The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List

Category: Personal Effectiveness

2007 Edition: Revised and Updated

by Josh Kaufman

Business schools don’t have a monopoly on worldly wisdom. If you're serious about learning advanced business principles, the Personal MBA can help. The Personal MBA recommended reading list is the tangible result of hundreds of hours of reading and research, and features only the very best books the business press has to offer. So skip the fancy diploma and $150,000 loan - you can get a world-class business education simply by reading these books.

To learn more about the Personal MBA, read the manifesto.

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The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

When you’re in charge of a business, the most important job you have is not simply to ensure that “things get done” – it’s to ensure the right things get done, at the right time, and in the right way.

In The Effective Executive, you’ll learn that the role of leadership in every organization is to set clear priorities, focus the strengths of the people on those priorities, and make tough choices about what to do and what not to do in the face of uncertainty.

Drucker argues that every executive in a business should have a standard, core set of personal skills: effective time management, clear communication, and the ability to make solid decisions based on the data available. These aren’t inborn abilities; they can be developed through study and experience, and leaders should ensure that these skills are developed in subordinates through training and experience.

Each point is illustrated with several historical examples, so you'll really understand why each idea is important and how it looks in the real world. If you only read one book in this section, read this book.

(You’ll see two more books by Drucker in the revised Personal MBA reading list for a reason: they really are all they’re cracked up to be. Drucker's influence on the business world is so profound that you can find seeds of almost every other book on this list in material he wrote decades ago.)

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

Ready For Anything by David Allen

I believe Ready for Anything is a better introduction to David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” methodology than Allen’s first canonical GTD text. Here’s my reasoning.

GTD is a system of work habits that will allow you to capture, organize, and track everything that’s on your mind, resulting in a clear, calm view of the next actions needed to keep your projects moving. Habits, however, take years to develop, and most people who start out reading GTD never get past the “suck threshold”: the complexities of the system overwhelm them quickly, and they give up before seeing results.

This book is a collection of productivity principles based on the GTD methodology. Instead of paralyzing you with a complex system, Ready for Anything contains 52 short meditations on the principles and actions that will allow you to “keep your mind clear and the ball rolling” RIGHT NOW.

If you’ve already read GTD, you’ll find little new material here. But for GTD newbies, it’s the best introduction to a system that can change your life.

(Tip: For best results, read the appendix to the book first: it contains a very good basic overview of the GTD methodology, which will help you understand some of the terminology David Allen uses throughout the book.)

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

The Simplicity Survival Handbook by Bill Jensen

It’s remarkably rare to find a book in which the author tells you on the first page not to read the whole book. Bill Jensen, however, believes in the virtue of ruthless simplicity, and his advice is to focus squarely on the few subjects in this book that will help you most RIGHT NOW.

The Simplicity Survival Handbook is a book about work tactics: how to complete critical tasks in a modern business organization with a minimum of time, energy, and fuss. Jensen shows no mercy in finding ways to circumvent or eliminate everything in your working life that gets in the way of getting the most important things done. Along the way, you’ll learn how to interact with peers and your managers, communicate effectively, present to senior management, and deal with the onslaught of change and information common in modern organizations.

Backed by years of organizational research and practical experience, this book will help you manage day-to-day life in a working world where “MoreBetterFaster” is the rule.

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

The Dip by Seth Godin

Quitting is typically considered a dirty word in the business world. According to Seth Godin, however, “strategic quitting” is a skill that's well worth cultivating.

The Dip is a mental model that represents the path to “best in the world” status for any goal or project worth pursuing. When you inevitably run out of steam on the long path to greatness, it’s absolutely necessary to be able to see if (1) the path you're on is going to take you where you want to go, and (2) if you have what it takes to push through the unavoidable tough times and become the best in the world in your chosen field. If the path’s a dead-end or the reward’s simply not worth it, you’re much better off quitting and reinvesting your time and energy elsewhere.

This short, clear book is an excellent example of the value of a mental model: once you learn about The Dip, you’ll look at your projects in a whole new light.

(For more information, check out this PMBA interview with Seth Godin about The Dip.)

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

Cut to the Chase by Stuart Levine

Cut to the Chase is a book how to use and protect your two most valuable assets: your time and energy.

Stuart Levine’s experience as a CEO lead him to conclude that a lot of time is wasted at work, and the biggest culprit is ineffective communication and unclear priorities. The best way to get things done is to get to the point: communicate as clearly, simply, and effectively as possible, and avoid unimportant activities that suck up time but deliver no value.

Your time is hugely valuable, and every day you're teaching others how to use your time, whether you realize it or not. Using simple tactics like "I got it - let's move on", having crystal-clear objectives before you start working, and setting meetings for 10 minutes instead of an hour can save you precious minutes, and those minutes add up to hours over the course of a standard workday.

