6 Books for the Well-Rounded Entrepreneur

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6 Books for the Well-Rounded Entrepreneur
Starting a business, personal productivity, marketing skills these good reads cover the essent ials
an entrepreneur needs to master.
mohammada/Flickr
Most entrepreneurs wear a variety of hats. Some wear every hat.
That's why most entrepreneurs need to be very well rounded.
Here are six books that at least partially cover the entrepreneurial gamut: starting a business,
personal productivity, marketing, improving skills, operations even health and fitness.
Each will leave you feeling challenged, inspired, motivated, and ready to take your professional life
to new heights.
Starting and Sustaining a Business
Part research, part science, and part introspection exercise, Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck does
help you understand your personality and decision-making traits useful in itself but more
importantly is filled with cool insights and tips any entrepreneur can benefit from.
One is the Three-Minute Rule, based on the premise that what your customers do in the three
minutes just before and just after they use your product or service tells you a lot about their needs
and how they actually use what you sell.
For example, studies show customers buy less when their arms are full which is why placing empty
shopping baskets or carts in the middle of a retail store can dramatically increase sales per
cust omer.
If you're hesitating to take the entrepreneurial plunge, this book should jar you off the fence. If you
already own a business you'll learn a number of things you'll want to start doing or stop doing.
Personal Productivit y
Sometimes it's easy to dismiss a book simply because it has gained widespread popularity; it's like
playing the popularity backlash card.
If you've placed David Allen's Getting Things Done in that category, rethink that decision. Yes, his
process is comprehensive. Yes, you might think, "Wait I have to do all that?"
And yes, maybe you won't adopt his entire system. I haven't.
But you will find ways to waste less time, be more productive, and focus more on what truly drives

the results you want in your business and personal life.
Gotta love that.
Improving Skills
I admit it: I'm a sucker for books that give practical advice for developing skills and talent. The
problem is that most "self help" books are mostly breathless enthusiasm and motivat ion; many can
be summarized by Rob Schneider's, "You can do it!"
Great. I can do it! But wait: How can I do it?
The subtitle of Practice Perfect is "42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Bet ter." It's like the
"teach a man to fish" principle: Instead of describing how to improve one specific skill, Practice
Perfect provides practical tools for practicing, modeling, using feedback, and making those new
skills stick.
Best of all it's a guide to not only improving your own skills but also your employees' skills.
Helping other people get better as a leader isn't that your most important job?
Marketing
We all know that great advertising or, really, any great "pitch" contains a blend of emotional and
rational appeal.
The Hidden Agenda lays out a blueprint for determining the hidden agendas of decision makers
and in the process transcend persuasion and create connections.
Sound fluffy? It's not. As a consumer, I have needs. I have wants. And I have beliefs. Connect your
products, services, or ideas with my needs, wants, and beliefs and then you don't have to sell me.
I'm already with you.
Operat ions
I worked in manufacturing for 20 years and still take some productivity and quality improvement
consulting gigs, so I'm also a sucker for operations books.
American Icon, the story of Ford's turnaround, without a government bailout, is outstanding.
And it reads like a novel although in this case a "novel" that will help you lead and run your own
business better.
Health and Fitness
Guess what: Most people drink too much during and after exercise; for most of us drinking when
we get thirsty is fine. Stretching before we exercise doesn't seem to prevent injury and can act ually

decrease our performance. Chocolate milk is an awesome post-workout drink. Sitting too much is
slowly killing us.
And exercise can make us smarter.
The First 20 Minutes debunks a number of health and fitness myths and lays out a simple
blueprint for getting the most out of exercise without all the conventional wisdom and marketing
b.s. that tends to lead us astray.
Where our well-being is concerned, astray is the last place we want to be.
Read more:
Start a Small Business in a Few Hours
6 Ways to Spoil Great PR Opportunities
9 People to Remove From Your Inner Circle
Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he
worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up from
ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in
business. @jeff_haden