The 5 best business books to put on your reading list this summer
Summer is a great time to focus on developing your business. One way to do this is to dip into one or two business books.
I know what you’re thinking…
Yawn!
Well, I have 5 business books which will not only keep you awake (because they’re page-turners) but will also have a positive impact on your business. Whether you’re heading off to sunny climes, or spending time closer to home, pick up one of these (instead of your normal paperback) for your holiday read.
Eats Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss
A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
What happens next and what does this have to do with marketing? I’ll give you a clue: punctuation (and the lack of it in the title of this book!) When you write anything for your business, you need to make sure you use punctuation correctly. It gives what you write professionalism. People will take your writing seriously instead of focusing on the mistakes you’ve made with punctuation. This extends to spelling and grammar too.
As a bit of a grammar pedant, this book speaks to me in volumes. If grammar isn’t your strong point, pick this book up and spend the summer brushing up your grammar skills.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
No, not the quiz show!
This book is a brilliant read. In fact, I couldn’t put it down, which says something about a non-fiction book.
One of the things need to recognise when marketing your business is trends and what makes them spread like wildfire and become mainstream. This is the tipping point. The book is full of great examples that everyone can relate to and will help you see what makes products, ideas or social behaviours get over that tipping point.
How to Talk to Anyone, Leil Lowndes
You’ve heard me talk about how important networking is for small businesses. I even wrote a blog post about it. Well, let me tell you that like many other things in life, networking is a skill. It’s a skill that you can become an expert in if you practice.
Here’s my secret:
I used to dread walking into a room full of people I didn’t know. Worse still, I actively avoided it. But now that I own my business, if I don’t network, no one else will do it for me.
That’s where this book came in for me. It gives you easy and effective techniques that will help you to make small talk and become an effective networker.
The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg
Here’s the thing with marketing:
You need to be consistent with it. That means making marketing your business a habit!
This book is a brilliant read and helps you discover how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. You’ll get to read stories about Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero, Martin Luther King, Jr., and find out how habits were crucial to their successes.
I know it sounds a bit intellectual and boring, but believe me, it’s anything but. It’s an addictive read, just like The Tipping Point.
Once you’ve read it, figure out how you can make marketing a habit that helps you successfully grow your business. And if you’re thinking that you don’t have time for marketing, this is one of the myths I wrote about in a previous blog post, and it’s holding you back!
Inspirational Manager, Judith Leary-Joyce
One day, you’re going to have to hire someone to help you in your business. Now, I know that becoming a manager is a scary prospect.
How do I know?
I became a manager in 2006 for the first time. Yes, I was working for someone else, but that didn’t make it any less scary. I was responsible for a person at work. For their well-being, their contentment at work, and their career aspirations.
One of the first things I did was to decide I wasn’t going to be the same as the bad managers I had. But what was a good manager? Well, I discovered this book and found out!
So, if you’re about to hire someone, read this book to help you figure out how to be an inspirational manager!
Spend some time for the rest of the summer on developing your business skills. Any one of these books is a great start and all of them are an easy read. Don’t forget to tell me which one you read and why you liked it.