On the fifth day of Christmas, Spin Sucks gave to you….five business books, four online courses, three productivity tools, two lies told about the PR industry, and a phrase to banish forever.
And it should come as no surprise to any frequent reader of Spin Sucks that we are big book fans.
And by “big book fans” I don’t just mean fans of books that are big (we like big books and we cannot lie, and other pr pros can’t deny).
I mean we are big fans of books in general.
We accept books of all shapes, sizes, and languages here (we just have Corina Manea translate the ones that aren’t in English).
Ok, but I got completely off track (shocker)….books, business books to read in 2017…that’s what we are here to talk about today.
The Monthly Business Book Club
Several months ago we started a team business book club.
Each month our fearless leader chooses a business book for all of us to read.
We read them on our own time and then come together for a great discussion during one of our staff meetings.
The discussions we have help us all apply the concepts to what we are actively working on and overall company goals.
I’m sure some of our book club fun—and subsequent discussions—will now expand to the full crew on the Spin Sucks Slack channel, which will make these books that much more valuable.
Additionally, it forced me to read books I know I should, but don’t.
And why don’t I like to read business books?
Well the same reason none of us really do—we’ve read so many bad ones.
And when I say bad I mean REALLY bad.
Like hours of our lives we will never get back.
That’s why our company book club has been great, because we are reading really useful books.
Books that do provide value.
In turn, it’s inspired me to take a chance on a few other business books to read—books which I had been putting off for way too long.
A bet I’m happy to report paid off.
And because we want your 2017 to be successful, productive, and bad book free, I’m here to share some business books to read in 2017.
Business Books to Read in 2017
The first three recommendations were part of our company book club.
The last two I read on my own.
Built To Sell Helps You Scale and Define Yourself
- Does growing your business feel impossible unless you clone yourself?
- Do you struggle to effectively scale your business without losing quality or clients?
- Is it increasingly difficult to provide individualized solution for clients on your available budget?
Then you need to read Built to Sell, by John Warrillow.
In fact, it’s a business book anyone who leads or works in a service business should read.
As people in the service field, Built to Sell is going to present a lot of concepts that make you resistant.
Allow yourself to move beyond that and see why those very points of resistance are a big part of what’s preventing you from growing your career or your business successfully.
Traction Provides…Well, Traction
Feel like you don’t have time to read one more up-in-the-clouds, theoretical book?
Then Traction, by Gino Wickman, is the business book to read.
It’s so action-oriented and applicable, you are going to need to read it once to get concepts, then once again to start applying, and then probably a few more times to work through the details.
Make sure you have a notebook in hand and are ready to get to work.
You need to make applying the concepts a professional goals and schedule some time on your calendar specifically to do the work, or you’ll never get it done.
This is not a book to read if you want to just be a passive observer.
This is a book that will get you active and in the mud of building a successful business.
Hug Your Way to Great Customer Service
I wrote about Hug Your Haters, by Jay Baer, not long ago here. So not all that much more to add.
If you want to really know the stats, data, and market research around customer service and customer complaints (excellent research done by Tom Webster and his firm Edison Research for this book), then this is the book for you.
Breaking down the numbers is fascinating and it’s a book anyone who deal with customers (i.e. EVERYONE) needs to read.
Do Twice the Work in Half the Time
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half The Time is one of those books I had purchased a year ago and never got around to reading.
Why?
Because I didn’t have the time.
Ironic, much?
Right…but anyway, I was finally convinced to read it after client and friend Amy Bailey raved about it and started applying the concepts within her team.
I’ve worked with Amy long enough I trust her opinion on these things, so I finally made the time…..and it ended up being my favorite business book of the year.
I listened to it and loved it so much I bought the hard copy.
Scrum looks at the science behind how people and teams work best and translates it into processes.
It simply makes sense and not only does it help you be more efficient, it helps everyone work to their maximum ability and maximum satisfaction.
Frankly, I want to hire author, Jeff Sutherland, to help me organize my life.
Until then, I’m going to be applying a lot of the concepts to our the work.
Be 10 Percent Happier
I also recently wrote about 10% Happier, by Dan Harris.
You can see what I said about that book here.
While you might be resistant to associating your inner dialogue to your professional success, there is a direct link which cannot be denied.
They are most definitely connected.
What I loved about this book is it was written for smart, driven people.
People are typically skeptical about the whole “mindfulness” thing, or at least underestimate the true value.
It’s worth a read and I guarantee you’ll grab several elements from it that improve your overall personal and professional well-being in 2017.
So that’s my list of business books to read in 2017.
Which books would you add?
