The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan.
1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths
by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel that you are both a person who gets things done and someone who offers penetrating analysis? Well, you can discover whether you are truly an “achiever” or an “analytical” by completing the online quiz. Then, the book will give you “ideas for action” and tips for how best you can work with others. More of a patiencetester than Strengthsfinder, the quiz/book is probably best for those who have lots of time on their hands.
2. Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon
by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner. The business columnist of The New York Times and her coauthor exposes how the watchdogs who were supposed to protect the country from financial harm were actually complicit in the actions that finally blew up the American economy.
3. The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
by Dave Ramsey. Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host.
4. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
by Jim Collins. The author of Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
examines the question “How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?”
5. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
by Patrick Lencioni. The author targets group behavior in the final entry of his trilogy of corporate fables. When the instructional tale is over, Lencioni discusses the “five dysfunctions” (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results) and provides a questionnaire for readers to use in evaluating their own teams and specifics to help them understand and overcome these common shortcomings.
6. Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard. This story is about adjusting attitudes toward change in life, especially at work. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not, but the author affirms that it can be positive. His principles are to anticipate change, let go of the old, and do what you would do if you were not afraid.
7. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
by Dan Heath and Chip Heath. The Heath brothers (coauthors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
) address motivating employees, family members, and ourselves in their analysis of why we too often fear change.
8. Strengths-Based Leadership
by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. Three keys to being a more effective leader.
9. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Timothy Ferriss. Reconstructing your life so that it’s not all about work.
10. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
by Howard Schultz. The president and chairman of Starbucks shares the remarkable story of his return and the company’s ongoing transformation under his leadership, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic times in history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity.
