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We asked this question to each of the 16 successful entrepreneurs profiled in our interview series. And to be honest, it was one of the most valuable parts of the whole project for me. I found books and blogs that challenged my views in a reading, forced me to rethink our business and showed me solutions and opportunities that I had previously missed. Some of these are so-called “classics” in industrial literature. The best – and many others – have read almost everyone.

Others are hidden gems; Niche publications that, if the interviewees hadn’t mentioned them, might never have come across their wisdom. You may have read some of these, but I hope this post inspires you with another book or blog that you haven’t picked up yet. After all, a good idea can change the game for you… It’s been to me many times.

Good from Jim Collins

One of the most famous economists of our time. Good to Great is on the shelves of many, many entrepreneurs, including me.

Scaling Verne Harnish

This is the book on which your own growth process in groove is based (more on that here). Unsurprisingly, we did the right thing with the help of our growth coach, which David presented to us.

Zero to one, according to Peter Thief

This book caused a huge blaze when it was published a few years ago and still needs to be seen to see how startups are built for the future. If you are pessimistic about what the future holds for us – both in business and elsewhere – read this book. It shows a lot of amazing stories (and opportunities) that all founders should know. It’s hard to build motivated and talented people. Of course, it is even more difficult to keep these people happy and happy to produce each business trip through peaks and valleys. This book is a fictional story that taught me a lot about how to handle this challenge. The subtitle of this book is How to Double Your Earnings and Profits in 3 Years or Less, which gives you a good idea of Herold’s tough, pointless approach to business. But he speaks from experience because he has done just that more than once for several companies, as you’ve probably heard.

As I’ve said before, I mean reading to be one of the highest rankings ever. Intelligent, successful people distill their knowledge into a few thousand words or a few hundred pages. And if these words or pages contain only one idea that could affect our business, the time worth reading is worth reading. Hopefully, this book has given you at least a few new possible sources for your next big idea.