Blake Masters was a Stanford Law School student in 2012 when his thorough notes on Peter's class "Computer Science 183: Startup" became viral on the internet. He is the President of The Thiel Foundation and the CEO of Thiel Capital. He has supplied seed money to LinkedIn, Yelp, and dozens of successful digital firms, many of which are managed by former colleagues dubbed the "PayPal Mafia."

The great mystery of our time is that there are still unexplored territories to explore and new inventions to make. In Zero to One, entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel demonstrates how we might find unique ways to build those new things.

Thiel begins with the counter-intuitive premise that we live in a time of technological stagnation, even if we're too distracted by flashy mobile devices to notice. Although information technology has advanced rapidly, there is no reason to confine progress to computers or Silicon Valley. Progress can be made in any industry or business. It stems from the most fundamental skill that every leader must learn: the ability to think for oneself.

Doing something that someone else already knows how to accomplish increases the world from 1 to n by adding more of something familiar. However, as you try anything new, your score increases from 0 to 1. The next Bill Gates is unlikely to create an operating system. A search engine will not be created by the next Larry Page or Sergey Brin. Tomorrow's champions will not triumph if they compete ruthlessly in today's market. They will be immune to competition since their firms will be one-of-a-kind.

Zero to One gives both a hopeful perspective of America's future advancement and a new way of thinking about innovation: it begins with learning to ask the questions that lead to the discovery of value in unexpected places. It is regarded as one of the best books on business.

Author: Blake Masters and Peter Thiel

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future/dp/0804139296

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 14697 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #2,719 in Books

#1 in Economic Policy

#1 in Economic Policy & Development (Books)

#5 in Venture Capital (Books)

ERIC RIES is a successful entrepreneur and the creator of the renowned blog Startup Lessons Learned. He co-founded and served as CTO of IMVU, his third firm, and has seen numerous startup failures. He is a frequent business event speaker, has counseled a number of startups, large corporations, and venture capital firms on business and product development, and is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School. His Lean Startup methodology has received coverage in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, and several blogs. He currently resides in San Francisco.

A startup, according to Eric Ries, is an organization dedicated to producing something new in the face of severe uncertainty. This is true for a single person in a garage as it is for a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they all have in common is a desire to break through the shroud of uncertainty in order to find a viable path to a long-term business.

The Lean Startup methodology creates organizations that are both more capital efficient and more successful at leveraging human innovation. It is based on "validated learning," quick scientific experimentation, and a number of counter-intuitive approaches that shorten product development cycles, assess actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers truly want. It enables a corporation to change course quickly, changing plans inch by inch, minute by minute.

Rather than wasting time on extensive business strategies, The Lean Startup provides entrepreneurs—of all sizes—with a mechanism to continuously test their vision, adapt, and adjust before it's too late. In an age when companies need to innovate more than ever, Ries offers a scientific approach to building and managing successful firms.

Author: Eric Ries

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 10414 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #2,645 in Books

#1 in Lean Management

#4 in Starting a Business (Books)

#4 in Venture Capital (Books)

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) characterized himself as a "simple country guy" from Missouri, yet he was also a self-help pioneer. He has affected millions of readers since the 1936 release of his debut book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, and his classic works continue to impact lives to this day.

Dale Carnegie's tried-and-true wisdom has helped countless people climb the corporate and personal success ladders. How to Win Friends and Influence People, one of the most groundbreaking and timeless books of all time and among the best books on business, will teach you:

• Six techniques for making people like you
  
• Twelve strategies for persuading others to accept your point of view
  
• Nine methods for changing individuals without causing hostility
  
• And a lot more! A must-read for the twenty-first century with over 15 million copies sold, Achieve Your Maximum Potential!
  

This classic book on people skills was first published in 1937. It was an instant success, selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is still as relevant today as it was when it was originally published, owing to Dale Carnegie's insight of human nature.

