Probably thousands of
books
offer business, leadership or startup advice, but we've narrowed it
down to just 14. Entrepreneurs and all those fascinated by start-ups
should find the time to read these titles this year during their
travels:
1. The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change The Way You Do Business by Clayton M. Christenen, 1997. Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, who has founded a handful of companies of
his own over the years, delivered one of the most respected and useful
books for entrepreneurs 17 years ago. Its power lies in the assertion
that even though things are done correctly, a company can still vanish. Other takeaways from this modern-day classic are insights about when a
businessperson should not listen to customers, the appropriate times to
select smaller markets over larger ones and the right moment to invest
in development of lower-performance products.
2. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries, 2011. Whether
an entrepreneur is a business veteran who has experienced the highs and
lows of the great dotcom bubble or a young, inexperienced newcomer, a
long-standing set of rules and suggestions are typically offered for
certain scenarios, such aswhen it's wise to turn to a focus group or
just remain optimistic.
Entrepreneur Eric Ries went in a different direction. Instead of
listening to that coveted focus group, watch the customers inside, he
advised. He has served as an entrepreneur in residence at Harvard
Business School.
3. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber, 1995. For
more than 40 years Michael Gerber has assisted thousands of small
businesses. In his 1995 update of his 1986 underground classic,
The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It,
Gerber argued that despite entrepreneurs coming up with great ideas,
rarely do they make for good businesspeople. To help prevent readers
from making fatal mistakes, Gerber presented in an easily understood
book an effective business model to guide entrepreneurs at all stages of
growth.
Wednesday, June 4, 12 noon, Third Floor Seminar Room, Main Library
