N + 1 useful business books

In the topic of blitz-review of books that will be useful for IT-specialists, businessmen and those who are going to open their own business. Next to each is a short explanation of why and why it is worth reading.

The best 10% of about 200 books that have been read about marketing, sales and everything connected are selected - the most “punchy” things that will help you not to waste time on every slag, but start immediately from the main thing.

In the end - the summation of books that habrovchane recommend in the comments in addition to the main list.
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Systemic

Getting Real by 37signals

The book is very useful, but it surprisingly contradicts the calculations of many other authoritative authors. The reason is simple: most books on makretingu teach how to make the company more. Getting Real teaches how to make it smaller and more efficient. This is for freelancers and startups. The basic principle is that we first do something working and see how successful it is. Then we work out the details.

If you are familiar with the situation “we have the best startup in the world, but it is not interesting to anyone because of the curved interface”, then this means that the authors stepped on the rake described in the book.

Here you can read in Russian. The sequel is already out, called rework .

My life, my achievements - Henry Ford

Reading about the 1920s at first seemed like a bad idea. And then incredibly fascinated: many of the ideas and principles of Ford are relevant to this day. This man didn’t just create a new economy, no, he laid down the principles that would govern it for quite a long time. Although I always thought it was not. An interesting point concerns the chapter on “start-ups” (aha, yes, a hundred years ago) - companies that are working to get a loan and its development: a detailed analysis is given of why they are most likely to die.

Good to Great - Jim Collins

The big red book, the summation of a long study. Many useful, but the main thing is described here in this topic . He brings a lot of interesting things about leadership style and several times popularly explains the concept of company differentiation.

Marketing

What would Google do? - Jeff Jarvis

A wonderful book about how to think from the platform category. If you are counting on something more than one local project - read. After the middle is already boring (written in the traditional American style "repeat the thought 5 times"), but it is important to read. Surprisingly sound after all attempts to talk about Web 2.0 for marketers. It develops the understanding that it’s not you who decide for customers, but they show you the way, teaches marketing “do it for free and make money on an additional service”, shows calculations “do not raise the margin to the limit, but reduce it and increase the market tenfold.”

The end of marketing as we knew him - Sergio (Sergio) Ziman

Read without fail: it was written by a man who twice pulled Coca-Cola from a full ass and thrust it once. After this, you can either go and kill, or analyze the mistakes and share a very useful experience. The book teaches us to analyze the results, to distinguish between “like” and “leads to sales” situations, to change the point of view when new data is received. There are many beautiful examples from different areas.

“Like a scientist, I collect the obtained results, study them, and then change my activities in accordance with what I learn. This is the most important point: you must constantly collect data and be ready to change your point of view. If you know what your goal is, and are ready to accept and accept what the evidence suggests, you sometimes, or even often, may have to change your view of things. ”

Selling the Invisible - Harry Beckwith

About the service and how it should work correctly. Be sure to read: a lot of useful information for startups, for large companies and even for those who have not thought about their business at all.

“If your main position in the sale of your service is its profitability to the consumer, you do not have any position ... In the service sector, profitability is taken for granted. But reality cannot be a viable competitive position. If profitability is the first thing you start marketing with, it will not be effective. ”

Organization of marketing services from scratch - Pavel Medvedev

System tutorial on the organization of marketing really from scratch and in domestic conditions. The rollback factor and many other realities are mentioned. Very intelligible, but applicable only to medium and large companies (which is, in general, logical). It teaches to obtain data, make the right measurements and analyze the results in the conditions of the Russian Federation.

Differentiate or die - Jack Trout

Trout has written many books, but this one conveys the most important thing for a project of any level — the importance of having one characteristic by which you will be recognized. Want to fail - try to please everyone at once. The book explains with examples the importance of differentiation and contains something like a detailed reference book on possible types of differences and their impact on the consciousness of the client.

