Got a Good Business Book Recommendation?

And I thought I read a lot. I’ve got nothing on this guy. In 2009, Tim Young read 146 books. Damn. I gotta beat him in 2010.

He also kindly suggested five books for entrepreneurs:

1. Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

   This book sounds particularly useful. “Although most founders focus on their cash burn rate,” write Tim, “very few focus on the burn rate of their daily time.” Too true, too true.

2. Beautiful Data: The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions

   Sounds like a nice, geeky read. Awesome.

3. Performance at the Limit: Business Lessons from Formula 1 Motor Racing

   I’m not a big Formula 1 fan, but it could be an interesting read.

4. Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition

   I’ll definitely need this book.

5. The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

   Oh, that reminds me: I keep meaning to play some tennis. And golf. Hurray for bougie sports.

One of my personal favorites in 2009 is The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham. Brodsky is a veteran entrepreneur and author of the “Street Smarts” column in Inc. Magazine. Burlingham is an author and editor-at-large for Inc. Magazine.

The Knack is a gritty, no-nonsense book for entrepreneurs. From having hands-on experience with your company’s financials (to the point of going through your books with paper and pencil) to understanding root causes and not just symptoms, some of this material may be familiar, but all of it is practical. Reading this book felt like sitting down with a battle-worn business owner with a gravely voice and sharp tongue from Brooklyn who told it like it is. I would recommend this book to all entrepreneurs.

Do you have any good business books to recommend? I gotta beat 146 books this year!

Props to: Eric Rodriguez

Author: Mike Lee

An idealistic realist, humanistic technologist & constant student. View all posts by Mike Lee