Back in the early days of The BrightGauge Podcast, we decided that we would ask our guests to recommend their favorite resources for advancing their business, or for self improvement. Now with 38 episodes (and counting!) in the line-up, join us for a look back as we share all of the great books, softwares, blogs, podcasts, and other resources we’ve collected along the way:
Editor’s note: Compiling this list proved challenging when it came to the best way to share it. While the original thought was to break down the list by episode, many of our guests referenced the same resources, especially when it came to books. We’re instead sharing the list by resource type.
First things first: make sure you're caught up on all the episodes of The BrightGauge Podcast! Besides the great resource recommendations, our guests offer a ton of insights about how to improve your MSP business with advice on topics such as finding and keeping the right employees, how to build a sales team, the key to focusing on the right data, specific KPIs you need to know, ways to improve your customer satisfaction scores, and so much more.
Now, let's dive in and see what our guests have to say about their favorite learning materials...
Book Recommendations:
- Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, by Derek Sivers
- Black Box Thinking, by Matthew Syed
- Circle of Safety, Simon Sinek
- Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers, by Geoffrey Moore
- David Maister, Professional Services guru (series of books)
- Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, by Tony Hsieh
- Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink
- Driven: How to Succeed in Business and In Life, by Robert Herjavec
- EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches, by Dave Ramsay
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don’t, by Jim Collins
- Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, by Jim Collins
- How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
- It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy, by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff
- Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, by Simon Sinek
- Leading on Purpose: Sage Advice and Practical Tools for Becoming the Complete Leader, by Timothy I. Thomas and Charles “Rip” Tilden
- Lure the Tiger Out of the Mountains, by Yuan Gao
- Malcolm Gladwell (any of his books)
- Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm, by Verne Harnish
- Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
- Predictable Revenue, by Aaron Ross
- Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, by Mike Michalowicz
- Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business (The Story of Clif Bar Inc.), by Gary Erickson
- Scaling Up, by Verne Harnish
- Scaling Up Excellence, by Robert Sutton & Huggy Rao
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, by Phil Knight
- Spin Selling, by Neil Rackham
- The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business, by Patrick Lencioni
- The Art of War, by Sun Tzu (note there are several different translations available)
- The Big Five For Life Continued, by John Strelecky
- The Breakthrough Company, by Keith R. McFarland
- The E-myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It, by Michael Gerber
- The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done, by Peter Drucker
- The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann
- The Joshua Principle, by Tony Hughes
- The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, by Eric Ries
- The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy, by Thomas J. Stanley
- The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM), by Hal Elrod
- The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Team Win, by Gene Kim
- The 4 Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferriss
- The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, by Patrick Lencioni
- The 80% Approach, by Dan Sullivan
- Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, by Gino Wickman
- Turn the Ship Around, by L. David Marquet
- Walk Away Wealthy: The Entrepreneur’s Exit-Planning Playbook, by Mark Tepper
Blogs You Need to Know:
Podcasts to Check Out:
Software Solutions:
Peer Groups for MSPs:
Other Resources:
Now tell us, do you have a favorite book or other resource when it comes to business or personal development? Add your suggestions in the comments below: