If you only have time for 10 business books in life

Barbarians at the Gate. B. Burrough, J. Heylar.

Perhaps one of the best, if not the best, business books ever written! Instead of being a collection of arguments to back up a point of view, this actually is a story that bundles together an uber-charismatic and ambitious CEO, several well-known investment banks, elite investors, junk-bond financiers, a difficult-to-manage board and multiple other characters, all mixed up in a story of one of the biggest LBO’s in CPG: RJR Nabisco  – company, which present day descendants include Kraft and Japan Tobacco International. The authors are two World Street Journal journalists: consequently the book actually is very well written, which makes this a novel and a business title in one book!

 

Contemporary Strategy Analysis. R. Grant

There is one common thing about nearly all books written on strategy – frankly, they frequently come as quite boring. This one probably is not an exception, but it makes it up by giving a highly condensed and to the point summary of main frameworks, tools and instruments. I came across this book as a part of the core strategy course in London Business School and still revert to that from time to time. All the strategy “buzz-words” like competitive advantage, five forces, synergies, vertical integration and so on and so forth are all nicely packed, illustrated with case studies and put in context of various industries. Great structure and small paragraphs help dealing with aforementioned boredom as well. So If it has to be one book on strategy, perhaps it’s this one.