The E-Myth Revisited:
Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to do About It
By Michael E. Gerber

Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited explains the author's belief that entrepreneurs—typically brimming with good but distracting ideas—make poor businesspeople. Gerber establishes an incredibly organized and regimented plan, so that daily details are scripted, freeing the entrepreneur's mind to build the long-term success or failure of the business. You don't need an M.B.A. to understand or follow its directives; Gerber takes time to explain buzzwords and complex theories. Readers cite time savings and increased sales as key benefits from reading this book.

Harperbusiness. April 1995. 288 pages.

First Things First:
To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy
By Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill & Rebecca R. Merrill

I'm getting more done in less time, but where are the rich relationships, the inner peace, the balance, the confidence that I'm doing what matters most and doing it well? Does this nagging question haunt you, even when you feel you are being your most efficient? If so, First Things First can help you understand why so often our first things aren't first. Rather than offering you another clock, First Things First provides you with a compass, because where you're headed is more important than how fast you're going.

Simon & Schuster. March 1994. 360 pages.

The Great Game of Business
By Jack Stack & Bo Burlingham

Since 1992, this book has become the primer for open-book management, a new method based on the concept of democracy, the spirit of sports, and the reality of numbers. Jack Stack's concept of open-book management has become the key for many of today's most successful businesses. He describes how to unlock the power and profitability of open-book management.

Doubleday. October 1994. 252 pages.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
Restoring the Character Ethic
By Stephen R. Covey

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity—principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

Simon & Schuster. August 1989. 340 pages.