Whether you’re making time for a vacation this summer or will be enjoying our long summer nights on a beach or in your back yard, it’s always good to have a book to hand. So why not let that book help grow your business.

We asked our staff what some of their favourite business books were, here are their top 10. We hope that they will motivate, educate and inspire you.

1. How To Sell a Lobster – Bill Bishop

If you’re looking for a fun lighthearted read that inspires you and your business. This is the book for you. Bill Bishop uses his three decades of experience to describe some of the weird and wonderful businesses he has encountered on his journey. But it’s not all about humour. This book will teach you how to build stronger business relationships, how to develop your idea and how to get more people interested in your business.

2. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert B. Cialdini PhD

This book focuses on one word in business – Yes. After 35 years of evidence-based research and a three-year study program on what moves people to change their behavior, Robert Cialdini takes you through why people say yes, and how you can use this understanding to further your business.

3. Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work – Robert D. Hare PhD & Paul Babiak PhD

The word psychopath is often associated with Hannibal Lecter, Patrick Bateman and the like. However, the word psychopath is actually to define a chronic mental disorder with abnormal social behavior. Not necessarily violent. And often purely obsessed with money, power or fame. In this book, clinical psychologist Robert Hare and industrial-organizational psychologist Paul Babiak study what kinds of businesses attract these types of personalities, how they operate and how to see the subtle warning signs to protect yourself and your business.

4. It’s Not About The Coffee: Lessons of Putting People First – Howard Behar

After a working life spent building Starbucks from a chain of 28 stores to an international coffee giant, Howard Behar shares his journey and how he helped establish the people over profits culture, still embedded today. Believing that as the world becomes more about building connections than hierarchies, the principles of personal leadership are more important than ever and discusses the importance of trust and daring to dream.

5. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? – Seth Godin

Seth Godin’s books are often about products and processes. But this book is about your potential to make a difference, wherever you choose to do it.

There have traditionally been two types of workers in any business: the management and the labour force. But now there’s the linchpins. The people that make things happen, and create order out of chaos. And because of this they get the best jobs and the most freedoms.

Discover if you’re a linchpin and how you can make it work for you.

6. How to Talk to Anyone – Leigh Lowndes

Everyone knows one of those people. The ones that will talk to anyone and they’re instantly loved and respected. They could be your friends, your family or your team members, but you’ve probably watched them and wondered: how do they have the Midas touch?

Here, Leigh Lowdnes, will offer 92 ways to communicate more successfully. Her straight-talking style will both entertain and educate. As talk-show veteran, Larry King says, “You’ll not only break the ice, you’ll melt it away with your new skills”.

7. Do the Work – Steven Pressfield

If you‘re good at coming up with ideas, but not with actually following through and doing the work. This book is for you. Worrying about if something is good enough or perfect is the greatest way to stall your business. This book will give you step-by-step instructions on diagnosing your ‘resistance’, and how to overcome and conquer it.

8. The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business – Josh Kaufman

By no means a replacement for an MBA, Josh Kaufman shares the universal principles behind every successful business, and how to use those ideas to make more money and get more work done.

He believes that leadership cannot be taught at school but is something that is attained through seeking your own knowledge, skills and experiences.

A great book for learning the essentials skills of sales, marketing, negotiation, strategy and more, it will provide a great overview of the modern business world.

9. Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade – Robert Martinchenko

Lean business has become a popular topic in the last decade. The act of doing more with less. This book’s focus is about functioning with less bad, money consuming, habits. So how do you unlearn these bad habits? By taking it back to the first grade classroom. It will help you identify those bad habits, eliminate the waste they create, and help you create a learning and problem-solving culture.

10. Lead with Respect: A Novel of Lean Practice – Michael Ballé and Freddy Ballé

While many businesses have adopted lean principles for the habits and processes of their business, many do not apply it to their team. This book provides you with the tools to engage your employees with Continuous Improvement. You will learn how to manage with respect through the inevitable emotion, conflict, tension and self-doubt you will experience on your small business journey.

Books can be a great way to expand your horizons, provoke ideas and give inspiration. So find some time and a quiet space, so grow and strengthen your business knowledge.