Bekker's Blog

Blog archive

Best Books for Business

Trust a crime writer to get business right. While at a used bookstore on vacation this summer, I picked up a 1977 novel by Elmore Leonard called The Hunted. In it, Leonard's got one of the pithiest descriptions of how to succeed in business that I've ever come across.

"In the business world, you don't prepare yourself for a certain job and that's it, like a bookkeeper, a tax accountant. You hire those people," one character, a successful businessman, explains to a marine, who is about to retire from the service and is looking for direction. "What you do, you keep your eyes open, you use a little imagination seeing how you can fit into a situation or how you can bend the situation around so it fits you."

Then again, this particular businessman is on the run from mobsters, so there you go.

What are your favorite books about business? Send titles to me at [email protected]. We're taking the kitchen-sink approach here, so include books that are partner-specific, market-specific, management tomes and even books that aren't obviously about business but inspire your work. When we get enough, we'll pull them into a list to share.

Posted by Scott Bekker on October 18, 2007


Featured

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.