The best 98 Strategy books

$100M Offers (2021) is a guide to creating Grand Slam Offers – big-ticket products or services that sell themselves. By breaking down the psychology of pricing and perceived value, Alex Hormozi teaches readers how to differentiate and optimize their offer until it’s irresistible. 

Unreasonable Hospitality (2022) illustrates how surpassing expectations can take your service-based business to the next level. Through a collection of anecdotes and firsthand experiences, it imparts valuable insights into customer service, as well as employee management.

The 1-Page Marketing Plan (2018) is a streamlined, step-by-step framework for developing your own customized marketing strategy. With only one page, businesses can build and implement a marketing plan that attracts new customers and drives growth.

How the Future Works (2022) provides a blueprint that company leaders can use to implement flexible work policies. It offers a step-by-step guide detailing how to manage this transition effectively so that organizations can benefit from this new way of working.

The 80/20 Principle (1997) was named one of GQ's Top 25 Business Books of the Twentieth Century. It's about the 80/20 principle, which says that 80 percent of results are generated by just 20 percent of effort. This phenomenon has huge implications for every area of life, as it helps single out the most important factors in any situation.

Start With Why (2009) tackles a fundamental question: What makes some organizations and people more innovative, influential, and profitable than others? Based on best-selling author Simon Sinek’s hugely influential lecture of the same name, the third most-watched TED talk of all time, these blinks unpack the answer to that conundrum. As Sinek’s examples show, it’s all about asking why rather than what.

How Big Things Get Done (2023) explores what it takes to make large-scale projects work. It tackles tough questions like why so many big projects fail, and what makes the ones that succeed stand out from the rest. With real-life success stories as well as cautionary tales, its lessons can be applied to projects of any size, shape, or form. 

The Leader in You (1993) reveals how tapping into your enthusiasm and creativity can help you connect more effectively and work more productively. Drawing on insights from leaders across a wide range of fields, this practical guide includes strategies to hone your leadership strengths, boost your self-confidence, and achieve your personal and professional goals.

The Art of War (fifth century BCE) is a Chinese military treatise that many global figures, including Mao Zedong and Douglas MacArthur, have used to inform their leadership strategies. Along with military tactics that can be applied to culture, politics, business, and sports, it highlights the skills good leaders need to have. 

The 33 Strategies of War (2006) distills the essential lessons of military strategy into a series of memorable vignettes. Drawing on ancient and modern sources, this wide-ranging study of tactical masterstrokes and follies offers fascinating insights into human psychology and motivation.

The Book of Five Rings (1643) is one of the most insightful texts to have ever been written about the nature of confrontation. Penned by a wandering samurai in seventeenth-century Japan, it’s a timeless study of the mindset of the warrior – literal and figurative.

Start With Why (2011) tackles a fundamental question: What makes some organizations and people more innovative, influential, and profitable than others? Based on best-selling author Simon Sinek’s hugely influential lecture of the same name, the third most-watched TED talk of all time, these blinks unpack the answer to that conundrum. As Sinek’s examples from the business world, politics, and technology show, it’s all about asking “Why?” rather than “What?”

Good to Great (2011) presents the findings of a five-year study by Jim Collins and his research team. They identified public companies that had achieved enduring success after years of mediocre performance and isolated the factors that differentiated those companies from their lackluster competitors. These factors have been distilled into key concepts regarding leadership, culture, and strategic management.

The Goal (1984) is a trailblazing example of the “business novel” genre, seamlessly blending fictional storytelling with practical business advice in a revolutionary manner. Experience the corporate journey of Alex Rogo as he endeavors to rescue his struggling company from going bust. Through Alex’s perspective, uncover valuable insights into topics like streamlining manufacturing operations and enhancing team productivity.

Blue Ocean Strategy (2004) is a business classic that revolutionized the way companies think about market competition. It explains why some businesses can grow uncontested, while the rest tear each other to bits in a hypercompetitive environment.

Leadership Strategy and Tactics (2020) teaches you how to take the skills of a high-functioning Navy SEAL team and apply them to your workplace. You’ll learn about practices such as Extreme Ownership, and find out why humility is better than arrogance. These tips will help you to leave your ego at the door and to remember that your team’s success should always come before personal success.