Carnegie felt that financial success is attributed 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to articulate ideas, establish leadership, and inspire excitement among others." He teaches these abilities by instilling basic ideas of dealing with people that make them feel important and valued. He also stresses basic skills for dealing with people without making them feel exploited. Carnegie claims that you can persuade someone to do what you want them to do by viewing the situation from the other person's perspective and "arousing in the other person an urgent desire." You learn how to make people like you, win people around to your point of view, and change people without offending or enraging them. "Let the other person feel that the concept is his or hers," for example, and "speak about your own faults before criticizing the other person." Carnegie supports his arguments with examples about historical luminaries, corporate leaders, and ordinary people.

Author: Dale Carnegie

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 67764 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #44 in Books

Tim Ferriss has been named one of Fast Company's "Most Innovative Business People" as well as one of Fortune's "40 Under 40." He is an early-stage technology investor/adviser (Uber, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ others), as well as the author of four New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-sellers, including The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, and Tools of Titans.

Forget about retirement and the rest of your deferred-life plan; there is no reason to wait, especially in these uncertain economic times. The 4-Hour Workweek is the plan for escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end globe travel, or generating a monthly five-figure salary with no management.

This step-by-step luxury lifestyle design guide teaches:

• How Tim went from $40,000 per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per month and 4 hours per week
• How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want
• How to reduce 50% of your job in 48 hours by applying the concepts of an obscure Italian economist
• How to swap a long-term career for brief bursts of employment and regular "mini-retirements"
  

Tim Ferriss' latest enhanced edition of The 4-Hour Workweek includes:

• Over 50 practical ideas and case studies from readers (including families) who used the first book as a springboard to quadruple their income, overcome typical roadblocks, and reinvent themselves.
• Real-world templates for getting rid of e-mail, negotiating with bosses and clients, or hiring a private chef for less than $8 per meal.
• How Lifestyle Design principles can be applied to volatile economic times.
• The most recent tools and tactics, as well as high-tech shortcuts, for living like a diplomat or millionaire without actually being one.

Author: Timothy Ferriss

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307465357

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 18056 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,152 in Books

#6 in Time Management (Books)

#18 in Job Hunting & Career Guides

#48 in Motivational Management & Leadership

Stephen R. Covey (1932-2012) was an internationally known leadership authority, family specialist, teacher, organizational consultant, and author who was named one of Time magazine's twenty-five most important Americans. His books have sold over 25 million copies in 38 languages, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was awarded the Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century.

Sean Covey is the President of FranklinCovey Education and the creator of the Four Disciplines technique. Sean is a Harvard MBA and former Brigham Young University quarterback who has published multiple books, including The Leader in Me and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

Millions of people have adopted the 7 Habits and incorporate them into their daily lives. Why? Because they are effective!

The wisdom of the 7 Habits will be renewed for a new generation of leaders with Sean Covey's added takeaways on how the habits might be employed in our modern world.

They are as follows:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
• Habit 3: Put First Things First
• Habit 4: Think Win/Win
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
• Habit 6: Synergize
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Among the best books on business, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People offers a principle-centered approach to dealing with both personal and professional issues. Stephen R. Covey shows a step-by-step approach for living with justice, integrity, honesty, and human dignity—principles that give us the stability to adapt to change and the wisdom and capacity to capitalize on the opportunities that change creates.

Author: Stephen R. Covey and Sean Covey

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/1982137274

Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 stars (from 9813 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #946 in Books

#17 in Business Processes & Infrastructure

#27 in Business Management (Books)

#40 in Motivational Management & Leadership

Simon Sinek, bestselling author of Leaders Eat Last and Together is Better, is an optimist who believes in humanity's destiny. He educates leaders and organizations how to inspire others, and his ideas have been presented all over the world, from small startups to Fortune 50 firms, from Hollywood to Congress to the Pentagon. His Start with Why-based TED Talk is the third most popular TED video of all time.

