Summer is a great time to slow down and reflex on one’s business and career. And reading good how-to books can provide you with great ideas on improving key business functions.  Current publications can help you understand and apply solid business principles to both your personal and professional life. 

For this summer’s recommendations, we share four selections from Small Business Trends’ writer, Ivana Taylor’s list:

Contagious: Why Things Catch Onby Jonah Berger (Simon and Schuster, 2013).  How do you get people to refer your business to their friends and family?  Word-of-mouth advertising can be an allusive thing, but it’s most effective because individuals are more likely to follow the advice of people they trust than the advertising they hear on the television and radio.  Including innovative research and case studies, this book is an interesting read that demonstrates what makes consumers more likely to promote various products and services by word-of-mouth.

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Workby Chip and Dan Heath (Random House, 2013).  If you find yourself indecisive, chances are you haven’t discovered the right option yet.  This book helps readers make decisions in confidence, using a process that moves individuals forward and upward in both their professional and personal lives.  Best-selling authors Chip and Dan Heath draw on experience from familiar brands that have made good and bad choices.

Rock Your Business: What You and Your Company Can Learn from the Business of Rock and Rollby David Fishof (Amazon Digital Services, 2012).  David Fishof is famous for starting Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camps where participants get to live out their dreams of rocking out on stage with their favorite musicians.  This book details those things musicians do to launch their rock bands to stardom and how that relates to building a successful business.

Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughsby Larry Keeley, Helen Walters, Ryan Pikkel, and Brian Quinn (Wiley, 2013).  Working from a list of more than 2,000 innovators, authors used an algorithm to determine 10 innovation types.  As Taylor explains, “Innovation is a complex topic, and the text and graphics guide the reader through the authors’ process rather effortlessly.  This is a heady topic brought down to earth in manageable, understandable, and doable chunks.”

Red to Black in 30 Days by Allen Bostrom (Universal Accounting Center, 2008)

The recession is hitting small businesses hard, and many are failing right and left; we hope yours is not one of them.  Red to Black in 30 Days enables readers to learn the Universal Project Management Model that will enable them to save failing businesses.   This book is a guideline for financial professionals who work with disheartened small business owners in need of a good turnaround plan.

Each chapter focuses on a crucial aspect of the turnaround process. Simple steps are outlined from initial contact through stabilization and profitable growth. This can be the guide through your first turnaround experience or it can enhance the management skills of even the seasoned financial professional.  You may find that in offering turnaround services your business (and those of your clients) will be the few that thrive in these difficult financial times. For the cost of this one book, you can enhance your value to current and prospective clients.  Order your copy now.

Resource

Taylor, Ivana.  “7 Best Business Books for Summer Reading.” 2 June 2013 SmallBizTrends.com