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Ask HN: As a technical founder what is the best business book you've read?

by enjayz on 9/8/18, 8:49 PM with 38 comments

  • by tima101 on 9/8/18, 10:12 PM

    All books from Basecamp founders. Especially the first one - Getting Real.

    I preordered their latest book 'It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work'.

    A lot of their advice is aimed towards small teams. And often contrary to SV wisdom. We've built a few profitable businesses by following their advice without raising any funding.

  • by mindcrime on 9/8/18, 11:20 PM

    Pinning down just one would be nearly impossible, but I can tell you a small group that I consider indispensable.

    The Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank. This is a MUST read. If you read nothing else, make it this book. Note that there is a 2nd Edition, which changes the title to "The Startup Owner's Manual". There is a lot of overlap in the content, but enough difference to justify reading both, IMO. I would start with the older one.

    The Discipline of Market Leaders - Fred Wiersema, Michael Treacy - another crucially important book IMO. Does a great job of explaining how there are many different vectors along which you can compete, and explains how choosing which vector you're going to compete on is fundamental to defining your business and market.

    The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki. Lots of good basics on startups

    Differentiate or Die - Jack Trout, Steve Rivkin. - Title says it all.

    It's Not The Big That Eat The Small, It's The Fast That Eat The Slow - Jason Jennings

    The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - Jack Trout and Al Ries

    Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind - Al Ries, Jack Trout, Philip Kotler

    Crossing the Chasm - Geoffrey Moore

    Mastering The Complex Sale - Jeff Thull - lays out an approach to selling that I believe is one of the best out there for enterprise / B2B. May not be as relevant for B2C or other approaches.

    Exceptional Selling - Jeff Thull - more on Thull's selling approach.

    The Prime Solution - Jeff Thull - and yet more still on Thull's selling approach.

    The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail - Clayton Christensen

    Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future - Peter Thiel, Blake Masters

    How To Measure Anything - Douglas Hubbard. - Maybe one of the most important books I've ever read. The ideas in this book can apply in many domains, related to startups or otherwise. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

    Repositioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis - Jack Trout, Steve Rivkin

    Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant - W. Chan Kim, Renée A. Mauborgne

    Outside Innovation: How Your Customers Will Co-Design Your Company’s Future - Patricia Seybold

  • by raq2185 on 9/8/18, 10:14 PM

    I'll draw heat for this but I think most business books are boring and/or suffer from survivorship bias.

    The most interesting business book I've ever read was Creativity Inc, by Ed Catmull. He talks in depth about managing a business where creativity is the most important aspect.

    The Start-up manual is good too, if a little drawn out.

  • by colinbartlett on 9/8/18, 10:02 PM

    Although not a technical book and sometimes maligned, I found How to Win Friends and Influence People very helpful to my career and to my life.

  • by arthurcolle on 9/8/18, 9:43 PM

    Debt: The First 5000 years is more of a historical examination of the modern origins of debt, not really 'business' per se but still a really solid book that I think many people in this industry could benefit from reading.

  • by ptbello on 9/8/18, 9:37 PM

    "How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk".

    Check this review of sorts by Jeff Atwood: https://blog.codinghorror.com/how-to-talk-to-human-beings/

  • by yesimahuman on 9/8/18, 9:58 PM

    Hard thing about Hard things and then Rework. Two different perspectives, and both light on bullshit

  • by chwolfe on 9/8/18, 10:15 PM

    Creativity Inc., by Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull. A funny and insightful book that should be required reading for any technical leader who works with artists/designers.

    http://www.creativityincbook.com

  • by guiambros on 9/8/18, 9:42 PM

    As soon as you start hiring people, strongly recommend reading "Radical Candor" [1].

    [1] https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kim-Scott/dp/B01KTIEFE...

  • by andrewstuart on 9/9/18, 9:12 AM

    Edward DeBono - SUR/PETITION Going beyond competition: creating value monopolies when everyone else is merely competing.

    https://www.debono.com/book/surpetition/

    It's probably out of date now but it inspired me to become an entrepreneur in 1994.

    Also this is the best book I've ever read on negotiating by Chester Karass https://www.karrass.com/dr-chester-karrass

    https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Revised-Negotiating-Strateg...

  • by andersthue on 9/8/18, 11:03 PM

    If you have tried to build a business and failed then read “The Anatomy of Peace” or “Leadership and Self Deception” same writer, same message.

    If you have build a business and want to do it even better, then “Principles” by Ray Dalio

    Both are about mindset and worldview - something I am learning now is much more important in tools and marketing hacks and knowing what to do in every situation.

  • by mud_dauber on 9/13/18, 1:06 AM

    I recommend Github's "Awesome Leading & Managing" repo (https://github.com/LappleApple/awesome-leading-and-managing).

    The readme includes a Google Doc summary by Joe Goldberg. It's like a greatest hits of greatest hits.

  • by eries on 9/8/18, 9:38 PM

    I wish more technical founders would read this: http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/07/principles-of-p...

  • by brandonhall on 9/8/18, 10:01 PM

    The Lean Startup and Good to Great

  • by iovrthoughtthis on 9/8/18, 9:38 PM

    The four steps to epiphany was a pretty great book for me.

  • by yread on 9/9/18, 10:31 AM

    Cashvertising was interesting - it's more for marketeers but if you're writing your own copy on your landing page it has useful to checklists

  • by rawrmaan on 9/8/18, 9:50 PM

    80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall

  • by tmaly on 9/9/18, 2:31 AM

    the Personal MBA, it outlines all the importance points of 2000 business books.

  • by dejaime on 9/8/18, 11:46 PM

    How to take all the blame

  • by simonjgreen on 9/8/18, 10:41 PM

    Traction / Get A Grip

    Slicing Pie

    Scrum

    Hard thing about hard things

  • by shawn on 9/8/18, 10:01 PM

    Zero to One http://gsl.mit.edu/media/programs/south-africa-summer-2015/m...

    (Caution: It was written by gasp Peter Thiel.)