Discover the book that has captivated millions on TikTok and inspired one of the most popular TED Talks of all time, with over 56 million views and counting. Simon Sinek began a movement over a decade ago that motivated millions to seek meaning at work, to ask what their organization's WHY was. Millions have been touched by the force of his ideas since then, and they remain as relevant and urgent as ever.

Start with why asks (and answers) why some people and organizations are more innovative, influential, and profitable than others. Why do some command greater consumer and employee loyalty? Why, even among the successful, are so few able to replicate their success?

Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers all had nothing in common, but they all began with WHY. They discovered that until people grasp the WHY behind a product, service, movement, or idea, they will not completely buy into it.

Start with Why demonstrates that the world's most influential leaders all think, behave, and communicate in the same way—and it's the polar opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek refers to this powerful concept as The Golden Circle, and it gives a framework for companies to be established, movements to be led, and people to be inspired. It all begins with WHY.

Author: Simon Sinek

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/1591846447/

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 24186 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #635 in Books

#5 in Computers & Technology Industry

#8 in Entrepreneurship (Books)

#36 in Leadership & Motivation

Jason Fried is the cofounder and president of Basecamp (previously 37signals), a privately held Chicago-based company dedicated to creating the greatest web-based products with the fewest features feasible. Fried is the coauthor, along with David Heinemeier Hansson, of Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application, Remote: Office Not Required, and the New York Times bestseller Rework.

Most business books will tell you to write a business plan, research the competition, find investors, and so on. Put this one back on the shelf if you're looking for something like that.

You'll learn why plans are actually damaging, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the competition if you read it. The truth is that you require less than you believe. You are not required to be a workaholic. You don't need to hire more people. There is no need for you to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don't even require an office space. All of them are just excuses.

What you need to do is stop talking and get to work. This book will show you how. You'll discover how to be more productive, how to gain exposure without breaking the wallet, and a slew of other unconventional ideas that will both excite and provoke you.

Rework is the ideal guidebook for anyone who has ever wanted to do it on their own, thanks to its clear language and easy-is-better approach. These pages will be useful to hard-core entrepreneurs, small-business owners, those stuck in day jobs they despise, victims of "downsizing," and artists who don't want to hunger any more.

Author: Jason Fried

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Rework-Jason-Fried/dp/0307463745

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 5516 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #13,667 in Books

#5 in Business Pricing

#67 in Small Business (Books)

#153 in Entrepreneurship (Books)

Malcolm Gladwell is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, David and Goliath, Talking to Strangers, and The Bomber Mafia. He is also the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audio content firm that produces the podcasts Revisionist History, which revisits things that have been neglected or misinterpreted, and Broken Record, in which he, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam interview performers from various genres. Gladwell has been named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People and one of Foreign Policy's Top Global Thinkers.

Discover Malcolm Gladwell's spectacular debut and examine the science behind viral trends in business, marketing, and human behavior, from the blockbuster author of The Bomber Mafia. The tipping point is defined as the magical moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. A little but perfectly targeted push can generate a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a decline in the crime rate, just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu. This globally praised best-seller- The Tipping Point, in which Malcolm Gladwell investigates and eloquently describes the tipping point phenomena, is already transforming the way people across the world think about selling products and spreading ideas.

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624

Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 stars (from 5519 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #2,324 in Books

#2 in Market Research Business (Books)

#4 in Statistics (Books)

#7 in Advertising (Books)

Based on his popular ben's blog, Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for dealing with the toughest problems that business school doesn't cover.

While many individuals extol the virtues of starting a business, few are candid about how difficult it is to run one. Ben Horowitz examines the issues that executives face on a daily basis, offering the lessons he's gathered by founding, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and supervising technology companies. He enhances business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs, telling it straight about anything from dismissing friends to poaching competitors, establishing and maintaining a CEO mentality to knowing when to cash in.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things is an important resource for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new companies, relying on Horowitz's personal and often humbling experiences. The book is one of the best books on business.

Author: Ben Horowitz

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205/

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 4874 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #2,567 in Books

#6 in Venture Capital (Books)

#7 in Starting a Business (Books)

#35 in Business Decision Making

Michael E. Gerber, based in Santa Rosa, California, is the founder and CEO of E-Myth Worldwide. He is also the bestselling author of The E-Myth Contractor, The Power Point, The E-Myth, The E-Myth Revisited, and The E-Myth Manager, as well as a popular speaker and small company revolutionist.

Michael Gerber dispels the misconceptions around establishing your own business and explains how everyday preconceptions may get in the way of running a business in this first new and completely revised edition of the over two million copies hit, The E-Myth. Next, he leads you through the stages of a business's life, from entrepreneurial infancy to teenage growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that flourish, and demonstrates how to apply franchising concepts to any organization, franchise or not. Finally, Gerber makes an important distinction between working on your business and working in your business. You will be able to build your business in a predictable and profitable manner after reading The E-Myth Revisited.

Author: Michael E. Gerber

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 7861 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,318 in Books

#3 in Deals in Books

#7 in Small Business (Books)

#15 in Entrepreneurship (Books)

Malcolm Gladwell is the New York Times bestselling author of five books: The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. He is also the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audio content firm that produces the podcasts Revisionist History, which revisits things that have been neglected or misinterpreted, and Broken Record, in which he, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam interview performers from various genres. Gladwell has been named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People and one of Foreign Policy's Top Global Thinkers.

Malcolm Gladwell's remarkable new book takes us on an intellectual voyage through the world of "outliers"—the smartest and brightest, the most renowned and successful. He poses the question, "What distinguishes outstanding achievers?"

His response is that we focus too much on what successful individuals look like and too little on where they come from: their culture, family, generation, and the unique experiences of their childhood. He discusses the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are strong at math, and what made the Beatles the best rock band along the way.

Outliers, a brilliant and amusing work, is a landmark work that will both delight and illuminate.

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 21318 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #332 in Books

#3 in Sociology (Books)

#5 in Business Decision Making

#6 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving

Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School is Clayton M. Christensen. He is the bestselling author of eight books, including The Innovator's Solution, How Will You Measure Your Life?, and Disrupting Class. Christensen is a cofounder of the management consulting business Innosight, the investment firm Rose Park Advisors, and the nonprofit think tank Innosight Institute.

His work has been acknowledged by some of the world's most well-known thought leaders, including Steve Jobs and Malcolm Gladwell. Clayton Christensen, an innovation guru, shows how even the most extraordinary firms may do everything right and still lose market leadership in this classic bestseller—one of the most influential business books of all time.

Christensen shows why most businesses fail to capitalize on new waves of innovation. He claims that regardless of industry, a successful company with proven products would be pushed away unless management understand when and how to forsake traditional business techniques.

The Innovator's Dilemma provides a set of guidelines for profiting on the phenomena of disruptive innovation, using both successes and failures from prominent firms as examples.

The Innovator's Dilemma is the book that no manager, leader, or entrepreneur should be without. It is sharp, cogent, and provocative, and it is consistently cited as one of the most valuable business ideas of all time.

Author: Clayton M. Christensen

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1633691780

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 1954 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #16,714 in Books

#4 in Industrial Management & Leadership

#27 in Strategy & Competition

#27 in Customer Relations (Books)

Phil Knight, the creator of Nike, Inc., is one of the world's most powerful corporate CEOs. He was the company's CEO from 1964 to 2004, as well as its board chairman from 2004 to 2016, and he is now Chairman Emeritus. He and his wife, Penny, live in Oregon.

Shoe Dog was chosen one of Bill Gates' five favorite books of 2016, and he described it as "an outstanding tale, a refreshingly honest reminder of what the route to corporate success truly looks like." It's a tumultuous, risky, and chaotic trip littered with blunders, interminable difficulties, and sacrifice. Phil Knight is willing to open up in ways that few CEOs are."

