Below are my favorite books on business organized by major thematic area.  I have tried to list my favorite ones to the top of each section.

Strategy

Favorites

• Boyd by Robert Coram
• Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christenson
• The Innovator’s Solution by Clayton Christenson
• Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt
• Different by Youngme Moon
• 7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer
• Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking Fantastic book by Roger Martin – I wrote a longer blog post on this book here

Others

• Alchemy by Rory Sutherland
• Playing to Win by Lafley and Martin
• Lords of Strategy by Walter Kiechel
• Art of War by Sun Tzu
• Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonnello
• Built to Last by Jim Collins
• Competition Demystified by Bruce Greenwald
• Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter
• Co-Opetition by Adam Brandenburger, Barry Nalebuff
• Double Your Profits in 6 mo or less by Bob Fifer
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters
• Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
• Small Giants by Bo Burlingham
• Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman, Rod Becstrom
• Storybrand by Donald Miller
• Trading Up by Michael Silverstein, Neil Fiske
• We Might as Well Win by Johann Bruneel
• Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert

Entrepreneurship

• Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
• E-Myth by Michael Gerber
• Zero to One by Peter Thiel
• Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach by Neck, Greene and Brush

Management Theory, Leadership, Etc.

Favorites

• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covery, Jim Huling
• Excellence wins by Horst Schulze
• Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• Creating Great Choices by Roger Martin
• Managing the Professional Services Firm by David Maister
• Setting the table by Danny Meyer
• Team of Teams by Stanley McCrystal
• What it Takes by Charles Ellis
• Primal Leadership (Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence) – This was recommended to me and is an amazing exploration of the brain science behind emotional intelligence. The book also connects leadership aptitude with corporate performance.
• With Winning in Mind – This book is short and fantastic. For anyone looking to level up in any field of endeavor, this book is a must read.

Others

• It’s Your Ship by Michael Abrashoff
• How Google Works by Eric Schmidt
• 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
• Confessions of a public speaker by Scott Berkun
• Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda
• Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey
• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• G2 – Building the Next Generation by Philip Palaveev
• HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter by Greene
• High Output Management by Andy Grove
• How to Fail at almost everything and still win big by Scott Adams
• Leading from your gut by John Townsend
• Lessons for Corporate America by Warren Buffet
• Mastery by Robert Greene
• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
• Only the Paranoid Survive by Andrew S. Grove
• Reboot by Jerry Colonna
• Rework by Jason Fried David Heinemeier Hannsson
• Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the time by Jeff / JJ. Sutherland
• So Good they Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
• TED Talks by Chris Anderson
• The Captain Class by Sam Walker
• The End of Competitive Advantage by Rita Gunther McGrath
• The Ensemble Practice by Philip Palaveev
• The Innovation Stack by Jim McKelvey
• The Irresistible Consultant’s Guide to Winning Clients by David A Fields
• The Mckinsey Mind by Ethan Rasiel
• The Mckinsey Way by Ethan Rasiel
• The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
• The Service Profit Chain by Heskett, Sasser, Schlesinger
• The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker
• Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt
• What the CEO wants you to know by Ram Charan
• When Professionals Have to Lead by Delong, Gabarro, Lees
• TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking – Interesting look behind the scenes of the TED conference
• Confessions of a Public Speaker – Entertaining
• Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power – I’ve always been skeptical of the Tony Robbins complex. I listened to these 2 of his older books on a drive. What struck me was how much of Tony’s material has now been validated with research.
• The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. In The Talent Code, award-winning journalist Daniel Coyle draws on cutting-edge research to reveal that, far from being some abstract mystical power fixed at birth, ability really can be created and nurtured.
• Practice Perfect by Doug Lemov This book puts practice on the front burner of all who seek to instill talent and achievement in others as well as in themselves. This is a journey to understand that practice, not games, makes champions.
• Little Bets by Peter Sims. Reporting on a fascinating range of research, from the psychology of creative blocks to the influential field of design thinking, Sims offers engaging and illuminating accounts of breakthrough innovators at work, and a whole new way of thinking about how to navigate uncertain situations and unleash our untapped creative powers.
• Wooden:  A LIfetime of Observations by John Wooden. Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden presents the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden.
• Incognito – The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman. If the conscious mind—the part you consider to be you—is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest doing?
• Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin. A quarter of a century after her memoir, Thinking in Pictures, forever changed how the world understood autism, Temple Grandin—the “anthropologist on Mars,” as Oliver Sacks dubbed her—transforms our awareness of the different ways our brains are wired. Do you have a keen sense of direction, a love of puzzles, the ability to assemble furniture without crying? You are likely a visual thinker.
• Quit by Annie Duke. Business leaders, with millions of dollars down the drain, struggle to abandon a new app or product that just isn’t working. Governments, caught in a hopeless conflict, believe that the next tactic will finally be the one that wins the war. And in our own lives, we persist in relationships or careers that no longer serve us. Why? According to Annie Duke, in the face of tough decisions, we’re terrible quitters. And that is significantly holding us back.
• Traction – This was great – “All entrepreneurs and business leaders face similar frustrations—personnel conflict, profit woes, and inadequate growth. Decisions never seem to get made, or, once made, fail to be properly implemented. But there is a solution. It’s not complicated or theoretical.The Entrepreneurial Operating System® is a practical method for achieving the business success you have always envisioned.”
• Tribal Leadership. Within each corporation are anywhere from a few to hundreds of separate tribes. In Tribal Leadership, Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright demonstrate how these tribes develop—and show you how to assess them and lead them to maximize productivity and growth.
• Organization Theory and Design – If you are looking for an interesting textbook to read, I enjoyed this – “Discover the most progressive thinking about organizations today as acclaimed author Richard Daft balances recent, innovative ideas with proven classic theories and effective business practices.”
• Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems. Not for the faint of heart here, I read the first third and then was worn out – This broad, balanced introduction to organizational studies enables the reader to compare and contrast different approaches to the study of organizations. This book is a valuable tool for the reader, as we are all intertwined with organizations in one form or another.
• Book of Five Rings – I know this one is famous, but I much prefer The Art of War
• Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon. In Working Backwards, two long-serving Amazon executives reveal the principles and practices that have driven the success of one of the most extraordinary companies the world has ever known.

