Brainz

There are some books that have been so instrumental in shaping the modern world that any learned person should be familiar with them. This is especially true in the business world.

The savvy business person should understand how our world got to be the way it is. For that reason this list of business books includes not just the latest hits, but some ancient classics... the kind of books that on the surface may not even appear to be "business books" at all, such as The Art of War.

In the global village, economic forces are the strongest of all (and often the source of wars), so even a non-business person would be smart to understand business dynamics, the nature of human motivation, innovation, resource management and various other forces that shape our world.

Without further ado, here is a list of the top 50 Business Books that everyone should be familiar with.

50. The 1% Windfall: How Successful Companies Use Price to Profit and Grow

49. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

48. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

47. Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

46. Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands

45. Secrets of Closing the Sale

44. Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

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

42. The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company

41. Steve Jobs

40. The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

39. Guerrilla Marketing

38. The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community, and Everyday Life

37. The Wisdom Of Crowds

36. The Lexus and the Olive Tree

35. The 48 Laws of Power

34. The Practice Of Management

33. When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management

32. In Search of Excellence : Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies

31. Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

30. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

29. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

28. The One Minute Manager

27. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

26. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life

25. The One Thing You Need to Know: … About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success

24. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

23. The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less

22. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

21. Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box

20. Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence

19. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

18. Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matters

17. Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

16. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors

15. The Millionaire Next Door

14. The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

13. Moneyball

12. The Toyota Way

11. The Prince

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

9. Liar’s Poker

8. The Art of War

7. An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

6. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

5. How to Win Friends and Influence People

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

3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

2. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

1. The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business

Source: The 50 Best Business Books