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100 business books that have influenced 100 business owners (Part 2)

Ciara Ferguson
05 May 2021

Welcome to part two of 100 business books that have influenced 100 business owners! Reading books takes us on a journey- as Albus Dumbledore said in J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: “Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic”- and he was right. These books have inspired successful business owners so why not you?

1) Bill himself of Bill Gillespie Consulting Services said that picking his favourite business book was very hard for him. “I read everything I can get my hands on. I love studying and learning.” He ended up choosing: First, Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman as his favourite as it speaks to skills vs. talent. “It makes arguments for the right person in the right role vs. training someone to do a job that isn’t right for them. It speaks to fits vs. surviving. I’ve read lots of good business books, but I recommend this one to everyone.” linkedin.com/in/bill-gillespie-60a26618

2) Bob Fitch, Founder and CEO of Fitch Consulting LLC said: “Choosing one book is hard – there have been many that have influenced me. I decided to single out The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge because, 30 years ago, this transformed my thinking about how organizations should work – about how to create less authoritarian, more inspiring workplaces. We now know more about employee experience and psychological safety (The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson leaps to mind) but my purpose – changing organizations for good – can be traced back to Senge’s ground-breaking work. His understanding that “there are powerful forces at work in organizations that tend to make the intelligence of the team less than, not greater than, the intelligence of individual team members” drives much of our work on organizational design.” http://linkedin.com/in/bob-fitch-1ba1326

3) CEO of Diabetes & Endocrine Treatment Specialists and Founder & Chief Infusioist at TannenBombers Tannen Ellis-Graham loves reading and simply couldn’t choose just one book so gave us her top three! Start with WHY by Simon Sinek: “When starting any new project, I ask this question WHY am I doing this. And even more important, WHY would any customer want this product.” Give and Take by Adam M. Grant: “Again this focuses me on the mission and not my own needs.” And finally, GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth: “Taking on anything outside of the box, forging a new business or product, managing others to see your vision – takes Grit (a lot of it every day)”. http://linkedin.com/in/tanneng

4) CEO & Co-founder of trukl, Robin Hunt, was originally reluctant to choose Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki because he thought that many people would say it but in fact- he was the first and so far, the only one! “It was the first book I read before I started my own business in 1999. It shaped the way I thought about money, work and business. I re-read it in 2018 and realized how much of it had helped shape some of the choices I had made in business.” http://linkedin.com/in/robin-hunt-49a9b02

5) Founder of Ghozt Infinitum Limited, Ghozt Lechner chose The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy: “This book outlines the secret to repeatable success. It discusses the importance of developing a lifestyle of daily habits that all take incremental steps towards achieving a goal. The author talks about the progressive success this method delivers vs attempting to reach that goal “all in one try”.” http://linkedin.com/in/theghozt

That’s it for part two! Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for part three- if you’ve missed the first part, check it out here: 100 business books that have influenced 100 business owners – MeasMedia