If you happen to know me, then you might be able to borrow these books from me, I am quite sure I have all these in my bookshelf – since they aren’t generally found in Finnish libraries and I prefer to own my books.
Entrepreneurship
Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston. A great book on technology entrepreneurs. The stories are captivating, interesting and even insightful. Having read them, you get a feel of the ups and downs of successful startups.
Double-digit Growth by Michael Treacy. This short book presents five ways a company can grow: 1) base retention, 2) market share growth, 3) positioning to attractive upcoming market areas, 4) adjacent business lines and 5) new business development. In some senses, this is not revolutionary, but it does get you to think about the alternatives for growth, which are pretty much covered by those five.
On Competition by Michael Porter. On Competition is a classic, and after reading it you will understand why. Excellent ideas and clear thinking on 1) what is good strategy, 2) the competitive advantage of locations and of course the five-forces model.
Also good: Product Strategy for High Technology Companies, The Alchemy of Growth, Innovator’s dilemma, Platinainen pilvenreuna
Management
The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig. A very interesting book which provides a sceptical view of much of business books and the lessons presented. Couldn’t stop reading once I started, great! (The halo effect is a cognitive bias whereby the perception of a particular trait is influenced by the perception of previously observed traits.)
Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson. A short, thought-provoking, if a bit abstract book. You could think of it as a book of koans for management – with tidbits like: “the opposite of a profound truth is also true”, “nothing is as invisible as the obvious”, “big changes are easier to make than small ones”, “everything we try works, and nothing works”.
Managing The Professional Service Firm by David Maister. A great good book on consulting firms. It looks at consulting as an industry, the different types of firms and offers a lot of valuable content from big-picture to some great ideas on operations. While not everyone is in a consulting business, most knowledge-intensive work shares some characteristics with consulting, whether you are selling a complex product or just bodies to do work.
Also good: Love Em or Lose Em, Crucial conversations, Strategy and the Fat Smoker
Fun/biographical books
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Educate the Worlds Children by John Wood. An inspiring story about how John Wood, a former Microsoft executive, founded Room to Read, an organization dedicated to educate children.
Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur by Stuart Skorman. When a book title begins with “confessions of …”, one can expect a light and fun read about the experiences of someone. This book delivers, it is fun and quick reading. Very energizing.
The New New Thing by Michael M. Lewis. An enticing, interesting look at Jim Clark and his career as an entrepreneur with Silicon Graphics, Netscape and Healthscape. While the author does not attempt to explain or analyze what Jim is doing, the book gives a good sense of how things looked and some insight into the behaviour of the various people. Fun read.