Recommended+Books

= Recommended Books =
 * Bernard, J. 2011. Business at the Speed of Now. Says Guy Kawasaki: “The founder of consulting firm Mass Ingenuity discusses how to empower your people to deal with customers' rising expectations in the always-on era.”
 * Brodsky, N., and Burlingham, B. 2010. Street smarts: An all-purpose tool kit for entrepreneurs. Penguin Group.
 * Burlingham, B. 2005. Small giants: Companies that choose to be great instead of big. Penguin Group.
 * Christensen, C. year. The Innovator’s dilemma. This book describes how big companies are displaced from their market leadership positions by ignoring innovations from unknown or unexpected smaller competitors. The examples provide entrepreneurs with a playbook on how to break into markets and compete effectively against incumbent firms.
 * Fields, J. 2011. Uncertainty. Says Guy Kawasaki: “I had a chance to hear Jonathan speak at SOBCon Northwest this year. His exploration of how successful leaders move forward despite their fears is fascinating -- and inspiring.”
 * Florida, R. 2003. The rise of the creative class...and how it's transforming work, leisure, community, and everyday life. Basic Books.
 * Fox, J. 2000. How to become a rainmaker: The rules for getting and keeping customers and clients. Hyperion. Every one of the author's 50 two-page to four-page chapters contains just one nugget of information more than the preceding section, enough to keep the momentum and the attention. Buy this man a cup of coffee!
 * Godin, S. Purple cow. Says Entrepreneur Magazine: “Godin has just one piece of advice for business owners: Be remarkable. You're either a purple cow (exciting, phenomenal and unforgettable) or you're just like the rest of them (boring and invisible). The idea is that the key to success is being extraordinary from the start by building the remarkable into everything you do.”
 * Hlinko, J. 2011. Share, Retweet, Repeat. Says Guy Kawasaki: “Want to know how you get a horde of people to a Facebook page? Hlinko's book has some enlightening anecdotes from his time as a political promoter.”
 * Kahneman, D. 2011. Thinking, fast and slow. FSG Publishing. This book is a compilation of decades of interesting research on decision-making and biases conducted by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. This is one of the few books that comprehensively explains how and why we make the choices we make.
 * Kawasaki, G. year. Art of the start.
 * Kelley, T. 2001. The art of innovation. Doubleday.
 * Kelley, T. 2005. The ten faces of innovation. Doubleday.
 * Libava, J. 2011. Become a franchise owner! Says Guy Kawasaki: “I know the ‘Franchise King,’ and I can't wait to read this one. Despite the upbeat-sounding title, Joel is known for his very frank opinions on franchise best practices. The book cuts the bull and helps would-be franchisees spot the problems as well as the opportunities. A must for anyone contemplating a franchise purchase.”
 * Livingston, J. 2008. Founders at work. Entrepreneur Magazine says this explains the qualities all successful entrepreneurs possess. “Livingston takes a look at several of today's well-known tech companies, including Apple, Flickr and PayPal. Through illuminating interviews with company founders, you'll learn valuable--and sometimes surprising--things about how these revolutionaries stumbled on the path to success.”
 * Mills, H. 2004. The rainmaker’s toolkit: Strategies for finding, keeping, and growing profitable clients. AMACOM. Much of the information is presented the form of steps, lists, and bullet points for someone who is serious about selling and intends to apply the book’s lessons.
 * Moltz, B. 2008. You need to be a little crazy. Says Entrepreneur Magazine: “An irreverent, but honest, account of what to expect when starting up. Moltz, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, discusses the passion--or insanity--that drives entrepreneurs and draws from real-life stories to show that sometimes failure is inevitable. It's a message every small-business owner needs to hear, but doesn't hear enough.”
 * Roth, C. 2011. The entrepreneur equation. Says Guy Kawasaki: “Are you cut out to be an entrepreneur? No, really, are you? Roth dares to suggest that not everybody has what it takes, and explains the traits required to make it as a business owner.”
 * Rumelt, R. 2011. Good strategy, bad strategy. Crown Business. Richard Rumelt is one of the foremost scholars in strategic management research. This book explains the difference between good and bad strategies, explains what is and is not a strategy, and provides vivid examples from his consulting clients on how to think about strategy.
 * Ryan, E., Conley, L., and Lowry, A. 2011. The Method Method. Says Guy Kawaski: “I got to know the ecological cleaning-products company Method a while back when I interviewed them for a story. This one's for every entrepreneur who would like to crack a long-established category and bring a new twist to it.”
 * Winkler, M. 2012. The Bloomberg way: A guide for reporters and editors. John Wiley & Sons. ** In my humble opinion **, this is probably the best book you could ever read to understand how to make sense of and report on the business world. Winkler presents chapters on how to study markets, companies, economics, politics and policy, and people, while emphasizing the importance of clarity, precision, and, yes, good grammar.