Books on business management – If you have a small business idea, you need some basic knowledge of business management and leadership to see it come to life. Nowadays, you don’t need to have a business degree in order to run a business. You can easily learn all the things you need to know from the comfort of your home.
You can either watch countless hours of documentaries that you would eventually not pay attention to, or you can read books that have been written by professionals on the matter. There are so many books on business management that are easy to read and contain simple instructions on how to have a successful business in any climate.
According to business leader Victor Lipman, management is 10% work and 90% people. Meaning that in order to run a business, you don’t have to focus all of your attention on the logistics of the business but also on the way you treat your employees and partners. How can you expect your business to reach its full potential if your employees hate you for your horrible behavior?
I still remember when I wanted to launch a small business a couple of years ago. I submerged myself into any business management book I could get my hands on. I spent hours reading how other people managed to keep their enterprises afloat.
Below, I gathered my favorite books on business management that will help you get on your feet. I also added some great mentions in case you want to read more:
- How to Deal With Difficult People by Ursula Markham.
I was so amazed when I read this book because it was so basic and simple. It featured uncomplicated tips to do when someone gives you a hard time at the office. Whether it’s an insubordinate employee or a stubborn employer.
What’s fascinating about this book is that it’s useful for both your personal and professional life. It teaches you how to cope with people no matter their attitude. It also helps you strengthen your reaction to the people who give you a tough time.
The book is extremely straightforward and easy to follow. It’s perfect for anyone who needs to take a look at the human side of business management. After all, a happy team = a successful business.
Favorite quote: “If you don’t like and appreciate yourself, no one else will.”
Learn more about the book on Goodreads
- How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
A friend recommended this book to me years ago and I wasn’t intrigued to read it. I still remember reading the first chapter then stopping. I picked it up again last year and I felt so dumb for missing out on such a masterpiece.
Carnegie wrote this book in 1936, and it’s still one of the best books to this day. What I liked about it is that it offered pieces of advice based on the stories of successful people from the past. Although it’s almost 100 years old, this book can still be useful today.
But does it have anything to do with business management? You might ask. Well, how can you be a leader of a successful business if you can’t influence people?
Favorite quote: “About 15% of one’s financial success is due to one’s technical knowledge and about 85% is due to skill in human engineering—to personality and the ability to lead people.”
Learn more about the book on Goodreads
- SELL LIKE CRAZY: How to Get As Many Clients, Customers, and Sales As You Can Possibly Handle by Sabri Suby.
Now that you figured out how to behave and eventually become a leader, you have to find out how you can sell your product.
This book is focused on digital marketing, which is the real deal nowadays. It’s split into 8 phases that will help you make your business dream come into reality.
- Phase 1: Understand and identify your dream buyer.
- Phase 2: Create the perfect bait for your dream buyer.
- Phase 3: Capture leads and get contact details.
- Phase 4: The godfather strategy.
- Phase 5: Traffic.
- Phase 6: The magic lantern technique.
- Phase 7: Sales conversion.
- Phase 8: Automate and multiply.
If I detail every phase I’m afraid I won’t do them any justice as each one is full of information that can’t be dismissed or belittled.
What I liked most about this book was how passionate Sabri was, you can sense it in his writing and that’s what made this book one of the best books on business management in the market.
Favorite quote: “So, here’s the bottom line: Being busy is not the same as being productive. Our lives are full of distractions, and it’s hard to stay focussed when your world consists of hundreds of tiny tasks and millions of voices screaming for your attention.”
Learn more about the book on Goodreads
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- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
This straightforward book has been one of the best books on personal growth since 1989. If you want to be a highly effective person who can literally reach for the stars, you have to read this book. It helped form thousands of leaders and it will definitely help you. It’s also perfect for all ages and professions. After all, everyone deserves to be a highly effective person.
In his book, Stephen talks about the 7 habits that distinguish successful people from those who keep on failing.
- Habit 1: Be Proactive.
- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind.
- Habit 3: Put First Things First.
- Habit 4: Think Win/Win.
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.
- Habit 6: Synergize.
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.
It’s a really easy-to-use program that will guarantee both personal and professional thriving.
Favorite quote: “When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”
Learn more about the book on Goodreads
Read also: 5 Self-Help Books Written by Psychologists
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins.
Focused on business management, James is an author, teacher, and consultant who spent 5 years on research to write this masterpiece. He focused on how you can make your good business into a great business.
He offered everything you need to know from statistics, facts, tools, and much more.
He also believes that greatness doesn’t bloom depending on circumstance. Instead, it’s a result of conscious choices and discipline. Meaning, greatness can be self-made if you are making the right choices in your life.
This book can be more effective if your business is already on its feet and needs to go higher on the success ladder.
Favorite quote: “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”
Learn more about the book on Goodreads
Check out these: 5 Self-Help Books About Happiness
Great mentions:
On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis.
Favorite quote: “True leaders are not born, but made, and usually self-made. Leaders invent themselves”
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.
Favorite quote: “Let us all be the leaders we wish we had.”
Favorite quote: “To succeed consistently, good managers need to be skilled not just in choosing, training, and motivating the right people for the right job, but in choosing, building, and preparing the right organization for the job as well.”
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Favorite quote: “If circumstances change, your decisions can change. Decisions are temporary.”
When I started writing this article, I consulted with my friend who is a business owner, she told me that reading a book about business management won’t get you the results you want if you don’t apply the tips that these books offer.
Bringing what you read into your business can be challenging, but you should trust these entrepreneurs that spent countless hours bringing you everything you need on a silver plate. They did the research and made it easier for you to see your dream come true. So, I advise you to get a notebook and a pen so you can note down all of the important tips you will encounter.
Happy reading, and good luck.