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This article showcases our top picks for the Strategy Books For Beginners. We reached out to industry leaders and experts who have contributed the suggestions within this article (they have been credited for their contributions below).
We are keen to hear your feedback on all of our content and our comment section is a moderated space to express your thoughts and feelings related (or not) to this article This list is in no particular order.
This product was recommended by Linda Shaffer from Checkr
This book is based on a revolutionary concept that challenges everything you thought you knew about strategic success. In Blue Ocean Strategy, the authors show how companies can create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. This is an essential read for anyone who is looking to gain a competitive edge in business. Blue Ocean Strategy is a great book for beginners because it provides a step-by-step guide on how to create and execute a successful blue ocean strategy. The authors use real-world examples to illustrate their points, which makes the concepts easy to understand and apply.
A lot of conventional strategy books jump ahead to conquering the world. The Meditations steps back and helps you lay the ground work for a mind that’s able to think strategically. It’s unparalleled in its ability to teach calmness and discipline, both of which are key to seeing the root causes of an issue/what a goal entails and developing the kind of character that can make that goal happen.
This product was recommended by Brian Hong from Big Easy SEO
I recommend this book because it has such a unique take on how strategy really works in business, and that take, in my opinion, is what reflects reality most accurately. Most strategy books delve into “best practices” that the authors have used in their own businesses. But these ideas don’t necessarily apply to all businesses across the board. In fact, many of these strategies written in bestselling books contradict each other. In recognition of this fact, the authors of this book focused instead on how businesses can strategize their strategy, i.e, how they can use strategic thinking to determine which strategy is the best for them.
Small Fish, Big Pond: Building A World Class Business That Swims Circles Around Competitors written by Jeff Mains, is a book that takes the lessons that may be learned from ocean life and teaches business executives how to outsmart, outswim, and outlast their opponents by playing to their own strengths. Confronted by large, well-established competitors, small businesses often find themselves in a difficult position. The book Small Fish, Big Pond explains the Futureproof Strategic Framework, which provides entrepreneurs with a tried-and-true method for building an authentic business that attracts top talent, provides exceptional customer experiences and outperforms the competition at every stage of growth. The most successful businesses carve out their own territory and maintain dominant mindshare among the ideal prospects for their products. Leaders that accept their individuality and don’t compete with one another to be the next shark are the ones who change the rules of the game. These leaders incite a buying frenzy and set the stage for enormous growth potential. Size becomes irrelevant. The little ones devour the larger ones!
This product was recommended by Deepanshu Bedi from Holistapet
This is a strategy book that should be on every beginner’s bookshelf. The book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how businesses work. It is the perfect read for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur or start their own business. This book has many lessons that can be applied to everyday life. The book is about the power of identifying your goal and how the strategy for achieving it is to break it down into smaller, achievable goals. It also introduces the importance of creating strategies for achieving those goals. There is no shortage of information in this book, as it is essentially an overview of the entire book aimed at people who don’t know anything about business. It starts with a segment on the Theory of Constraints and how it applies to the business world and then goes on to cover topics like the four different types of resources that the company uses and how they are allocated. It also covers topics like how to develop a strategy, what the elements of a strategy are, and how to implement a strategy. It also has a chapter on how to manage a multi-location company.
This product was recommended by Phil Ohren from Intender
I think a big part of business strategy is being able to predict what your competitors are doing or planning so that you can preemptively counteract. This is why I recommend this book, “the art of reading minds” for beginners that are looking to grow their strategy skills. It applies to in-person interactions, but I find that down the line it is also useful for business marketing and advertising.
This product was recommended by Stephen Banks from 123pricecheck.com
Patrick Bet-David lays out a clear and concise framework for thinking about and making decisions in business. He provides a step-by-step guide for how to analyze a situation, identify your options, and choose the best course of action. The book is packed with useful information and real-world examples. Bet-David draws on his own experience as an entrepreneur and investor to show how the principles he outlines can be applied in a variety of situations. He also includes interviews with successful businesspeople who share their insights on how they’ve used these methods to achieve success. Your Next Five Moves is an essential read for anyone who wants to improve their strategic thinking and decision-making skills. It’s a clear, concise, and practical guide that will help you make better decisions in business and in life.
This product was recommended by Mimi Paul from SR22 Insurance
This book is an intensive guide to various strategies. Each chapter takes a deep dive into different sectors, the reader can finish a section individually, think about it, and complete the rest later. I certainly developed a new way to thinking about strategy after reading this book. This is definitely worth the purchase.
A classic guide for weathering the ever-changing business world, this book provides useful and tested techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. It contains three main sections: General Analytical Techniques, Generic Industry Environments, and Strategic Decisions.
This product was recommended by Eran Galperin from Gymdesk
Business leaders often look to actual political world-worthy battles that have taken place in history to gain insight and inspiration for modern strategy. A beginner would benefit from this informative book, even if they had no prior knowledge of these epic events. It was written over 150 years ago, however, the lessons are still poignant to our current situation. If you can wade through the outdated social justice language, a newcomer to the art of strategy will be forever influenced and moved by the either brilliant or completely idiotic titans of the past’s decision-makers – who like it or not, shaped the world we now know.
In The Art of Strategy, world-renowned game theorist Avinash K.. Dixit provides a captivating and accessible guide to the basic principles of game theory and its applications to a wide range of real-world phenomena, from childrearing to international diplomacy. Blending insights from economics, psychology, political science, and philosophy, Dixit shows how subtle adjustments in your thinking can lead to more successful decision making in both your professional and personal life.
