What is the ONE book that most impacted your career?

WHAT IS THE ONE BOOK THAT MOST IMPACTED YOUR CAREER? The answers of 70 brilliant entrepreneurs and business professionals

1. Andrew Gazdecki CEO, Microacquire.com

To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink This book had a significant influence on my entrepreneurial career. The most essential skill for startup founders is sales because it's 90% of the job.

2. Austin Belcak Founder, Cultivated Culture

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss This book gave me permission to stop using traditional processes just because everyone else did them. It pushed me to experiment and think outside the box, which led to the job search system that got me in at Microsoft and that my whole business is built on.

3. Guy Kawasaki Chief Evangelist, Canva

If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland

4. Josh Braun Founder, Braun Training

Never Split The Difference by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz

5. Rand Fishkin CEO, SparkToro

Small Giants by Bo Burlingham In my early career, Good to Great and Built to Last were very influential, though I later came to believe that neither was accurate nor presented the kind of company I wanted to build. In my later years, perhaps Small Giants by Bo Burlingham is much more aligned with how I hope to engage as an entrepreneur. 3. Guy Kawasaki Chi fE li C

6. Dan Ariely Professor of behavioral Economics, Duke University

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande This book made me think about the end of life and what we do at the end of life, which will influence my research in the next ten years or so.

7. Matt Gray CEO, Herb.co

Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson

8. Devin Reed Head of Content, Clari

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini This book has had the most significant impact on my career. Success in sales, marketing, and all relationships comes down to understanding psychology, and Cialdini's book breaks down why people say "yes." Understand that, and everything becomes a little easier.

9. Matt Heinz Founder, Heinz Marketing

Getting Things Done by David Allen Allen's methodology has been instrumental in helping me focus on what’s important and minimize the noise from work that is less important. It’s been helpful in both my professional and personal life.

10. Kevin Dorsey Practice Lead, Winning by Design

Train Your Brain for Success by Roger Seip

11. Robert I. Sutton Professor of Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University

Working by Studs Terkel

12. Carrie Rose CEO, Rise at Seven

Atomic Habits by James Clear This is a top-rated book that many may already know. It was an instant worldwide bestseller, and for a good reason. It taught me that small changes can lead to entirely different destinations. Whether that's minor changes in myself, my business, the way I lead, and the way I work. Those small changes don't feel drastic but have led me to build a £7m business pretty much overnight.

13. Jeremy Moser CEO, uSERP

The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco A mindset-shifting book to think differently about my career in ways I never thought possible.

14. Jesse Pujji CEO, Kahani

15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Kaley Klemp, Diana Chapman

15. John Barrows CEO, JBarrows Sales Training

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. I recently listened to this book when I was at an inflection point in my career and life. Matthew's stories and perspective on life resonated with me more than I expected. Life is about perspective, and Matthew has a great one that I admire.

16. Richard Harris Founder, The Harris Consulting Group

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

17. Hala Taha CEO, YAP Media

The Like Switch by Dr. Jack Schafer

18. Justin Rowe Founder & CMO, Impactable

Letters from a Stoic by Seneca I know it's not a "business" book, but the books from stoic philosophers have influenced my success in the startup world.

19. Marcus Chan Sales Coach

The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani This book made me realize the only rules in life are the ones we create in our minds. We can live by the rules others make or create the ones we choose to live by.

20. Jonathan Javier Founder, Wonsulting

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

21. David M. Brear CEO, 11:FS

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone This book is 20 pages long and primarily illustrations, but the story encapsulates the idea that if you want something, you must actively pursue it with your attitude and effort. You cannot wait or rely on someone else to give it to you. I remember my mum reading it to me when I was little, and it shaped my mentality up until today, when I frequently referenced it while running 11:FS.

22. Ash Jones Founder, Great Influence

Rocket Fuel by Mark C. Winters and Gino Wickman

23. Brett Puffenbarger VP of Marketing, Green Check Verified

Venture Deals by Brad Feld It's a point-by-point breakdown and translation of how raising money and starting a company works.

24. Joe Glover Co-Founder, The Marketing Meetup

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

25. Sophie Miller Founder, Pretty Little Marketer

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knight. If I'm honest, I'm not much of a reader. However, I read one book during a spell of pandemic boredom last year: The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knight. As a classic people pleaser, personally and professionally, being permitted to own my time and find confidence in saying no without a 30-page list of excuses was incredibly empowering. The lessons of the read are things I still carry with me a year on.

26. Elizabeth Yin General Partner, Hustle Fund

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries I had been building and building out products no one wanted until I read Lean Startup. I realized you need to validate demand as quickly as possible by building as little as possible to avoid too many wrong detours.

27. Jess Cook VP of Brand & Content, Marpipe

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan IThis book has long been considered one of the go-to manuals for creating ads that actually sell. I read it as a junior copywriter (so long ago, in a galaxy far, far away), but its principles have stuck with me ever since.

