Companies go up and down. a chance invention transforms an entire industry, sometimes the entire world. Through the many trials and tribulations of pioneers and entrepreneurs, a few things have been learned over the years. Navigating the complex world of business, startups, and technology can be intimidating for aspiring shakers and creators. Fortunately, the wisdom of the above has left us timeless advice that over time has become a business canon.
here are 10 of the best books for entrepreneurs and inventors.
You are reading: Best books for inventors
no other product in recent memory has been as acclaimed and recognized as the iphone. A mix of business acumen, stellar marketing, and genius engineering teams brought this to market under the tutelage of Steve Jobs. brian merchant’s unique device is a comprehensive exposition on the creation of the iphone.
the merchant explores every corner of the literal world to piece together a complete narrative, from mineral extraction to working conditions in Chinese factories, nothing is left out. he also interviewed hundreds of people who worked on the phone’s development. This book also dispels the myth of the lonely genius that surrounds Steve Jobs. this was a one-of-a-kind project, it changed our society and continues to do so in many unexpected ways. this book is a great piece of contemporary technology history.
Nowadays, the idea of disruptive technology is almost a familiar knowledge. Clayton Christensen first put forward the idea in a Harvard Business Review article titled “Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave.” this was followed by the seminal work we know today as the innovator’s dilemma.
christensen set out to understand why such powerful and iconic firms, like xerox, general electric and many others, eventually fell and lost their status as industry leaders. His response turned out to be a little-overlooked driver of innovation: disruptive technology and its unintended consequences for the staying power of companies.
This book is packed with an incredible amount of facts about the inventions that changed our world. Harford writes about inventions through a number of different angles, including the economics, politics, culture, and historical background behind each device.
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These different machines and inventions are part of a larger shared history of civilization and humanity. It’s also a great book to see how we take for granted so many minute but incredibly important things essential to the functioning of the modern world.
In the heyday of Bell Labs between 1940 and 1970, there were more than a thousand Ph.D. researchers working on an incomprehensible amount of research within the communications field and industry. Backed by mighty AT&T in its prime, Bell Labs continued to produce technological innovations in a number of industries. some of these amazing technologies included transistors, fiber optics, unix, c, and information theory.
the main idea of bell labs was to bring all these researchers together in one place with the idea of innovation endemic to the purposes of these labs. This book goes into great detail about the structure and history of this amazing time.
james c. collins and jerry i. porras set out to define what they call visionary companies. These are the companies at the top of their game and industries. one of his key points is that a visionary company is also a very successful organization and later an institution. leaders come and go, but the system must survive. all products will eventually become obsolete and even markets will disappear.
The authors explain the enormous task and responsibility involved in creating and managing an organization of this magnitude. collin and porras review a number of companies that have overcome this great challenge and become visionaries in the process.
richard branson is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of our time. this is a great book to hear his personal story written directly by him. Branson skipped college and jumped straight into the wild world of business.
startup after business venture, you can see what made branson the entrepreneur he is today. Branson’s autobiography is an inspiring business story told in a relatable tone. Another fascinating part of this reading is the functionality of the Virgin brand. each business under the umbrella brand is its own subsidiary with its own scope of control and corporate governance. this book is both fun and informative.
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It’s not necessarily that you lack ingenuity or business ideas, it’s that taking the first step to founding a business is not only difficult, but requires an enormous amount of courage. many people don’t even know where to start. The Founder’s Dilemma by Noam Wassermans is a book that attempts to do the impossible and make a science out of the trials early entrepreneurs face when starting a new business.
wasserman explores the common pitfalls founders face and how to deal with them. delves into equity financing, founding teams, and more. Using data gleaned from 10 years of quantitative research, he weaves expert analysis and anecdote into concise advice to form nothing less than a company founders bible.
This book has one central idea and that is how to create a business that can function without you. The e-myth (business myth) argues that businesses created by entrepreneurs often fail to become profitable business entities because they are started by employees who simply create their own jobs working for themselves and miss out on the business component altogether.
gerber repeatedly drives home the point through three made-up personalities titled entrepreneur, manager, and technician.
For your business to be successful, you must use all of these roles to perfection before you expand and hire. These roles involve being a visionary with a goal for the company; a planner and organizer; and a worker who can actually do the work the business provides.
cal newport has coined a term he calls deep work. that is the ability to focus on a demanding task without any distractions. he believes this is a skill that will eventually allow you to master complicated information and get better results at whatever you’re doing. Part cultural polemic and part self-help, Newport wants readers to unlock a forgotten skill in the flurry of distracted, winding work.
lean startup is one of the most cited and acclaimed books on business start-ups. is a seminal business book that has changed the landscape of business creation in the last decade. Eric Ries wrote a compelling book that distills the basics of being successful with a new product that attracts customers and also keeps them loyal. ries focuses more on the software industry, but it’s no exaggeration to see these same principles apply across many industries.
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