20 books that teach you how to be a CEO:
CEO of a small business is a crazy hard job.
You must know something about all aspects of business.
Things like taxes, law, managing sales teams...
But most programs (stupidly) ignore this stuff.
CEO of a small business is a crazy hard job.
You must know something about all aspects of business.
Things like taxes, law, managing sales teams...
But most programs (stupidly) ignore this stuff.
Iβve read hundreds of business books about being a SMB CEO.
I boiled that down to these 20.
Here are the areas you must know and the best book for each:
(Iβll link to all these at the end!)
I boiled that down to these 20.
Here are the areas you must know and the best book for each:
(Iβll link to all these at the end!)
How Taxes Work
TITLE: J.K. Lasserβs Small Business Taxes 2022
WHY IT MATTERS: You have a silent partner in your business and life. They are the IRS. You need to know how to pay them as little as legally possible.
TITLE: J.K. Lasserβs Small Business Taxes 2022
WHY IT MATTERS: You have a silent partner in your business and life. They are the IRS. You need to know how to pay them as little as legally possible.
How Business Law Works
TITLE: Barronβs Business Law
WHY IT MATTERS: You need to know how to navigate the law to stay out of trouble, court, and jail (not necessarily in that order!)
TITLE: Barronβs Business Law
WHY IT MATTERS: You need to know how to navigate the law to stay out of trouble, court, and jail (not necessarily in that order!)
How to Manage Yourself
TITLE: The Effective Executive by Drucker
WHY IT MATTERS: Work on the wrong stuff and you're screwed.
TITLE: The Effective Executive by Drucker
WHY IT MATTERS: Work on the wrong stuff and you're screwed.
How to Manage a Business
TITLE: Traction by Gino Wickman
WHAT YOU LEARN: Fill in the blank systems to solve the challenges every business has in strategy, vision, process, and organization.
TITLE: Traction by Gino Wickman
WHAT YOU LEARN: Fill in the blank systems to solve the challenges every business has in strategy, vision, process, and organization.
How Marketing Works
NOTE CHANGE THIS TO STORY BRAND
TITLE: Storybrand by Donald Miller
WHY IT MATTERS: What Traction does for managing your business, StoryBrand does for marketing. Playbooks to follow that just work.
NOTE CHANGE THIS TO STORY BRAND
TITLE: Storybrand by Donald Miller
WHY IT MATTERS: What Traction does for managing your business, StoryBrand does for marketing. Playbooks to follow that just work.
How to do Marketing Tactics
TITLE: Traction by Gabriel Weinberg
(Yep, 2 different books on this list called βTractionβ.)
WHY IT MATTERS: Each business has 1-2 marketing channels that will work well. Hereβs how you find them.
TITLE: Traction by Gabriel Weinberg
(Yep, 2 different books on this list called βTractionβ.)
WHY IT MATTERS: Each business has 1-2 marketing channels that will work well. Hereβs how you find them.
How to Build Defensible Businesses
TITLE: 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy
WHY IT MATTERS: Business is inherently unfair. Do the things to make it in your favor. Also, understand why your friends are richer than you :-)
TITLE: 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy
WHY IT MATTERS: Business is inherently unfair. Do the things to make it in your favor. Also, understand why your friends are richer than you :-)
How Private Equity Works
TITLE: Mastering Private Equity: Venture, Growth, and Buyouts
WHY IT MATTERS: When itβs time to sell or buy a business, you need to be armed with this knowledge about the types of private equity.
TITLE: Mastering Private Equity: Venture, Growth, and Buyouts
WHY IT MATTERS: When itβs time to sell or buy a business, you need to be armed with this knowledge about the types of private equity.
How to be a Great Leader
TITLE: The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh
WHY IT MATTERS: If you want to build a great business, learn how to be a great leader.
TITLE: The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh
WHY IT MATTERS: If you want to build a great business, learn how to be a great leader.
Origins of Business Philosophy
TITLE: The Daily Drucker
WHAT YOU LEARN: Drucker is the O.G. of the study of management and business. A compilation of Druckerβs ideas and learnings in a single book.
TITLE: The Daily Drucker
WHAT YOU LEARN: Drucker is the O.G. of the study of management and business. A compilation of Druckerβs ideas and learnings in a single book.