Clockwork (2018) explains how entrepreneurs can grow their enterprises without sacrificing their sanity. The trick is implementing smart systems and standard operating procedures that allow your business to run like clockwork without your constant input, freeing you up to tackle the challenges or embrace the opportunities that come your way.

Leadership (2022) is a detailed analysis of six monumental twentieth-century leaders. By examining both the circumstances that formed these leaders and the strategies they used to shepherd their respective nations through periods of turmoil, it presents invaluable lessons for anyone working to shape the world’s future. From Charles de Gaulle’s strategy of will to Anwar Sadat’s strategy of transcendence and beyond, it serves as a historical debriefing on some of the defining leadership strategies of the last century.

Hooked (2014) explains, through anecdotes and scientific studies, how and why we integrate certain products into our daily routines, and why such products are the Holy Grail for any consumer-oriented company. Hooked gives concrete advice on how companies can make their products habit-forming, while simultaneously exploring the moral issues that entails.

Thousands of years old, The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise that is considered the definitive work of military tactics and strategy. It has greatly influenced military tactics as well as business and legal strategy in both the East and West. Leaders such as general Douglas MacArthur and Mao Zedong have drawn inspiration from it.

The Innovator’s Dilemma explains why so many well-established companies fail dismally when faced with the emerging markets they create. This Blink focuses on one of the book’s central themes: disruptive innovation.

On War (1832) is widely considered to be a landmark book on the subject of war. In its serious and thoughtful consideration of why and how states engage in warfare, it continues to be an influential piece of writing centuries later.

The First 90 Days (2006) maps out the critical transition period for any business leader taking on a new role. It offers comprehensive and practical strategies for surviving – and thriving – past the first three months.

Built to Last (1994) examines 18 extraordinary and venerable companies to discover what has made them prosper for decades, in some cases for nearly two centuries. This groundbreaking study reveals the simple but inspiring differences that set these visionary companies apart from their less successful competitors.

Built to Last is meant for every level of every organization, from CEOs to regular employees, and from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and charitable foundations. The timeless advice uncovered in this book will help readers discover the importance of adhering to a core ideology while relentlessly stimulating progress.

These blinks explain why the job of a CEO is among the toughest and loneliest in the world, and how you can survive all the stress and heartache involved.

Continuous Discovery Habits (2021) explores how product managers and designers can keep making a positive impact on their customers’ lives. It explores an optimal decision-making process for product teams, so that they can continue to improve their offerings. 

Good to Great (2001) presents the findings of a five-year study by the author and his research team. The team identified public companies that had achieved enduring success after years of mediocre performance and isolated the factors which differentiated those companies from their lackluster competitors.

These factors have been distilled into key concepts regarding leadership, culture and strategic management.

Talk Triggers (2018) reminds us of a truth so obvious it’s often forgotten: nothing drives customers through your doors as effectively as word-of-mouth recommendations. The trick is to strategically steer the conversation your way with carefully crafted talking points that set you apart from the competition. In these blinks, you’ll learn how to do this.

Building a StoryBrand (2017) is a practical guide to effectively marketing your company or product. By showing the power of a seven-part story-telling framework, these blinks help you and your company create a clear message that no customer will ignore.

Good Strategy, Bad Strategy dissects good strategies by using historical examples from a variety of fields, and offers insight into developing our own effective strategies through practical advice and a solid blueprint.

This is a Blinkist staff pick

“My boss kept asking me, “Emily, what’s your strategy?” and I kept coming up empty (#truestory). This title is a smart start to wrapping your head around what it means to build an effective strategy and do good work to reach your goals.”

– Emily, Community & Engagement Marketing at Blinkist

Secrets of Sand Hill Road (2019) unveils the inner workings of one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic streets. Many of the area’s top venture capital firms are located here and have played a part in funding some of the biggest names in tech today. VC insider Scott Kupor has worked with many of them, and these blinks share their secrets – allowing the rest of us to decipher the mystery of venture capital, how to get it and why it can make or break a company.

Blue Ocean Shift (2017) is a step-by-step guide to moving past competition in an overcrowded industry. These blinks, based on decades of the authors’ practical experience, explain why you should endeavor to make competition obsolete and how you can open up whole new worlds of opportunity.

The New Strategist (2020) is a practical guide on how to do strategy for business leaders. It explains what strategy work looks like in the day-to-day life of a company, shows the competencies that strategic leaders need, and lays out the tools that help strategists in their craft. It also explores the ways that strategists need to adapt to a changing world and provides the principles they can use to be successful leaders.

Everybody Matters (2015) chronicles Bob Chapman’s quest to find the best approach to business and leadership style. Traditional approaches to management often treat employees like cogs in the machine. The authors explain that by caring for employees as if they were family, you can not only experience unprecedented success but inspire company loyalty and allow all employees to reach their full potential as well.

The Sales Advantage (2003) is a practical guide to closing more sales. Based on a popular corporate training program, it offers a step-by-step framework of the sales process, with tools and principles for identifying new prospects and converting them into returning customers.

In How the Mighty Fall, influential business expert Jim Collins explores how even successful companies can suddenly collapse, especially if they make the wrong decisions. He also offers leaders advice to prevent them from making the same mistakes.

Make Change Work for You offers a searching exploration of why we resist change and why we should instead see it as an opportunity. In examining some of America’s most successful companies and entrepreneurs, the book offers several case studies on how to successfully adapt to change – as an employee, team leader, or even CEO.

Masters of Scale (2021) is part fascinating anecdote, part how-to guide for entrepreneurs who are preparing to launch their product or scale up their company. With case studies and stories behind some of the world’s biggest companies, it isolates the principles behind successfully scaling up.

Crossing the Chasm (1991) examines the market dynamics faced by innovative new products, particularly the daunting chasm that lies between early to mainstream markets.

The book provides tangible advice on how to make this difficult transition and offers real-world examples of companies that have struggled in the chasm.

Super Founders (2021) offers an in-depth analysis behind the success of billion-dollar startups. After crunching over 30,000 data points, it unravels the multitude of false notions surrounding tech unicorns and reveals what it really takes to make it in Silicon Valley. 

The 4 Disciplines of Execution (2012) is a manual for CEOs and managers, showing leaders how to execute their strategic goals by getting their staff to behave differently. By introducing the four disciplines of execution, you’ll help motivate your team to achieve broader company goals.

The Start-Up of You (2012) is a guide to how you can leverage strategies used by start-ups in your own career: being adaptable, building relationships and pursuing breakout opportunities.

In a world where entire industries are being ravaged by global competition and traditional career paths are fast becoming dead-ends, everyone needs to hustle like an entrepreneur.

I Know How She Does It (2015) reveals how career-minded women balance work, family and time for themselves. Based on extensive research covering time logs to interviews, these blinks provide practical advice on time management for the modern working mother.

Unprepared to Entrepreneur (2021) is a frank, lively guide to starting a business for those who fear they don’t have the requisite knowledge, worry they’ll fail, or aren’t sure how to begin. Packed with practical tips and personal anecdotes, it shows you that to be successful in the business world, you don’t need a perfect plan or an expensive degree. You just need a vision, the motivation –⁠ or madness –⁠ to make it happen, and the resilience to always get back up on your feet.

The Automation Advantage (2021) provides a roadmap for building automation and AI in a modern organization. From the different stages a business must go through on its automation journey to the best ways to reassure employees worried about job destruction, it shows leaders how to prosper in a future world.

The 12 Week Year (2013) provides a blueprint for revolutionizing your planning, delivery and productivity. Many individuals, organizations and businesses plan around an annual cycle, but it’s near impossible to make accurate plans for an entire year, and it’s just as hard to muster a year’s worth of focus. This book offers an alternative, explaining how to plan around a 12-week period, execute critical tasks and radically improve results.

Transforming Project Management (2021) sets out to address a number of problems in the world of project management. From strategic planning to scheduling and budgeting, it points in the direction of smoother and more successful projects.

Testing Business Ideas (2021) explores how entrepreneurs can use experimentation to give their new venture the best chance of success. It outlines the rationale behind testing, and describes a framework for deciding how to proceed. 

Scale for Success (2021) is a guide to turning your small business into a far bigger and more successful enterprise than it is today. From crowdfunding to job descriptions, it covers the ins and outs – and highs and lows – of scaling up any firm.

Empowered (2020) is a written master class that guides ordinary people to create extraordinary products. Discover how to create profitable products that consumers love!

You had the idea, you drafted the business plan, you raised the cash, you launched your new venture and you became a success. But now you need to grow. Scaling Up (2014) reveals the most useful tools for doing just that. Use the Scaling Up system of checklists, levers and priorities to establish a strong company culture as your business expands through the right strategic and financial decisions.

Strategy Safari is a comprehensive guidebook to strategy formation, complete with a thorough run-down of all its major schools of thought. By explaining the primary strengths and limitations of each school, Strategy Safari gives you the tools to form the strategy that is right for your business.

Radical Outcomes (2019) explores ways to translate top-level strategies into great results for your business. Revealing the common disconnect between decision-making executives and front-line staff, it explores how all levels of an organization can work better together to drive radically improved outcomes. 

Competitive Strategy presents a thorough examination of the nature of industry competition as well as the common strategies that successful businesses employ to get ahead. It not only offers valuable insights into how to compete in the market, but also reveals how companies can use their competitors’ information to best them at their own game.

Get Different (2021) is a practical guide for entrepreneurs who want to leverage their market strategies and set themselves apart from the competition. Using an established framework, it offers step-by-step guidance on how to turn a marketing experiment into a strategic plan that gets you noticed and generates leads.

Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate (2015) gives the reader all the tools they need to buy, sell or rent a home. From the conundrum of whether to rent or buy, to when to sell and how to boost the value of your property, these blinks shed light on the perennially important dilemmas of real estate – the biggest investment of your life.

Practically Radical (2011) is a strategic guide to navigating today’s fast-moving world of business for leaders keen to set themselves apart from the crowd. Full of clever tips and insights from today’s most innovative companies, it argues for the need to rethink tried and tested methods and learn to think outside the box.

The Phoenix Project (2013) explores how integrating the Development and IT Operations teams of a company’s IT department can improve communication, accelerate workflow, and increase value. It uses a fictional lens to unpack a common real-life scenario – demonstrating how the DevOps approach enables organizations to deftly adapt to sudden changes, updates, or market pressures.

The world is an uncertain place, constantly changing and often chaotic. While many companies are unable to survive in this chaos, some companies are not only able to survive in these shifting conditions but even thrive in them. Great by Choice analyses why these companies succeed while most others fail. 

Great By Choice is the result of exhaustive, in-depth research into the business environment. It argues that success is not the result of a company being more innovative, bold or open to taking risks, nor is it a result of mere luck or chance. Success in fact comes from a mixture of discipline, evidence-based innovation and a fear of failure that borders on paranoia. It is this recipe, rather than luck, which enables certain companies to become great.

Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got (2000) is a guide to spotting new opportunities, securing new clients and succeeding, no matter what your area of business. These blinks explain how to make more out of what you already have and how best to use it to your business’s advantage.

Finish Big (2014) is a guide for how to exit an organization in a way that's healthy and positive for both a business owner and the company. Leaders often overlook this aspect of their career, mistakenly thinking that leaving will be simple, when instead it requires long-term planning to truly finish in a way that benefits everyone.

Strategy Rules (2015) explores the business strategies and leadership styles of three hyper-successful tech CEOs: Bill Gates of Microsoft, Andy Grove of Intel and Steve Jobs of Apple. These blinks break down the strategic expertise necessary to build a competitive business and ensure long-term success.

The Scrum Fieldbook (2019) is a practical, hands-on guide to the scrum organizational framework within the Agile mindset. This concise manual recaps how scrum works to increase work velocity and to ensure any team delivers the right impact for the business. It also explains how to implement Scrum in any organization across all industries from software to home renovation and even to the military.

The Runaway Species (2017) is a gripping account of human creativity. Examining the principles that underlie our inventiveness, as well as real-world examples of creative breakthroughs, it offers a novel account of the abilities that make our species unique.

