Book Recommendations - Crisis-Relevant Business Books

ARTICLE - 5 mins
AUTHOR - Robert Craven

We asked our community of agency owner/founder/directors, “What is your go-to book for our current crisis?”. A fascinating list, to say the least. We certainly have not read them all! I have put ones I know at the top – and as for the rest, I can’t really comment!

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz
  This would be my go-to book in tough times – it makes the point that the great solutions don’t come easy. You have to work at them. While loads of people talk about how great it is the start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run a business. There is no playbook for the tough times, and that is his point.

• Man's Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl
  This is a heavyweight classic. Ironically, it is uplifting. I was bought my third copy at Christmas. Frankl discusses the concept of “tragic optimism” – confronting grim reality yet believing things could be OK.

• Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
  Another all-time, timeless classic. One to read very ten years. Simple yet profound in its consequences. I must look at it again.

• Atomic Habits, James Clear
  A modern-day classic. This best-selling book is probably the most comprehensive guide on how to change your habits and get better 1% every single day. A compelling proposition.

• Traction, Gino Wickman and Scaling Up, Verne Harnish
  I put these two together as they are similar in that they both offer operating systems for running your business. Both are based on some essential research in the nineties on what high performing businesses do differently. My colleagues at Warwick Business School, David Storey, was one of the researchers… Great books but they require you to buy-in to their system for you to get the best value from them

• Lateral Thinking, Edward de Bono
  Ordinary thinking won’t get you out of the mess you might be in right now. You need to gain access to every different type of thinking available to you. And know which type to use when and how.

• Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink, Leif Babin

• Immunity to Change, Kegan & Lahey

• Hope Won't Pay the Wages: How to deal with the personal impact of a struggling business, Andrew R Miller

• When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Pema Chodron

• The Bible

• Loving what is, Byron Katie

• The Breakthrough Experience, Dr John DeMartini

• The Story of You, Steve Chandler

• The Untethered Soul, Michael Singer

• Leadership in Turbulent Times- Lessons from The Presidents, Doris Kearns Goodwin

• S.U.M.O, Paul McGhee

• They Ask You Answer, Marcus Sheridan

• Profit from the Core: A Return to Growth in Turbulent Times, Chris Zook

• Big Ideas for Small Business, John Lamerton

• How to be Brilliant, Michael Heppell

• The Art of Critical Decision Making, Prof. Michael A. Roberto, in the Great Courses series

• Beat the Recession: A Blueprint for Business Survival, Nicholas Bate

• Not Knowing, Steven D Souza

• The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, Ryan Holiday

• It Takes What It Takes, Trevor Moawad

• Fire Someone Today: And Other Surprising Tactics for Making Your Business a Success, Bob Pritchett

• Leading Through Uncertainty, Jude Jennison

• Managing in a VUCA World, Oliver Mack

• The 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure, Grant Cardone

• The Leadership Moment, Michal Useem

• In Extremis Leadership, Thomas Kolditz

• Daring Greatly, Brene Brown

• How to Survive, John Huds