Ask HN: What are your favorite management books?
I am curious about how companies scale from a start-up stage into sustainable multi-million dollar businesses. So far I've found Richard Branson's autobiography to be very informational in learning about scaling and expanding a business. What other books are there that provide good stories OR methods of growing a business?
19 comments
Three books that really show the good, bad and ugly about building businesses from scratch and scaling them to significance:
1. How to Get Rich (http://bit.ly/xGdV8)
2. Small Giants (http://bit.ly/WpvGa)
3. The Knack (http://bit.ly/OcKa9)
[no affiliate links]
A warning though - many 'start-up to success' books are, in my view, hampered by what I consider exceptional circumstances in the story. So you'll find a sentence/paragraph/page that basically says "so then I managed to raise $350,000 from XYZ to get me started", or "then I got stuck in a lift with Jeff Bezos for 72 hours and managed to convince him to invest". Which is great for their story, but it may or may not reflect your story.
So if you are going to try to learn lessons from the stories of others, and just to be clear let me say I believe this is a good way of learning, make sure you understand the differences between their story and yours and how those differences change the dynamics of starting and scaling a business.
1. How to Get Rich (http://bit.ly/xGdV8)
2. Small Giants (http://bit.ly/WpvGa)
3. The Knack (http://bit.ly/OcKa9)
[no affiliate links]
A warning though - many 'start-up to success' books are, in my view, hampered by what I consider exceptional circumstances in the story. So you'll find a sentence/paragraph/page that basically says "so then I managed to raise $350,000 from XYZ to get me started", or "then I got stuck in a lift with Jeff Bezos for 72 hours and managed to convince him to invest". Which is great for their story, but it may or may not reflect your story.
So if you are going to try to learn lessons from the stories of others, and just to be clear let me say I believe this is a good way of learning, make sure you understand the differences between their story and yours and how those differences change the dynamics of starting and scaling a business.
Thank you for this list - I liked reading The Knack so will explore the others.
I disagree with you about your examples of exceptional circumstances. Anyone can raise 350k or be stuck in a lift with Jeff Bezos if they do the hard around it. Focus on building something amazing and you can build your own luck around. For example, 18 months ago I did speak to Bezos - I did not have anything to talk tom about (apart from asking him sign my Kindle!) so nothing happened. But this year I really do so I will find another way to talk to him (and everyone else).
That is not to say that are not exceptional circumstances. For example, only a handful of people around the world in the 1970s had the priviliges of Bill Gates, ie a childhood growing up in a school with a mainframe. But it is not worth worrying about such things - each of us has to look for the unusual advantages we have and work with those. In my case I have a genetic illness which meant most of my childhood was spent ill or in hospital. I survived long enough to train as a physician and a programmer so this year I founded a company that builds software to help patients work online with their clinicians.
I disagree with you about your examples of exceptional circumstances. Anyone can raise 350k or be stuck in a lift with Jeff Bezos if they do the hard around it. Focus on building something amazing and you can build your own luck around. For example, 18 months ago I did speak to Bezos - I did not have anything to talk tom about (apart from asking him sign my Kindle!) so nothing happened. But this year I really do so I will find another way to talk to him (and everyone else).
That is not to say that are not exceptional circumstances. For example, only a handful of people around the world in the 1970s had the priviliges of Bill Gates, ie a childhood growing up in a school with a mainframe. But it is not worth worrying about such things - each of us has to look for the unusual advantages we have and work with those. In my case I have a genetic illness which meant most of my childhood was spent ill or in hospital. I survived long enough to train as a physician and a programmer so this year I founded a company that builds software to help patients work online with their clinicians.
I really like the books from the personal mba reading list
http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/
Joel Spolsky's reading list is pretty good too. But the titles are old. Its not been updated with newer publications
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FogCreekMBACurriculum...
http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/
Joel Spolsky's reading list is pretty good too. But the titles are old. Its not been updated with newer publications
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FogCreekMBACurriculum...