The Black Art of War: Hannibal’s 99 Truths is a powerful guidebook that will help you understand the strategies and tactics used by one of the most successful military commanders in history. Hannibal Barca was a Carthaginian general who fought against Rome in the Second Punic war. He is considered one of the greatest military strategists of all time, and his successes on the battlefield are legendary. In this book, author and historian Joseph A. Balogun dissects Hannibal’s various campaigns, analyzing his thought process and decisions in order to distill what made him so successful. The Black Art of War: Hannibal’s 99 Truths is not only a fascinating read for anyone interested in military history, but also provides valuable lessons for modern-day business leaders and entrepreneurs. If you want to learn how to be as cunning, strategic, and relentless as Hannibal Barca, then this book is for you!
This product was recommended by Scott Krager from WODReview
From the start to finish, this book provides an extensive outlook on new concepts and trends in advertising and to what extent it can be done. Gives a detailed report using numerous examples and that too, from the perspective of different media, it gives a good impact on readers and had shaped my thought structure tremendously.
This product was recommended by Ruben Gamez from SignWell
This book is the perfect introduction to strategy for beginners, whether you’ve heard of Michael Porter or not. Magretta wrote the book to explain the ideas of Porter, a brilliant American academic and strategy expert, in terms that any new professional can understand. She uses her business experience to break down common misconceptions and explain the meaning behind his message in a far more accessible way.
Strategies are important, not only for businesses but for everyday situations as well. If there’s one thing I’d like to highlight from this book, it’s the lesson that strategy is an integrated set of choices. It’s not a mission or vision statement. For beginners to understand how they can refine their strategies, they should learn its five elements: purpose, playing field, the way they will win, capabilities, and measures on how they can use their capabilities. This book not only teaches readers about making strategies but also its pitfalls, which could potentially lead to a business, and even individuals, doing everything weakly.
This product was recommended by Simon Bacher from Ling App
I highly recommend this book for novice entrepreneurs. The author is a certified and experienced MBA business guru. This book covers everything a beginner must learn, from business planning, operating, and scaling a business to developing the right business mindset to conquer obstacles in startups. The digital assets are very helpful in enhancing business skills, such as financial analysis and investor pitching. It’s a great self-help book that will develop your entrepreneurial and leadership skills.
This product was recommended by Robert Johnson from Coast Appliances
I believe digital transformation will get more diverse and competitive for the coming years and marketers play a crucial role in implementing marketing technologies in companies, which this book can help with. This book provides an integrated approach to online marketing to help novice marketers create more effective digital marketing strategies. It covers digital marketing technologies and strategies, including artificial intelligence, automation, SEO, data analytics, targeting and personalization, e-commerce management, affiliate marketing, etc.
This product was recommended by Liam Wilson from Lottery ‘n Go
This classic Chinese strategy book will almost certainly crop up in every other list of this kind, but there is a good reason for that. Countless people over the centuries can attest to the book’s applicability to almost any industry and to almost every aspect of business and life. While written as strategy book for war, its quotes can be applied to almost anything that requires strategic thinking. The Art of War will not teach you how to do business, but it will help expose your mind to different ways to thinking, which will come in handy when it’s time to formulate your own business strategy.
This product was recommended by Thais Eliasen from Thais Eliasen PR
Life’s circumstances aren’t a recipe for failure to the one who’s equipped in the art of the comeback. You’re not defined by your past. Adversities are stepping stones to your greatest success and joy when you let God strengthen and train you. This book shares an up-close look at different seasons that promised nothing but despair for the author. You’ll learn things like the faith factor, living in freedom, tuning out the noise of life, dealing with the bullies, understanding the why, finding peace in surrender, enduring darkness, and realizing the legacy you’re leaving through it all. Skills that are requirements for a great leader.
This product was recommended by Kshitij Nigam from Cheef botanicals
Robert S. Kaplan’s Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes encapsulates how a novice can cheat his way out of a beginner card. The thing is, this book teaches you that being a beginner is an inevitable journey for people who are bound to become masters one day. It does not romanticize the idea of burnout because the book also teaches you how to set healthy boundaries to achieve more fruitful results.
This product was recommended by Steve Harris from Daily Dog Stuff
I would recommend reading Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt, as this book deals with the basic fundamentals of strategy making and its execution process. This book tells us about the core difference between good and bad strategies and how both of them can impact our lives to a great extent. For beginners, it is an absolute gem as it will have a great impact on anyone and also give birth to a sort of leadership skill.
The typical reader was taken into consideration when writing this book. The explanations are appropriate and the chapters are concise. This book exceeds the expectations of any business owner who wants to discover the answers to the most important issues about their company, such as how to go global, how to win strategy games, how to develop my business repeatedly, and so on and so forth, without using any management jargon. You wouldn’t read this book just once. You’ll keep returning to the book for references and to better comprehend the ideas.
This product was recommended by Erin Lackore from LaCkore Couture
This book is intended for newcomers who want a fundamental understanding of strategy. This is the greatest business strategy book to start with if you are a beginner. The basics of business are covered, along with practically everything else you need to know about it. If you’ve read a lot of strategy books, this one will make you rethink your previous readings. You will discover all the foundations in this book, from aligning your vision through forecasting, resource allocation, implementation, and faultless execution.
Gerry has posed this book so it reads perfectly for strategists and business professionals. It’s written from the perspective of a lawyer and carries many references to the world of law, but it can be used as a strategic base across all industries. Gerry Spence uses a lifetime of interesting experience to write this book and I’m positive it has helped many professionals since its release in 2005.
The Invincible Company analyzes how winning corporations are able to disrupt industries and dominate markets. The authors examine the practices of leading companies like Microsoft, IKEA, and Amazon and explore successful business models throughout history. The book includes many visuals and charts, as well as tools like strategy frameworks, innovation metrics, and culture maps. The Invincible Company is a blueprint for becoming an industry titan. Notable Quote:“The Invincible Company explores the future, while excelling at exploiting the present.”
