Here are 100 books that Good Profit fans have personally recommended if you like
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With decades of experience in business, entrepreneurship, and leadership, I’ve worked across industries and continents, particularly in emerging markets. From launching high-tech ventures to advising companies and co-founding The SEVEN Fund, which promotes enterprise solutions to poverty, my focus has been on how businesses can drive real, sustainable impact. I am a professor and an author, and I believe great businesses create lasting value—not just for shareholders but for employees, customers, and society. These five books have profoundly shaped my thinking on leadership, business strategy, and personal growth. Whether you're an entrepreneur or an executive, they offer invaluable insights for thinking and leading better.
This book made me laugh out loud more than once. I relate to Brooks’ story completely—like him, I built a career not by being the absolute best at anything but through sheer effort, stubborn grit, and the simple fact that I was the last man standing. But then age enters the equation. Suddenly, I couldn’t outwork or outrun people anymore—at least not as many. My old strategy no longer worked.
Brooks tells this same story with humor and insight, then takes you on a journey to discover how to compete differently in the second half—or last third—of your career (depending on when you pick up this book!). He makes a compelling case that life is, in fact, kind of fair: when you lose one thing, you gain something else. And in this case, you gain wisdom.
What struck me most is how undervalued wisdom is in the workplace. Anyone who…
'In this book, Arthur C. Brooks helps people find greater happiness as they age and change' - The Dalai Lama
'This book is amazing' - Chris Evans
'A valuable guide to finding new purpose and success in later life' - Daily Mail
From the bestselling author and columnist behind The Atlantic's popular 'How to Build a Life' series, a guide to transforming the life changes we fear into a source of strength.
In the first half of life, ambitious strivers embrace a simple formula for success in work and life: focus single-mindedly, work tirelessly,…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
With decades of experience in business, entrepreneurship, and leadership, I’ve worked across industries and continents, particularly in emerging markets. From launching high-tech ventures to advising companies and co-founding The SEVEN Fund, which promotes enterprise solutions to poverty, my focus has been on how businesses can drive real, sustainable impact. I am a professor and an author, and I believe great businesses create lasting value—not just for shareholders but for employees, customers, and society. These five books have profoundly shaped my thinking on leadership, business strategy, and personal growth. Whether you're an entrepreneur or an executive, they offer invaluable insights for thinking and leading better.
Full disclosure: I work with Luke Burgis at the university. But it was him—and this book—that introduced me to René Girard, and my world has never been the same. It unpacks Girard’s concept of mimetic desire in a way that is both deeply insightful and immediately practical. It explains so much about human behavior—my own included—both inside and outside of business.
What struck me most is the weight of responsibility this places on business leaders. Desire is not neutral; it can be cultivated in ways that either elevate human dignity or exploit it. Burgis makes a compelling case that when leaders engage with the desires of their employees and customers responsibly, the result isn’t just business success—it’s human excellence and lasting happiness.
Beyond the ideas, it is simply a beautifully written book. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Luke’s storytelling ability in the classroom and as a friend, but he…
* Financial Times Business Book of the Month * Next Big Idea Club Nominee * One of Bloomberg's "52 New Books That Top Business Leaders Are Recommending" * Aleo Review of Books 2022 Book of the Year *
A groundbreaking exploration of why we want what we want, and a toolkit for freeing ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.
Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there's a psychological force just as powerful―yet almost nobody has heard of it. It's responsible for bringing groups of people together and pulling them apart, making certain goals attractive to some and not…
With decades of experience in business, entrepreneurship, and leadership, I’ve worked across industries and continents, particularly in emerging markets. From launching high-tech ventures to advising companies and co-founding The SEVEN Fund, which promotes enterprise solutions to poverty, my focus has been on how businesses can drive real, sustainable impact. I am a professor and an author, and I believe great businesses create lasting value—not just for shareholders but for employees, customers, and society. These five books have profoundly shaped my thinking on leadership, business strategy, and personal growth. Whether you're an entrepreneur or an executive, they offer invaluable insights for thinking and leading better.
Few leadership books genuinely challenge you to rethink not just how you lead but why. This is one of them. It’s not a book of trendy management techniques or quick-fix strategies—it’s a guide to becoming a leader who truly serves others with intentionality, wisdom, and, yes, love.
I’ve known Randy for over a decade and have personally benefited from his insights on leadership. His writing is as practical as it is profound, offering ideas that aren’t just meant to be read but lived. Leadership, as he sees it, is not a career-award but a continuous journey of growth, reflection, and service. His book invites leaders to pause—to be deliberate about their impact and to lead with a mindset that values human excellence over mere efficiency.