Levine sets a good example by respecting your time reading this book. Each of his 100 principles is detailed in no more than two pages, using crystal-clear language and examples. You'll want to keep this book handy by your desk for quick ideas and inspiration - the habits Levine recommends aren't always easy to adopt, but they're worth working on each day.

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

“Managers at every level are prisoners of the notion that a simple style reflects a simple mind. Actually, a simple style is the result of hard work and hard thinking; a muddled style reflects a muddled thinker or a person too arrogant, or too dumb, or too lazy to organize his thoughts. Remember that what you write is often the only chance you’ll get to present yourself to someone whose business or money or good will you need. If what you write is ornate, or pompous, or fuzzy, that’s how you’ll be perceived. The reader has no other choice.”

If you want to succeed in business, excellent writing skills are essential. In On Writing Well, Zinsser focuses on the virtues of simplicity and clarity, the hallmarks of an effective writer. With a dedicated chapter on writing for business, you’ll quickly learn that big words, complicated sentences, and jargon decrease your ability to communicate your thoughts to the people reading your work.

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst

If your e-mail inbox is overflowing, your desktop is full of random documents, and using your computer is a daily exercise in stress and frustration, you need to read Bit Literacy.

There's a reason most of us have issues with using technology effectively: we've learned to use our computers in an ad-hoc way, instead of thinking about the longer-term implications of our default digital organization strategy. In this book, Mark Hurst shows you how to improve your life by adopting a few simple practices to manage your digital information.

The core premise of the book is that digital information is “psychologically heavy” – when you see that your inbox has 3000 messages in it or you notice that your desktop is out of control, it weighs you down in a very real way. The solution, according to Hurst, is to “let the bits go” by using a few simple and intuitive systems to organize your data. When your bits are finally under control, you'll literally feel the difference.

A great deal of attention is given to e-mail, since it's the most overused and misused tool. After you adopt Hurst's methods, you'll notice two things: (1) you'll only see information when you need to act on it, and (2) you'll be able to find your digital information immediately when you need it.

Hurst's opinionated, "do-it-this-way" approach is simple and straightforward, which means you're more likely to actually use and stick with his solutions. Even advanced computer users will pick up something useful from this book.

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz

Don't judge a book by its cover: The Path of Least Resistance is not a flowery, froofy self-help book. In all likelihood, this book will change the way you think about goals and creativity forever.

The author's background is, of all things, music composition. While studying the creative process to as a way to help himself create better music, Fritz discovered that there aren't just similarities between the creative process used by artists and the process businesspeople use to create results: it's the exact same process. From a certain perspective, every creative and productive person is simply "making it up as they go along," regardless of their field of work or study.

The first major insight in this book is the central role that structure plays in your life. "Structural tension" is a key element in many complex systems in the world, including the systems you're surrounded by when you're trying to work. If you're trying to accomplish something important and you're having trouble making progress, you should examine the structure underlying your actions. Trying to achieve better results without changing the underlying structure is like trying to ski uphill - you can try, but it's not going to work all that well.

The mental models of primary, secondary, and fundamental choice also play a huge role in your daily life. By making the fundamental choice to become the creative force in your life, you'll spend more time asking yourself "what results do I want to create?" instead of perpetually reacting to circumstance. Everything else flows from there - once you've made a fundamental choice, making related primary choices based on your vision will set you on the path to achieving what you want most, without the added strain of fighting yourself every step of the way.

Ultimately, this book will teach you how to imagine (in vivid detail) what you want to create, establish a structure that will pull you towards your goal, and maintain the momentum generated by your early efforts until you've successfully created what you desire. This book will help you in every aspect of your life and work. After all, isn't creating something of value what business is all about?

(Special thanks to Phillip Eby for recommending this book.)

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way by Jeffrey Gitomer

Influence and persuasion is a core life skill. No matter what you do, you’re responsible for convincing others to take some action: buy a project, agree to a future vision, or help you move your projects forward.

The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way is an absolute treasure-trove of information about how to persuade others in any situation using any format: informal conversation, formal speech, writing, presentations, etc. Along the way, you'll learn how to develop persistence, eloquence, and humor to maximize your chances of persuading your audience successfully.

Looking for tips on how to give an outstanding speech in front of a large audience? Wondering how to engage a prospect on a sales call? Curious about ways you can increase your persuasion skills? It's all here, and it's presented in a blunt, punchy, and wonderfully engaging manner.

Jeffrey Gitomer certainly knows what he's talking about. After many years of experience in the field, Gitomer has spent the last 15 years speaking and writing about sales. He does over 120 presentations a year, writes a syndicated column and weekly newsletter, and has been publishing 1-2 books per year. You can tell that Gitomer lives and breathes sales, and his experience as a master persuader shines through in this book.

(If you like this book, I recommend picking up any of the other books Jeffrey Gitomer has written - they're all worth your time.)

(Discuss this book in the PMBA Member Forums)

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