# Best business book that \*isn't\* just common sense **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789 "2020-02-11T17:53:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/1 "2020-02-11T17:53:39Z")
I swear, so much of regular business books are just plain common sense. It’s not rocket science. People make life and business way more complicated than it has to be. Just work hard, treat everyone with respect, be a professional, be loyal, and you’re 90% of the way there. What books do you think give the inside track? Put in other words, what book sounds like you’re hanging out with the author, you got them drunk, and they tell you all the _real_ stuff that they’re not normally so generous with? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/2 "2020-02-11T18:01:21Z")
Not an advice book but Bad Blood about the Theranos fraud is very good. Richard Branson’s “Losing my Virginity” is a very good autobiography with good advice ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/3 "2020-02-11T21:04:05Z")
[The Black Swan](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242472.The_Black_Swan?from_search=true&qid=61AZ1OZfYv&rank=1) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. He essentially calls everyone else in his research field an idiot, saying that all their hypotheses and theories only apply to situations that don’t matter, and then talks about what he believes does matter. And the amazing thing is he doesn’t come across as a crotchety old man who wants the kids to get off his lawn. Comes across as a drunk guy telling you all the real stuff they’re not normally so generous with, to steal your phrasing. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/4 "2020-02-12T05:23:38Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > [The Black Swan](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242472.The_Black_Swan?from_search=true&qid=61AZ1OZfYv&rank=1) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. He essentially calls everyone else in his research field an idiot, saying that all their hypotheses and theories only apply to situations that don’t matter, and then talks about what he believes does matter. And the amazing thing is he doesn’t come across as a crotchety old man who wants the kids to get off his lawn. Comes across as a drunk guy telling you all the real stuff they’re not normally so generous with, to steal your phrasing. That is one controversial book in the finance world, haven’t read it in years so I can’t really comment. But, if you want some fun, bring it up at happy hour among a bunch of finance people ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/5 "2020-02-18T15:58:41Z")
I don’t know if it counts as a business book, but _[The Mythical Man Month: Essays on Software Engineering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month)_ is a classic on leading software projects. As the author says, it’s the Bible of software development, because everybody quotes it, some have read it, and a few live by it. Key insights: [ul][li]Adding people to a late project, makes it later.[/li][li]When designing a new system, the team will develop a throw-away version first. Whether they intend to, or not.[/li][li]There is an irreducible number of bugs in any system. Attempts to fix those bugs introduces new bugs.[/ul]Keep in mind that the author wrote the book based on his experiences with developing the OS/360, which was hugely successful.[/li] Regards, Shodan PS - actual advice given me by a former manager, when I told him we weren’t going to make the first deadline. “Type faster.” I don’t know if he had read the book or not. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/6 "2020-02-18T16:38:52Z")
I can highly recommend the work of [W. Edwards Deming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming), particularly [_Out of the Crisis_](https://smile.amazon.com/Out-Crisis-W-Edwards-Deming/dp/0911379010/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=w.+edwards+deming&qid=1582043546&sr=8-4) (which contains his famous 14 Points) and [_The New Economics: For Industry, Government, Education_](https://smile.amazon.com/New-Economics-Third-Government-Education/dp/B07L5ZR3FZ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=w.+edwards+deming&qid=1582043546&sr=8-3). > [@](#): > > Deming is best known for his work in Japan after WWII, particularly his work with the leaders of Japanese industry. That work began in July and August 1950, in Tokyo and at the Hakone Convention Center[4], when Deming delivered speeches on what he called “Statistical Product Quality Administration”. Many in Japan credit Deming as one of the inspirations for what has become known as the Japanese post-war economic miracle of 1950 to 1960, when Japan rose from the ashes of war on the road to becoming the second-largest economy in the world through processes partially influenced by the ideas Deming taught: > [@](#): > > Deming made a significant contribution to Japan’s reputation for innovative, high-quality products, and for its economic power. He is regarded as having had more impact on Japanese manufacturing and business than any other individual not of Japanese heritage. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/7 "2020-02-18T18:50:45Z")
“Barbarians at the Gate.” > **[Barbarians at the Gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarians_at_the_Gate:_The_Fall_of_RJR_Nabisco)** > > Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco is a 1989 book about the leveraged buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco, written by investigative journalists Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. The book is based upon a series of articles written by the authors for The Wall Street Journal. The book was made into a 1993 made-for-TV movie by HBO, also called Barbarians at the Gate. The book centers on F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of RJR Nabisco, who planned to buy out the rest of the Nabisco shareholders. > Those opp... It’s been a few decades since I read it but I have a hunch it would still be compelling. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-business-book-that-isnt-just-common-sense/847789/8 "2020-02-19T14:58:17Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > [The Black Swan](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242472.The_Black_Swan?from_search=true&qid=61AZ1OZfYv&rank=1) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. He essentially calls everyone else in his research field an idiot, saying that all their hypotheses and theories only apply to situations that don’t matter, and then talks about what he believes does matter. And the amazing thing is he doesn’t come across as a crotchety old man who wants the kids to get off his lawn. Comes across as a drunk guy telling you all the real stuff they’re not normally so generous with, to steal your phrasing. Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a controversial figure himself. He has very high opinion of himself and he rubs a lot of people the wrong way. More here:[https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nassim\_Nicholas\_Taleb](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb)