market folly

As 2013 draws to a close, we wanted to check in on and highlight The New York Times list of business best sellers this year.  While many investors focus on investment books (and rightly so), business books can also help you refine your approach in how you think about businesses.  Numbers 2, 5, 8, and 9 in particular will benefit investors.


New York Times Business Best Sellers List

1. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell.  One of the top sellers for quite some time.  "The chief operating officer of Facebook urges women to pursue their careers without ambivalence."

2. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  This has been read by many in the investment community.  "Why some people succeed - it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent."

3.  Extortion by Peter Schweizer. "A Hoover Institution fellow argues that politicians shape legislation in order to extract donations." 

4. The Everything Store by Brad Stone. "The story of Jeff Bezos and Amazon." 

5. Focus by Daniel Goleman. "The author of “Emotional Intelligence” relies on research on attention to argue that high achievement requires three kinds of focus." 

6. Hundred Percenters by Mark Murphy. "Challenging employees to perform at their highest level."

7. Do You Speak Shoe Lover? by Linda Meadow and Kelly Cook. "Stories from customers and employees of the shoe retailer DSW."

8. The Caterpillar Way by Craig T. Bouchard and James V. Koch. "A biography of Caterpillar Inc. as a tale of successful business management."

9. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Another widely read book in investment circles.  "The winner of the Nobel in economic science discusses how we make choices in business and personal life." 

10. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. After reading this book, hedge fund legend Julian Robertson decided to sell his Apple shares.  "A biography of the entrepreneur, based on 40 interviews with him conducted over two years."


And if you want more investment-specific reading, head to our recommended reading lists.