The 46 Best Business Books of All Time (2024)

Welcome to our Best Business Books Collection. Here you’ll find summaries of the best business books of all time, freshly updated for 2024. Whether you’re looking to start a business, grow an existing one, or sharpen your entrepreneurial skills, these must-read books cover everything from leadership and strategy to negotiation and innovation.

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Zero to One is about the future of technology and a guide for startup business founders. Peter Thiel is a billionaire entrepreneur and investor that shares many unconventional ideas. He says entrepreneurs should avoid competition. Instead build a (legal) monopoly selling something completely new and incomparable.
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"The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries is about how to build new startup businesses smarter, using lean and agile methods. It emphasizes launching a Minimum Viable Product, gathering customer feedback with scientific tests, and pivoting based on insights. This approach helps quickly develop valuable products that truly benefit customers.
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The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber is a crucial read for entrepreneurs, explaining why 80% of small businesses fail and offering invaluable strategies for success. It teaches how to get your business to run without you, using systems and processes, that reduce your work and stress. It shows how to work ON your business, not just IN it.
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Traction explains an 'operating system' that can help entrepreneurs achieve more control and organization in your business. Gino Wickman has assembled many practical management tools including: a 10-year vision, a people-grading chart, a data dashboard, a systems documentation method, and 90-day priorities called "Rocks."
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The Millionaire Fastlane is about getting wealthy and retiring in 10 years rather than 40 years. At first the title may sound unrealistic, but MJ DeMarco offers hard-earned business wisdom based on his success making millions of dollars after building a limousine booking website.
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Never Split the Difference shows how to win negotiations and communicate more influentially. Chris Voss perfected his techniques over 25 years at the FBI, negotiating with kidnappers and terrorists. He says we should work with emotions not just reason, demonstrate empathy, use open-ended questions and educate ourselves about cognitive biases.
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"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie is a classic self-help book that offers practical tips for better communication and relationships. It teaches key principles for handling people, making friends, influencing others, and becoming a respected leader. The book highlights the importance of empathy, respect, and appreciation.
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Start With Why says that great companies, organizations, and leaders are those who first understand their 'Why' - their purpose, cause, or reason for existing. Simon Sinek shows how leading companies like Apple inspire extraordinary loyalty with a strong focus on 'Why' they do what they do, not 'What' they sell, or 'How' they do things.
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$100M Offers by Alex Hormozi teaches business owners how to create irresistible offers that sell better and at higher prices. He explains how to increase revenue by raising the perceived value of your product or service, using strategies like premium pricing, risk-free guarantees, stacking, bonuses, scarcity, and exclusivity.
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$100M Leads by Alex Hormozi is a book about how to increase sales by getting more engaged leads. It teaches us how to create a valuable lead magnet, cold contact people you don't know, build a large audience of followers, scale advertising profitably, build an affiliate program, and much more.
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The 4-Hour Workweek is about building a passive income business so we can escape the usual 40-hour workweek, and design our ideal lifestyle. Tim Ferris also shows how we can improve our productivity by following the 80/20 rule and a 'low information diet.'
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Influence is about six principles of persuasion useful for sales, marketing, and negotiation. Professor Robert Cialdini backs his ideas with a lot of science research. The six principles are: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity.
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"Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne introduces a groundbreaking approach to strategic business planning, focusing on creating uncontested market spaces (Blue Oceans) rather than competing in overcrowded markets (Red Oceans).
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Shoe Dog is an inspiring story of entrepreneurship from Nike's founder Phil Knight. He started as a regular kid who loved running and built the largest sportswear brand ever. But there were many challenging times that Nike barely survived.
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DotCom Secrets is a guide to building a successful online business using marketing funnels. Russel Brunson teaches how to grow an online audience with email marketing, multiply profits with "value ladders," and even provides exact scripts to create our own sales videos.