100 Best Career Guide Books of All Time

We've ranked the best career guide books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

How to Win Friends & Influence People book cover1

How to Win Friends & Influence People

Dale Carnegie

5.0
You can go after the job you want—and get it!
You can take the job you have—and improve it!
You can take any situation—and make it work for you!

Dale Carnegie’s rock-solid, time-tested advice has carried countless people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. One of the most groundbreaking and timeless bestsellers of all time, How to Win Friends & Influence People will teach
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change book cover2

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Stephen R. Covey

4.9
When Stephen Covey first released The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the book became an instant rage because people suddenly got up and took notice that their lives were headed off in the wrong direction; and more than that, they realized that there were so many simple things they could do in order to navigate their life correctly. This book was wonderful education for people, education
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead book cover3

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Sheryl Sandberg

4.8
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious deb
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich book cover4

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

Timothy Ferriss

4.8
More than 100 pages of new, cutting-edge content.
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, Th
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't book cover5

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Jim Collins

4.7
To find the keys to greatness, Collins's 21-person research team read and coded 6,000 articles, generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and created 384 megabytes of computer data in a five-year project. The findings will surprise many readers and, quite frankly, upset others.

The Challenge
Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies trium
So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love book cover6

So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

Cal Newport

4.7
In an unorthodox approach, Georgetown University professor Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that "follow your passion" is good advice, and sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving their careers.

Not only are pre-existing passions rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work, but a focus on passion over skill can be dangerous, leadi
Thinking, Fast and Slow book cover7

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Kahneman

4.7
Major New York Times bestseller
Winner of the National Academy of Sciences Best Book Award in 2012
Selected by the New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of 2011
A Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2011 Title
One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year
One of The Wall Street Journal's Best Nonfiction Books of the Year 2011
2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient

In the internatio
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity book cover8

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

David Allen

4.7
"The Bible of business and personal productivity" —Lifehack

"A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"Fast Company


Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now sh
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World book cover9

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Cal Newport

4.6
One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide th
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses book cover10

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Eric Ries

4.6
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned profes
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion book cover11

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert B. Cialdini

4.6
Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success book cover12

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol S. Dweck

4.6
Now updated with new research — the book that has changed millions of lives.

After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future book cover13

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Peter Thiel

4.6
If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets.

The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.

Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation,
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success book cover14

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success

Adam Grant

4.6
Give and Take highlights what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common.

For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers.
Outliers: The Story of Success book cover15

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell

4.5
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action book cover16

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Simon Sinek

4.5
Why do you do what you do?

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?

People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they a
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us book cover17

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Daniel H. Pink

4.5
The New York Times bestseller that gives readers a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation

Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret t
18

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Seth Godin

4.5
"This is what the future of work (and the world) looks like. Actually, it's already happening around you." — Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com

In bestsellers such as Purple Cow and Tribes, Seth Godin taught readers how to make remarkable products and spread powerful ideas. But this book is about you—your choices, your future, and your potential to make a huge difference in whatever field you choose.

There
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers book cover19

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Ben Horowitz

4.5
A lot of people talk about how great it is to start a business, but only Ben Horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it is to run one.

In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, draws on his own story of founding, running, selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology compa
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference book cover20

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Malcolm Gladwell

4.5
An alternate cover edition exists here.

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller,
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High book cover21

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler

4.5
Crucial Conversations: Tools For Talking When Stakes Are High is a guide to hone your conversation skills, and prepare you for the most important or trying times of your life and career. The book discusses how talking in the right way can help people achieve what they want. People are often tongue-tied when it comes to interacting with someone, especially when there is a lot of tension in the air.
22

Rework

Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson

4.5
Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you're looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.

Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you'll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the c
23

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Charles Duhigg

4.4
A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns inside her brain, neurologists discover, have fundamentally changed.

Marketers at Procter & Gamble study videos of people making their beds. They are desperately trying to figure out how to sell a new produ
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time book cover24

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz

4.4
Do you want to get ahead in life?

Climb the ladder to personal success?

The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people. As Ferrazzi discovered early in life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships—so that everyone wins.

In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps—and inner min
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration book cover25

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Ed Catmull

4.4
“What does it mean to manage well?”
From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and t
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking book cover26

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Susan Cain

4.4
The book that started the Quiet Revolution

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain a
The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career book cover27

The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

Reid Hoffman

4.4
From the co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn and author Ben Casnocha comes a revolutionary new book on how to apply the strategies of successful entrepreneurship to your career: in other words, how to run the 'start-up of you'.

