averyworks company mission is to bring ideas to life. that’s why we work from what the famous psychologist carol dweck calls a growth mindset: an orientation towards constant learning, questioning your current paradigm and perpetual self-improvement. reading and absorbing new ideas from the best minds is our favorite way to do this. Today, content consumption and learning have taken many forms. we are fans of ted talks, podcasts, blog articles (like this one!), series, documentaries, you name it. however, some of our core values and deepest learnings are found in the books (yes, we still read books!) that came down to us and forever marked many of our professional and personal choices. That is why today we wanted to share with you our top 5 books for entrepreneurs, which have shaped our entrepreneurial profile and philosophy.
You are reading: Best books for tech entrepreneurs
1 – “the lean startup” – eric ries (entrepreneur)
“The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.”
“the lean startup” is essential reading for anyone in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. With his monumental work, Ries has defined an entire generation of startups and provided a much-needed north for their culture, purpose, and methodologies. Based on the principle of learning and leveraging one’s mistakes to accelerate improvement, the book urges companies of all sizes to adopt a mindset of scientific experimentation and counterintuitive practices for some standards of the industry, focusing instead on learning what customers really wantat all costs. Dispensing with complex and long-term business plans, ries teaches us the value of short iterations for the constant review of our processes and work methods to adjust every detail that can be improved. Concepts like the minimum viable product, iterative feedback loops, and agile teams are clarified so that entrepreneurs in all organizations can experiment with them while reading this amazing book.
the lean startup – buy book on amazon
You are reading: Best books for tech entrepreneurs
2 – “crossing the abyss” – geoffrey a. moore (marketing)
“The key to going beyond enthusiasts and winning over a visionary is to show that new technology enables strategic advancement that has never been possible before, that it has intrinsic value and appeal to non-technologists.”
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We consider this book to be one of the gold standards for scalability of technology products. Many young entrepreneurs have never heard of Moore’s work, as this book was written in 1991, but it is a seminal work on the subject that has stood the test of time and defined generations of practitioners. Our favorite lesson from this book is to focus on meeting the needs of a small niche before even thinking about targeting large groups or populations. moore helps us to clearly visualize this and other key concepts throughout the entire life cycle of a company, without ever losing sight of its communication and the relationship with its customers. Crossing the Chasm is as essential to the world of marketing as David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done” has been to the consulting environment, defining the rules by which many of the best consultants still work by today. /p>
crossing the abyss – buy book on amazon
You are reading: Best books for tech entrepreneurs
3 – “predictable prospecting” – marylou tyler and jeremey donovan (b2b sales)
“Learn how to articulate your company’s competitive position, run meetings from targeted campaigns, and track prospects efficiently and, most importantly, predictably.”
For almost all companies, sales are the main source of income and produce the life force of the organization. this is the best book we have found to help establish transparent practices to develop an orderly exploration to expand business efforts. There is no static, universal formula for sales success, so start-ups could find use in this book’s flexibility, creativity, and methodological approach, which encourages experimentation with different techniques and concepts to find what works for your business in your specific context.
tyler and donovan are so effective at doing this that we would recommend their work to all kinds of organizations, from cement manufacturers to restaurant owners! they distill and explain the essence of sales in a way that illuminates the shared pitfalls and secret tricks available to any business that needs to sell a product or service, regardless of size, audience, country, or industry. that’s a level of clarity and perspective that only true masters of a subject can achieve.
predictable prospecting – buy book on amazon
You are reading: Best books for tech entrepreneurs
4 – “masters of networking: building relationships for pocket and soul” – ivan r. misner (networks)
“The central principle of networking is a spiritual idea common to all the great moral systems of the world: the concept of winning through giving.”
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misner’s work has been fundamental in helping thousands of business leaders recover the origin and essence of networking: affection and care for the people around us. the earliest networks in human history began through shared interests, which evolved into the hardwired foundation of the morality we innately feel today. sadly, modern business has turned this very concept into a one-sided, narcissistic, or self-serving quest whereby we try to push our interests only toward everyone we can reach. this, misner clarifies, is not true networking.
By citing spiritual teachers like deepak chopra, this book puts a much-needed human spin on the current state of organizations. In most cases, increasing profits and revenues have become the only visible goals, at the expense of human connection, which, as always, is the real value driver and value shaping factor. loyalty for any type of company . Through this book, we have learned to take networking as a life philosophy of seeking to help without ulterior motives, knowing -in an almost karmic sense- that everything a company puts out into the world eventually comes back.
masters of networking – buy book on amazon
5 – “no more whining: four attitudes for success” – enrique baliño (organizational culture)
“Positive people distinguish between two types of problems: solvable and unsolvable. then they focus their energy on the solvable, on talking about and building the future and developing their projects. they avoid wasting energy on what has no solution, talking about the past or complaining about what did not go well.”
Enrique’s book is short and sweet, and brings a new approach to managing teams efficiently and, more importantly, managing oneself. Without magic formulas or silver bullets, but with intuitive and direct techniques and proven methods, baliño goes back and forth between theory and practice. It teaches us how to manage people in companies of all sizes and keep them motivated and keep the main goals in sight. We were drawn to this book because of Enrique’s candid and open recounting of his own experience on his own management journey. Enrique, former President of IBM South America and current CEO of XN Partners, weaves together an impressive story of professional growth with the insights and valuable advice of an experienced manager, seeking to spare us the pain and pitfalls he went through. a highly recommended read for people who feel intimidated by occupying the role of boss in any team.
no more whining: buy the book on amazon
final words
Wisdom is perhaps the most crucial trait in a leader, and wisdom can be gained through trial and error or, more efficiently (and “costlessly”), from the trial and error of others. books are the condensation of someone’s journey, philosophy or even life. As entrepreneurs, taking the few hours it takes to digest this information is one of the best investments we can make, as long as we can choose the right sources for our mission and purpose. these are our suggestions, but we would like to hear yours too. What were the books that most fueled your professional growth? tell us in the comments!
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