Introducing the 11 best business books of 2008. The 11 Best out of 11,000 business books published last year!
Regardless of our self-described identity -- web developer, web designer, etc. -- we all provide services for compensation. This process is commonly referred to a "business." Yet, many of us focus on our trade, often to the detriment of understanding the business climate in which we operate. And when that climate turns sour, we wonder where our "business" went -- our jobs, our clients, our livelihood.
Now, more than ever, we need to stay focused on the "business" of our craft. One way to do so is to establish a continuing education program to help us understand the best practices of business. Many experts make valuable contributions to the business community in the form of ink on paper. This medium has not gone away. The Internet merely provides us a mechanism to identify these published best practices.
What follows is a summary of an Internet search on "Best Business Books of 2008."
Best Business Books Lists
Here are the 11 sources used to identify the Best of the Best Business Books of 2008:
- BusinessWeek
- FastCompany
- Financial Times
- USA Today
- Miami Herald
- Amazon Editors
- Amazon Customers
- 800-CEO-READ
- BNET
- Business Pundit
- Booklist Online
The Best of The Best
These lists mentioned 82 business books published in 2008 that stand above the rest. Sixty three books were mentioned on only one "Best of" list. Another eight books found their way onto two "Best of" lists.
Here are the 11 books that were mentioned on at least three "Best of" lists followed by the number of mentions on the 11 lists surveyed:
- The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life | 6
- A Sense of Urgency | 5
- The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures | 5
- Outliers: The Story of Success | 4
- Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions | 4
- Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America | 3
- The Game-Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth with Innovation | 3
- The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from Edison to Google | 3
- Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are | 3
- Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness | 3
- The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash | 3
A Sense of Urgency
I will vouch for A Sense of Urgency being one of the best business books of 2008. I rated the book 5 stars at Goodreads.com. Check out my two reading lists in the right-hand column -- Leadership and Strategy -- for detailed reviews of my continuing education as a business professional. Additional books from The Best of The Best List above have been added to my "to-read" list.
If you feel a "sense of urgency" about the current business climate and want to position yourself to not only survive, but thrive, as our economy begins the healing process, then select one of the 11 books from the above list and begin applying the strategies to your business.
If you had to choose just one business book, what would it be? Perhaps, it might be The 100 Best Business Books Of All Time. Tune in this time next year to see if this book rose to the top of The Best Business Books of 2009.
