“What you value is not what you say you value—it’s what you make time for.” – Pat Flynn in Lean Learning
If improving your career is something you value, make time for reading. Business books can help you advance your career, make more money or simply get inspired to keep going. These four new titles cover various stages in your career:
- For those just starting out: The Financial Abundance Blueprint by Amanda Henry
- For team, project and business leaders: Pitch, Sketch, Launch by John Krewson
- For entrepreneurs: Lean Learning by Pat Flynn
- For FIRE enthusiasts: Millionaire Milestones by Sam Dogen
The Financial Abundance Blueprint by Amanda Henry
Amanda Henry is a first-generation Ivy League graduate who worked in Big Tech before venturing out as a career and money coach. In The Financial Abundance Blueprint, Henry shares how she reached her career and financial goals with a traditional corporate 9-5 job to show readers firsthand that you don’t need to work multiple side gigs or take undue risks. The book includes both career and personal finance advice, and if you’re a music lover, Henry frequently makes references to popular music as she explains different investment concepts. It’s an inspiring and informative book with particularly strong career advice on building a personal brand and focusing on work that matters.
“Focus on creating artifacts that not only communicate the initiative’s success but also provide visibility to leadership and stakeholders across the organization.” – Amanda Henry in The Financial Abundance Blueprint
Pitch, Sketch, Launch by John Krewson
John Krewson was a theater major in college and then worked in software development and project management. He founded and leads Sketch Development Services, which uses sketch comedy concepts to improve software development teams. Pitch, Sketch, Launch gives an overview of how product development, team management and even the corporate meeting can be improved by applying best practices that work for successful sketch comedy teams (e.g., Saturday Night Live, Kids in the Hall). The book is an enjoyable read, interweaving funny sketch bits with insightful management advice. Krewson’s emphasis on creating psychological safety and finding value in mistakes is particularly compelling and relevant to all industries, not just technology.
“Don’t confuse productivity with being busy. • Don’t confuse efficiency with value delivery. If you see waste as a bad thing, you’ll seek to eliminate it. If you recognize that waste as a necessary by-product of the process, you’ll seek to mine it for value.“ – John Krewson in Pitch, Sketch, Launch
Lean Learning by Pat Flynn
Pat Flynn was a laid-off architect who launched an online study course for architects that became a success and launched Flynn into the world of online marketing. Now creator and lead of the Smart Passive Income blog, courses and community, Flynn helps other entrepreneurs create and launch online products. In Lean Learning, Flynn focuses on how to move readers from information to action by sharing structured, bitesize ways to act on what you read, research and learn. This book covers a timely topic given the deluge of information available to us.
“Lean Learning is captured in its simplicity and its efficacy. It is structured around four essential steps: 1. Identify what you want to accomplish next. 2. Learn only what you need to move forward. 3. Implement what you’ve learned. 4. Review and repeat to refine the process to deepen understanding and skill.” – Pat Flynn in Lean Learning
Millionaire Milestones by Sam Dogen
Sam Dogen retired from a finance career at age 34 and pens the Financial Samurai blog, one of the early proponents of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. The subtitle of Millionaire Milestones is “Simple Steps To Seven Figures”, and Dogen delivers with chapters on mindset, saving and investing, real estate, entrepreneurship, even advice on money and marriage.
“Each zero in your net worth represents years of discipline, growth, and perseverance through uncertainty. Also realize that some luck and privilege likely assisted you – a supportive family, an influential mentor, or a friend who gifted you this book. We all stand on others’ shoulders. Pay that gift forward.” – Sam Dogen in Millionaire Milestones
What are you reading now?
Business books are a small investment with a potentially big payoff. If you’re short on time, bring a book for your walk on the treadmill or commute to work (use the audio version if you’re driving). If you’re short on money, check your library or neighborhood used book store (some of them have trade-in options so you can drop off books you’ve finished and pick up new ones). If you’re short on motivation, just think how much grief you’ll save with the information and case studies you can read about.