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Batterman School of Business, Department of Business, Department of Justice and Public Policy, Department of Sport and Entertainment Business

2020 Business Reading List

As the end of the year draws near and you start planning for 2020, make some time to build a reading list. Reading provides a myriad of benefits beyond just increasing your knowledge; it can also help you develop your critical thinking skills, improve your memory, help you sleep better, and more.

Because there are so many reasons why reading is beneficial, we want to help you build a list that’ll make 2020 an entertaining and educational year for you. We reached out to our faculty in the School of Business to see what’s on their reading list for 2020. Check out their recommendations below, and follow along with us on GoodReads to keep track of your progress. 

Our Top 5 Recommendations

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Holocaust survivor and neurologist, Viktor E. Frankl is known for his incisive analysis of human resilience. In Nazi concentration camps, he found meaning in suffering by applying his theory of logotherapy to his experience. Convinced that humanity’s primary driver is not pleasure, but meaning, he writes that because suffering is unavoidable, the way through suffering is to find meaning and purpose. This book makes his case, while also sharing his harrowing experience of the Holocaust.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
If you notice the constant interruptions of text messages and social media notifications clouding your thinking and impeding your productivity, this book could help you make a change. Newport’s Deep Work makes the case for focusing without distraction on whatever work is in front of you, regardless of what field you’re in, and provides a training regimen to help you train your mind and habits to support deep work.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
Inspiring people to follow you isn’t just about soft leadership skills and the ability to appropriately delegate responsibilities. Simon Sinek draws from his observations of influential leaders to explain how defining your “why” is perhaps the most powerful thing you can do in order to inspire others to buy into your vision. Starting with why makes the way for employees and others to follow, not because they have to, but because they want to.

Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Timothy Ferriss
After losing multiple close friends over the course of a year, the bestselling author of The 4-Hour Work Week started reaching out to successful people he admired to ask their advice for making the most of this short life. This book, a tome of strategies and words of wisdom from more than 130 individuals, is the result. Some of the material draws from Ferriss’s podcast, but most of it is original to the book.

More Recommendations from Faculty

If you’ve already read the suggestions above or want a bigger list to take with you into the new year, below are more titles submitted by faculty for you to explore.  

As you get going with your list, don’t forget that you can follow along with us on GoodReads in 2020 to keep track of the books on your reading list, track your progress, and reference our recommendations all in one place.

Happy reading!

The top five recommendations and their descriptions were created by Meredith Sell, a contributing author. 

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