Every founder dreams of success, although all entrepreneurs have unique interpretations of what success is. For some, it’s being able to navigate a team through hybrid working arrangements. For others, it’s turning frustrated customers into fans or hitting a seven-figure income.
No matter how you define success, one thing’s for sure: You can always use advice getting there. And that’s where books can be extremely helpful.
It’s hardly a secret that some of the world’s most successful people read ravenously. You might call them “leader readers.” And they prove that if you want wisdom, you can get it—even on a tight schedule.
Add reading to your to-do list and you will reap the benefits. You can start with these success-focused works hot off the presses.
No matter how you define success, one thing’s for sure: You can always use advice getting there.
1. Atul Minocha – Lies, Damned Lies, and Marketing
You’ve just about had it with marketing. Despite putting money toward Google and Facebook ads, you’re seeing less traction than you’d find on a slip-and-slide. What’s going on? Yale-educated Atul Minocha might say that you’ve fallen for Lies, Damned Lies, and Marketing.
Minocha’s experience in companies at all stages has led him to develop beliefs and strategies to help startups and enterprises turn the corner on their marketing. In his book, he addresses the reasons so many organizations can’t seem to gain marketing momentum. You’ll learn everything from when to turn on the creative to how to crack what he calls the Google code. Remember: Success can’t come to a modern company without marketing.
2. Adam Coffey – The Exit-Strategy Playbook
If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you don’t expect to stay at your business forever. That means you’ll put it on the selling block at some point. But do you have a guide for how best to make your organization irresistible to inventors?
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In The Exit-Strategy Playbook, Adam Coffey lays out some rules for building and selling businesses. He’ll teach you how to increase revenue, grow a high-performance culture, and set up the framework of a well-oiled machine. Even if you’re not ready to make your exit right now, you can use Coffey’s recommendations to ensure that when the day comes, your business will fetch bigger bucks.
3. Stan Bernard – Brands Don’t Win
Maybe you’ve been playing by the rules. Stan Bernard would suggest you stop. As he explains in Brands Don’t Win, it’s the companies that switch up the game that stand out. Think Starbucks and Peloton, for instance. They resist falling into the same-old, same-old pattern of thinking. Resultantly, they disrupt entire industries.
Throughout Brands Don’t Win, Bernard will take you through what he calls his Transcender System™ so you can finally ditch tradition in favor of reinvention. If you’re not satisfied by going with the flow, this book will ignite your desire to do more, become unique, and make a successful splash.
4. Melanie Pump – Detox
Toxicity can arise in any company, including yours. In Detox, Melanie Pump helps you see all the signs of potential toxic attitudes and cultural norms that are keeping your workforce from winning.
Pump comes from a particularly unexpected background. A high school dropout, she worked her way up the corporate ladder by studying the best and worst leadership habits. Thanks to her diligence, she’s now a CFO and is bringing insights to readers like you in search of ways to make your business shine. After each chapter, conduct a retrospective on your personnel and workflows. Are they afraid to take risks? Do they act and think like owners? Or are they in need of a detox?
5. John Reid, Andrew Reid, Corena Chase, Lynae Steinhagen – The Five Lost Superpowers
When you were a kid, you could be anything. Spiderman. Wonder Woman. Even The Blob if you felt like it. You had superpowers—and probably promptly lost your imagination and enthusiasm as you aged. Now, John Reid and his co-authors want you to reclaim your potential so you can tap into The Five Lost Superpowers.
Don’t let the tenor of the title fool you: This isn’t the stuff of magic or games. Each Superpower from Curiosity to Compassion is a skill that you need to succeed. This book will help you name your strongest Superpower and figure out how to acknowledge (and avoid) your kryptonite. No need to wear a cape while engaged in The Five Lost Superpowers… although it might not hurt!
6. Ben Wolf – Fractional Leadership
You want to move forward with your business. However, the skilled talent shortage is keeping you from amassing an impressive executive and C-suite team. Not a problem. Just spend a weekend with Ben Wolf’s Fractional Leadership.
Wolf explains how fractional leaders can help you bridge the talent gap and finally get moving. You’ll hear how Wolf and others have sourced and onboarded fractional leaders to turn up their revenue streams. Stop wishing you had a dream team at the top of your organizational chart. Fractional leaders can be the partners you need to make your one-year, three-year, and five-year plans come to fruition.
7. Jason Hennessey – Law Firm SEO
In a modern sense, SEO and success tend to go hand-in-hand. Nail the SEO basics and you glean the rewards. Here’s the snag in the fabric, though: SEO keeps changing and always seems one step ahead.
You don’t have to pass the bar to appreciate the value of Law Firm SEO. Jason Hennessey bares all when it comes to transparency around SEO. You’ll hear straightforward advice about finally getting SEO right. After all, you may be “that close” to turning on your sales pipeline, nabbing a bigger audience for your blog, or making a bigger branding splash on the Internet. You won’t know until you devour this book on the subject that’s foiled so many other up-and-coming businesses—but won’t foil yours.
Success isn’t for other entrepreneurs. It’s all within your grasp. Now’s the time to get your brain working overtime with some inspiration from the newest reading material on the market.
