Inc. Magazine's Summer Reading List

Inc. Magazine just put out The Business Owner's Bookshelf. This is their list of the top 30 business books they recommend you read this summer.

Here are a few on the list to wet your appetite:

1. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, by Peter Bernstein (1996)
   
   From the ancient Greeks' belief that the universe was divvied up in a game of craps to Keynes's assertion that uncertainty makes us free, this lively economic history helps readers understand why we think -- and bet -- the way we do.
2. The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything, by Guy Kawasaki (2004)
   
   The author has aptly described this book as the start-up version of What to Expect When You're Expecting. From his early exhortation to create a mantra (as opposed to a mission statement) through his final mandate to be a "mensch" (give something back), Kawasaki offers a broad, opinionated, often-shrewd blueprint for early stagers.
3. Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston (2006)
   
   Companies that fight against the green tide risk poisoning relationships with customers, investors, and governments. This manual smartly balances opportunity and risk in the quest to shrink companies' environmental footprint.
4. Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, by Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang (1997)
   
   Schultz's humble origins, his succumbing to a passion for a product, and his ongoing pursuit of servant leadership are genuinely inspirational.
5. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936)

   Of course, your salespeople and managers should read this self-improvement classic. But Friends is also about leadership. "There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything," writes Carnegie, "and that is by making the other person want to do it."

If you're like me, some of the books you've read and some you have not. Check out Inc's list and see which ones you will be adding to your reading list this summer.

Oh, hey . . . add mine to your summer reading list too!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success