Best Books for Business: What We Hope for When We Read

I’ll admit: I don’t read a lot of “business” books. Maybe it’s because business books, like some hard-hitting business people I know, seem a little too direct, a little too goal-driven, a little too bottom line for me. Not that I mind if other people know where their cheese is and are moving toward the tipping point to become even more highly effective people. But I’m a creative, and I’d rather read about matters of the heart—although I’m sure I could use a little help in the whole winning-friends-and-influencing-people department.

That’s why when I recently picked up Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, I was surprised to find it reading a lot like a “business” book, and I liked it. What I thought was going to be a liberal-arts-socio-historic review of personality types actually ended up being a very practical guide to finding my way in the world of work as an introvert. And not a minute too soon since I was in the process of transitioning from full-time employee to full-time self-employed freelancer. Suddenly, I needed the advice of business books.

But if a non-business-book reader like me can find value in a business book, couldn’t a business person find value in a non-business book?

Literature as a Business Book

Doug Wilson says yes.

Having served as a senior executive of several international companies for more than two decades, Wilson often is sought out by younger managers or other executives for counsel and direction. A few years ago, Wilson read George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant and saw an immediate connection to the questions of priorities and ethics that he often is asked.

“The story was about a person trying to determine if his actions were motivated by what everyone else wanted him to do or by to his own internal compass,” Wilson explained. “Orwell demonstrated the essence of this dilemma in a powerful and observable way. I realized it was exactly the situation I was asked about all the time. So, instead of just offering my own advice, I started recommending this short story to those who came to me as a way to start a discussion.”

Later, he added Dorothy Sayers’ essay, “Why Work?” and Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Tell It Slant,” and other shorts works of nonfiction and fiction to his recommended reading list. When asked why he thinks reading literature is worthwhile for the business community, Wilson gave two answers. First, he said he grew up in a home of teachers and readers, and reading was just “an expected part of how you grew as a person.”

But Wilson also said that literature helps professionals overcome what he has labeled the “already always listening” phenomenon. “When business people—or scientists or engineers or lawyers, for that matter—come to a problem, they already have an idea of what the solution will be when others start making suggestions. It’s very difficult for any new thoughts to penetrate their preconceived perceptions,” he said. “Literature has the unique ability to enable a conversation about something that really matters without raising all the normal filters.”

Even though Wilson is a fan of using literature to help with business discussions, that’s not to say he also doesn’t read his fair share of business books. In fact, he offered his own list of business books that have had a lasting impact on his thinking:

• The Experience Economy by James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II
• Authenticity by James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II
• Business as a Calling by Michael Novak
• Leadership in the Image of God by Sid Buzzell, Kenneth Boa, and Bill Perkins
• The Serving Leader by Ken Jennings and John Stahl-Wert

Why Read Books for Business?

What do business books have to offer? Most seem to offer many of the same things: success stories, case studies, cautionary tales, research, advice, industry insight, and practical tips, to name a few. But perhaps the better question is what readers are looking for when they pick up a business book? Perspective, insight, hope, maybe even inspiration? That’s why books of all kinds can speak into the work situations we all encounter.

At The High Calling, we value all kinds of good writing that help illuminate the virtues and difficulties of our work. We asked several writers to tell us about the books they turn to for inspiration and motivation. From a book that helped a former ministry leader move toward self-employment to the words of wisdom that brought hope to a frazzled work-at-home mom to a poetry collection that provides perspective to a business lawyer, their selections might surprise you.

Several other well-known organizations also routinely publish their business book recommendations. Here are a few of those lists featuring several recent business book titles:

• Stanford Graduate School of Business: Ten Business Books to Read in 2014
• Forbes: Seven Books You Should Read Before Summer’s Over
• The New York Times: Monthly Business Book Bestsellers

Interestingly, Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft, recently revealed his own favorite business book, one given to him by billionaire Warren Buffett more than 20 years ago: Business Adventures by John Brooks. “Brooks’ deeper insights about business are just as relevant today as they were back then,” Gates writes about the book.

Do you have a favorite book that has helped you with your work? Whether it’s a “business” book or not, drop it in the comments. We’d love to expand our reading list.