Dollars and sense: these are the best business books to read
The pages that’ll steer you to the FTSE summits
In broad strokes, there are those hoping to live it large when, finally, their winning EuroMillions balls are drawn, and there are others who’ve watched a few too many success films – The Social Network; The Founder; hell, even Forrest Gump with that Apple shares scene – and are obsessed with reaching the big time via a novel idea they’ve been sitting on for years. The edit of books below is for that latter demographic – a mix of boisterous, rolling tales from the pits of corporate America, more sedate lessons in financial philosophy, hard-working hustlers and gamblers, drawbacks from which to learn, the odd origin story and some extremely late nights at the desk. So, whether you’re looking to circumvent the conventional rhythms of the workweek, or are wondering where to stash that little bit of inheritance money, these are the pages to leaf through this season.
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, by Phil Knight
A permanent fixture in neighbourhood bookstores, New Yorker tote bags, and indie-run coffee shops, the Nike founder’s account is the inside track – warts and all – on how he went from selling sneakers out of the boot of his car to being the head of a company that is now worth more than $100bn. Most shocking of all is the backstory of the iconic logo and how much – or how little – the creator of the swoosh billed for the design.
Elon Musk, by Walter Isaacson
The vainglorious head of SpaceX, Tesla and X is one of the most outspoken yet enigmatic figures in the world of tech and business. These pages by Isaacson – who’s also written about other high-profile names, such as Steve Jobs and Henry Kissinger – reflect his time shadowing Musk for two years, in an attempt to make some sort of sense of it all. The author refers to Musk, one of the world’s richest people, as a ‘man-child’.
Zero to One, by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
This is one for the start-up hopefuls and the square pegs not wanting to fit in round holes. A published version of the course he taught at Stanford, in 2012, Thiel’s work lays out a simple statement: ‘There’s no reason why the future should happen only at Stanford, or in college, or in Silicon Valley.’ Which is to say, be bolder and more imaginative than current conventions by creating a business in an untapped industry.
The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferriss
With a calendar that’s forever filling up and constant stimulation everywhere – emails, Slack, the never-ending pinging of WhatsApp, and the daily chasers that land on your desk – time is an extremely precious commodity in the working world. Ferriss, a business coach and entrepreneur, provides a way out of the 9–5, offering advice on how to build a company, delegate the workload, and then live in a near-permanent state of retirement.
The Essays Of Warren Buffett, edited by Lawrence A Cunningham
Lessons from Warren Buffett, one of the most lionised figures in the investorsphere, can be compared to receiving meditation tips from the Dalai Lama. Comprising a body of Buffett’s letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, this is one of the most straightforward, digestible books in the category, with insight on how to select managers, investing well, corporate governance, and recession.
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