I love reading, and learning, so I spend most of my time scouring not only the business literature, but also sociology, psychology, and behavioral economic fields for insights, research and methodologies that can help with living a mindful life, making conscious choices, and succeeding in capitalism. Here are just a few of the books you should read…

Chosen because they not only contain valuable insights and information, but are readable and accessible. Okay, most of them are.

There are two types of books here: core and essential titles, and specific situations. Most fall into the “core” category–I encourage you to get these and work your way through them.

There are a few that are more specific: negotiation, competitive strategy, and sales. These are titles that you will want close at hand–I find myself reviewing these time and again, particularly when in the thick of the action.

Most of what you face as a businessperson or executive is not unique. There is no point in re-inventing the wheel. Grab a taste of what others have already identified.

 

Work-Life Balance

I have found that if your life is out of balance, your work will suffer. If your work is terrible, your life will suffer. Consider any colleague you have seen working through a divorce. Each affects the other. And the inverse is true too, when your life is going great, often your career is too.

These authors have something to tell us about striking a balance:

	David’s take: If you’re in a startup and married (and want to stay married) get this. Read it, and convince your spouse to read it. Then make a plan (or optimize your plan). And, as a bonus: learn the story of Stonyfield Yogurt, a successful startup.
	David's take: A classic on getting straight with your own money, while you manage a business or your executive career. It is also surprisingly insightful about choosing a career, given the context of your personal finances.
	David's take: Priceless advice for valuing your family, friends and personal life… while building your career. Keep it all in perspective.

Funding a Startup

There are very few traditional books on funding startups, and essentially no classes or coursework. It is typically a learn-on-the-job kind of experience. Give yourself a boost by reading these precious few titles:

	David’s take: I don’t agree with all of the “math” presented by Peters, and I’m particularly skeptical about the number of failed acquisition pitches… but the essential concept of founders making more money when they sell their company without venture capital matches my experience. Read this before you approach venture capital firms. Or really, any investor.
	David's take: Founders finally have a methodical, step-by-step explanation of how the venture capital process works, and more importantly, how (most) venture capitalists think about the deal. For decades there has been very little illumination of even the mechanical aspects such as term sheets and deal structure, and this was the first book to really shine a light on those mechanics and the more elusive dynamics of the deal itself. I particularly appreciate the VC’s perspective, which is exactly consistent with my experience… both as a VC and as an entrepreneur. You can get most or even all of this information by a review of the often-artful blogs authored by former and current VCs, but this brings it all together in an accessible format and carefully organized. You would be crazy to even consider raising venture capital without reading this carefully, cover to cover.

Leadership

David’s take: A surprisingly insightful view into what it means to truly lead (as opposed to manage). One of the first books I recommend to every new client. As either an introduction or as a refinement, this gives you the big picture for what it means to lead a team.

David's take: I'm no sports guy, and can barely wrangle a metaphor in service to a business scenario. But even I can see the value of understanding the re-start of the 49ers (a football team) and how a leader turned around a team. You'll learn about leadership, business models and managing employees--in the context of a "turnaround" or what we now call in Silicon Valley, a "pivot". There are lessons here for all of us.

Product Management

	David's take: (Almost) everything you need to know about developing a new product (really!). Most of my clients already have this book, and if they don't, I send it to them.  Essential.
	David's take: The importance of differentiation. Essential for consumer or business-to-business markets.
	David's take: essential information for product management and product introductions.
	David's take: A graduate course in competitive analysis & strategy, in a single book.  In fact, that's why this classic was originally created. This is perhaps the greatest author ever to pen on the subject, and you should study it.

Sales

	David's take: Stop thinking about sales as a transaction, and worse, thinking its some kind of skill in manipulating people to do something they don't want to do. It's just not like that. This book provides great insight and research results for modern, effective sales.
	David's take: An unfortunate name (since it has absolutely nothing to do with spinning or sound bites) but the best sales methodology I've ever used for selling to businesses, particularly large ($100,000 to $10,000,000 scale) projects.
	David's take: I so admire the style of this book, using narrative and character profiles to communicate concepts and insights. And the content is nearly essential for understanding problems, solving them, and influencing others. I predict you will be surprised by how effective certain techniques can be, despite your intuition, and you'll learn something about the world around you at the same time.

Marketing

	David's take: Some call it "Behavioral Economics" -- I call it Effective Marketing. Either way, good stuff for understanding how influence works.
	David's take: And of course you need to read this, if you haven't already.  This has already become a classic in understanding influence.
	David's take: You may have heard about "Big Data" and you assumed that only applies to Wal Mart and the rest of the Fortune 100.  Nope, it can mean you too, even with small businesses. Read this to catch up on the basics.

Negotiation

David's take: I first trained on this technique decades ago, and regard it as an essential business skill along with writing and speaking. Simply put, life and business demand effective negotiation nearly every day. So check this out, because we can always refresh on the basics, and this edition reflects updates and revisions.

Group Facilitation

David's take: When you need to influence a group, especially captive in say a hotel conference room, you're going to need help. The techniques that work to influence people in a 1:1 setting (aka "Sales") won't be enough in the group environment. Julie Huffaker gives you a cookbook chock full of recipes for making that off-site work, help create magic at a retreat, and make that group collaboration really hum. Even if all this book does is convince you that you should hire a professional facilitator (you should) it is a must-have reference in your library. Mine is well dog-eared for my favorite recipes.

Send me your suggestions for helpful books, and if I use your idea, I’ll send you a book as a token of my appreciation!