Published on February 28, 2022

DIY MBA Reading List

“Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh” Ecclesiastes 12:12

First in the series:

—> The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business - Jaush Kaufman. The comprehensive overview of everything you’ll learn reading the books on this list

This list builds heavily on Jaush Kaufman’s list you can find here

Business Creation

[ ] Go It Alone – Bruce Judson
[ ] The Lean Startup – Eric Ries
[ ] Street Smarts – Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham
[ ] Ready, Fire, Aim – Michael Masterson
[ ] Escape from Cubicle Nation – Pamela Slim
[ ] Bankable Business Plans – Edward Rogoff
[ ] When Kale & Coffee Compete - Alan Klement

Value-Creation & Testing

[ ] Rework – Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
[ ] The New Business Road Test – John Mullins
[ ] How to Make Millions with Your Ideas – Dan Kennedy
[ ] Value Proposition Design Alex Ostewalder et al

Marketing

[ ] All Marketers Are Liars – Seth Godin
[ ] Permission Marketing – Seth Godin
[ ] The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing – Al Ries & Jack Trout
[ ] Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got – Jay Abraham

Design

[ ] The Design of Everyday Things – Donald Norman
[ ] Universal Principles of Design – William Lidwell et al
[ ] The Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman

Sales

[ ] The Psychology of Selling – Brian Tracy
[ ] Pitch Anything – Oren Klaff
[ ] The Ultimate Sales Machine – Chet Holmes
[ ] Value-Based Fees – Alan Weiss
[ ] SPIN Selling – Neil Rackham

Value-Delivery

[ ] Indispensable – Joe Calloway
[ ] The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement – Eliyahu Goldratt
[ ] Lean Thinking – James Womack & Daniel Jones

Finance & Accounting

[ ] Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs – Karen Berman & Joe Knight
[ ] Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits – Greg Crabtree
[ ] The 1% Windfall – Rafi Mohammed
[ ] Accounting Made Simple – Mike Piper
[ ] How to Read a Financial Report – John A. Tracy
[ ] Venture Deals – Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson

The Human Mind

[ ] Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
[ ] Brain Rules – John Medina
[ ] Making Sense of Behavior – William T. Powers
[ ] Driven – Paul Lawrence & Nitin Nohria
[ ] Deep Survival – Laurence Gonzales

Productivity & Effectiveness

[ ] Getting Things Done – David Allen
[ ] The Power of Full Engagement – Jim Loehr &Tony Schwartz
[ ] StrengthsFinder 2.0 – Tom Rath
[ ] Bit Literacy – Mark Hurst
[ ] 10 Days to Faster Reading – Abby Marks-Beale

Problem Solving

[ ] The 80/20 Principle – Richard Koch
[ ] Accidental Genius – Mark Levy
[ ] Learning from the Future – Liam Fahey & Robert Randall

Behavioral Change

[ ] The Power of Less – Leo Babauta
[ ] The Path of Least Resistance – Robert Fritz
[ ] Re-Create Your Life – Morty Lefkoe
[ ] Self-Directed Behavior – David Watson & Roland Tharp

Decision-Making

[ ] Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions – Gary Klein
[ ] Smart Choices – John S. Hammond et al
[ ] Ethics for the Real World – Ronald Howard & Clinton Korver

Communication

[ ] On Writing Well – William Zinsser
[ ] Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds
[ ] Made to Stick – Chip and Dan Heath
[ ] The Copywriter’s Handbook – Robert Bly
[ ] Show Me The Numbers – Stephen Few

Influence

[ ] Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert B. Cialdini
[ ] How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
[ ] Crucial Conversations – Kerry Patterson et al
[ ] The 48 Laws of Power – Robert Greene

Negotiation

[ ] Bargaining For Advantage – G. Richard Shell
[ ] 3-D Negotiation – David Lax & James Sebenius
[ ] The Partnership Charter – David Gage

Management

[ ] First, Break All The Rules – Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
[ ] 12: The Elements of Great Managing – Rodd Wagner & James Harter
[ ] Growing Great Employees – Erika Andersen
[ ] The Essential Drucker – Peter Drucker
[ ] The Halo Effect – Phil Rosenzweig
[ ] The Mckinsey Mind
[ ] The Minto Pyramid Principle

Project Management

[ ] The Product Book - Josh Anon
[ ] Making Things Happen – Scott Berkun
[ ] Results Without Authority – Tom Kendrick

Leadership

[ ] Tribes – Seth Godin
[ ] Total Leadership – Stewart Friedman
[ ] What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
[ ] The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan – George Bradt et al

Systems

[ ] Thinking in Systems – Donella Meadows
[ ] Work the System – Sam Carpenter

Analysis

[ ] Thinking Statistically – Uri Bram
[ ] Turning Numbers Into Knowledge – Jonathan Koomey
[ ] How to Lie with Statistics – Darrell Huff
[ ] Marketing Metrics – Paul Farris et al
[ ] The Economist Numbers Guide – Richard Stuteley

Corporate Skills

[ ] The Unwritten Laws of Business – W.J. King
[ ] The Effective Executive – Peter Drucker
[ ] The Simplicity Survival Handbook – Bill Jensen
[ ] Hire With Your Head – Lou Adler

Corporate Strategy

[ ] Good Strategy Bad Strategy - Richard Rumelt
[ ] Purpose – Nikos Mourkogiannis
[ ] Competitive Strategy – Michael Porter
[ ] Blue Ocean Strategy – W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne
[ ] Seeing What’s Next – Clayton M. Christensen et al

Creativity & Innovation

[ ] The Creative Habit – Twyla Tharp
[ ] Myths of Innovation – Scott Berkun
[ ] Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Peter Drucker

Consulting

[ ] Getting Started in Consulting – Alan Weiss
[ ] Secrets of Consulting – Gerald M. Weinberg

Personal Finance

[ ] Your Money or Your Life – Joel Dominguez & Vicki Robin
[x] The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley & William Danko
[ ] I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi
[ ] Fail-Safe Investing – Harry Browne

Personal Growth

[ ] Lead the Field – Earl Nightingale
[ ] The Art of Exceptional Living – Jim Rohn
[ ] A Guide to the Good Life – William Braxton Irvine
[ ] Make it stick - Peter C. Brown, et al.
[ ] When - Daniel H. Pink