Feeding Your Business Mindset

5 Books to Expand your Entrepreneurial Mind in 2017

As we dive head first into the year many of us are hitting the ground running with a “to do” list that’s both ambitious and, perhaps, daunting. Take heart. You don’t have to do it all at once and you don’t have to go it along. 

There are many great resources at your fingertips to inspire, guide, educate and influence what you put on your “to do” list and how you measure success. Opening your world-view to new perspectives can be a growth accelerator. With that, we offer our curated reading suggestions for evolving brands. 

Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis & Steven Kotler

I read this over the holiday break and it opened my eyes to where the business world is likely headed. Written by space entrepreneur turned innovation pioneer Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler they document how the progress of mankind’s innovations is paving a way to a brighter future. “Since the dawn of humanity, a privileged few have lived in stark contrast to the hardscrabble majority. Conventional wisdom says this gap cannot be closed. But it is closing—fast.” 

The New York Times bestselling “manifesto for the future that is grounded in practical solutions addressing the world’s most pressing concerns: overpopulation, food, water, energy, education, healthcare and freedom.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Deep Work by Cal Newport

It’s obvious we’re living in short attention span times and distraction is everywhere. In Deep Work, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, Cal celebrates the power of its opposite.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. The promise of the book is to learn and apply a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time.

Reading and applying the insights will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In order to get important stuff done: dig in and get deep.

The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business by Clayton M. Christensen

“It’s fascinating to see how change overtakes businesses that (very rationally in the short term) stick with tried-and-true tactics instead of innovating. This book is a wake-up call for any business owner. A lot of what Clayton advises here can be difficult to execute, but the Internet and new innovations have only made these concepts more important to understand.”

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

Jonah Berger’s book Contagious explores the questions around why some products “catch fire,” become a hit or go viral. His well researched book offers actionable insight to the principles that drive stories forward. In Contagious, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission.

X: The Experience When Business Meets Design by Brian Solis

X is an interesting read for marketers and entrepreneurs, alike. X is that nearly indescribable “wow” factor you feel when you have an exceptional experience with a brand. In this book, Brian details how to design those experiences, purposefully and mindfully, to go beyond great customer service or good storytelling on your way into the X. While the execution of the book can feel heavy-handed, the content is valuable.