5 Books Worth Reading

I could save you some time I spent by reading 50 books to come down to 5 that are really worthwhile (in no particular order):

1. Go Rin No Sho (Book of Five Rings): It's like the Koran, Bible etc. since there's nobody that really follows the way of the sword, you can't take the advice literally. What is totally invaluable though is the insight into the mentality of this champion among champions, and then treat every other little treatise like an individual thought exercise. It's better I think than getting spiritual guidance or (shudder) lessons from the bible because it's a treatise of PURE self reliance. Musashi never talks about using anyone else, networking etc. it's a great place to start for adopting the mindset of 'what can I do for myself' in a society pushed towards 'what can everyone do for me'.

2. The Effective Executive - Peter Drucker: The book on becoming a manager, you can take it literally. Furthermore it bridges the gap between 'self reliance' that Musashi teaches about to the 'what can i do for the organisation?' built along the foundation 'what can I do for myself' I evolved reading Drucker.

3. Good To Great - Jim Collins: recommended to me by someone I really respect, and probably is the best book on business. Though the regressive analyses technique is questionable, the things they uncovered are pearls of wisdom. crucial for building healthy organisations.

4. Maverick - Ricardo Semler: curiously for a company as 'crazy' as Semco there is not a single thing recommended by Drucker or Collins in 2&3 that directly contradicts anything Ricardo Semler instituted. Ricardo has built the most beautiful workplace in the world. If it was a choice of 2 instead of 5 I'd take this and 5 rings, 1 i'd take five rings, because if I'm in a situation where I can't take 2 books I probably don't need to worry about managing an organisation.

5. Female Chauvinist Pigs - Ariel Levy: I think I've read more women's movement books than your average 26 yo female (3) this is the best for the generation and the times for illustrating just how complex the womens movement is and the psychological landscape women in the 'free' world are living in.