Craig's (infamous!) Reading List

A must-read for any entrepreneur starting a business. This breakthrough way of thinking about business models helps us be much more thorough in the construction of the business model.

Any list of entrepreneurship books must have at least one book from Clay Christiansen. This is my favorite, because Clay gets to the heart of innovation...figure out the root cause of why customers are "hiring" your product...don't just keep trying to make the product better.

A classic for tech founders. Yes, written in 1995 but still applies today. Read so you don't fall into the chasm.

A very good primer on putting together a fundraising pitch for your business. I like how they break down the pitch deck and their emphasis - of course - on 'story.'

This little book puts another angle on lean, the four steps to the epiphany, jobs-to-be-done and customer development. Sims asks us how might we run little experiments ("little bets") to test and refine our approaches. What I love about this book is that it applies as much to careers as it does to entrepreneurship.

This book will help you think through goal setting using the methodology now in place at Google...the "OKR," Objectives & Key Results. A little too much history of OKRs, but otherwise helpful.

Ries again. This is a follow-on to his breakout "The Lean Startup," and a fantastic resource for larger companies trying to be more innovative.

The biography, of course, of one of the greatest of all time. The man who changed or hatched seven industries.

Coyle again...love that guy. Entrepreneurs must build culture...it's probably the most important thing they do. This amazing book breaks down the key ingredients.

I love this book too...I think of it as the 'Cliff's Notes' version of Blank's The Four Steps to the Epiphany.

I'm an unabashed Steve Blank fan. Here, he provides the foundation for how to build a business, not get ahead of yourself, and focus on what he calls "Customer Development" (I like the word "Sales" better, but I wouldn't argue with Steve...I'd lose).

Horowitz captures the zeitgeist of his blog posts about the stark realities of growing and running businesses.

If you are interested in entrepreneurship, start here. A game-changing book that will help you avoid the huge mistakes that many entrepreneurs make (including me) and spend only what you need to create your minimum viable product.

Not sure I understand the cult-like following this book has, but lots of great process recommendations in here.

This is THE go-to book for learning how to raise venture funding.

A classic. My favorite word is discipline. Because of Angela Duckworth, my second favorite word is grit. Third is scrappy. Sensing a theme? This book will show you what you're made of.

Amazing insights into how we process change and then a tactical look at how to get better, even at the tough stuff.

Probably the classic work on developing your talent. If getting good at getting great had a foundational text, this would be it.

Practice, practice, practice. This is how we become great. Gladwell tells the compelling stories about how those we often deem as "naturals" actually just practiced constantly.

From the father of deliberate practice, the things that have to be true to become the best of the best.

This book helps pile up the evidence that helps us shift our mindsets from one of "talent is innate" to "I can get as great as I want to be."

A master of habit development. What I love about Andrew Sykes' approach is how he prioritizes the habit of self-care, reminding us that we need to take care of ourselves FIRST, so we can be great for others.

Another gem from Coyle. What I love about this one is its granularity...seemingly 'little' skills that add up to huge change and opportunity for each of us.

A quick, easy look at how habits are made (and unmade). Will get you working on better habits.

Dan Coyle's work looking at talent 'hotbeds' is fascinating, and gives us a lot of detail on how to build talent, in ourselves and in others.

A great primer on the 'how' to tell great stories. I love that Bobette Buster breaks down the process of telling great stories and makes it accessible.

A more functional book that will help you both appreciate stories and shape them in ways that make you more memorable.

Dense and academic, but helps you understand both the frequency and power of metaphor. You will start seeing them everywhere.

Clever, fun and surprisingly insightful. Shows how much you can do if you are concise.

Start here. McKee captures the essence of great stories in a way that will help you craft them.

Very dense, but spells out the Hero's Journey. This book will change the way you watch movies and read novels...you will 'see' the 12 step hero's journey as it unfurls.

I love Simmons's "the six stories you need to know how to tell." Know them. Tell them.

This is as much a book about how to tell a story as it is about writing. You get a twofer here.

This book is very familiar, for some reason. Capture, distill and tell the right stories at the right time for the right reasons.

Although the title needs an upgrade (since women were selling too, since around the dawn of time), a great book on the history of the profession.

Frank Cespedes is a flat out expert in all things sales. In his latest here, he gives us great recommendations for how to cut through the chaos and just build sales teams.

This is a good guide to 'elevating' your conversations to the C-Suite.

How to create special moments to go above and beyond for everyone in your life.

Mark offers a set of very valuable lessons in transitioning from what I call "Entrepreneurial Selling" to professional selling, especially as it relates to the role of sales leader.

A bestseller for a reason. A poker champion shares what tools to use when you have to make decisions when you don't have all the answers.

We are all selling more than we think we are. In this book, Pink looks at what makes people magnetic and resilient. He offers some great ways of thinking about selling and how we "show up" in many situations.

A great, easy way to think about how you are 'showing up' and 'standing out' in any room you are in.

