Business Books You Need to Read to Level Up

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5. Business Books You Need to Read to Level Up

1. Lead From the Future

How to Turn Visionary Thinking Into Breakthrough Growth

By Mark W. Johnson and Josh Suskewicz

Too many businesses and organizations today are run like machines, too focused on numbers and the bottom line.

Is any of that a problem if your business is in the black? Maybe not yet. But later in the 21st century, Josh Suskewicz and Mark W. Johnson write, “The greatest challenge that big organizations face will not be solved by algorithms but (as they have always been) by the wise men and women who look ahead and make the best choices.”

In their book, Johnson and Suskewicz write about how leaders can take their businesses to the next level by using what they call “future back” thinking. Their process involves identifying and filling projected shortfall, reinventing core business functions, developing breakthrough marketing strategies, and creating a new vision overall.  (April; Harvard Business Review Press; $30)

2. One Step Ahead

Mastering the Art and Science of Negotiation

By David Sally

Negotiating is easy when you’re one step ahead. The hard part is actually getting that head start, David Sally writes. One of the most important factors to negotiating successfully is being tough, according to him.

“Tough does not mean you must be macho, belligerent, or unpleasant,” he writes. “True toughness arises from persistence and patience, from focus on a goal, from the security that you know what you’re doing, and from a willingness to say no firmly and creatively.”

You’ll learn a lot from this book. Sally explains the four different types of negotiators, how to identify them, and what you’ll need to work with them. He writes about how you can get the most of out your own personality traits to negotiate successfully. The book’s tips can help you whether you’re negotiating with a 5-year-old to eat their veggies or a 50-year-old over a seven-figure deal. (May; St. Martin’s Press; $19)

3. Die With Zero

Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life

By Bill Perkins

It’s time to stop worrying about the future so much, and start living in the now. Bill Perkins explains his book by expanding on the classic Aesop fable of the ant and the grasshopper: The ant works hard all summer to save food for the winter. The grasshopper doesn’t. Winter comes along and you know the rest.

“There’s a time for work and a time for play,” Perkins writes. “Great moral. But when does the ant ever get to play?”

In his book, Perkins offers nine rules to help you from being an ant who doesn’t play. Some of the rules make sense, like Rule No. 2: Start investing in experiences early. Perkins isn’t a financial planner, he cautions. He’s not offering a steady plan to save for the future while still enjoying your life; he’s offering ways to be more present now, so you don’t look back on would’ves, could’ves, and should’ves later in life. (May; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $26)