--- title: Top 10 Business Books to Read this Summer to Build Value in Your Business description: Exit Planning Institute shares 10 of our favorite books that provide insights into building value, improving leadership skills, and preparing for a significant exit. image: https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hubfs/05-23-SummerReading-Instagram.jpg --- ![exit planning institute](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/logos/EPI_Exit-Planning-Institute_shield_white.png?width=60&height=64&name=EPI_Exit-Planning-Institute_shield_white.png) ## THE EXIT PLANNING BLOG Keep up-to-date with exit planning, succession planning, industry trends, unique specialty insights, and useful content for professional advisors and business owners. [![home](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hubfs/EPI-Assets-2022/blog/home.png) ](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/) #### Share this [Share on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/top-10-business-books-to-read-this-summer-to-build-value-in-your-business&text=Top%2010%20Business%20Books%20to%20Read%20this%20Summer%20to%20Build%20Value%20in%20Your%20Business) [Share on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/top-10-business-books-to-read-this-summer-to-build-value-in-your-business&t=Top%2010%20Business%20Books%20to%20Read%20this%20Summer%20to%20Build%20Value%20in%20Your%20Business) [Share on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/top-10-business-books-to-read-this-summer-to-build-value-in-your-business&t=Top%2010%20Business%20Books%20to%20Read%20this%20Summer%20to%20Build%20Value%20in%20Your%20Business) # Top 10 Business Books to Read this Summer to Build Value in Your Business by [**Colleen Kowalski**](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/author/colleen-kowalski) on May 31, 2023 ![](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hubfs/05-23-SummerReading-Instagram.jpg) As we head into the summer months, we thought we should share ten of our favorite books that provide insights into building value in your business, improving your leadership skills, and preparing for a significant exit.  If you are like us, there is nothing better than sitting back and relaxing with a good book in the summer sun. Check out our recommendations below!  ## *Walking to Destiny* - Christopher Snider [![Walking to Destiny](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Walking%20to%20Destiny.png?width=301&height=362&name=Walking%20to%20Destiny.png)](https://exit-planning-institute.org/en-us/walking-destiny) For Business Owners. By a Business Owner. *Walking to Destiny* is not only your essential resource to understand what makes your business attractive and ready for transition; it is a business owner’s handbook to know how to rapidly grow value and ultimately unlock the personal wealth trapped in your most significant financial asset: Your Business.  *Walking to Destiny* arms business owners and their advisors with the knowledge and understanding needed to recognize their potential, execute growth tactics, and harvest the wealth locked inside a business. [Read the book! ](https://exit-planning-institute.org/resources/walking-destiny-downloads) ## *Your Baby’s Ugly *- Justin Goodbread ![your babys ugly](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/your%20babys%20ugly.jpg?width=250&height=375&name=your%20babys%20ugly.jpg) With this book, you can improve your business in eight key areas to increase your company revenue and profits today, not just for when you sell your company. The real payoff comes from building value into your company, beyond annual profits. Follow this book, and you’ll have more sales, more profit, and even more exit options.  This book will help raise you to new career highs in entrepreneurship, making the difference between selling your business for massive amounts of money or failing to get even a single offer. The sooner you read this book, the better. [Read the book! ](https://amzn.to/3pLvgbt) ## *Good to Great *- Jim Collins ![good-to-great-1416x2048](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/good-to-great-1416x2048.jpg?width=250&height=362&name=good-to-great-1416x2048.jpg) This book answers the question “How can good companies, mediocre companies, and even bad companies achieve enduring success?” Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world's greatest companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck. [Read the book! ](https://amzn.to/3pKt9Vj) ## *Atomic Habits* - James Clear ![atomic habits-1](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/atomic%20habits-1.jpg?width=250&height=377&name=atomic%20habits-1.jpg) No matter your goals, *Atomic Habits* offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. James Clear distills the complex topics of biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easily applicable framework to your daily life and work.  [Read the book! ](https://amzn.to/3OeyWwH)   ## *Start with Why* - Simon Sinek  ![start-with-why-768x1156](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/start-with-why-768x1156.jpg?width=250&height=376&name=start-with-why-768x1156.jpg) This book answers the questions: Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over? *Start With Why* shows that the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way and it's the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with *why*. [Read the book! ](https://amzn.to/41B1gfW) ## *She Thinks Like a Boss : Leadership: 9 Essential Skills for New Female Leaders in Business and the Workplace *- Jemma Roedel  ![She Thinks Like a Boss book image](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/She%20Thinks%20Like%20a%20Boss%20book%20image.jpg?width=250&height=359&name=She%20Thinks%20Like%20a%20Boss%20book%20image.jpg) Discover how to become an effective woman in leadership even if you're shy, avoid conflict at all costs, or lack confidence. This book provides insights for those new to leadership roles looking for the first step towards thinking like a boss.  Jemma shares tips on managing effective teams, improving self-confidence in the workplace, building strong communication, and the keys to impactful negotiation.   [Read the book! ](https://amzn.to/3pKfGgg)   ## *Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead *- Sheryl Sandberg ![Lean In Book image](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Lean%20In%20Book%20image.jpg?width=250&height=396&name=Lean%20In%20Book%20image.jpg) In *Lean In*, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business, draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale. This book provides insights into the statistics surrounding women in business as well as a blueprint for individual growth and leadership excellence.  [Read the book!](https://amzn.to/3M8OnUE) ## *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable* - Patrick Lencioni  ![the five dysfunctions of a team book image](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/the%20five%20dysfunctions%20of%20a%20team%20book%20image.jpg?width=250&height=369&name=the%20five%20dysfunctions%20of%20a%20team%20book%20image.jpg) *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team* is a page-turning, realistic fable that follows the travails of Kathryn Petersen, DecisionTech’s CEO, as she faces the ultimate leadership crisis. She must unite a team in such disarray that it threatens to derail the entire company. This book serves as the definitive source on teamwork by Patrick Lencioni and reveals the five behavioral tendencies that go to the heart of why even the best teams struggle. He offers a powerful model and step-by-step guide for overcoming those dysfunctions and getting everyone rowing in the same direction. [Read the book! ](https://amzn.to/3pJ3aOk) ## *Traction *- Gino Wickman  ![traction-200x300](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/traction-200x300.jpg?width=250&height=375&name=traction-200x300.jpg) In *Traction*, you'll learn the secrets of strengthening the six key components of your business. You'll discover simple yet powerful ways to run your company that will give you and your leadership team more focus, more growth, and more enjoyment.  *Traction *provides owners and advisors with a glimpse of the Entrepreneurial Operating System®  (EOS) and highlights how to properly incorporate EOS to limit personnel conflict, profit struggles, and a lack of business growth.  [Read the book!](https://amzn.to/42TL0HO) ## *The Starfish and the Spider* - Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom ![The Starfish and the Spider Book image](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Starfish%20and%20the%20Spider%20Book%20image.jpg?width=250&height=383&name=The%20Starfish%20and%20the%20Spider%20Book%20image.jpg) *The Starfish and the Spider *argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships. This book includes five years of research from owners and advisors that help to understand the world and the catalysts that bring people together.  [Read the book! ](https://amzn.to/3Bq2aku)     Did we miss any of your favorite business books? [Send us your recommendations! ](mailto:epiglobal@exit-planning-institute.org) Topics: [Books](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/tag/books) [Walking to Destiny](https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/tag/walking-to-destiny) #### Share this [Share on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/top-10-business-books-to-read-this-summer-to-build-value-in-your-business&text=Top%2010%20Business%20Books%20to%20Read%20this%20Summer%20to%20Build%20Value%20in%20Your%20Business) [Share on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/top-10-business-books-to-read-this-summer-to-build-value-in-your-business&t=Top%2010%20Business%20Books%20to%20Read%20this%20Summer%20to%20Build%20Value%20in%20Your%20Business) [Share on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.exit-planning-institute.org/top-10-business-books-to-read-this-summer-to-build-value-in-your-business&t=Top%2010%20Business%20Books%20to%20Read%20this%20Summer%20to%20Build%20Value%20in%20Your%20Business) - 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