Catch up with your reading this festive season with these inspiring reads. From ‘Think and Grow Rich’, by Napoleon Hill, and Gayton McKenzie, ‘The Hustler’s Bible’ to ‘Feel the Fear and do it Anyway’ by Susan Jeffers – these were the books that South African entrepreneurs were reading this year.
1. I’m currently reading David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell.
Claire Reid – ‘Every entrepreneur needs a support team’ –
2. Who moved my cheese? by John Maxwell.
Tanya Naidoo – ‘Entrepreneurship is in my blood’
3. Currently I am reading two books called Julius Caesar CEO and The Bridge – The Life & Rise of Barak Obama. But my all time favourite, which I read at University, was the Autobiography of Malcom X. It took me three days to read and inspired in several ways.
Israel Noko – ‘Environment plays a key role in entrepreneurship’
4. I love Robert Greene, 48 Laws of Power; Neville Goddard, Immortal Man and Carl Sagan, Billions and Billions.
Nonyane Mokhele – ‘Everyday I make a conscious choice to be an entrepreneur’
5. I read Donald Trump. I’ve read Think Big and The Art of the Deal, they help a lot. I also read the Bible.
Vonani Mathebula – “Be obsessed with what you do”
6. I’m currently reading Napolean Hill, Think and Grow Rich.
Dudu Mofokeng – ‘Be your business’ brand ambassador’
7. Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.
Slindokuhle Ngcobo – ‘Luck is the reward you get for taking action’
8. I have read and own most of John C. Maxwell’s books on leadership and leadership development.
Lesley Mntungwa – ‘Plan, plan and plan again’
9. Richard Branson: Screw it, let’s do it; Tim Ferris: The Four Hour Work Week; Robin Sharma: Secret letters of the monk who sold his Ferrari; and Brian Welsh.
Chad and Erin-Lee Petersen – ‘We want to be industry leaders’
10. The books that have prepared me to run my business include: Warren Buffett The Snowball and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder; The Intelligent Entrepreneur by Bill Murphy; The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.
Tebogo Ditshego – ‘I financed my business out of my own pocket’
11. I read all of Jim Collins’ books a long time ago and really enjoyed them. I believe I used a lot of his ideas early on.
Colin Thornton – ‘A big part of my success was choosing the right people’
12. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey; Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg.
Amantha Maharaj – ‘Success is achieved through hard work’
13. You Can Have it All, Mary Kay; Feel the Fear and do it Anyway, Susan Jeffers; The WOW Factor, Frances Cole Jones; Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine; Never give up, Joyce Meyer; The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Brian Tracy.
Wendy Ferguson – ‘It takes unshakable faith in your own abilities, sometimes raw guts’
14. Billy-Guy Bhembe, Inspiration on the Go; Gayton McKenzie, A Hustler’s Bible, Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich.
Tuming Lee – ‘Believing in purpose over passion’
15. The book that really changed my game was When Buyers Say No by Tom Hopkins and Ben Katt. If you own a business, you have to read this book.
Evegenia Poplett – ‘Blood, sweat and tears, that’s how I built my business’
16. There are so many wonderful books and teachers who’ve inspired us to grow our business but a must read is: Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson, Winning – Jack Walsh, Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill, The Magic of Thinking Big – David Schwartz, Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You’ve Got – Jay Abraham, The Art and Science of Success – Edward De Bono, Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson, Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and The Business of Life– Alice Schroeder, and of course: The Lean Startup – Eric Ries , The Innovators Dilemma – Clayton Christensen, Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell, Startup growth Engines – Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown, the list goes on.
Sabelo Sibanda and Thulisile Volwana -‘Learn to fail forward’
17. Blue Ocean Strategy, Innovators DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators and anything from Michael Porter, the king of competitive advantage strategy.
Bokang Seritsane – ‘I live, eat, breathe and sleep small business’
18. The only book I refer to from time to time is Jesus CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership by Laurie Beth Jones.
Swaady Martin-Leke – ‘Get your hands dirty, that is where you find diamonds’
19. My favourite book is Slowing down in the speed of life by Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey.
Lynette Magasa – ‘Capitalise on what you know’
20. Paco Underhill’s books about the science of shopping is a must read for anyone interested in retail – The call of the Mall/Why we Buy.
Felicity Spies – ‘Only work for yourself if you’re willing to do it for free’
21. The Fifth Discipline, by Peter Senge.
Rupert McKerron – ‘Just get on with it’
- See also: Top 5 Africa-focused business books