“The best way to truly enter a consciousness that does not accept complexity and confusion is to make your message as simple as possible. Some of the most powerful programs are those that focus on a single word. (Wells Fargo: fast. Volvo: safety. Listerine: kills germs). The point is not to try to express your whole story with this word. Just focus on one powerful distinctive idea and embed it in your mind. ”

Different interfaces

"Venue: Shopping Center" and "Why We Buy" - Paco Underhill

These are two wonderful books about the interfaces of display and placement of retail outlets. Before the advent of digital technology, the author’s company was the number one film consumer in the world — they did something eye-tracking in large stores. I recommend reading to both designers and interface designers, and those who have a store. He tells about everything that is important for sale on the spot: from the decision-making system to specific advice on the organization of a store interface.

iPresentation - Carmine Gallo

About how Steve Jobs prepares for his performances. In fact, it helps not only to speak correctly, but also to understand exactly how to focus on the audience, how to ruthlessly throw away all unnecessary things and how to “cling” to emotions. In short, here and practical copywriting and much more. In fact, he teaches to save the presentation of your product from everything superfluous, leaving only what for it will be passionately loved. And describe it to the client.

Mental hospital in the hands of patients - Alan Cooper

One of the main books for designers, programmers and interface designers. In simple human language, it’s what the thinking stereotypes of developers are, how it ends for users, and why sometimes the decision “cut 80% of functions” leads to the fact that people think that the program has become more powerful, more flexible and solves problems better. If you haven’t read it yet, search for sure.

Ogilvy About Advertising and Confessions of an Advertising Agent - David Ogilvy

Books that are surprisingly modern, despite the fact that they were written long enough. A systematic approach to advertising and business management is very pleased. Perfect for general education, for those who are aiming for high positions and for those who have their own business. Concrete is interspersed with general recommendations.

It is appropriate to quote Trout:
“Many advertisers do not even realize that their job is to provide such important information about a product as why a person should buy it. And this information should not be too similar to advertising. "

Success stories and motivation

To hell with all of it! Take it and do it! - Richard Branson

Book-impulse. It begins with the understanding that the business is a drive, a game, but with a clearly calculated scheme. Richard teaches to risk, break the rules and arrange crazy things - but he always understands why this is all done.

If you are planning a startup or just starting a business, be sure to read it. Moreover, this book is read in one breath. UPD : in the comments advise instead of her another from Branson - "Naked business." Both are good, but in my practice it is “To hell with everything” that creates an initial impulse.

“When Virgin Atlantic started in 1984, no one thought that the line would last more than a year. Bosses of large American airlines said that my defeat was inevitable. Today, almost all of them are out of this business, and I'm still in the game. Yes, I behaved bravely, but not foolishly. ”

Chichvarkin E ... genius. If out of 100 times you are sent 99 ... - Maxim Kotin

In theory, the author talks about Chichvarkin and how he built the Euroset. I don’t know how truthfully the information is transmitted and how accurate it is (more precisely, I’m almost sure that it isn’t) - but between the lines you can get unrealistically a lot of valuable information about how to trade in retail. This is a book with a bunch of valuable ideas on how to work from a platform point of view, and not a single business. A book close to her is “ I am like everyone else ” by Tinkov (this is which beer-restaurant-bank). The facts of biography differ somewhat with reality, but there is a lot of information about how business is really being done in Russia.

Leave disgust, eat a frog! - Brian Tracy

How to plan your time, how to prioritize, keep up with everything and do not forget anything. The living embodiment of GTD. It teaches the hygiene of thoughts, the correct routine and understanding of the main problems. In our practice, significantly increases the efficiency of the work of leading personnel.

Letters about the main thing. Your customers. Your employees. Your career is John Thimpson

A general book on management. Built in the form of letters from the father of the owner of the company to his son. By chapters describes the most important principles of organization of the company, as well as ways to solve standard problems.

Negotiations and appeals

Confessions of a Performance Freak - Alan Rosenspan

About practical examples of paper mailings and measurements of their effectiveness. Despite the fact that the author just started to guess about the Internet, it contains a lot of useful data. I was impressed by the method of selling the second “safety” tractor to the farmer, who already has it, and the enchantment factories with the “we plant a tree for you” mailing list on primary paper - “And how many trees did you destroy for this newsletter?”.