We’ve all heard success stories of start-ups attracting millions of users and earning billions of dollars virtually overnight. Startup Growth Engines (2014) shows us what all these companies have in common: a new approach called “growth hacking”. These blinks reveal how your business can use viral marketing techniques, freemium business models and other growth engines to rapidly achieve business success.

Big Bang Disruption (2014) explains how disruptive innovations are endangering many of today’s businesses, and how to keep your business alive despite these disruptions. It describes the four stages of market disruption and provides 12 rules that’ll help you get through them.

Never Get a “Real” Job (2011) encourages young entrepreneurs to swear off “real” jobs, foregoing the nine-to-five life in favor of taking control of their own lives. Based on real-world experience and observation, it provides a nuts-and-bolts guide to getting it together and starting up.

The Common Path to Uncommon Success (2021) arms you with the tools to create valuable content and turn it into financial independence. Drawing on more than 3,000 interviews with successful entrepreneurs, it lays bare the path to transforming your big idea into a profitable business.

High Impact Tools for Teams (2021) offers flexible tools for project planning, assessment, and creating an empowering environment for your team members. At the center is the Team Alignment Map, a simple chart that will transform the way you conduct meetings, track progress, and identify problems before they occur.

The Loop Approach (2019) presents a systematic approach to the transformation of organizations. Its toolkit of ideas and methods is designed to help even the largest organization change its bad habits, thus enabling it to adapt to the challenges of the future. 

Unleashing the Ideavirus (2000) provides a map for charting a successful marketing campaign on the modern media landscape. It argues that the rise of the internet and the decline of advertising as an effective way of reaching people dictate that we need to rethink radically the way we approach marketing. And this new approach should embrace the potential for ideas to go viral via peer-to-peer communication.

Self-Made Boss (2022) is a practical starter kit for anyone looking to start a small business. It’s packed with advice and case studies looking at small businesses from across the United States, with step-by-step instructions for turning your great idea into a successful business. 

See You on the Internet (2020) is a simple guide to navigating the world of digital marketing. If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the thought of building a website or running an email marketing campaign, See You on the Internet will walk you through planning, implementing, and measuring your digital marketing efforts.

Content Rules (2012) is a guide to content publishing that’ll help you implement effective and sustainable strategies. Regardless of whether you’re a social-media novice or a web-savvy pro, these blinks will guide you through the ins and outs of web-based content tools and social media sites, while offering plenty of helpful content tips along the way.

The Innovation Stack (2020) explores what it takes to be a true entrepreneur – that is, to find a problem no one else has solved, and do everything you can to solve it. It reveals how two friends built a billion-dollar financial-services company from the ground up through courage, ingenuity, and a touch of humor. 

Radical Product Thinking (2021) lays out a step-by-step approach to developing game-changing products. Taking aim at the iteration-led approaches to product development that have become popular in recent years, it provides an inspiring, vision-driven alternative. 

Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 (2020) updates Jim Collins and Bill Lazier’s essential 1992 business handbook, Beyond Entrepreneurship for the entrepreneurs, visionaries, and innovators of today. This new edition combines the timeless business advice and strategy of the original text, supplemented with cutting-edge insights and case studies pertinent to today’s business world.

Clay Water Brick (2015) explores the author’s unusual business career in connection with stories of successful micro-entrepreneurs all over the globe. These blinks reveal the strategies of entrepreneurs who make something out of nothing while making a difference in struggling communities.

Whiplash (2016) explains the new rules of our fast-changing world. The current moment is defined by emergent technologies and innovative ideas, and the only way to stay afloat is to adapt. Forget the principles of yesterday and start developing strategies that work today.

Staring Down the Wolf (2020) is a leadership guide to forging great teams in the face of adversity. Drawing upon the teachings of the Navy SEALs, one of the world’s most elite military units, it shows what it takes to command an elite team.

You’re About to Make a Terrible Mistake! (2020) deals with the negative but often predictable effects that cognitive biases have on high-stakes decisions. Far from claiming that biases can be eliminated altogether, it demonstrates how every decision is colored by bias and outlines specific techniques that’ll help you make more rational, fact-based business decisions.

How Google Works shares business insights from one of the most successful technology start-ups in history. Written by the former top executives at the company, the book lays out, step by step, Google’s path to success; a roadmap that your company can follow, too.

Creativity, Inc. explores the peaks and troughs in the history of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios along with Ed Catmull’s personal journey towards becoming the successful manager he is today. In doing so, he explains the management beliefs he has acquired along the way, and offers actionable advice on how to turn your team members into creative superstars.

The Change Masters (1983) is about Rosabeth Moss Kanter's findings from her extensive research on American corporations in the 1980s. She identifies the key factors that bring about change and innovation, and explains how you can structure your organization to adapt to change more effectively.

Driving Performance Through Learning (2019) is a guide to help learning and development professionals understand the full breadth of possibilities for learning in the modern workplace. It explains the benefits of learning during the natural flow of work, encouraging a wide range of innovative methods.

This book will show you how and why most people are in a state of self-deception where they view their needs as more important than those of people around them. It demonstrates the negative impact this self-deception has on our lives, but also shows a way out of this state, benefiting both our private and professional lives.

In this book, author Seth Godin reveals the most powerful unit of social organization: the “tribe,” or a group of people connected to a cause, a leader and each other, who together drive change in society. It shows us how we can harness the power of the internet to form and lead our own tribes. Tribes also advocates the universal need for change and leadership, so we can grow as a company or as a society.

Reinventing the Product (2019) takes an in-depth look at what it takes to compete in today’s increasingly digitized marketplace, outlining all the steps a company needs to take to pull itself out of the past and into a future where the marketplace is ruled by smart, digitally connected products.

Business Execution for RESULTS (2013) is a guide to building a better business. These blinks offer a practical plan for setting appropriate goals and performing the necessary analyses to create a winning business strategy that will lead your company straight to the top.

Rapid Growth, Done Right (2020) sets out a blueprint for leading an organization focused on growth. It explains how a symbiotic relationship among creative, technical, and business minds is a prerequisite for success. To achieve this success as a leader, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with each of these different areas, communicate fluently, and inspire innovation. 

Only The Paranoid Survive (1999) presents the experiences and invaluable advice of one of the most admired and successful CEOs of recent times: Andrew S. Grove. In this book, Grove suggests many strategies that companies can adopt to survive – and even exploit – what he terms Strategic Inflection Points: those sink-or-swim moments in a company’s existence. The book provides the reader with a deeper understanding of the ways in which strategic decisions are made, and, specifically, of what’s involved in directing a leading tech company.

Evergreen (2015) is about keeping your business fresh and staving off stagnation that threatens its survival. Fleming outlines a philosophy that puts customers at the center of a company’s strategy, challenges conventional business wisdom and offers concrete advice for building long-term profitability.

Hacking Growth (2017) provides online business owners with a game plan for taking their company to the next level. Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown give readers a step-by-step guide through a dynamic and endlessly repeatable process that will spark growth and transform any sluggish business into a vibrant, growing enterprise teeming with loyal customers.

The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization (2008) presents readers with five simple yet highly effective questions that any manager, owner or stakeholder should ask in order to increase their organization’s chances of success. While these questions are focused on non-profit organizations, the lessons are applicable to any organization seeking to make a difference.

The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche (2021) is a how-to guide for disruptors, examining the surprising ways in which this nineteenth-century philosopher can instruct and inspire twenty-first-century entrepreneurs. From business pitches to pride, and from victory to progress, it offers food for thought from an unfamiliar but stimulating perspective.

Red Team (2015) gives insight into the military and security strategies that try to anticipate the adversary’s next move. Covering events from the capture of Osama bin Laden to mysterious break-ins operated through warehouse skylights, this book is a reminder of everyday vulnerability and what to do about it.

Beautiful Game Theory (2014) shows us how applicable economics is to our daily lives by looking at the fascinating world of professional soccer. By examining compelling statistics and studies on shoot-outs, referee calls, and ticket sales, Beautiful Game Theory offers some interesting insights into the psychology of behavioral economics.

UX for Lean Startups (2013) provides an innovative, cost-effective approach to researching and designing products and services. Geared toward start-ups and companies that want to act like them, it shows that you can provide your customers with an excellent user experience while keeping your time and money expenditures as lean as possible.