how to raise your value and be acclaimed as a professional. The paperback version costs Rs. 347 and the hardcover version costs Rs. 699. You can also read the book on Kindle for Rs. 250 or listen to it on Audiobook for Rs. 2.

Unlike many other books on business, Think and Grow Rich doesn’t come from a businessman sharing his success mantras. Instead, it is a collection of research done on those who became billionaires through their ventures. Napolean Hill aimed at becoming a coach while guiding others on how to become successful billionaires. However, in the book, the focus changed a bit and it emphasized encouraging people to follow their perspective goals.

This book is also known as the “Granddaddy of Motivational Literature.” The original version carried stories from millionaires like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Andrew Carnegie. However, Arthur R. Pell created an updated version with anecdotes of how Bill Gates, Sir John Templeton, Dave Thomas, and others achieved such a huge wealth. Order this book in the paperback version from Amazon for Rs. 535, read it on Kindle for Rs. 7, or listen on Audiobook for Rs. 2.

The book talks about a new perspective to attaining a balance between work and personal lives. Author Timothy Ferriss refers to the current culture of an 8-hour work schedule as a deferred life. Besides, he proposes a new culture and lifestyle while explaining the philosophy behind this success mantra. And it’s not just about the benefits of the culture shift but a lot more than that.

The 4-Hour Workweek book provides a step-by-step design of how to achieve a luxury lifestyle. You can follow the guide to get more free time for living your personal life without losing on earnings. If that’s something of your interest, add this book to your Kindle library for Rs. 217.55. You can also purchase the hardcover version for Rs. 1,482, the paperback version for Rs. 394, or the audio CD for Rs. 2,783 from Amazon.

There’s a leader in every industry while others follow the suit? Some businesses and individuals have tasted success again and again while others couldn’t follow. Many innovations happen regularly but only a few made it to the top as the game-changers. Well! There’s a lot to say like that but do you know why? This book by Simon Sinek explores the answer to this “Why” of all the successes and failures. It’s also the mantra behind planning a venture that will keep growing.

It includes an analysis of leaders like Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King Jr and their thought processes. You can also learn the whys of business with this book, available on Amazon for Rs. 1,582 for the hardcover version and Rs. 317 for the paperback version. Kindle and Audiobook editions are also available for Rs. 151.05 and Rs. 2 respectively.

Last on the list, this book is not about how to run a business but focuses on a nation’s economy. It explores a wide range of topics from the complex subject that attractive massive repercussions. Mentioning Netherlands’ and England’s roots of prosperity, the book proposes economic theories related to the nature of wealth, the market, work, and other related concepts.

Read how Adam Smith lays down the classical political economy’s foundation in the book. The book is still a vital part of economic studies. You can get this from Amazon in the paperback format for Rs. 237 or the hardcover format for Rs. 9,755.99.

These are just 10 of the top books on business. And with hundreds (if not thousands) of top-class titles, choosing the best one can be difficult. But if you consider your goals, skill gaps, and inspiration, you can narrow down the list. Pick a book that caters to your business goals, fills your skill gaps, and inspires you. Starting with one, you can keep on adding more to your favourites list.