"I’m The Boss. I Need The Info.” - Dr. Evil - Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery

If you like Profit First by Mike Michalowicz you need to read Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits by Greg Crabtree. Greg digs in where Mike left off.

Maybe you aren’t familiar with accounting, Greg will help…maybe you are great at accounting but integrating that with how to run your business is a challenge, Greg will help…maybe you are great with accounting and it shows in your business, Greg will help put it in context and plan for the future….doing what Greg teaches isn’t rocket since, but it isn’t widely taught either. If you want to make better sense of your business’ numbers, this is a great place to start.

“Oh, And Remember, Next Friday Is Hawaiian Shirt Day!" – Bill Lumberg, Office Space

When you step into the world of Small Business you quickly learn that there are many more aspects of running a business than you can learn in business school…however, if Hawaiian Shirt Day is your solution for building culture you may want to go back to school.

…or you could read Dave Ramsey’s book Entreleadership. This book is a sort of 101 class for small businesses covering topics from finance and marketing to delegation and communication. I appreciate that Dave gives practical tools and a no-nonsense approach to how to get things done. Does it cover everything, no….are there other valid ways for most if not all of the topics, yes…..but it covers a ton, it does it well…and even if you choose to color outside of the lines he recommends you will be well served to thoughtfully consider what he says.

"This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons." Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights

If you can’t see where you are going how are you going to get there? This could be related to many things in business…but specifically I am talking about your vision. It may start with the high-level vision you have in vinyl letters on the wall, but it goes into far more detail than than...the vision in your head and, more importantly, in your heart. When you achieve that vision what, specifically, does that look like? What do you do, where do you do it? Who is there with you? What does it feel like? What does it smell like?......How did you get there?

CAMERON HEROLD calls this the Painted Picture, in his book Double Double. When you know where you are going, then you can plan on how to get there and in this book Cameron gives practical guidance on how to make that happen, from someone who has done it multiple times…one of the things I love about this book is that these are real tools you can use today, not a theoretical framework you have to figure out how to apply yourself.

Reading this book will not only inspire you…it will give you tools to make big things happen.

"Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn't it? If you're comfortable while you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong." – Ted Lasso

If you are reading this I’m sure that you have taken a job or received a promotion and when you first started you probably didn’t feel quite ready for it. You probably had the skills and knew what to do…but were lacking the experience where you felt really comfortable.

That is where David Marquet, author of Turn the Ship Around found himself. In this book he tells the story of being thrust into a leadership role he wasn’t prepared for and navigating his way out…he did this by unleashing his team, not being the brilliant leader with all of the answers. Using his model of Control, Competence, and Clarity his submarine showed what was possible with a real leader rather than a fanatical manager.

If you struggle with leading your team, with delegating…(HELLO! That hit home didn’t it?) and your team not quite living up to their potential this book is for you.

“They are digging in the wrong place!” Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark

If you are a leader and you want to be a good leader I’m sure that you work on hard on getting better…always learning adding more and more knowledge; and that is good. However, for most leaders more knowledge will not give them the exponential gains they want. Supercharged growth comes from…wait for it…wait for it….RELATIONSHIP!

John Townsend’s book People Fuel talks about why this is the case, what we need from others, who we can get those needs met from and practical tips about finding / fostering and building those kinds of relationships…as well as stay away from those that will bring you down.

We always want to learn more and add to our skills….but getting the right kind of relationships and get what you need from them will take you places you cannot reach with a degree, reading a book or listening to a podcast…don’t believe me? Read and apply this book and get back to me!

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” – Inego Montoya, The Princess Bride

If you are a small business owner who pays themselves well for their work, enjoys withdrawing a healthy amount of profit each year, rarely has cashflow problems and never loses sleep over money then this book is not for you. If any of these describe you, Mike Michalowicz teaches a simple method to bring discipline to your business and enjoy one of the big reasons you got into business in the first place…PROFIT.

I love this book because I was one of those business owners who needed it. Yes it is simplistic, yes your accountant should be able to replicate a lot of the steps in this book without actually doing them as he describes….AND if you need to read this book (and I recommend that you do) you will find his system helps instill discipline and can really work.

Many financial planners teach investors to “pay yourself first”…and your business is probably your biggest investment where you should pay yourself first…this book will help you learn how.

“There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand” – Arrested Development

This summer I wanted to talk about a few books that I have found helpful in my leadership Journey. This week I wanted to highlight From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn. I first heard about Alisa Cohn when she was on the Tim Ferris podcast (episode #539). She is an executive coach focusing on Start-ups and has compiled a lot of very useful tips-tricks and advice that I think IS NOT JUST FOR START UPS but for all business leaders including start ups; and I think small businesses leaders will get a lot of valuable information here as well.

In here you will find how to hire-fire, creating culture, managing yourself, managing others, managing your board, working with co-founders etc.….if you lead people you will find this book a terrific reference. Also, as any business leader knows, one of the hardest things you have to do is have difficult conversations with employees….especially when you become close to those you work with. Alisa has put some sample scripts at the back of the book that outline some of those hard conversations and how to do them well…pure gold! I highly recommend this book….check out her Tim Ferris podcast is you are on the fence and she also has a podcast called From Start-Up to Grown-Up that is well worth a listen…this week she had a terrific interview with Seth Godin. Look out in future weeks I’ll highlight other books I’ve have found particularly valuable.