The Top 10 Books Of 2019

I read a lot of good books this year, and these are the best.
As I continuously say, very few books are worth $30-40 – they’re either worth $0 or $400, depending on their wisdom and your circumstances.
Here they are:

10. Alchemy – Rory Sutherland
If you found my ebook on Creating Compelling Value Propositions interesting, you’ll love this book.
It’s full of great case studies, memorable ideas and is excellent as an audiobook.

9. The Four Disciplines Of Execution – Sean Covey + Jim Huling + Chris McChesney
Huge thanks to Dan Madhaven who recommended this book – when someone says a book is “their Bible” it usually means it’s worth a shot.
The book covers how a team can develop a culture of getting the most valuable work done, rather than doing more busywork.
Really enjoyable to read, full of sensible yet profound suggestions.

8. The Lives Of 50 Fashion Legends - Fashionary
Fashionary have created a really distinctive book here, essentially 50 infographics that cover a different designer and their complex journey in building their own brand.
I found them all captivating, even the ones I’d never heard of.
There are some interesting recurring themes and patterns amongst them, and it gives you a greater appreciation for the individual behind the household name.

7. Now Try Something Weirder – Michael Johnson
Michael’s earlier book Branding in Five and a Half Steps is one of my all time favourites, and his follow-up is full of advice on creative careers. He knows his stuff, but more importantly it’s enjoyable to read.

6. Read Me! – Gyles Lingwood + Roger Horberry
It should come as no surprise that a book about great writing is a total page turner, and has some of the most clever advertising I’ve ever seen.
Great examples of how a business can write in a way that’s human and engaging, I wish more companies took their advice.

5. Everything Is Figureoutable – Marie Forleo
The title really sums up the message of the book – how to approach and work through new challenges.
I picked it up in a store and read this on page 12:

Rule 1. All problems (or dreams) are figureoutable.

Rule 2. If a problem is not figureoutable, it’s not really a problem – it’s a fact of life or law of nature (e.g., death or gravity).

Rule 3. You may not care enough to figure this problem out or achieve this particular dream. That’s ok. Find another problem or dream that ignites a blazing fire in your heart and go back to Rule 1.

That was such good advice that I took the book straight to the counter.

4. What You Do Is Who You Are – Ben Horowitz
Ben’s first book The Hard Thing About Hard Things is one of the all time greats on management and leadership, so I was excited to hear that his second book would be about creating and defending culture.
He uses a series of interesting case studies I’d never heard of (Toussaint Louverture, Don Thompson, Shaka Sengor, etc) alongside his own experiences running large companies.
Blunt, confronting, valuable wisdom.

3. Testing Business Ideas – David Bland + Alexander Osterwalder
The third book from Strategyzer, this is all about the philosophy and methodology for running good tests.
I’d been using their tools like The Test Card already, but this takes it to the next level, and the results are fantastic.
They cover 44 styles of experiment, spanning every stage of growth, with detailed notes for how to run each of them.
I would be stunned if you didn’t find it useful; this book will either save you thousands of dollars or massively improve your startup.

2. Creative Blindness – Dave Trott
Not a traditional business book as such, more like a collection of incredibly well told true stories.
Here are some examples that made the book:
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/crop-opportunity/1430193

http://davetrott.co.uk/2016/05/suck-on-that/

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/view-dave-trott-common-sense-beats-brains/1392779

If you like those, you’ll love this book.

1. The Mom Test – Rob Fitzpatrick
Strictly speaking, this book did not come out in 2019 but it’s obscure and I only discovered it this year (cheers to Will Dayble for the recommendation).
The Mom Test is so useful that I prescribe it instead of trying to teach customer interview techniques – just read this instead.
It’s already become a core part of my curriculum, helping founders to ask better questions to get to the priceless truths at the core of their customers.
You can download it instantly at http://momtestbook.com/ , you won’t regret it.