PMBA
You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.
Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting
What is the Personal MBA?
The Personal MBA is an experiment in business self-education. In 2005, Josh Kaufman–after hundreds of hours of research and evaluation–put together a calculated list of books that cover every important topic in a traditional MBA program. The list, which is periodically updated, is now at 99 books. Kaufman’s manifesto explores the opportunity cost of a high-priced business school education–for anyone remotely interested in business school, it’s worth a read.
Anyway, I chose to participate in the program not because I’m against the idea of a traditional MBA. In fact, I may very well apply to business school in the next few years. For now, I’m using this list simply as a means of information exposure.
Progress: 18 / 99
Productivity & Effectiveness
10 Days to Faster Reading by Abby Marks-Beale
StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Getting Things Done by David Allen [review pending]
The Power of Less by Leo Babauta
The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst
The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz
The Human Mind
Brain Rules by John Medina [review pending]
Making Sense of Behavior by William T. Powers
Driven by Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales
Communication
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath [review pending]
The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert Bly
Show Me The Numbers by Stephen Few
Influence
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson et al
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Decision-Making
Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein
Smart Choices by John S. Hammond et al
The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz
Ethics for the Real World by Ronald Howard & Clinton Korver
Creativity & Innovation
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun
Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker [review pending]
Project Management
Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun
Results Without Authority by Tom Kendrick
Opportunity Identification
The New Business Road Test by John Mullins
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas by Dan Kennedy
Entrepreneurship
Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki [review pending]
The Knack by Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim
Bankable Business Plans by Edward Rogoff
Value-Creation & Design
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler
Marketing
All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin [review pending]
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout
Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got by Jay Abraham
Sales
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
Value-Based Fees by Alan Weiss
SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham
The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer
Value-Delivery
Indispensable by Joe Calloway
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt [review pending]
Lean Thinking by James Womack and Daniel Jones [review pending]
Negotiation
Bargaining For Advantage by G. Richard Shell
3-D Negotiation by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius
The Partnership Charter by David Gage
Management
First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman [review pending]
12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner & James Harter
Growing Great Employees by Erika Andersen
Hiring Smart by Pierre Mornell
The Essential Drucker by Peter F. Drucker
Leadership
Tribes by Seth Godin
Total Leadership by Stewart Friedman
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan by George Bradt et al
The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig
Finance & Accounting
Accounting Made Simple by Mike Piper
Essentials of Accounting (9th Edition) by Robert N. Anthony and Leslie K. Breitner
The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance by Robert A. Cooke
How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy
Systems
Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows
Work the System by Sam Carpenter
Learning from the Future by Liam Fahey & Robert Randall
Analysis
Turning Numbers Into Knowledge by Jonathan Koomey [review pending]
Marketing Metrics by Paul W. Farris et al
Web Analytics: An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik
The Economist Numbers Guide by Richard Stuteley
Statistics
How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff
Principles of Statistics by M.G. Bulmer
Corporate Skills
The Unwritten Laws of Business by W.J. King
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
The Simplicity Survival Handbook by Bill Jensen
Corporate Strategy
Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis
Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter
Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Green to Gold by Daniel Esty & Andrew Winston
Seeing What’s Next by Clayton M. Christensen, Erik A. Roth, Scott D. Anthony
Consulting
Getting Started in Consulting by Alan Weiss
Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg
Personal Finance
Your Money or Your Life by Joel Dominguez & Vicki Robin
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley & William Danko [review pending]
Fail-Safe Investing by Harry Browne
It’s Not About The Money by Brent Kessel
Work Less, Live More by Bob Clyatt
Personal Development
Self-Directed Behavior by David L. Watson & Roland G. Tharp
Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina
Re-Create Your Life by Morty Lefkoe
Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale
The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn
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