The Best Business Book of All Time Dates From 1969 and Almost Nobody Knows About It.
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates recommend everyone to read at least once.
When you want to achieve great things, the first thing to do is to look at those who have already accomplished what you want to accomplish. By studying their routines, you will see some things that you can learn to improve your chances of success.
After studying the success of many highly successful entrepreneurs at length, you'll come to the same conclusion I did: reading is the magic power of all these entrepreneurs.
Warren Buffett even says he reads up to 500 pages a day to stay current and minimize his ignorance so he can make better decisions. When you manage billions of dollars in investments for clients every day, it is essential to make the best decisions possible.
Without going as far as Warren Buffett, you should remember that the goal is to make reading one of your priorities. However, the big question is which books you should focus on. Again, you can take inspiration from the favorite books of successful entrepreneurs.
Among the favorite books of CEOs of large companies, we often find books like “Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike” by Phil Knight, “Principles: Life and Work” by Ray Dalio, or “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek. You may have already read these books yourself.
On the other hand, there is a book that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates themselves consider to be the best business book of all time that very few people have read at least once. This book was written more than 50 years ago, and it was Warren Buffett who introduced it to Bill Gates. Here's what he said about it:
“More than two decades after Warren lent it to me — and more than four decades after it was first published — 'Business Adventures' remains the best business book I've ever read. John Brooks is still my favorite business writer.”
A book full of essential lessons about life and people
You have understood here that I am talking about the book “Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street” by John Brooks published in 1969. It is a compilation of 12 stories, which were previously published in The New Yorker, where Brooks was a staff writer. These stories are about important events in 20th Century corporate America. Each profile is a fascinating account of how a certain moment in history shaped an entire company.
What makes this book so powerful and allows it to stand the test of time is that it attracts readers who are not interested in the world of finance. This book by John Brooks offers essential lessons about people and life. It sheds light on our instinctive behaviors, what makes us excel and what causes us problems.
To convince you that you need to read this book at least once in your life, here are 3 essential lessons about life from John Brooks' book:
1. If you refuse to see the changes in the world, you will invariably become obsolete
Among John Brooks' stories is one about the Ford Motor Company's biggest failure: the 1958 Ford Edsel. Ford wanted to make it the “new and ultimate” car for middle-class Americans. Ford's ambition was to make a car that would meet the needs of the American public. To do this, Ford decided to ask Americans what they wanted most in a car.
Unhappy with the results of the survey conducted among the American public, Ford decided to ignore them. To create hype around the car, Ford started marketing it a year before it was finished. And on launch day, the model was delivered with oil leaks and trunks that wouldn't open. It was also mocked for being too expensive and using too much gas.
This is where the first key lesson of the book comes in: when you stop paying attention to changes in society and human needs, then you will refuse to change and you will become vulnerable to competitors because of your obsolescence.
2. Failure is a good thing. Accept failure, learn from your failure, and keep moving forward
The failure of the Edsel model cost Ford $350 million. Yet Ford executives took no responsibility for the failure. They adopted the worst attitude of all: that they had done everything right. They chose denial.
A Ford marketing manager even explained to John Brooks that it was the customers' fault that the Ford Edsel failed:
“What they'd been buying for several years encouraged the industry to build exactly this kind of car. We gave it to them, and they wouldn't take it. Well, they shouldn't have acted like that. And now the public wants these little beetles. I don't get it!”
The problem is that people see failure in the wrong way. They think: if I fail, I'm going to lose something very important. They still react like college students. Real life doesn't work that way. Learning from your mistakes is the best way to achieve great success. The sooner you understand this, the sooner you can achieve great success by learning from your failures.
3. Never underestimate the importance of a company's culture and values
Whether you are a founder, manager, employee, or looking for a job, this lesson from John Brooks' book will serve you well.
Brooks talks about Xerox founder Joseph C. Wilson as someone who was ahead of his time in the 1960s because he knew how to prioritize building a compassionate work culture. He made a point of giving millions of dollars to charities and universities while implementing progressive policies in his company during the civil rights movement.
Here's what Wilson told Brooks:
“To set high goals, to have almost unattainable aspirations, to imbue people with the belief that they can be achieved … these are as important as the balance sheet, perhaps more so.”
In today's world, more than ever, employees are searching for meaning and value. They are no longer afraid to turn down a job or even leave their position in a company if the culture and values don't fit or no longer fit. Having good company culture will likely lead to higher productivity and motivation, fewer employee health issues, and less turnover.
This is something to keep in mind when joining a company as well to avoid being disappointed over time if your values do not match those of the company.