Good to Great – Jim Collins

The Big Idea – Get the right people on the bus, figure out where you are going, and go there. In that order.

The Details – Why is it that some companies are able to transform themselves for ordinary performers to extraordinary results while their competitors with the same if not more advantages simply hum along as they always did? Good to Great is based on years of research on exactly what the circumstances are that allow the shift from a simply ordinary company, to a market leader and performance dominator.Starting with humble leadership, it takes getting the right staff on board, picking a single direction and never letting the means be confused with the goal. definitely an in-house favorite.

Who should read this book? – Anyone bored of doing “good enough” work, interested in being a part of a great organization or building their own form the inside out. Also all employees of KFP.

Rework – Jason Fried & David Hansson

The Big Idea – “I’m not just the president, I’m also a client”

The Details – 37 signals is an intentionally small software company you may or may not have heard of, making software for a very specific type of customer; themselves.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship – Peter F Drucker

The Big Idea – Innovation is an ongoing and systematic process, not a flash of light inspiration

The Details – Drucker is best known for his theories on management philosophy and shaping the way major corporations run to this day, but don’t let that scare you away from this small business gem.

How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

The Big Idea – Everyone wants to feel sincerely understood and appreciated

The Details – Dale Carnegie started out teaching a class on human relations, and ended up writing one of the most well known and effective books on interpersonal skills available, even 40+ years after its initial publication. The concepts are easy to see through anecdotes and only require awareness to start implementing immediately, but they are skills that can be used every day for the rest of your life.

Who should read this book – People who interact with others on a daily basis, personally or professionally.

Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferrazzi

The Big Idea – Shaking Hands and handing out business cards is NOT networking.

The Details – Networking is not about business, it’s about people and the most common reason the stereotypical networkers fail is because they lost sight of that. Keith is a strong advocate of connecting to other people as friends over common interests and being of service to the people he has a relationship with. The books gives a few good strategies on how to network with people of substance but leaves the hardest part up to you, to be a person of substance yourself.

Who should read this book? – People who are frustrated with networking functions and woud like personal referrals to make up a large part of their business. There were good tips from amateur networker to advanced socialite.

Getting Things Done – David Allen

The Big Idea – “Collect, Process, Organize, Review and Do”

The Details – According to David, the brain just can’t handle the organizational demands of modern work. His method of collecting open items into systems; processing them into actionable and non-actionable items; organizing for when they are most effectively accomplished; reviewing for completeness and finally doing the actions required has helped even some of the most disorganized among us tame our desks and inboxes.

Who should read this book? –  The business owner who hasn’t seen his desk in months, is constantly forgetting    to return emails and voicemails or generally lets a lot of things fall through the cracks.

The “E” Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber

The Big Idea – “Work ON your business, not IN your business”

The Details – Michael puts strong emphasis on building systems and automating yourself out of your business. It’s a great starting point but works best with simple services and manufacturing. Not a sustainable business model for creative or high level service organizations.

Who Should read it? – Any small business owner who hasn’t read it yet. It’s a classic and par for the course if you are serious about starting to improve the way you run your business.