The 5 Best Business Books to Read in 2024
Create more money, time or skills with these business books in 2024. Some are already iconic, some should be.
For years now, I’ve read a book (or two) a week. Having gone from ‘not much of a reader’ to devouring books like they’re going out of publication, the habit has changed my life. But, if you can only manage reading a few books in 2024 or even just one - here are my top recommendations. Five life-changing reads for your money, time and skills.
The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
There’s a reason why Timothy Ferris’ No.1 New York Times best-seller, The 4-Hour Work Week, has a cult following. It challenges nearly all conventional norms of working. Ferris does so from having experienced both the daily grind of a regular 9-5 and becoming a successful entrepreneur earning much more a month than he used to earn annually. And doing it by working less.
Unlike many advocates of minimalism or slow living, Ferris' goal is both fun and profit. For Ferris, the ‘less is more’ mentality is still highly profitable. Yet, he challenges the notion of working for the sake of working.
Ferris proposes there is a ‘New Rich’ (NR) - defined by unrestricted mobility. The ‘mobile lifestyle’ is a systems-focused mindset of effectiveness over efficiency:
“The guard is changing. Being bound to one place will be the new defining feature of the middle class. The New Rich are defined by a more elusive power than simple cash - unrestricted mobility.”
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
As one of my favourite books ever, I’ve read this book every year for years - Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (also my favourite author). Kiyosaki’s iconic book has topped the best-sellers for decades. It challenges all accepted conventions in business and finance. Before its booming success, traditionalists ridiculed the principles in the initially self-published book. These principles are now embraced by millions across the world.
One of Kiyosaki’s observations of the ‘poor dad’ mentality is that you’re indoctrinated to follow a path. Go to school, work hard, get a good job, climb the ladder and retire with benefits. This limits your ability to see possibilities that lie beyond this framework. Not considering how you’re also building wealth outside of your 9-5. And investing in other assets - for both financial and intellectual return.
It’s much more than a book about financial education. It will also have you questioning your goals, values and beliefs. You’ll ask yourself if they are really yours. And, if your choices are giving you the best return on your investment.
The Bezos Blueprint by Carmine Gallo
The Bezos Blueprint isn’t just a generic book capitalising on a famous name and story. It’s one of the best books on communication I’ve read. Whether you’re enamoured by the Bezos’ story or not (I’ll admit I respectfully fall into the latter), Carmine Gallo’s The Bezos Blueprint focuses on the overlooked and under-appreciated aspect of the Amazon success story - communication.
Gallo’s research includes thoroughly studying the 48,062 words of Bezos’ 24 shareholder letters written from 1997-2020 and other Bezos’ communications.
Learn the bullet-proof way to avoid death by PowerPoint, what reading grade levels you should be communicating for and much more:
“PowerPoint allows speakers to pretend that they are giving a real talk, and the audiences to pretend that they are listening.”
The 12-Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington
Most businesses and individuals plan goals around annual cycles. New York Times best-seller, The 12-Week Year, is not a book about thinking in quarters; it’s about redefining your perception of time altogether.
Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington help you learn how to execute plans with the sense of urgency that comes with each year-end all year round. And avoid the risk of complacency that often accompanies a year-long lens. Every so often, a rare book is a complete paradigm shift. The 12-week Year is that book. You’ll never view your ‘years’ and time the same way again.
Limitless by Jim Kwik
As I shared in my book review, if I could rate Limitless by Jim Kwik more than five stars, I would.
The book is a highly pragmatic guide not on what to learn, but how to learn. This includes how to retain information better, creating ‘flow’ and speed reading. It even delves into brain food to keep your ‘second brain’ - your gut - at its peak.
Part memoir, it also shares Kwik’s story of suffering a brain injury and being called the ‘boy with the broken brain’ by a teacher. But, through a chance encounter with a mentor, he discovered the power of books. Against all odds and through sheer self-determination, he’d go on to become a world-renowned ‘personal trainer for the brain’. One with a star-studded client list to match:
“Being limitless is not about being perfect. It’s about progressing beyond what you currently believe is possible.”
I believe books are one of our greatest chances to learn from those gone before us. Those who have already experienced the path you’re travelling. Just like these authors learned from those gone before them. Set yourself up for success in 2024 and beyond, with one or all of these books.