A build on Talk Like TED, but with more granular (and helpful) communications disciplines and skills.

Shares simple, effective techniques to break through to anyone. From making a good first impression or positively navigating an angry interaction.

This book does a great job putting concrete-ness around something that is often hard to define.

Lets us in on some of the secrets to some of the best stories we know.

A set of helpful guidelines on how to create better visuals.

Unlocks the skills and disciplines of the most popular speakers and presentations.

Lays out a clear process for decision making that works against our emotional and/or non-rationale biases.

My favorite science writer, Steven Johnson is back with a book that will help us all be better decision-makers.

Amazing insights into how we process change and then a tactical look at how to get better, even at the tough stuff.

A look at the ever-so-subtle-but-powerful disciplines and skills of expert negotiators.

Breaks down the science behind the choices we make. Fantastic storyteller.

This book is a twofer. A book about how our brains process information that influences how we make decisions, AND a book about why stories are so powerful.

A bestseller for a reason. A poker champion shares what tools to use when you have to make decisions when you don't have all the answers.

Recognized as the classic in this space. Tips and techniques for making yourself more efficient and effective.

Just what it says. A little academic and dense, but still a living classic.

A surgeon who writes a classic about how to get stuff done well (and ranked one of The Economist's great business books of the year). Who knew?

Classic work on how to ramp up into a company and become quickly indispensable.

Books about meetings do not get people out of bed. This one should. Rogelberg teaches us the way to run a meeting...this most common of business practices. If everyone read this book, meetings wouldn't suck so much.

The collected life advice of the best of the best. Nothing more to say here.

A giant list of metaphors that will make your writing and speaking more memorable.

A master storyteller talking about the craft of writing, and who isn't afraid to kick your ass.

A must. If you write in the English language, you need to read this foundational book.

A writer who understands sales. Full of great context about how writing is changing (and not changing).

A philosophical look at writing that sneaks up on you (in a good way). Can be powerfully read in 5 minute snippets.

A little dated (especially in the latter chapters), but timeless advice on how to write for clarity and impact.

Crazy book from a crazy guy, but packed full of insights into the dos and don'ts of social.

Jodi Glickman has seemingly done it all, and here she distills some of the wisdom she's earned and makes super concrete, excellent recommendations.

Must. Read.

Amanda Russell is a force of nature, and here she shows us how to building influence is a relationship process and not a clever bunch of posts. I love her directness and concrete recommendations.

This is a great resource for getting off your butt and showing up (online and off). Use this book this way: grab one thing at a time and execute on it. Come back. Do it again.

Helps you understand you, in a way that you should take into all of the ways you show up in the world.

Gives people the ability to accomplish more by changing their Mindset, Motivation, and Methods.

Start here, for SURE. A dive into two different mindsets that we routinely adopt. This book provides a great overview of how those two mindsets affect many different situations in which we find ourselves.

Newport helps us unpack the disciplines needed to view work with a 'craftsman's' mindset and create rare and valuable skills. He calls these rare and valuable skills "career capital."

This book offers some fresh and interesting looks at ways we create meaning and happiness. Haidt is also a master of metaphor!

Learn how to live in the moment. If you really dig into this, it will change your life. Yup, I said change your life.

This will help you build this most important skill/discipline; the ability to ask better, more powerful questions.

The definitive work on how to handle tough conversations, and does you as much good as home as it does at work.

Read this first, to learn how to listen (to people... and to yourself). This was a breakthrough book for a reason. Cain shows us the strength of silence, patience, calm.

A powerful reminder that we must strive to find the signal within the noise of our communications.

Grant's recent classic on how we must look for ways to go above and beyond. Really, a book about networking hiding in a book about social science research.

Like Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style" but for your life.

Funny and well-written, this book is about memory, and exerting discipline to train your brain to remember large amounts of information.

Just a simple push to be more disciplined in how we think about spending our time.

The definitive work on how to handle tough conversations, and does you as much good as home as it does at work.

This will help you understand how to be more aware of your emotions and not let them get the best of you.

This book is even more clever than its title. Heinrich dives into the mindset of connecting with people the right way, even in tense situations.

Another classic work that shows how strong relationships are built. If you are going into consulting (or life), this should be in your hands or on your ears at all times.

A bit academic, but full of great stories that lay the foundation for how and why we have influence over others. You need to know these six principles.

This book is a twofer. A book about how our brains process information that influences how we make decisions, AND a book about why stories are so powerful.

A tale about Daniel Kahneman's work and life and why he and Amos Tversky taught us all to think differently.

Dr. Vicki Medvec is one of the world's foremost experts on negotiations, from baseball stadium deals to salary deals...she has the best methodology for preparing for - and succeeding with - any negotiation you find yourself in. RUN and get this book (and then give it to your kids).

A look at the ever-so-subtle-but-powerful disciplines and skills of expert negotiators.

Must. Read.

How coaching relationships are established and what must be true to call yourself a coach.