In a world where wages are virtually stagnant, creative disruption is rocking every industry, global competition for jobs is fierce, and job security is a thing of the past,
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in book cover28

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in

Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton

4.4
The key text on problem-solving negotiation-updated and revised

Getting to Yes has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. One of the primary business texts of the modern era, it is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution.

Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mut
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die book cover29

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Chip Heath, Dan Heath

4.4
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The instant classic about why some ideas thrive, why others die, and how to improve your idea's chances--essential reading in the "fake news" era.

Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories circulate effortlessly. Mean
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable book cover30

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

Patrick Lencioni

4.4
In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable that is as enthralling and instructive as his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams.

Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces
The 48 Laws of Power book cover31

The 48 Laws of Power

Robert Greene

4.4
This amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive book synthesizes the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz with the historical legacies of statesmen, warriors, seducers, and con men throughout the ages.
Who Moved My Cheese? book cover32

Who Moved My Cheese?

Spencer Johnson

4.4
Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple parable that reveals profound truths. It is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a "Maze" and look for "Cheese" to nourish them and make them happy.

Two are mice named Sniff and Scurry. And two are "Littlepeople"—beings the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw.

"Cheese" is a metaphor for what you wan
33

What Color Is Your Parachute?: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers

Richard N. Bolles

4.3
With more than 10 million copies sold in 28 countries, the world's most popular job-search book is updated for 2018 and tailors Richard Bolles's long-trusted guidance with up-to-the-minute information and advice for today's job-hunters and career-changers.

In today's challenging job-market, the time-tested advice of What Color Is Your Parachute? is needed more than ever. Recent grads facing a toug
Principles: Life and Work book cover34

Principles: Life and Work

Ray Dalio

4.3
Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.

In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apa
35

What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter

4.3
America's most sought-after executive coach shows how to climb the last few rungs of the ladder The corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They're intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic. But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle--and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book,
The War of Art book cover36

The War of Art

Steven Pressfield

4.3
The Art of War meets "The Artist's Way" in this no-nonsense, profoundly inspiring guide to overcoming creative blocks of every kind.
The Design of Everyday Things book cover37

The Design of Everyday Things

Don Norman

4.3
Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious—even liberating—book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary r
Think and Grow Rich book cover38

Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill

4.3
One of the most popular personal development and self-improvement books of all time, Think and Grow Rich has sold over 100 million copies worldwide since its first publication during the Great Depression. In this hardcover edition, Napoleon Hill presents a "Philosophy of Achievement" in 13 principles drawn from the success stories of such greats as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and o
Strengths Finder 2.0 book cover39

Strengths Finder 2.0

Tom Rath

4.3
Do You Do What You Do Best Every Day?


Chances are, you don't. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.


To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced StrengthsFinder in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions discover their top
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less book cover40

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown

4.3
Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin?

Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized?

Are you often busy but not productive?

Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas?

If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.

The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only
The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels book cover41

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels

Michael Watkins

4.3
Since its original release, The First 90 Days has become the bestselling globally acknowledged bible of leadership and career transitions. In this updated and expanded 10th anniversary edition, internationally known leadership transition expert Michael D. Watkins gives you the keys to successfully negotiating your next move—whether you’re onboarding into a new company, being promoted internally, o
Never Split the Difference book cover42

Never Split the Difference

Chris Voss

4.3
A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home.

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacl
The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail book cover43

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Clayton M. Christensen

4.3
The bestselling classic on disruptive innovation, renowned author Clayton M. Christensen.

His work is cited by the world’s best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic bestseller—now updated with a fresh new package—innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership. Read th
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right book cover44

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

Atul Gawande

4.3

The New York Times bestselling author of Better and Complications reveals the surprising power of the ordinary checklist

We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies‚neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer

Grit book cover45
In this must-read book for anyone striving to succeed, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows parents, educators, students, and business people both seasoned and new that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a focused persistence called grit.

Why do some people succeed and others fail? Sharing new insights from her landmark research on grit, Angela Duckworth explains why
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results book cover46

The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

Gary Keller and Jay Papasa

4.3
The One Thing explains the success habit to overcome the six lies that block our success, beat the seven thieves that steal time, and leverage the laws of purpose, priority, and productivity.
Tools of Titans book cover47

Tools of Titans

Timothy Ferriss

4.3

The latest groundbreaking book from Tim Ferriss, the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek.

