Top 10 Influential Business Books of All Time

Already a classic, this international bestseller has now been updated for the new economy Hammer and Champy helped to create, describing how the radical redesign of a company's processes, organisation and culture can improve performance.

"This completely revised and expanded edition identifies: the fastest-growing markets for the twenty-first century, with tips on how to reach them; unique strategies for cooperative fusion marketing with other businesses; the latest programs for freelance employees and telecommuters; up-to-date information on the Internet and other technologies that aid the guerrilla in targeting and growing a business; and management lessons for the twenty-first-century entrepreneur."--Jacket.

Details a simple, yet effective management system based on three fundamental strategies for earning raises, promotions, and power in business.

"The Soul of a New Machine" is a non-fiction book written by Tracy Kidder and published in 1981. It chronicles the experiences of a computer engineering team racing to design a next-generation computer at a blistering pace under tremendous pressure. The machine was launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000. The book won the 1982 National Book Award for Non-fiction and a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.

“This book was seminal in my life. I wouldn’t be living the life I’m living if it didn’t find me.”—Matthew McConaughey Ten ancient scrolls reveal priceless wisdom for changing your life in this evergreen classic with more than five million copies in print. A timeless fable with profoundly modern lessons, The Greatest Salesman in the World is both a road map to salesmanship and a heartfelt tale that redefines the meaning of success. As a young camel boy in Jerusalem, Hafid dreams of becoming more. Witnessing the great empires of tradesmanship that others have grown, he desires to do the same—to become not only a salesman, but the greatest salesman in the world. Desperate to prove himself, he approaches the best merchant he knows, who sets him an impossible task—a task that takes him on an unforgettable journey involving a red cloak, a barn in Bethlehem, and ten scrolls that will change his life. Each scroll touches upon perennially valuable lessons: persisting against the odds, mastering emotions, embracing joy, and creating good habits. Through the story of Hafid and his ten scrolls, The Greatest Salesman in the World guides readers through a philosophy for getting the most out of life—starting right now.

The year 2005 marks Ayn Rand's Centennial Year.The astounding story of a man that said that he would stop the motor of the world-and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is unlike any other book you have ever read.“A writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly.”-The New York Times

Available for the first time ever in trade paperback, Dale Carnegie's enduring classic, the inspirational personal development guide that shows how to achieve lifelong success. One of the top-selling books of all time, "How to Win Friends & Influence People" has sold more than 15 million copies in all its editions.

The Wealth of Nations By Adam Smith

The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]; Latin: De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of The Prince is of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends. From Machiavelli's correspondence, a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (Of Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was carried out with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of The Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings". Although The Prince was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it was generally agreed as being especially innovative. This is partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice that had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature.

The famous military treatise, "The Art of War" written by Sun Tzu depicts a philosophy of war for managing conflicts and winning battles. Some modern philosophers believe that apart from the writings of the author, it also contains commentary and clarifications from later military philosophers, such as Li Quan and Du Mu. This masterpiece, since its first publication, has been translated and distributed internationally, and was frequently referred and used by generals and theorists. There are numerous theories concerned with the completion of the text but it has been archeological proved that the Art of War was composed by at least the early Han dynasty. Since it is nearly impossible to predict the correct date of its completion, the differing theories regarding the work's author(s) and date of completion will never resolve. It was one of the six survived major works written before the unification of China in the 2nd century BC. In the late 1st millennium AD, during the Song Dynasty, these six major works were combined with a Tang Dynasty text into a collection also known as the Seven Military Classics. Being the central part of the collection, "The Art of War" formed the bases of orthodox military theory in China. The language used in the book can be distinguishable from a Western text on warfare and strategy. It was said that the text had recurrent mentions such as a leader must be "serene and inscrutable" and capable of comprehending "unfathomable plans", which was confusing for Western readers who lack the awareness of the East Asian context. These statements will make clear sense if studied with Taoist thought and practice. According to Sun Tzu, an ideal general was an enlightened Taoist master which led to "The Art of War" to become a prime example of Taoist strategy. It is different from the other Western works, such as Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz's On War on its spiritual dimension. To have well understanding of this text, it is essential to have awareness on Taoism. This book also gained popularity among the political leaders and those in business management. Today, it is also used in public administration and planning. Apart from describing the theories of battles, this text also discusses the diplomacy and developing relationships with other nation's importance for the sovereignty of a state. It is now listed on the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program and is recommended to be read by all United States Military Intelligence personnel. CIA officers are also required to read this book. Scholars discovered a collection of ancient texts written on unusually well-preserved bamboo slips in early 1970s. These texts included "The Art of War" and Sun Bin's "Military Methods". Sun Bin's "Military Methods" was written by a descendant of Sun and was lost since then. It is considered very important because of Sun Bin's relationship to Sun Tzu and also due to its addition to the body of military thought in late Chinese antiquity. This discovery led to the significant expansion of the body of surviving Warring States military theory. Sun Bin's text, apart from being the only surviving military text from the Warring States period discovered in the twentieth century, also contains the closest similarity to "The Art of War" among all surviving texts.