Business Books

Before I briefly explain the note-taking process, I want to introduce Gary Provost, the author of ‘100 ways to improve your writing.'  "Being a writer is not my profession. It is my nature," once said Gary.  His voluminous lifelong work is proof that the statement was not an exaggeration. Gary sold 22 (fiction and nonfiction) books to major publishing houses throughout his career, writing in almost every genre that the mind can conjure: How-To texts for writers, True Crime, Satire, Mystery, Romance, and more. Apart from writing books, Gary was also engaged in teaching writing, constantly honing his craft by helping...

Originally a designer focussed on consulting, Paul Jarvis has written five books (including 'Company of One'), sold digital courses, and co-founded Fathom Analytics, a privacy-focused Google Analytics Alternative. His contrarian philosophy of purposefully staying small and questioning the conventional wisdom of building a big business empire has shaped Paul's long, successful, and personally meaningful career. In 'Company of One,' Paul shares the ideas behind his choosing this alternate path in business, and more broadly, in life -- a mindful approach based on designing work around life, not the other way around. Note: 'Company of One' contains 13 chapters but the book...

Acclaimed Silicon Valley Journalist Brad Stone has been covering Amazon since its early days. "The Everything Store," is a result of Stone drawing upon his writing experience and interviewing numerous Amazon executives, with the blessings of Jeff Bezos. The book provides a comprehensive account of Amazon's growth from its 1996 inception until 2013, the year of publishing. Reading the book was fruitful because it gave me a window into Amazon's way of thinking & helped me understand Amazon's complex business by breaking it down into distinct components. I've structured my book notes such that they should do the same for...

Before I briefly explain the note-taking process, I want to take a few sentences to introduce William Zinsser, the author of 'On Writing Well.'  A lifelong nonfiction writer, William began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune in 1946. In the 1970s, he taught a writing class at Yale University. He also wrote 18 books in a writing career spanning more than half a century. First published in 1976, 'On Writing Well' is widely regarded as his best work. To date, it has served as the canonical writing book for three generations of writers, journalists, & editors.  In...

Book summaries and book notes are often conflated. So, to be explicit, what follow are notes from 'Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles & Ship Work that Matters.' I read the book & highlighted the key ideas to create a distilled yet detailed version of the subject matter. Whether you're looking to gauge if the full book is worth your time or want to revisit ideas you've already read, my notes should come in handy. Book Notes of ‘Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles & Ship Work that Matters’ by ‘Ryan Singer’. Chapter 1: Introduction This book isn’t about the risk of building...

Book summaries and book notes are often conflated, so to be explicit, what follow are notes from the book Deep Work. We read the book -- highlighted material that stood out, trimmed it down to the essential & made minor edits to align the text with the note-taking format. People who have read the book a long time ago, forgotten the book matter to a certain degree, and would like to refresh their memory of its content would benefit the most from the notes considering the way we've designed them. If you haven't read the book, we'd recommend buying and reading...

When you search for the keyword "best business books," this is what the Google search result looks like All the top-ranking results give you lists, ranging from 7 to a whopping 101 business books. The problem with these lists is that they miss the point. You can't learn all there is to running a successful business by just reading business books ( & nobody is actually going to read 101 business books. It just doesn't make sense ) In our digital economy, aspiring/existing entrepreneurs need to learn how to think, how to learn, how to write, how to build good habits, how to...