Clayten Christensen seminal book is based on the Jobs to be done framework, and insight that when we buy a product, we essentially “hire” it to make progress and get a job done. And if the product hired to do the job does it well, we hire it again. And if not, we “fire” it and look for an alternative. Christensen argues that when companies truly understand the job their customer is hiring their product or service to do, is when companies can drive innovative solutions forward.
Read the candid and riveting memoir of Nike founder Phil Knight where he shares the story of the company's early days which he started with borrowing $50 from his father, and its journey to becoming one of the world's most iconic consumer brands doing over $30 billion in annual sales.
Joey Coleman's book isn't about focusing on marketing, or closing the sale. Rather it is to undergo the customer journey in their first 100 days and manage all the interactions and experiences of the customer that can turn them into a lifelong customer. Coleman's system is presented through research and case studies showing how best-in-class companies create remarkable customer experiences at each step in the customer lifecycle.
Learn the path Tony Hsieh took at Zappos, which he joined and became CEO after selling LinkExchange to Microsoft, to grow the company to over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in less than ten years. A great book on creating the a strong and customer-oriented company culture.
Running a business is all about solving problems, but business leaders often don't know what's their biggest problem. Instead of going in endless circles putting out urgent fires or prioritizing the wrong things, Mike Michalowicz provides a framework for identifying the most important problems based on a business' heirarchy of needs, and prioritizing to fix them first.
Originals at its core is a book about how to champion new ideas and fight groupthink. Adam Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt using studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment.