28. Morgan Snyder Owner, booth

The Soul of an Entrepreneur by David Sax This book is my most recent read with the most significant impact on how I approach my business and life.

29. Ethan Golding Co-Founder, Team Hustle

The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib I learned what the word marketing ACTUALLY after reading this book. It gave me the knowledge to start building effective marketing systems. I've implemented and referred back to this multiple times; it's really a bible for me.

30. Dan Sanchez Executive Producer, Sweet Fish

The Marketer as Philosopher by Flint McGlaughlin This book taught me the "why" behind marketing and gave me a framework to approach marketing projects strategically.

31. Erin Balsa Founder, Haus of Bold

The Business of Expertise by David Baker Disclaimer: I don't have ONE favorite business book, but The Business of Expertise by David Baker helped me spot and correct things I was doing that were damaging my perceived value. For example, having a Calendly link on my website. Now I vet everyone before I get on a discovery call because my time is valuable.

32. Amy Miller Client Lead Recruiter, Amazon

The Robot-Proof Recruiter by Katrina Collier No matter how advanced we think technology has made us, Recruiting will forever be a HUMAN interaction. Katrina’s book is full of wisdom and insights from many industry professionals. A must-read for ALL recruiters and a gift I give everyone I mentor!

33. Lola Bakare CMO Advisor & Inclusive Marketing Strategist

Marketing Myopia by Theodore Levitt Marketers and their cross-functional peers should read this book to understand the difference between brands, the benefits they promise, and the products delivering those benefits. This book is a banger, and you can read it in a single evening. That said, I couldn’t vouch for the kind of guy he was (I’ve heard some things). I just love his work.

34. Raja Rajamannar Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President, Healthcare Business, Mastercard

Happiness Advantage by Shawn Accor

35. Ross Simmonds Founder & CEO, Foundation Marketing

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King This book is one of the most influential in copywriting history, but often one of the most underrated as more books are written on the subject. It's essential to revisit the classics, especially those written by some of the most influential writers of our generation. While Stephen King may not be one of the most articulate writers or may not win a Pulitzer prize, his work will go down in history as some of the most engaging and entertaining. This book does a great job of taking stories from his past and injecting them with great writing tips that everyone can learn, whether how to narrate and structure a story or how important it is to write, write, write! I love this book because it goes into the details of what truly goes into writing good copy.

36. Madeline Mann CEO, Self Made Millenial

Multipliers by Liz Wiseman This book helped me to uncover my strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Many of us are what Liz Wiseman calls "Diminishers" — leaders that accidentally suppress the potential of their teams, despite best intentions. I loved that the book made me more self-aware.

37. Henry Stewart Chief Happiness Officer, Happy

Maverick by Ricardo Semler The Brazilian businessman explains how he took over his father’s factory and changed it from one where workers were searched at the gate to one with complete trust and freedom. Everything that we have done at Happy stems from that book.

38. Amelia Sordell Founder, Klowt

How to Argue with a Cat by Jim Heinrichs The book explains how to hold an intelligent conversation - and persuade people to think the way you do or do what you want them to do. It's all about convincing vs. arguing — something that cats are very good at doing. And something I've learned very well to do as a result of reading this book and implementing the learnings!

39. Robyn Clarke Account Manager, Great Influence

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig While this book didn't give me any direct business advice, it helped me out of a lousy headspace by changing my perspective on life. I decided to stop living life paralyzed by the 'what ifs" and just put my heart into everything I do. I've applied this to my career, and it's been upward since then.

40. Drew Neisser Founder & CEO, Renegade

Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levison This book profoundly impacted my career, opening my eyes to non-traditional approaches and how ingenuity can transform the tiniest of budgets into a deluge of effectiveness.

41. Margaret Molloy Global CMO, Siegel + Gale

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown I learned to focus on what matters and do it well.

42. Steph Egger Head of Brand, SHFT Agency

Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday This is not a business book by any means, but it teaches a lot about life and how to approach it.

43. Harris Fanaroff Founder, Activate Onboarding

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi Everything in life is about relationships.

44. Andrew Yeung Strategy & Ops Lead, Meta

Barking Up The Wrong Tree by Eric Barker

45. Maya Grossman Founder, Maya Grossman Consulting

Mindset by Carol Dweck This book completely changed how I viewed the world and taught me how to ditch my limiting beliefs and use my mindset as an empowering tool.

46. Tom Goodwin Innovation Leader & Business Transformation Consultant

Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age by Tom Peters I read this book in 2003. It was as relevant and as timely then as it is reading it now.

47. Steve Toth Creator, SEO Notebook

The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann This book taught me how to give away my knowledge effectively and reap the most benefit from sharing my passion.

