If you ask many business people what motivates them, chances are a large proportion will tell you that one of the factors is continually learning. Reading business books is one excellent way to achieve this. The summer holidays can be a great time to kick back with a business book on the sun lounger by the pool or beach. That way you can keep your mind ticking over and continually learning new things. If you’re off on holiday but can’t get by without a little fix of business, here are our holiday pick best business books to keep you occupied for the duration of your trip.
Disrupting Digital Business: Create an Authentic Experience in the Peer-To-Peer Economy
Finally, a highly topical book rounds off the list. Disrupting Digital Business: Create an Authentic Experience in the Peer-To-Peer Economy was written by R Ray Wang and focuses on looking at how the business environment has changed, and what this means for organisations. Wang argues that organizations need to really see what is happening, and not resist the essential change. The book focuses on five main areas. One is the consumerisation of technology and the new C-Suite. The others are Big Data, transformation in digital marketing, the future of work and matrix commerce.
Disrupting Digital Business: Create an Authentic Experience in the Peer-To-Peer EconomyHow: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything
How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything is a book by Dov Seidman. As Seidman points out, the world has changed fundamentally. Seidman calls this the “Era of Behavior” and argues that the rules to succeed have changed dramatically. The crux of Seidman’s argument is that “It is no longer what you do that matters most and sets you apart from others, but how you do what you do.” Seidman is well qualified to provide guidance on this since he has run his own organization, LRN for 20 years, and this company has helped to transform organisational cultures. The book looks at the ways that the world has changed and how people behave has changed with it. It also offers frameworks to help to understand how to change organisations to succeed. Of note, Seidman presents trust and reputation as being of critical importance to drive the much-needed innovation, growth and ultimately high performance that will drive organisational success.
Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach
If that doesn’t sound like your thing, then perhaps you might consider Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach, by Martin Reeves, Knut Haanaes and Janmejaya Sinha. The goal of the book is to help organisations choose a strategy that works for them. This is particularly helpful for unpredictable business environments. The authors present five categories of strategy – Be Big, Be Fast, Be First, Be the Orchestrator or Be Viable to choose from. Not only does the book help with picking the right approach, it also helps try to avoid a poor choice of strategy. The book is helpful in answering some of those tricky questions like, what to do about planning when there is no longer an annual cycle. Above all the book is practical and readable – a solid choice.
The Wright Brothers
You might not immediately consider The Wright Brothers by David McCullough to be a business book, as it is not presented that way. Yet the book tells a compelling story of people determined to innovate and succeed which many business people can learn from and are still inspired by today. The Wright brothers were two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who made the first successful airplane in 1903. McCullough’s book discusses information you may not know about the Wright brothers, such as information found in private diaries, letters and family scrapbooks. The story includes details of the brothers’ childhood. Overall it is a fine testament to what can be achieved with a bit of determination to succeed, and an enjoyable read.
The Wright brothersThe Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
If none of the list so far took your fancy, or you’re looking for several books, you might consider The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company, by Jack Stack. You might be thinking “This sounds familiar!” and there is a good reason for that – it is. The book has been revised to celebrate its 20th anniversary. When it was first released it introduced ways of running a business that were designed to help companies generate profit and employee engagement. The latest version providers further insights on new ways to run a company. It was based on views from ordinary people, which makes a refreshing change from business books written and thought up by business consultants.
Paula Newton is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Paula’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Paula has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Paula has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
