Books for Entrepreneurs listed by Damir Perge

The following list books are mentioned in Entrepreneur Myths by Damir Perge :

1. Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World by Kevin Kelly. This book will change your way of looking at the world. And yes, you are not in control no matter what you think.
2. Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem by Michael Rothschild. Every entrepreneur needs to read this book. It’s genius. You’ll be humbled by its brilliance. It will change you forever.
3.  Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution byPaul Hawken.  This is the Bible for Green Business. A revolutionary book even today.
4.  The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell.  This is the bible when it comes to understanding anything viral.
5.  The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems by Fritjof Capra
6.  Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos by M. Mitchell Waldrop.  Running a company is chaotic. You can learn much about management from this book.
7.  Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production byTaiichi Ohno.  Forget Henry Ford. The real genius behind manufacturing and operations is Taiichi Ohno. Must read for operations of any business.
8.  A Study of the Toyota Production System: From an Industrial Engineering Viewpoint (Produce What is Needed, When it’s Needed) by Shigeo Shingo.  Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi Ohno are absolutely brilliant. They have changed business forever.
9.  Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono.  Re-wire your brain and use your six thinking hats to become a better entrepreneur. Most seminal book on how to use your brain.
10.  Developing Products in Half the Time: New Rules, New Tools byPreston G. Smith and Donald Reinertsen.  Must read for any entrepreneur. If you haven’t read it, you’re losing money and market share.
11.  The Entrepreneur’s Master Planning Guide : How to Launch a Successful Business by John A. Welsh and Jerry White.  The book that started me on becoming a member of Entrepreneurholics Anonymous. I took their class when I was a newbie entrepreneur.
12.  Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth by Lester R. Brown.  This book will inspire you, depress you and make you want to change the world by becoming green.
13.  Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore.  If you don’t read this book, you’re not an entrepreneur. This is a classic.
14.  The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production by James P. Womack.  One of the most exciting books to read if you’re a serious entrepreneur.
15.  Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity by John Holland.  Must read for entrepreneurs who manage people. You can learn much from nature.
16.  Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Michael Braungart.  Revolutionary book on changing the way everyone does business. You’ll go green afterward.
17.  Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries.  I read it in college. Still one of the best marketing books ever written. Must read.
18.  Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius by Marc Seifer.  One of the three greatest scientists and inventors of all time.
19.  Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus.  Business can learn much from nature. This book is a classic.
20.  Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition by B. Joseph Pine.  One of my favorite books of all time. I’ve read it three times.
21.  Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.  Your mind is the most powerful asset you have. Never forget it.
22.  Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer or Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson.  You have to know the art of term sheets if you’re going to get money from a VC.
23.  The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler.  Everyone needs to learn to tell a story. Write one too. This is the book that teaches you fundamental principles of storytelling.
24.  The Richest Man in Town: The Twelve Commandments of Wealth by W. Randall Jones.  You want to know how the rich got to be rich. This book provides the secrets of how some of the richest men in town got there. Entertaining and inspirational.
25.  Unleashing the IdeaVirus by Seth Godin.  Anything Seth writes, you must read it. Although this is one of his earlier books, it’s a classic. Buy all his books – you’ll thank me later.
26.  Profit Patterns: 30 Ways to Anticpiate and Profit from Strategic Forces Reshaping Your Business by Adrian J. Slywotzky, David J. Morrison, Ted Moser, Kevin A. Mundt and James A. Quella.  Enabling entrepreneurs to detail some of the possible patterns and scenarios in any business sector.  At the end of the day, a venture —whether a startup or not, has to figure out how to make money.
27.  Competitive Strategy by Professor Michael Porter.  The best strategy business book; a classic that should be read every year. This book is painful and wonderful at the same time. It is painful because it forces you, whether you want to or not, to think about competitive strategy for your business, and wonderful because you can get ideas on how to compete in the market.
28.  Competing Against Time: How Time-Based Competition is Reshaping Global Markets by George Stalk, Jr. and Thomas H. Hout.  You’ve only got so much time to launch your venture, launch your product or service, raise that money and make it big. Sure, you may think you’re competing against other competitors in the marketplace but you’re also competing against time — time of the market.
29.  Turtles, Termites and Traffic Jams by Mitchel Resnick.  The best way to learn the distributed way of thinking is by studying turtles, termites and traffic jams.
30.  Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones.  This book stands the test of time. It is highly inspiring and educational because it teaches entrepreneurs how to become lean and efficient using the principles of the great Taiichi Ohno.
31.  Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life by Mihaly Csikszenthmihalyi.  In Finding Flow, one of the key points that you learn is that life is not about happiness but actually achieving flow in your personal and business life. Don’t worry — this is not a self-help book based on hype. It is more of a guide to achieving optimal flow.
32.  Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan.  No matter how great of an idea you have, at the end of the day, you have to be able to execute.
33.  Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actionsby Guy Kawasaki.  I’ve met Guy a few times. He’s a likeable guy and this is a cool book. And that’s the point of this book but let me not ruin it. Buy and find out yourself.
34.  Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy by Stan Davis and Christopher Meyer.  This book will keep you thinking. The authors look at how three factors in the wired world —speed, connectivity, and intangibles —are driving the increasing rate of change in the business marketplace.
35.  Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins. This is a book about visionary companies. Much can be learned from studying it.