Phil Knight, fresh out of business school, borrowed $50 from his father and founded a firm with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Knight earned $8,000 in his first year selling shoes from the trunk of his automobile in 1963. Nike's annual sales now exceed $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight's Nike is the gold standard, and its swoosh is one of the few icons that is instantly recognized around the world.

But the man behind the swoosh, Knight, has always been a mystery. He finally shares his story in Shoe Dog. At the age of twenty-four, Knight decides that rather than working for a large organization, he will start something new, exciting, and unique. He describes the numerous risks he faced, the heartbreaking defeats, the vicious competitors and unfriendly bankers—as well as his several spectacular victories. Above all, he remembers the relationships that shaped Nike's heart and soul, with his former track coach, the irascible and flamboyant Bill Bowerman, and with his first workers, a motley crew of misfits and savants who rapidly became a band of swoosh-crazed brothers.

They established a brand—and a culture—that transformed everything by harnessing the explosive power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the transformative power of sports.

Author: Phil Knight

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135929

Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 stars (from 23236 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #8,828 in Books

#3 in Fashion & Textile Business

#9 in Running & Jogging (Books)

#9 in Football Biographies (Books)

Chris Voss is a world-renowned practitioner and instructor of negotiation skills. He is the founder and principal of The Black Swan Group, a consulting firm that helps Fortune 500 firms navigate tough negotiations.

Tahl Raz discovers big ideas and inspiring stories that inspire people and organizations to change and flourish. He is an award-winning journalist and the co-author of Never Eat Alone, a New York Times best-seller.

Chris Voss joined the FBI after policing the harsh streets of Kansas City, Missouri, where his employment as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a variety of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. He rose to the top of his field as the FBI's primary international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference transports you into the realm of high-stakes negotiations and inside Voss's mind, showing the abilities that enabled him and his colleagues to succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. He discusses the nine powerful concepts, paradoxical methods, and strategies you can apply to become more persuasive in both your business and personal life in this practical book.

You should be prepared for a number of negotiations in your life, such as purchasing a car, negotiating a salary, purchasing a home, renegotiating rent, and deliberating with your partner. Never Split the Difference takes emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, giving you a competitive advantage in any discussion.

Author: Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/0062407805/

Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 stars (from 26614 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #243 in Books

#2 in Business Negotiating (Books)

#4 in Communication Skills

#10 in Behavioral Sciences (Books)

Chip Heath is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. Dan Heath is an Aspen Institute Policy Programs Consultant. He is a co-founder of Thinkwell, an innovative new-media textbook startup, and a former researcher at Harvard Business School.

"A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on," Mark Twain once said. His remark is correct: urban legends, conspiracy theories, and fabricated news reports spread freely. Meanwhile, those with big ideas—entrepreneurs, instructors, legislators, and journalists—are struggling to make them "stick."

Chip and Dan Heath explore the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain how to make ideas stickier, such as employing the human scale principle, the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps in Made to Stick. The authors discover along the way that sticky messages of all kinds—from the famed "kidney theft ring" hoax to a coach's instructions on sportsmanship to Sony's vision for a new product—draw their potency from the same six features.

Made to Stick will alter your communication style and help you develop your business. It's a fast-paced tour of success (and failure) stories: the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to show a point about stomach ulcers; organizations that employ the Mother Teresa Effect; and the elementary-school teacher whose simulation truly averted racial discrimination.

Made to Stick is a provocative, eye-opening, and often shockingly amusing look at the essential principles of winning ideas—and how the authors might use these guidelines to make their own messages stick.

Author: Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others-ebook/dp/B000N2HCKQ

Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 3348 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #29,948 in Kindle Store

#1 in Epistemology (Kindle Store)
#3 in Communication Reference (Kindle Store)
#6 in Academic & Commercial Writing Reference