10 Books to Inspire Your Business for 2008

Right now is a good time to begin to mentally prepare your business for 2008. A good way to do that is to take the time to read a good book or two to recharge your mind and thoughts. I have 10 books I would suggest you consider reading:

Truth or Delusion: Busting Networking's Biggest Myths by Dr. Ivan Misner. Dr. Misner is the founder of the highly success Business Network International organization, which brings together small groups of business executives from a variety of fields. As we head into the holiday season, this book is ideal for advice on how to sharpen your networking skills as you meet new people at holiday parties.

As an example of the power of networking, two years ago, I attended a Christmas party in Panama City, Panama. One of the guests was the president of the University of Louisville's Panama City campus. I mentioned to him that I wrote five books and work part-time for the Wharton School. Through that meeting I ended up with two paid engagements to teach classes on entrepreneurship and Internet marketing.

Create the Business Breakthrough You Want by Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen and Michael Cannon. As we close out the year, we start to think about ways to improve our business performance, as well as develop and attain new personal and professional goals.

Tracy, the lead author of this book, is one of the most well-known and respected motivational business gurus in the world. In addition to Tracy and his writing team, this book also features 57 other business/motivational leaders who write about everything from individual to corporate success. The chapters are short, with lots of proven "how-to" suggestions. One of the most effective chapters is on how to improve your business development skills.

Protecting the Brand by Talcott Franklin. Franklin is an intellectual-property attorney. Many people think about starting new businesses at the start of each year. This book provides advice on how to protect the copyright of content and logos you develop for your business -- this can become very valuable, as Coke KO can attest.

What Made Jack Welch, Jack Welch by Stephen Baum with Dave Conti. Baum is an executive coach who uses Jack Welch, the former leader of General Electric GE and the man many consider to be the best corporate leader of the last quarter century, to provide insights on what it takes to be a great business leader. This book has a lot of good stories and antidotes, and they don't just focus on Welch. There are leadership stories from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and General Tommy Franks, among others.

Optimizing Corporate Portfolio Management by Anand Sanwal. Sanwal is a vice president of corporate planning for American Express AXP. I heard him speak at a conference and was inspired to review his book.

In the book, Sanwal rightly widens the definition of "corporate portfolio," which companies usually only think of as the products and services they offer. Typically, companies focus how to improve or differentiate those particular areas of the business because they bring income. But improving employee skills, the information system of the company and other parts are just as important as, if not more important than, the items a company sells. Why? Because those items are developed by the people, equipment and processes the organization uses on a day-to-day basis.