the 50 most impactful books for entrepreneurs
Not "popular."
Not "bestselling."
Impactful.
The ones that shifted entire industries.
The classics that spawned a thousand knockoffs.
THE TOP 50 (Ranked by Impact)
MINDSET & SUCCESS PHILOSOPHY
1. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill (1937)
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey (1989)
3. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie (1936)
4. Awaken the Giant Within – Tony Robbins (1991)
5. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol Dweck (2006)
6. The Greatest Salesman in the World – Og Mandino (1968)
7. Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki (1997)
8. Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell (2008)
STRATEGY & INNOVATION
9. The Art of War – Sun Tzu (~500 BC)
10. Good to Great – Jim Collins (2001)
11. Blue Ocean Strategy – Kim & Mauborgne (2005)
12. The Innovator's Dilemma – Clayton Christensen (1997)
13. Zero to One – Peter Thiel (2014)
14. Built to Last – Collins & Porras (1994)
15. The Lean Startup – Eric Ries (2011)
16. Traction – Gino Wickman (2011)
17. The E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber (1995)
18. Crossing the Chasm – Geoffrey Moore (1991)
MARKETING & PERSUASION
19. Influence – Robert Cialdini (1984)
20. $100M Offers – Alex Hormozi (2021)
21. They Ask, You Answer – Marcus Sheridan (2017)
22. DotCom Secrets – Russell Brunson (2015)
23. Expert Secrets – Russell Brunson (2017)
24. Platform – Michael Hyatt (2012)
25. Purple Cow – Seth Godin (2003)
26. Positioning – Ries & Trout (1981)
27. Made to Stick – Heath & Heath (2007)
28. Contagious – Jonah Berger (2013)
29. Ogilvy on Advertising – David Ogilvy (1983)
SALES & NEGOTIATION
30. Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss (2016)
31. You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar – David Sandler (1994, 2nd ed. 2015)
32. SPIN Selling – Neil Rackham (1988)
33. Uncopyable Sales Secrets – Steve (Kay) Miller (2022)
34. The Challenger Sale – Dixon & Adamson (2011)
35. Secrets of Closing the Sale – Zig Ziglar (1984)
36. Getting to Yes – Fisher & Ury (1981)
LEADERSHIP & TEAMS
37. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni (2002)
38. Start with Why – Simon Sinek (2009)
39. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John C. Maxwell (1998)
40. The One Minute Manager – Blanchard & Johnson (1982)
41. Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek (2014)
42. The Effective Executive – Peter Drucker (1967)
43. Extreme Ownership – Willink & Babin (2015)
PRODUCTIVITY & FOCUS
44. Atomic Habits – James Clear (2018)
45. The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg (2012)
46. The 4-Hour Workweek – Tim Ferriss (2007)
47. Getting Things Done – David Allen (2001)
48. Deep Work – Cal Newport (2016)
49. The One Thing – Gary Keller (2013)
50. Essentialism – Greg McKeown (2014)
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & CULTURE
51. Shoe Dog – Phil Knight (2016)
52. Profit First – Mike Michalowicz (2014)
53. Crushing It! – Gary Vaynerchuk (2018)
54. Rework – Jason Fried & DHH (2010)
Now here's where it gets interesting:
- I know there are books missing.
- Books that changed YOUR business.
- Books that should be in the top 10 but got edged out.
Maybe it's Breakthrough Advertising (Eugene Schwartz).
Maybe it's Traction (Gabriel Weinberg, not Wickman).
Maybe it's something obscure that only the real ones know about.
So here's what I want to know:
What book is MISSING from this list that absolutely deserves a spot?
Drop the title + author in the comments.
Bonus points if you tell me why it matters - what framework or lesson from that book still shows up in your business today.
Let's crowdsource the ultimate business library!
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the 50 most impactful books for entrepreneurs
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