Contest: Tell us your 3 Favorite Business Books!

[Kevin Lee]

Evan Carmichael and BuzzAroundBooks.com would like your help in compiling a list of the "Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs"! As such, BuzzAroundBooks.com will be offering a prize pack consisting of Evan's 3 Favorite Business Books to one lucky winner:

1.) "Trump: The Art of the Deal" by Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz

2.) "The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Grow, or Manage a Business" by Martha Stewart

3.) "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

To enter this contest, simply reply to this forum post with your 3 favorite business books in order of importance (with "1" being the highest and "3" the lowest). Try to think of the books that have played an instrumental part in your success to date!

Entries will only be accepted until the end of June 2007, where one winner will be awarded the prize pack via random draw. Moreover, the final results for the list of "The Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs" will be made available for your future reference in early July.

Feel free to contact Kevin Lee at kevin@buzzaroundbooks.com with any questions concerning this survey contest.

We look forward to hearing your book recommendations!

Thanks

[Aquanaut]

1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read
- this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody.

2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto.

3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book
Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.

[OmnivoreInk]

I'm not a fan of Donald Trump, but I never turn down a chance to win some free books!

1. Reach for the Summit: The Definite Dozen System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do, by Pat Summitt.

A motivational and inspirational book for anybody - with plenty of advice that can be extrapolated as to how to run a business, too; written by the head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols. She gives motivational speeches to businesses around the country, and is the most respected women's college coach in the business . This last year she won her 7th NCAA championship. That's the reason why I love this book and admire her so much. This book was published in 1998 and in ten years she's continued to be at the top of her field, continued to produce excellence - so clearly her system works.
(Indeed, I admire her so much that I've actually created a fan size dedicated to her and the Lady Vols - it's only a year old but there's some good stuff there, if I do say so myself!
http://thethunderchild.com/LadyVols


2. The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management, by Peter F. Drucker

I love Drucker's work...

3. Workplace Warrior: Insights and Advice for Winning on the Corporate Battlefield, by Kay Hammer

Just found this book recently, has lots of good material in it, even for those who are out of the corporate rat race.

[ltrahan]

Without doubt:

1) Michael Gerber - E-Myth Revisited - one of the best books for someone starting a business who wants to learn the importance of implementing systems early. (Who ever I lent my copy to ... please bring it back!)

2) Guy Kawasaki - The Art of the Start. I love the simple ideas and philosophies of this book.

3) Robert Mayer - How to Win Any Negotiation - fantastic ideas for getting what you want.

[Kevin Lee]

While I'm obviously ineligible to win my own contest...here are my Top 3 picks for your reference:

1.) "Little Black Book of Connections" by Jeffrey Gitomer - I chose this above all the other business and marketing books I've read because like I said in my book review, "You may have the best product, service, business plan, resume or skill set, but if you don't have the power to connect, you'll never even have the opportunity to pitch it to a potential client or employer."

2.) "The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki - A well-rounded resource for entrepreneurs.

3.) "The Profitable Retailer" by Doug Fleener - The all-in-one guide to running a successful retail store.

For the full explanations behind my choices, you can visit:
http://www.evancarmichael.com/Book-Reviews/

[IWDCanada]

I really like...

1. Matsushita Leadership
It was a good book about trial and error, community prosperity, and the will to make it work.

2. Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a FortuneDoing Business My Way

Brandson had a very different way of doing business and evaluating the risks he took. It was an interesting read to see how he came up, the pressures he was under, and how everything was made to be.

3. Xenophon's Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War

This is just an interesting read. It was all about how Cyrus was able to command his troops and the lessons he learned doing it. A lot of the points made in the book can be carried over into business.

[Kevin Lee]

Congratulations to ltrahan for winning BuzzAroundBooks.com's "Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs" Contest. ltrahan has won a prize pack consisting of Evan's 3 Favorite Business Books:

1.) "Trump: The Art of the Deal" by Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz

2.) "The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Grow, or Manage a Business" by Martha Stewart

3.) "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie


Thanks to everyone who participated!

[ltrahan]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the books - I received them within two days and am already deep into the first one - 'The Art of the Deal' - I can't believe I haven't already read this book since it's been around for 20 years.

Great contest, thanks for running it!

[ideasuniversity]

Kevin,
When are you going to do this kind of contest again? I can do with free books

[Kevin Lee]

Kevin,
When are you going to do this kind of contest again? I can do with free books

Hi ideasuniversity,

I'm not sure at the moment. However, I think it would be a fun idea if we could get members who have written business books to donate a copy of their latest work as forum prizes. Such a contest would be a good opportunity for authors to promote their books and also spread their knowledge to other entrepreneurs.