2024 book list for entrepreneurs and team leaders
Below is a list of book recommendations which have helped me in my entrepreneurial journey, team building and mindset.
Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
This book was great at exploring how to approach your career and expertise leaning into the world of being a polymath. I've found that my unique talents is bridging the experiences and skills I have gained from a range of fields and I would encourage anyone else to do the same so they can have a unique leverage in their career.
Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value by Melissa Perri
As a business owner seeing what it's like to scale a digital team and how strategic thinking and decision making seems to get more challenging, this book helps shine some perspective on what gotcha to look out for.
The Third Door: The Mindset of Success by Alex Banayan
This is a fantastic book that takes you on a wild ride where the author seems to achieve the impossible. If you're on an entrepreneurial journey, it'll give you the courage to do things others think is impossible.
Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing by Derek Sivers
As short and sweet collection of insights from Derek Sivers which can give you a new perspective on certain areas of your life. Once I started listening to this, I couldn't stop.
How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In by Jim Collins
This book is for those who have an established business and want to look out for the red flags within your teams that could be the start of your decline.
Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling by Matthew Dicks
This book is a wonderful collection of stories that will show you how we all can be story tellers. Storytelling is such a fundamental aspect of how we build trust and relationships. This is great if you're a content creator and want to use storytelling as part of your message delivery.
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss
Immediately after reading this book I started to use the negotiation skills in a variety of scenarios. So far, I believe I have saved about £40,000 on three negotiations as a result of this.
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
A must read for any business owner or those building a team. You'll learn what the difference between a successful team and a non-successful team is. I will be using this every time I work with teams to help them systemise, strategise and perform.
Liminal Thinking: Create the Change You Want by Changing the Way You Think by Dave Gray
I love this book because it really helps you see what others don't. Going back to the book Range, if you want to lean into being a polymath, then learning—and appreciating—the ability to have liminal thinking is a huge benefit.
Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense by Rory Sutherland
If you take an interest in Behavioural Science where you want to understand more what behaviours people take when nudged in the right direciton, then this book will take you on a wild ride of ideas and explorations. You'll come away appreciating that there is no such thing as a logical assumption when it comes to the behaviours of others.
Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea That Drives 10x Growth by John Doerr
If you're new to OKRs (Objects and Key Results), then this book is a great way to understand what it's all about. Too often teams measure the wrong thing and this will help you understand what discussion needs to take place to get everyone focusing on the things that make a difference.
The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington
This book is great for giving you the spark of energy needed to focus on shorter objectives and do what we naturally allocate a year into just 12 weeks. It helps you reprioritise and refocus frequently and not lets time slip away.
Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Gain the Mindset and Skillset for Getting What You Need to Succeed by Ken Blanchard, Susan Fowler, Laurence Hawkins
Great for any new manager to help you understand they key challenges and how to approach solving them.
Mindset - Updated Edition: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential by Dr. Carol Dweck
My favourite book on Mindset that will teach you the ins-and-outs of a Growth and Fixed mindset. This is useful for you own personal development, as well as spotting the mindset traits of others.
The Infinite Game: How Great Businesses Achieve Long-lasting Success by Simon Sinek
A must read for any business leader who wants to ensure that the business is operating on the right foundations and not playing short term battles and changing strategies.
The Silent Guides: How to understand and develop children's emotions, thinking and behaviours by Prof Steve Peters
While I read this to improve my parenting skills, this taught me more about the brain, psychology and the behaviours of those who I work with more than I realised. I haven't yet read the Chimp Paradox so I suspect most of the content is shared between both books.
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
This book has forever changed how I think about marketing any of my products or businesses. A definite read for any entrepreneur who needs to sell their product.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Building any business is hard. This book will show the realities of how hard it can be and provide you with the mental models Ben used throughout his Silicon Valley days.
If you enjoyed this list and want to learn how to improve your own ability to recall the insights and stories from what you read, then consider checking out my book Atomic Note-Taking.