What resonates deeply with me is his emphasis on why we lead. The best leaders don’t just pursue financial or operational success; they seek the…
Inspired by countless executive coaching conversations with leaders around the world and the author's own thirty-plus year business career, Becoming a More Thoughtful Leader taps into his unique reflective style to offer actionable best practices and insights on a host of leadership topics. This book shares genuine experiences, candid observations and hard-fought wisdom in each thought-provoking chapter. The eclectic topics range from vulnerability to accountability to patience to addressing workplace disconnectedness . . . and much, much more. Becoming a More Thoughtful Leader encourages the reader to pause at the end of each chapter and answer a few reflection questions…
Former model Kira McGovern picks up the paint brushes of her youth and through an unexpected epiphany she decides to mix ashes of the deceased with her paints to produce tributes for grieving families.
Unexpectedly this leads to visions and images of the subjects of her work and terrifying changes…
With decades of experience in business, entrepreneurship, and leadership, I’ve worked across industries and continents, particularly in emerging markets. From launching high-tech ventures to advising companies and co-founding The SEVEN Fund, which promotes enterprise solutions to poverty, my focus has been on how businesses can drive real, sustainable impact. I am a professor and an author, and I believe great businesses create lasting value—not just for shareholders but for employees, customers, and society. These five books have profoundly shaped my thinking on leadership, business strategy, and personal growth. Whether you're an entrepreneur or an executive, they offer invaluable insights for thinking and leading better.
Prolonged planning has killed more startups than actual failure ever could. Planning allows us to pre-judge our own ideas in a vacuum, fuels our fear of failure, and delays action until it’s too late. That’s why I love the ideas in this book—it removes those barriers and gives aspiring entrepreneurs a simple, actionable framework for moving from idea to execution quickly.
I teach entrepreneurship, and one of the biggest challenges I see isn’t a lack of ideas—it’s the lack of action. Some hesitate because they don’t know where to start, others because they fear stepping into the real world, and still others because there’s no pressure pushing them forward. Guillebeau’s book tackles all of these challenges head-on. He offers a straightforward, effective blueprint for turning an idea into a business through an ideate-launch-iterate process. It’s practical, fast, and most importantly, it gets you in front of real, paying customers—something…
Are you tired of the grind of the 9-to-5 job and dreaming of professional satisfaction on your own terms? You can quit the rat race and start up on your own - and you don't need an MBA or a huge investment to do it. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau is your escape hatch.
With practical advice, this is your manual to a new way of living. Not around traditional employment, but around your dreams.
Learn how to:
- Earn a good living on your own terms, when and where you want…
Jeff has been a UX designer, team leader and product manager for over 20 years. His work in the field helped define some of the key practices product managers use today. Building a customer-centric practice is key to successful products and services and Jeff has demonstrated that not only in the products and companies he’s helped build but in the writing and thinking he’s contributed to the product managaement community.
Melissa is rewriting the book on modern product management. Her advice is hard-earned, practical, and useful. If you’re interested in starting a career in product management, this book offers up specifics on what exactly is product management and how to excel at it in modern, agile cultures.
To stay competitive in today's market, organizations need to adopt a culture of customer-centric practices that focus on outcomes rather than outputs. Companies that live and die by outputs often fall into the "build trap," cranking out features to meet their schedule rather than the customer's needs.
In this book, Melissa Perri explains how laying the foundation for great product management can help companies solve real customer problems while achieving business goals. By understanding how to communicate and collaborate within a company structure, you can create a product culture that benefits both the business and the customer. You'll learn product…
I am an author, nonfiction writing geek, and marketing practitioner on a mission to help people make a positive impact with their writing. Before setting out on this path, I spent many years as a marketing consultant, working with over 100 technology companies to articulate their messaging and value to customers and prospects. My first book, Subscription Marketing, was my manifesto about the changes needed in marketing to thrive in the emerging, subscription-based world. It’s now in its third edition and has been translated into multiple languages.
Want to create more raving fans for your business? Maybe true success isn’t in the number of your customers but the depth of their loyalty. David Meerman Scott writes this book together with his daughter Reiko Scott, delivering a multi-generational perspective into what it means to be a fan, and how to cultivate them.
From the author of New Rules of Marketing & PR, a bold guide to converting customer passion into marketing power.
How do some brands attract word-of-mouth buzz and radical devotion around products as everyday as car insurance, b2b software, and underwear? They embody the most powerful marketing force in the world: die-hard fans.
In this essential book, leading business growth strategist David Meerman Scott and fandom expert Reiko Scott explore the neuroscience of fandom and interview young entrepreneurs, veteran business owners, startup founders, nonprofits, and companies big and small to pinpoint which practices separate organizations…
Rusty Allen is an Iraqi War veteran with PTSD. He moves to his grandfather's cabin in the mountains to find some peace and go back to wilderness training.
He gets wrapped up in a kidnapping first, as a suspect and then as a guide. He tolerates the sheriff's deputy with…
I’m a software developer turned independent software vendor, learning about product management as a way to launch more successful products. I’m a co-founder of MindMup, a popular collaboration tool used by millions of students and schoolchildren worldwide, and Narakeet, an innovative video maker for people who are not video professionals. The books from this list helped me create successful products that users love, and successfully compete with companies that have several orders of magnitude more staff and resources.