Marketing

• Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
• Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazi
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
• Trust me I’m lying by Ryan Holiday
• Aesthetic intelligence by Pauline Brown
• Giftology by John Ruhlin
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• I F**ing love that company by Bayard Winthrop and Randy Komisar
• Luxury Strategy by Kapferer and Bastien
• On Practice Management by Deena Katz
• Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday
• Selling the Invsibible by Beckwith
• The Art of the Sale by Philip Delves Broughton

Profiles of Leaders, Entrepreneurs and Companies

Favorites

• American Icon by Bryce Hoffman
• Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull
• Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday
• Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the rise of the modern cable biz by Mark Robichaux
• Idea Factory by Jon Gertner
• Personal History by Katherine Graham
• Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
• The Partnership by Charles Ellis
• Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance by Louis Gerstner

Other Reads

• Allen Klein by Fred Goodman
• Barry Diller Story by Georege Mair
• Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton
• Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull
• Endurance by Alfred Lansin
• Factory Man by Beth Macy
• First a Dream by Jim Clayton
• Fish that Ate the Whale by Cohen
• Fortunes Fiddles Fried Chicken by Bill Carey
• Heads in Bed by Jacob Tomsky
• In the Plex by Steven Levy
• Jack by Jack Welch
• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
• Les Schwab – Pride in Performance by Les Schwab
• Losing my Virginity by Richard Branson
• Made in America by Sam Walton
• Master of the Big Board – Bio of Jack Massey by Bill Carey
• Master of the Game – Steven Ross by Connie Bruck
• Maverick by Ricardo Semler
• Seven-Day Weekend by Ricardo Semler
• Minding the Store by Stanley Marcus
• My Father’s Business by Cal Turner Jr
• My Share of the Task by Stanley McCrystal
• Pride in Performance by Les Schwab
• Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson
• The First Billion is the Hardest by T. Boone Pickens
• The Frackers by Gregory Zuckerman
• The HP Way by David Packard
• The Perfect Store by Adam Cohen
• The Plaza by Julie Satow
• The Towering World of Jimmy Choo by Lauren Goldstein Crowe
• Titan by Ron Chernow
• To Pixar and Beyond by Lawrence levy
• Warren Buffett CEOs by Robert P. Miles
• When I stop talking you’ll know I’m Dead by Jerry Weintraub
• When Hollywood Had a King by Connie Bruck
• Who is Michael Ovtiz by Michael Ovitz
• Why the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins
• Winner Takes All – Steve Wynn by Christina Brinkly
• Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus
• Grinding it Out by Ray Kroc
• The Innovators by Walter Isaacson
• The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time – This is the story of Square
• Mellon by David Cannadine

Corporate Governance

• Boards that Deliver by Ram Charan
• The Board Book by William G. Bowen