How to Have An Allocator Mindset
TITLE: The Outsiders by Thorndike
WHY IT MATTERS: Great CEOs need to have both an operatorβs and an allocatorβs mindset.
TITLE: The Outsiders by Thorndike
WHY IT MATTERS: Great CEOs need to have both an operatorβs and an allocatorβs mindset.
How Strategy Works
TITLE: Understanding Michael Porter
WHY IT MATTERS: People will talk to you about Porter's 5 forces. Read this so you can know what they're talking about.
TITLE: Understanding Michael Porter
WHY IT MATTERS: People will talk to you about Porter's 5 forces. Read this so you can know what they're talking about.
How to Build Scalable Sales Processes
TITLE: Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross
WHY IT MATTERS: Scaling businesses means scaling outreach and selling to customers.
TITLE: Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross
WHY IT MATTERS: Scaling businesses means scaling outreach and selling to customers.
How to Manage Sales Teams
TITLE: Cracking the Sales Management Code by Jason Jordan
WHY IT MATTERS: Sales is the life-blood of every business.
TITLE: Cracking the Sales Management Code by Jason Jordan
WHY IT MATTERS: Sales is the life-blood of every business.
How to do Corporate Finance (Basic)
TITLE: Corporate Finance for Dummies
WHY IT MATTERS: Learn to create operating budgets, calculate future cash flows, run scenario analysis, etc.
NOTE: I know this is a For Dummies book but it's pretty good.
TITLE: Corporate Finance for Dummies
WHY IT MATTERS: Learn to create operating budgets, calculate future cash flows, run scenario analysis, etc.
NOTE: I know this is a For Dummies book but it's pretty good.
How to do Corporate Finance (Advanced)
TITLE: Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice
WHAT YOU LEARN: Advanced corporate finance techniques, theories, and topics.
TITLE: Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice
WHAT YOU LEARN: Advanced corporate finance techniques, theories, and topics.
How to Understand Financial Statements
TITLE: Financial Statements
WHAT YOU LEARN: How to interpret the financial statements of your business including the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.
TITLE: Financial Statements
WHAT YOU LEARN: How to interpret the financial statements of your business including the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.
How to Do Cost Cutting & Running Lean
TITLE: Double your Profits
WHAT YOU LEARN: Dozens of tactics to cut costs.
WHY IT MATTERS: There is one method guaranteed to help you earn more: reducing expenses.
TITLE: Double your Profits
WHAT YOU LEARN: Dozens of tactics to cut costs.
WHY IT MATTERS: There is one method guaranteed to help you earn more: reducing expenses.
How to Value Companies
TITLE: Valuation
WHAT YOU LEARN: Learn how to value a company using multiple approaches
WHY IT MATTERS: If youβre going to buy, sell or refinance a business, know what it is worth.
TITLE: Valuation
WHAT YOU LEARN: Learn how to value a company using multiple approaches
WHY IT MATTERS: If youβre going to buy, sell or refinance a business, know what it is worth.
How to Be Scrappy
TITLE: Ready Fire Aim
WHAT YOU LEARN: Tactical ideas around the changing role of the CEO, growth, and mindset.
WHY IT MATTERS: Entrepreneurs make stuff happen β and that requires being resourceful.
TITLE: Ready Fire Aim
WHAT YOU LEARN: Tactical ideas around the changing role of the CEO, growth, and mindset.
WHY IT MATTERS: Entrepreneurs make stuff happen β and that requires being resourceful.
One more book Iβve read and recommend a bunch:
How to Get Rich by Felix Denis
This is about mindset more than anything for entrepreneurs.
A great first one to read with the others on my list.
How to Get Rich by Felix Denis
This is about mindset more than anything for entrepreneurs.
A great first one to read with the others on my list.
There are 100s of more great books out there all worth reading.
These are my favorites for someone that wants a solid foundation in being the CEO of a small business.
If you have others, add them in the replies! Or feel free to poop on any of these!
girdley.com
These are my favorites for someone that wants a solid foundation in being the CEO of a small business.
If you have others, add them in the replies! Or feel free to poop on any of these!
girdley.com
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