Cagan’s book is a deep dive into the principles of modern product management. It expands on the theoretical ideas that Patton introduces in User Story Mapping, and provides many additional tips for engaging customers, experimenting with product ideas, and tracking outcomes. In addition, it deals with the organizational side of product management, so it will be valuable to people working for larger companies that need to manage staff and set up company-wide processes.
Reading this book will help you expand your views of product management, and add lots of additional tools to your thinking process.
Learn to design, build, and scale products consumers can't get enough of
How do today's most successful tech companies Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Tesla design, develop, and deploy the products that have earned the love of literally billions of people around the world? Perhaps surprisingly, they do it very differently than most tech companies. In INSPIRED, technology product management thought leader Marty Cagan provides readers with a master class in how to structure and staff a vibrant and successful product organization, and how to discover and deliver technology products that your customers will love and that will work for your…
I am an author, nonfiction writing geek, and marketing practitioner on a mission to help people make a positive impact with their writing. Before setting out on this path, I spent many years as a marketing consultant, working with over 100 technology companies to articulate their messaging and value to customers and prospects. My first book, Subscription Marketing, was my manifesto about the changes needed in marketing to thrive in the emerging, subscription-based world. It’s now in its third edition and has been translated into multiple languages.
In Content Inc, Joe Pulizzi makes a bold proposal: What if you build your business on content—before you sell anything? Start with content, build a community, figure out what people want, and then serve it to them. A company built this way will have a culture aligned with its customers’ values. Now in its second edition, this book will make you rethink content marketing and entrepreneurship.
Updated for the post-COVID economy! The proven low-risk, cost-effective way to launch a successful business
Today's markets are getting more and more dynamic, and customers are increasingly fickle. Meanwhile the COVID-driven economic crash has made mitigating financial risk more important than ever.
From one of today's leading experts in content marketing, Content Inc. is the go-to guide to building a solid small-business by establishing a loyal audience before you sell any products or services. In these pages, Joe Pulizzi provides a lower-risk, better way to build a successful business by re-engineering the process that so often leads to failure: You'll…
I’m a 3-time B2B startup founder (Flagback, HireVoice, and Highlights). For my 2nd startup, HireVoice, we tried to use The Lean Startup methodology and struggled to get traction on the market. When we shut down the company, I knew I wanted to solve my own pain, and learn B2B. I spent the next 2 years speaking (and learning from) some of the most successful B2B founders in the world. This, eventually led to the publication of my book, Lean B2B. Since then, I’ve been at the forefront of B2B entrepreneurship. The Lean B2B methodology has now been used by thousands of entrepreneurs and innovators to help create successful businesses.
Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, more or less wrote the playbook for B2B startups.In Behind the Cloud, he shares a lot of the tactics that helped make Salesforce the market leader that it is today. Benioff’s work helped shape Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and the Cloud for B2B entrepreneurs. On and all, it’s a very entertaining book with a lot of interesting ideas.
How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world's fastest growing software company in less than a decade? For the first time, Marc Benioff, the visionary founder, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com, tells how he and his team created and used new business, technology, and philanthropic models tailored to this time of extraordinary change. Showing how salesforce.com not only survived the dotcom implosion of 2001, but went on to define itself as the leader of the cloud computing revolution and spark a $46-billion dollar industry, Benioff's story will help business leaders and entrepreneurs stand…
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman
by
Alexis Krasilovsky,
Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.
A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…
Raised in a Belgian retail store, exceptional customer service was a daily conversation topic with my parents. This upbringing made customer experience a natural part of who I am. Realizing the rarity of such service in the broader world, I delved into studying consumer behavior and how companies can respond effectively. Now, I'm deeply involved in the customer experience field, having authored six books and co-founded Nexxworks, an inspiration agency. I share all my insights freely on social channels, driven by a life goal to help everyone become more customer-centric starting tomorrow.
Nearly every time I engage with a company, I sense that they're underestimating the impact of genuinely delighting their customers. Creating a genuinely positive and authentic atmosphere, and demonstrating sincere goodwill, is arguably the most effective business strategy in existence.
Brittany grasps this concept exceptionally well. Her book is brimming with compelling examples and highly practical advice, enabling anyone to start applying these concepts from tomorrow onward.
Superfans aren't just for pop stars and NBA teams.
What if your customers loved your brand the way Swifties love Taylor or Drake loves the Raptors?
In Creating Superfans, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and fan-engagement guru Brittany Hodak shares the proprietary five-step SUPER Fan System she developed running successful campaigns and products for globally known brands including Walmart, Disney, Amazon, Katy Perry, the Boston Red Sox, and more. With her trademark mix of humor and sharp business insights, she combines entertaining stories from her years of working with major stars like Dolly Parton and KISS with case studies of familiar brands…
