The Best & Worst Business Books

This morning my Google news & blog alerts lit up with the following headlines: "The Best & Worst Business Books" and "10 Overrated Business Books." I'll admit that I momentarily freaked out about it because I knew that the alerts were triggered by my name or my book title so I immediately linked to Charles Tan's Bibliophile Stalker blog.

Phew, The New Rules of Marketing & PR was on the "best" side of the list, which was compiled by Geoffrey James at BNET. I'm so excited because the lists aren't just recent business books, but all time business books such as Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People (also on the "best" side). Great company indeed.

Here's what Geoffrey wrote in the introduction to the featured article: "Your time is limited — but the number of business books aren't — and many of the bestsellers aren't even worth their weight in your carry-on. We've sorted through the fads, pop theories, and half-baked research to find the ones that will actually give you information you can — and should — put to use."

Ten Overrated Business Books

BNETs take: "We think that some of these classics became popular not because they were particularly insightful, but because they reinforced conventional business wisdom."

Read the details for each book to learn why it was chosen.

Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution by Michael Hammer and James Champy

In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman

Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun by Wess Roberts

Jack Welch & the G.E. Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO by Robert Slater

Jesus CEO by Laurie Beth Jones

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey

The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work by Jack Canfield, etc.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids -- That You Can Learn Too by Robert Kiyosaki

Ten Underrated Business Books

BNETs take: "These 10 books might not tell you want you want to hear, but they will give you information you need to significantly revise your personal and business strategies."

Read the details for each book to learn why it was chosen.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Devitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting,
Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott

Managers Not MBAs: A hard look at the soft practice of managing and management development by Henry Mintzberg

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Wow. Quite amazing company to be in!

Separately, The New Rules of Marketing & PR scored a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Only a few business books gain this honor. You can see the review on the book's Amazon page.

Comments

[Kelly Monaghan]

Gee, I've read 5 of the 9 Most Underrated and only 1 of the Most Overrated.

So how come I ain't rich yet?

Oh, and another thing:

"Your time is limited — but the number of business books ISN'T"

(Sorry. It's the editor in me.)

[Geoffrey James, Sales Machine]

Your book is in good company because it's a much-needed book. I'm constantly amazed at how clueless most companies are when it comes to understanding how the web is changing the nature of marketing.

P.S. (Actually, I didn't write that little intro, so the typo isn't mine. I did ask to have it corrected though.)

[Charles]

Sorry if I shocked you there for a second. Geoffrey James deserves all the credit. All I did was copy and paste. Glad to hear your books are working out.

[Joe Pulizzi]

Congrats David. Two more underrated - The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
- Think & Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill

[Joe Freudenthal]

David,

I am through the first three chapters of your book, and I am "eating it up." I am getting something rich and useful out of each and every page. I thought after reading this post, it would be a good time to thank you for writing it. It is excellent!

Sincerest regards,

Joe

[David Meerman Scott]

Glad that you are enjoying the book, Joe.

Cheers, David

[Dianna Huff]

I hated "Who Moved My Cheese."

I agree "Think and Grow Rich" should be on the underated list.

Now I have to go read Tipping Point and Freakonomics!

Congratulations on all your success, David. You rock.

[Gordon R. Vaughan]

The BNET article is worth reading, but I don't agree about their take on Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) and Stephen Covey (7 Habits).

Also, they're down on one of Jack Welch's books, which I'm not familiar with, but his book Winning is pretty good.

I haven't read all of Winning, but the story about his blowing up a plant early in his career should be comforting to all of us. I guess you could say he recovered from that nicely!

Charles Tan is right in recommending Drucker's The Effective Executive, though I've found it takes years to really absorb the lessons (still working on that).

Finally, I recommend Andy Grove's High Output Management, which hasn't received the attention it deserves. I wrote a brief review of it a while back:

http://www.librarything.com/review/11023448

[Gordon R. Vaughan]

Oops, I guess it was actually Joe Pulizzi who recommended Drucker's book.

[Sheryl Sisk Schelin]

David, "New Rules" has nothing to worry about - whether lists are involved or not, and no matter who makes them. I've rarely run across such a practical and helpful book, and I've read many of the books on both lists. (And I have to register disagreement about "Seven Habits" - there's a difference between "conventional" and "foundational.")

[Sandra Mendoza-Daly]

David,
of course your book should be on that list. It's practical and effective. I hope you sell a ton more copies so I will stop receiving crappy press releases that have no purpose other than to clutter my email box.

Congrats!

[Mike Hooker]

David,

I entered the Blogosphere two months ago at the recommendation of my copywriting coach, Chris Marlow. She also recommended I read "New Rules." She said it was excellent, and I agree.

I've read only the first four chapters so far, but you've made it easy to read and packed it full of valuable information. Your book will help anyone who reads it, especially newbies to marketing and PR like me.

Thanks

[Mike Hooker]

David,

I entered the Blogosphere two months ago at the recommendation of my copywriting coach, Chris Marlow. She also recommended I read "New Rules." She said it was excellent, and I agree.

I've read only the first four chapters so far, but you've made it easy to read and packed it full of valuable information. Your book will help anyone who reads it, especially newbies to marketing and PR like me.

Thanks

[Martha Jewett]

John Mahaney at Crown Business told me about The New Rules of Marketing & PR. He rejected a book proposal I had submitted on virtually the same subject the same month your book was published (I'm a literary agent specializing in business books). As your book was already out, I ended up not selling the project I was representing. I'm reading your book now and have recommended it to several people. And I noticed you were #380 on Amazon yesterday.Congratulations on a terrific book! All the best, Martha Jewett

[jeff]

Congratulations! I am ordering your book now.

I think the first business books I ever read where my dad's copies of In Search of Excellence and the Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. I used to think they were both brilliant. Then I got older, saw the real world, read some books that were written not just to sell books (oh, wait, that doesn't exist).

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the worst books, not just business books, ever written. I can not believe PBS uses Kiyosaki to raise money. Urgh.