You can agree on everything - Gavin Kennedy

Negotiation practice. A good, almost interactive book, because each chapter begins with a test or assignment. Easy to read, it gives a lot of useful information in terms of understanding how real negotiations take place. He teaches specifics in agreements, shows several trading methods that break the templates, teaches how to get out of various difficult situations like chronic non-receipt of payments from the client. What is nice is closely connecting negotiation activities and management decisions.

Say No First - Kemp Jim

But this is the basis for any negotiations. It gives the opportunity to clearly and gently control the situation at the negotiations, very well describes the concept of the "pain" of the opponent and all the ensuing conclusions. In general, it contains many simple models that allow you to turn the negotiations from an incomprehensible, intuitive sphere into a very interesting positional game.

In combination with the previous book, the knowledge gained personally in my experience made it possible to get 25% more money on a large project several months long, so I highly recommend it.

Psychology of Influence - Robert Cialdini

The book maintains the fifth reprint. Very useful, tells a lot about how you are forced to buy and what exactly. As well as two others, it is necessary, if you communicate with the investor and in general in life.

How to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime - Larry King

Excellent book that teaches public speaking. How not to shrink before the public, how to speak on any topic and not to seem an ignoramus. The main rule - do not hesitate to tell the truth, even if it puts you in an unfavorable light.

miscellanea

The path of trade - Tadao Yamaguchi

A small and very nice book with parables in the eastern spirit about trade. Easy to read, written with some humor. If you remember how the Proverbs blog was popular two years ago on Habré - read without hesitation.

Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

About statistics and reality. If you remember the schedule about the influence of the number of pirates on global warming, you will immediately understand what this is about. In the book there is a question that makes the logic of IT people just to cheer: “You have an equilibrium coin. In the experiment on 100 tosses, she has already dropped 99 times for a tails 99 times. What is the likelihood of falling on an eagle in the next hundredth tossing? ” Taleb contrary to mathematics says that about 0-1%, and then explains with examples. In general, the book expands perception.

How to find

Most of the books are easily searched on Librusek, another part is available for download in different parts of Runet, and 10-15 percent, unfortunately, only in the form of atoms, grouped in the form of paper.

Where did it all come from

Practically any company is profitable to form its employees. I think I even know the extreme case - a wonderful story about a girl who buys a rare book on marketing. Seller is interested in:
- Oh, a great choice! .. Are you a fan of this author?
- No, just the chef came up yesterday and said that this is a good book.
- Do you care about his opinion?
- And after two weeks he comes up to the staff and asks: read? If not - dismisses immediately ...

We are softer and freer. In the head office there is a healthy closet packed with various useful (and not so) books to the eyeballs. These are business manuals, various success stories, business magazines, reference books and fiction such as "1984", "Brave New World" and classics. Employees of the company take one or two books each and read them in their free time or at work (operators and salespeople in stores during moments of lull). Or do not take and do not read. For the company, this is a significant contribution to development, because leading cadres are recruited from line employees - and the books provide an opportunity to bring important knowledge very quickly.

The library is constantly updated, so if any useful books are missed here, then please mark them in the comments with your personal impressions of them. Thank you in advance.

UPD : Aavezel recommends 4 more books right here (+ criticism below), CrashMax recommends without explanation Kawasaki right here , Olegafx - says “Deadline: A novel about project management” by Tom DeMarco and “Don't stop me from working” by Stas Davydov. Moroz1999 mentions Michael Gerber - “Entrepreneurship: Myth and Reality”, and Drauka recommends “How to work 4 hours a week” by Tim Ferris. Yaremko mentions Mann's "Without a budget" and Novik's Sales through Sales Representatives, plus Stalkers says that Lee Yacocca's Career Manager is also a thing (discussed below). Webwin points to the "Monk who sold his Ferrari" by Robin Sharma and "The Road to Financial Freedom" by Bodo Schaefer. Goldan calls Stephen Covey's “7 Skills of Highly Effective People” and Osho's “Mindfulness”. QZen refers to Lynn Wisson's Russian Problems in English Speech. From myself I add that to this immediately after you need to read the book "Profession - a foreigner" Agranovsky.

And more direct links to download many books.

PS Do you want to get the effect - do not click on the star chosen by the usual movement (then to forget about these books), but immediately look for one of them. Tighten and motivate.