Business books are big business. Occasionally, they are even helpful to readers. Recently, a panel of experts assembled by Forbes named the 20 most influential business books of the past 20 years. Here's the list:
- In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies, Thomas Peters, Robert H. Waterman
- Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras
- Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Michael Hammer, James A. Champy
- Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Michael E. Porter
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell
- Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Products to Mainstream Customers, Geoffrey A. Moore
- The House of Morgan, Ron Chernow
- The Six Sigma Way, Peter S. Pande et al, Robert P. Neuman, Roland R. Cavanagh
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Stephen R. Covey
- Liar's Poker, Michael Lewis
- The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, Clayton M. Christensen
- Japan Inc., Shotaro Ishinomori
- Den of Thieves, James B. Stewart
- The Essential Drucker, Peter F. Drucker
- Competing for the Future, Gary Hamel, C. K. Prahalad
- The Buffett Way: Investment Strategies of the World's Greatest Investor, Robert G. Hagstrom
- Jack: Straight from the Gut, Jack Welch, John A. Byrne
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't, James Collins
- The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story, Michael Lewis
Moderator's Comment: What business/management books are on your must read list? Why?
Here's our top 10. The common theme that links these works together for us is that they (to varying degrees) connect a vision to execution.
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Stephen R. Covey
- Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras
- Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Michael E. Porter
- Raving Fans, Kenneth Blanchard, Sheldon M. Bowles
- Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith
- The Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never
Try to Be the Best at Everything
Fred Crawford, Ryan Mathews - Stewardship, Peter Block
- Perspectives on Strategy, The Boston Consulting Group
- Reclaiming Higher Ground, Lance Secretan
- Permission Marketing, Seth Godin
[George Anderson - Moderator]