More than 11,000 business books are published every year—an overwhelming choice for busy professionals. Therefore, in partnership with getAbstract, Training brings you June’s top three business books recommended to our readers.
“Narrative and Numbers. The Value of Stories in Business” by Aswath Damodaran (Columbia University Press, 2017, 296 pages, ISBN: 9780231180481; $17.16).
Numbers are nothing without a story, and a story needs numbers to back it up. So says New York University finance professor Aswath Damodaran in this illuminating guide to valuing companies. He offers step-by-step instructions on figuring out how much you should pay for shares in Amazon, Uber, or any other enterprise. Damodaran provides an intriguing, insightful look into combining number crunching with storytelling. While never giving investment advice, getAbstract recommends his manual to investors and managers seeking to master the use of storytelling in investing.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 7
Style: 9
“Leadership in Focus. Bringing Out Your Best on Camera” by Vern Oakley (Greenleaf Book Group, 2017, 245 pages, ISBN: 9781626342408; $18.23)
Today’s world is digital, and its preferred method of communication is video. If you treat your corporate video as tangential by producing puff pieces or slick sales films, you’re wasting crucial opportunities. Savvy leaders understand the importance of using video to forge connections with stakeholders—or, as veteran director Vern Oakley calls them, your “tribe.” Oakley doesn’t delve deeply into filmmaking itself. Instead, he focuses on how leaders can improve their video performances. getAbstract recommends his advice to executives who are endeavoring to be at ease, persuasive, and authentic on film.
Rating (out of 10): 7
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 7
Style: 7
“The No. 1 Best Seller. A Unique Insight into the Mind, Strategy and Processes of a Top Salesman” by Lee Bartlett (Lee Bartlett, 2016, 238 pages, ISBN: 9780995517509; $19.49)
Superior salesman Lee Bartlett—once the highest-grossing sales professional in the financial technology industry—invites you to learn his methods for becoming a top salesperson. He outlines the skills sales reps need to succeed and lists important rules to follow. Bartlett asserts that selling isn’t complicated: Develop the essential skills, incorporate them into your work, follow the correct routines, pay attention to the basics, work hard, don’t waste time, and focus on your prospects and their wants and needs. If you stick to Bartlett’s formula, he promises you’ll make plenty of sales. getAbstract recommends his straightforward manual to beginning salespeople, as well as to veterans looking for an energetic refresher course.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 7
For five-page summaries of these and more than 15,000 other titles, visit http://www.getabstract.com/affiliate/trainingmagazine