48. Louis Grenier Founder, Everyone Hates Marketers

Petit traité de manipulation à l'usage des honnêtes gens by Jean-Léon Beauvois I fell in love with marketing when I was 18-19 after reading this book, which is the French version of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

49. Phillip Rivers Partner, Commerce12

The One Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan This book taught me how important it is to focus. As an entrepreneur, our biggest weakness is often shiny object syndrome, which keeps us on a hamster wheel, always looking at the next thing without giving the current thing time to mature. The book shifted my perspective and helped me stay focused and cast 'shiny object' distractions aside.

50. Liz Willits Founder, Content Phenom

Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins This is one of the first great copywriting books I read, and it changed my entire perspective on copy.

51. Sangram Vajre Co-Founder & CEO, GTM Partners

Behind the Cloud by Marc Benioff This book helped me think bigger and every act as a play instead of random acts.

52. Ashley Levesque VP of Marketing, Banzai

Dare To Lead by Brene Brown

53. Whitney Johnson World Authority on Smart Growth Leadership and Personal Disruption, Disruption Advisors

The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen This book disrupted my thinking, and set me on a new career.

54. Greg Isenberg CEO, Late Checkout

The Road Ahead by Bill Gates I read it as a 12 or 13-year-old. Bill Gates outlines the future 20 years ahead. It made me realize how powerful technology is.

55. Scott Leese Founder, Scott Leese Consulting

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

56. Biron Clark Founder, Career Sidekick

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss I quit my job and started my own side projects to obtain more freedom (and eventually more income, too). The ideas in this book ignited that shift.

57. Dorie Clark Top 50 Business Thinker in the World

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

58. Corey Haines Founder, Swipe Files

Obviously Awesome by April Dunford This book made positioning, copywriting, and marketing strategy crystal clear for me to be a more holistic growth marketer.

59. Marshall Goldsmith Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, #1 Leadership Thinker, #1 Exec Coach, #1 NYT Bestselling Author

Old Path White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh This book contains the most simple and beautiful description of Buddhism I have ever read.

60. Tiffany Yu CEO, Diversability

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown This book inspired me to lead courageously and with vulnerability.

61. Prof. Amanda Kirby CEO, Do-IT Solutions

The End of Average by Todd Rose This book questions what stats really mean and why there is no point in designing for an average person. Everyone ends up missing out. Rose's new book "Collective Illusions" is brilliant too

62. Jerry Lee COO, ResumeAI by Wonsulting

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

63. John Amaechi Founder, APS Intelligence

The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov A robot called R. Daneel Olivaw had telepathic powers and used them to influence human development and spread out into the stars to save them from the decay of Earth. The robot did it and sacrificed its life before passing its abilities onto another robot to help shape the trajectory of the human race for the better. The passage of the transfer of abilities parallels good psychology, therapy, and practice. Our job is to become redundant, transfer the skills that shape our trajectories and those in our care, and then move on to another.

64. Troy Munson Enterprise Account Executive, metadata.io

Atomic Habits by James Clear This book made my life better. There are so many little things you can change throughout your life that make you feel so much more successful and routine.

65. Julie Raeder Customer Success Coach, Dooly

Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins and Winning by Tim Grover Both books help you reflect and consider whether you're living up to your full potential. The consistent pursuit of being your best self is never-ending, but it's wild what limiting beliefs we will put on ourselves when we can achieve levels above that. Tim Grover breaks it into mini-lessons, and David Goggin's story is insane. David came from a terrible situation and had every reason and excuse to be below average. It shows that if you are consistent and consistently push the boundaries, you can ACHIEVE a lot.

66. Richard van der Blom Nr. 1 European LinkedIn Trainer / Social Selling Trainer & Expert

The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma This book provided easy-to-implement answers to recognizable challenges as an entrepreneur and leader. The book completely resonated with what I already knew but couldn’t convert into actions to improve my business and private life.

67. Nemanja Zivkovic Founder, Funky Marketing

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

68. Julie Zhuo Co-Founder, Sundial

Mindset by Carol Dweck This book helped me realize that getting better at any skill was within reach. Later, growing as a manager and leader, it's "Conscious Business" by Fred Kofman," which I still consider the foundational tome of thinking about success beyond traditional 'business' success.

69. Katelyn Bourgoin CEO & Founder, Customer Camp

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger I read this book back in 2013. I was operating a small branding agency at the time, and that book was a turning point for me. It sparked my ongoing obsession with understanding buyer behavior. Humans are complex creatures, yet when you invest time to understand better why we do what we do, you'll find clues that can help you to market smarter.

70. George Bell Senior Brand & Marketing Manager, Sanctus

Sell Like Crazy by Sabri Suby The book teaches how the best way to win loyal customers is to give ultimate value at all times. It seems obvious, and I know Sabri isn't the first to argue this, but I've never seen anyone else write about it in such an engaging way. Given that he argues for value above all else, it goes with saying that the book is packed with value and actionable tips for growing and scaling a business. Although it's a little heavy-handed in some places and a little too on the sales-y side for me sometimes, the principles and psychology behind what Sabri writes changed the way I approach sales and marketing, and they're principles that I'll carry through the rest of my career.