Saturday, July 12, 2008

Recommended Reading - Biz Buzz

Recommended Reading - Biz Buzz

Awhile back I asked for recommendations to add to the Resources for SMB Consultants over at SMB Books.

Thank you for your feedback! I'm open for more. So if you have requests related to technology (home server, SBS, EBS), business, or SMB Consulting generally, please send them to me.

In particular, I want to thank Zaun Bhana from Leap Consulting in Australia. Zaun gave me a very thorough list of recommendations (and I quote):

    Seth Godin (Anything in his library is worthwhile)
    Jim Collins (Good to Great)
    Michael Gerber (EMyth Series)
    David Allen (Getting Things Done)
    Jack Stack (The Great Game of Business)
    Verne Harnish (Mastering the Rockefeller Habits)
    Mark Hurst (Bit Literacy)
    Randy Schwantz (How to Get Your Competition Fired)
    Fred Reichheld (The Ultimate Question)
    David H Maister (Managing the Professional Service Firm)
    Rick Freedman (The IT Consulting series)
    Ford Harding (Rain Making)
    John C Maxwell (Leaders series)
    John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing)
    Marcus Buckingham (First Break all the Rules)
    Andrew Sobel (Making Rain)
    Nicholas Carr (The Big Switch & Does IT Matter)
    Chris Anderson (Long Tail)
    Michael Port (Book Yourself Solid & Beyond Booked Solid)
    Keith Eades (Solution Selling series)

The good news for me is that I haven't read all of these! That means I get to add them to my personal reading list. Thanks, Zaun.

- - - - -

This list is longer, but very much in line with all of the other suggestions I received. It is very business focused.

Did you notice something about this list? It doesn't include Unleashing SBS, Unleashing Home Server, or any other "technical" books. That's cool for two reasons.

First, the feedback from my request has been almost entirely business-related rather than technology-related. This means my focus is working.

Second, it means I don't need to try to compete on the technical library front. That's a tougher place to differentiate yourself.

We still plan to carry Unleashing SBS 2008 the minute it is released, but we're not going to try to be the definitive source for technology guides.

We will continue to be the single best source for resources for the SMB Consultant!

- - - - -

I can't do it all at once, and I do want to get a sense that there's a consensus on the value of the books we add.

So, with the help from all of those who sent in requests, we have selected a few titles. The following products are now available on SMBBooks.com:


Getting Things Done
David Allen


Good to Great
Jim Collins


The Dip
Seth Godin

The Idea Virus
Seth Godin


Guerrilla Marketing Handbook
Jay Conrad Levinson


The Wedge
Randy Schwantz


Again, my goal is to create a real resource for SMB Consultants. These products are more "generic," and join the 50+ items that are specifically focused on the SMB space. They also join the handful of other products, like The E-Myth, that every business owner should read, no matter what business you're in!

As always, thank you for your support.

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