From the author:

“For the last two years, I’ve interviewed nearly two hundred world-class performers for my podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. The guests range from super celebs (Jamie Foxx, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc.) and athletes (icons of powerlifting, gymnastics, surfing, etc.) to l

Steve Jobs book cover48

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson

4.3
From the author of the bestselling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive, New York Times bestselling biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveti
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life book cover49

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life

Bill Burnett, Dave Evans

4.3
At last, a book that shows you how to build--"design"--a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage
Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home--at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of desig
50

Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity

Kim Scott

4.2
From the time we learn to speak, we’re told that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. While this advice may work for everyday life, it is, as Kim Scott has seen, a disaster when adopted by managers.

Scott earned her stripes as a highly successful manager at Google and then decamped to Apple, where she developed a class on optimal management. She has earned growing fame
How Will You Measure Your Life? book cover51

How Will You Measure Your Life?

Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, Karen Dillon

4.2
How do you lead a fulfilling life? That profound question animates this book of inspiration and insight from world-class business strategist and bestselling author of The Innovator's Dilemma, Clayton Christensen.After beating a heart attack, advanced-stage cancer and a stroke in three successive years, the world-renowned innovation expert and author of one of the best selling and most influential
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World book cover52

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

Adam Grant

4.2
In Originals the author addresses the challenge of improving the world from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all?

Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertai
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done book cover53

The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

Peter F. Drucker

4.2
A handsome, commemorative edition of Peter F. Drucker’s timeless classic work on leadership and management, with a foreword by Jim Collins.

What makes an effective executive?

For decades, Peter F. Drucker was widely regarded as "the dean of this country’s business and management philosophers" (Wall Street Journal). In this concise and brilliant work, he looks to the most influential position in mana
54

First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

4.2
The world s greatest managers differ in sex, age, and race. They employ different styles and focus on different goals. Despite their differences, great managers share one trait: They break virtually every rule conventional wisdom holds sacred. They don t believe that, with enough training, a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They don t try to help people overcome their weaknesses. T
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE book cover55

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE

Phil Knight

4.2
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.

In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-q
Mastery book cover56
In this book, Robert Greene demonstrates that the ultimate form of power is mastery itself. By analyzing the lives of such past masters as Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Leonard da Vinci, as well as by interviewing nine contemporary masters, including tech guru Paul Graham and animal rights advocate Temple Grandin, Greene debunks our culture’s many myths about genius and d
Magic of Thinking Big book cover57

Magic of Thinking Big

David J. Schwartz

4.2
The Magic of Thinking Big gives you useful methods, not empty promises. Dr. Schwartz presents a carefully designed program for getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life, and your community. He proves that you don't need to be an intellectual or have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction, but you do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behavi
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future book cover58

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

Chris Guillebeau

4.2
In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose – and earn a good living.

Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth – he’s already visited more than 175 nations – and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into incom
The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win book cover59

The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win

Gene Kim

4.2
Bill is an IT manager at Parts Unlimited. It's Tuesday morning and on his drive into the office, Bill gets a call from the CEO.

The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is massively over budget and very late. The CEO wants Bill to report directly to him and fix the mess in ninety days or else Bill's entire department
The Art of War book cover60
For more than two thousand years, The Art of War has stood as a cornerstone of Chinese culture-a lucid epigrammatic text that reveals as much about human psychology, politics, and economics as it does about battlefield strategy. The influence of Sun-tzu's text has grown tremendously in the West in recent years, with military leaders, politicians, and corporate executives alike finding valuable ins
High Output Management book cover61

High Output Management

Andrew S. Grove

4.2
The essential skill of creating and maintaining new businesses—the art of the entrepreneur—can be summed up in a single word: managing. In High Output Management, Andrew S. Grove, former chairman and CEO (and employee number three) of Intel, shares his perspective on how to build and run a company. Born of Grove’s experiences at one of America’s leading technology companies, this legendary managem
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard book cover62

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Chip Heath and Dan Heath

4.2
Why is change so difficult and frightening? How do you create change when you have few resources and no title or authority to back you up? Chip and Dan Heath, the best-selling authors of Made to Stick, are back with a ground-breaking book that addresses one of the greatest challenges of our personal and professional lives — how to change things when change is hard.

In their follow-up book to the cr
The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering book cover63

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

Frederick P. Brooks Jr.

