Sure thing is “readers are leaders”, and startup founders would surely have to lead someday. Hence, their need to read books. According to some theory and research I don’t know from whence they came, the average CEO has to read at least 60 books a year. And rightly so, as they need to know and apply different concepts and methods to things all in a bid to take their startup to a greater level and be a better leader too.
Below are 5 books (recommended by me) which I think startup founders would do well to read. They possess great insights that’ll help build personality and business. No, I’m not guaranteeing you to be the greatest founder ever liveth once you read them, but then, you should make a headway.
1. Zero to One.. By Peter Thiel
No doubt, PayPal is a power in the payments sector. Peter Thiel, one of the founders wrote the book, “Zero to One” where he talks about how PayPal survived the dotcom crash and more. You need to read this book to know that there’s a difference between globalization and innovation. Peter Thiel did perfect justice to the needs of startup founders, through that book.
2. 48 Laws of power.. Robert Greene
Might not be the “Startup” book you were considering to be on this list, and I understand. But then, startup founders would at some point see themselves leading several individuals, from different backgrounds and settings. They would surely need to know as much as they can about leadership and power too. The “48 laws of power” is a good start. Not only politicians should read it.
3. The Richest Man in Babylon.. By George S. Clason
You remember how wealthy the ancient Babylon was, yeah? Now imagine being the richest man in the rich Babylon. I can. This book by George dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon . It is an aggregation of their experiences in business and managing household finance. The characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom. The richest man in Babylon was originally a series of separate informational pamphlets distributed by banks and insurance companies, the pamphlets were bound together and published in book form in 1926.
4. Good to Great… By Jim Collins
There’s surely a difference between “good” and “great”. Good to Great is a management book by Jim C. Collins, which describes how companies transition from being good companies to great companies. It also goes on about how most companies fail to make the transition. You think your company is on the part to becoming “great”? The answer is just a book away. Good to Great was published on October 16, 2001. To quote Jim, “Greatness” is defined as financial performance several multiples better than the market average over a sustained period. Collins finds the main reason certain companies become great is they narrowly focus the company’s resources on their field of key competence.
5. The Hard Thing About Hard Things… By Ben Horowitz
Just imagine how hard the hard thing about hard things would be. You get? Authored by Ben Horowitz from A16Z and previously Loudcloud, which sold to HP for 1.8B$. The book is a narration of his experiences in being a CEO and the hard decisions he had to make. An excerpt from the book goes below…
“No matter who you are, you need two kinds of friends in your life. The first kind is one you can call when something good happens, and you need someone who will be excited for you. Not a fake excitement veiling envy, but a real excitement. You need someone who will actually be more excited for you than he would be if it had happened to him. The second kind of friend is somebody you can call when things go horribly wrong—when your life is on the line and you only have one phone call. Who is it going to be?”
Okay, so its your turn. Tell us what you think about the listed books above, and do well to recommend some more.