I blogged some additions to Joel's list a few years ago:
http://nothing.tmtm.com/archives/2511
I should really get around to updating that...
I should really get around to updating that...
My favorite is Michael Gerber's "E-Myth Revisited". It lays down the foundation of a good business in a way most entrepreneurs connect with. Very well-written, simple, gets points across concisely, very valuable.
http://www.amazon.com/E-Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-Abou...
(no affiliate link there)
Great book - my most highly recommended and most frequently gifted business book.
http://www.amazon.com/E-Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-Abou...
(no affiliate link there)
Great book - my most highly recommended and most frequently gifted business book.
"Founders at Work" by Jessica Livingston. Full of good stories.
"My years with General Motors" by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. How he built the organization is quite an interesting read.
"My years with General Motors" by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. How he built the organization is quite an interesting read.
Let my people go surfing -- Yvon Chouinard
http://amzn.com/1594200726
The seven day weekend -- Ricardo Semler
http://amzn.com/1591840260
Getting Real
http://gettingreal.37signals.com/
--
Also, help flesh out the list of books for startups I just created for HN on my site:
http://www.stormweight.com/lists/books-for-startups?p=OyAXcZ
http://amzn.com/1594200726
The seven day weekend -- Ricardo Semler
http://amzn.com/1591840260
Getting Real
http://gettingreal.37signals.com/
--
Also, help flesh out the list of books for startups I just created for HN on my site:
http://www.stormweight.com/lists/books-for-startups?p=OyAXcZ
I'll throw this one out there, it's a little less well known, but I found it fascinating. "One From From Many, VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization" by Dee Hock. I can't recommend it more highly.
http://www.amazon.com/One-Many-VISA-Chaordic-Organization/dp...
http://www.amazon.com/One-Many-VISA-Chaordic-Organization/dp...
I don't suppose you've also read "Birth of the Chaordic Age"? The Amazon blurb makes it sound like they're remarkably similar - so much so that I wondered if "One from Many" was just an updated version of the same book.
Yeah, it's the same book. I don't know what the differences are between them; it may just be a name change.
I still have to come across better book than Tom Peters - "ReImagine". It's amazing look at markets that are under-served, problems that need to be solved in B2C and B2B environments, managing talents, creativity and innovation..
Trust me, besides that the book is colorful and everything but a typical business book, it is an insight in what will happen. These are all opinions of Tom, and a book doesn't get more personal than this. A load of startup ideas as you turn pages.
http://www.amazon.com/Re-Imagine-Business-Excellence-Disrupt...
Trust me, besides that the book is colorful and everything but a typical business book, it is an insight in what will happen. These are all opinions of Tom, and a book doesn't get more personal than this. A load of startup ideas as you turn pages.
http://www.amazon.com/Re-Imagine-Business-Excellence-Disrupt...
Seconded. From his earlier books, I've also always been a big fan of "The Pursuit of Wow" and "The Pursuit of Innovation". Not quite as colourful, but still fairly non-typical as business books go.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0679755551 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0340717211
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0679755551 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0340717211
Images of Organizations by Gareth Morgan. (http://www.amazon.com/Images-Organization-Gareth-Morgan/dp/1...)
It looks at organizations with the help of different perspectives. Definitely an enlightening experience to read it and very helpful later on.
It looks at organizations with the help of different perspectives. Definitely an enlightening experience to read it and very helpful later on.
The Mythical Man Month is an IT management classic that's worth its time, though I can't say that I've read a dearth of management books.
[deleted]
"Winning" by Jack Welch http://budurl.com/vsz3 One of the best books I've ever read about business. The ideas presented work well in startups or larger corporations. The section about "candor" fantastic.
"How the guys screw up things" by Monk Elvis Adam
Wealth of Nations, although it won't teach you anything directly about management it is good introduction to economics which is essential in any management role. Best of all it is free!