4.2
Few books on software project management have been as influential and timeless as The Mythical Man-Month. With a blend of software engineering facts and thought-provoking opinions, Fred Brooks offers insight for anyone managing complex projects. These essays draw from his experience as project manager for the IBM System/360 computer family and then for OS/360, its massive software system. Now, 20
The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master book cover64

The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

Andrew Hunt and David Thomas

4.2
-- Ward Cunningham Straight from the programming trenches, The Pragmatic Programmer cuts through the increasing specialization and technicalities of modern software development to examine the core process--taking a requirement and producing working, maintainable code that delights its users. It covers topics ranging from personal responsibility and career development to architectural techniques fo
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative book cover65

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Austin Kleon

4.2
You don’t need to be a genius, you just need to be yourself. That’s the message from Austin Kleon, a young writer and artist who knows that creativity is everywhere, creativity is for everyone. A manifesto for the digital age, Steal Like an Artist is a guide whose positive message, graphic look and illustrations, exercises, and examples will put readers directly in touch with their artistic side.
66

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You

John C. Maxwell

4.2
If you’ve never read The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, you’ve been missing out on one of the best-selling leadership books of all time. If you have read the original version, then you’ll love this new expanded and updated one.

Internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author John C. Maxwell has taken this million-seller and made it even better:

Every Law of Leadership has bee
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World book cover67

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

David Epstein

4.2
What's the most effective path to success in any domain? It's not what you think.

Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research
The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business book cover68

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

Josh Kaufman

4.1
Master the fundamentals, hone your business instincts, and save a fortune in tuition.

The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how bus
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ book cover69

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

Daniel Goleman

4.1
Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman's brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our "two minds"—the rational and the emotional—and how they together shape our destiny.

Through vivid examples, Goleman delineates the five crucia
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies book cover70

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras

4.1
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience book cover71

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

4.1
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this posit
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products book cover72

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

Nir Eyal

4.1
How do successful companies create products people can’t put down?

Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful com
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead book cover73

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Brené Brown

4.1
Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 book cover74

Emotional Intelligence 2.0

Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves

4.1
"Emotional Intelligence 2.0 succinctly explains how to deal with emotions creatively and employ our intelligence in a beneficial way."
--THE DALAI LAMA

For the first time ever in a book, TalentSmart's revolutionary program helps people identify their EQ skills, build these skills into strengths, and enjoy consistent performance in the pursuit of important life objectives. The book contains proven st
75

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Braden Kowitz

4.1
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose book cover76

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

Tony Hsieh

4.1
You want to learn about the path that we took at Zappos to get to over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in less than ten years. You want to learn about the path I took that eventually led me to Zappos, and the lessons I learned along the way. You want to learn from all the mistakes we made at Zappos over the years so that your business can avoid making some of the same ones. You want to figur
Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Show Your Creativity and Get Discovered: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered book cover77

Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Show Your Creativity and Get Discovered: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered

Austin Kleon

4.1
In his New York Times bestseller Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon showed readers how to unlock their creativity by stealing from the community of other movers and shakers. Now, in an even more forward-thinking and necessary book, he shows how to take that critical next step on a creative journey getting known. Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It s about getting findable, ab
78

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Richard H. Thaler

4.1
Every day, we make decisions on topics ranging from personal investments to schools for our children to the meals we eat to the causes we champion. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. The reason, the authors explain, is that, being human, we all are susceptible to various biases that can lead us to blunder. Our mistakes make us poorer and less healthy; we often make bad decisions involving educ
The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change book cover79

The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change

Camille Fournier

4.1
Managing people is difficult wherever you work, but the tech industry as a whole is pretty bad at it. Tech companies in general lack the experience, tools, texts, and frameworks to do it well. And the handful of books that share tips and tricks of engineering management don t explain how to supervise employees in the face of growth and change.

In this book, author Camille Fournier takes you through
80

Nice Girls Still Don't Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers

Lois P. Frankel

4.1
The New York Times bestseller, which has become a must-have for women in business, is now revised and updated in celebration of its 10th anniversary.

Internationally recognized executive coach Dr. Lois P. Frankel teacher women how to eliminate unconscious mistakes that could be holding them back, and gives invaluable coaching tips that can easily be incorporated into social and business skills. The
Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability book cover81

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Steve Krug

4.1
Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, over 400,000 Web designers and developers have relied on Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design.

In this 3rd edition, Steve returns with fresh perspective to reexamine the principles that made Don’t Make Me Think a classic-–with updated examples and a new chapter on mobile usabil
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. book cover82

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

Brené Brown

4.1
In her #1 New York Times bestsellers, Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she's showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.

Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsi
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking book cover83

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Malcolm Gladwell

4.1
Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.

Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a bo
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win book cover84

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win

Jocko Willink

4.1
An updated edition of the blockbuster bestselling leadership book that took America and the world by storm, two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life.

Combat, the most intense and dynamic environment imaginable, teaches the toughest leadership
Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love book cover85

Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

Marty Cagan

4.1
The basic premise of Inspired is that the best tech companies create products in a manner very different from how most companies create products. The goal of the book is to share the techniques of the best companies. This book is aimed primarily at Product Managers working on technology-powered products. That includes the hundreds of "tech companies" like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter and the
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It book cover86

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

Michael E. Gerber

4.1
E-Myth \ 'e-,'mith\ n 1: the entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs 2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work

Voted #1 business book by Inc. 500 CEOs.

An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dis
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement book cover87

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

4.1
Written in a fast-paced thriller style, 'The Goal' contains a serious message for all managers in industry and explains the ideas which underline the Theory of Constraints developed by the author.
88

Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box

The Arbinger Institute

4.1
Since its original publication in 2000, Leadership and Self-Deception has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Its sales continue to increase year after year, and the book's popularity has gone global, with editions now available in over twenty languages.

Leadership and Self-Deception shows how the problems that typically prevent superior performance in organizations and cause conflicts in our person
The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - and How to Make the Most of Them Now book cover89

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - and How to Make the Most of Them Now

Meg Jay

4.1
Our "thirty-is-the-new-twenty" culture tells us the twentysomething years don't matter. Some say they are a second adolescence. Others call them an emerging adulthood. Dr. Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist, argues that twentysomethings have been caught in a swirl of hype and misinformation, much of which has trivialized what is actually the most defining decade of adulthood.

Drawing from a decade o
90

Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type

Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron-Tieger

4.0
Revised and Updated Edition Featuring E-careers for the 21st Century

Now updated for today's hottest jobs--including telecommunications, biotechnology, and health care professional--this bestselling career guide shows people how to determine their personality type, and then explains which jobs are best suited to each type.

Already a classic in the genre, Do What You Are has helped hundreds of thousa
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life book cover91

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

Mark Manson

4.0
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062457738

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "Fk positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let’s be honest, shit is fked and w
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones book cover92

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

James Clear

4.0
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most book cover93

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen

4.0
The 10th-anniversary edition of the New York Times business bestseller-now updated with "Answers to Ten Questions People Ask"

We attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day-whether dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with a spouse, or negotiating with a client. From the Harvard Negotiation Project, the organization that brought you Getting to Yes, Difficult Conversations
To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others book cover94

To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

Daniel H. Pink

4.0
From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising--and surprisingly useful--new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day more than fifteen million people earn their keep by persuading someone else to make a purchase.

But dig deeper and a startling truth emerges:

Ye
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More Change the Way You Lead Forever book cover95

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More Change the Way You Lead Forever

Michael Bungay Stanier

4.0
Coaching is an essential skill for leaders. But for most busy, overworked managers, coaching employees is done badly, or not at all. They’re just too busy, and it’s too hard to change.

But what if managers could coach their people in 10 minutes or less?

In Michael Bungay Stanier’s The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less ha
Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well book cover96

Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well

Douglas Stone, Sheila Heen

4.0
The bestselling authors of the classic Difficult Conversations teach us how to turn evaluations, advice, criticisms, and coaching into productive listening and learning

We swim in an ocean of feedback. Bosses, colleagues, customers—but also family, friends, and in-laws—they all have “suggestions” for our performance, parenting, or appearance. We know that feedback is essential for healthy relations
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything book cover97

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Steven D. Levitt

4.0
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? Freakonomics will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.

These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven
Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time book cover98

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

Brian Tracy

4.0
Stop Procrastinating
Get More of the Important Things Done--Today!
There just isn't enough time for everything on our to-do list--and there never will be. Successful people don't try to do everything. They learn to focus on the most important tasks and make sure those get done. They eat their frogs.
There's an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you'll have t
Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship book cover99

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

Robert C. Martin

4.0
Even bad code can function. But if code isn t clean, it can bring a development organization to its knees. Every year, countless hours and significant resources are lost because of poorly written code. But it doesn t have to be that way.
Noted software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship . Martin has teamed up with
The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You book cover100

The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You

Julie Zhuo

4.0
Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller!

Congratulations, you're a manager! After you pop the champagne, accept the shiny new title, and step into this thrilling next chapter of your career, the truth descends like a fog: you don't really know what you're doing.

That's exactly how Julie Zhuo felt when she became a rookie manager at the age of 25. She stared at a long list of logistics--from hiring t