a reading stack for entrepreneurs, accountants and others interested in perspectives on professional services, culled from the reading list at the stanford business school…
entrepreneurship
“beyond entrepreneurship,” james c. collins, william c. lazier: new jersey: prentice hall, 1992.
discussion of the roles of leadership, vision, and creativity in growing, entrepreneurial ventures.
“glorious accidents,” michael j. glauser: utah. shadow mountain, 1998.
how everyday americans create thriving companies.
“new business ventures and the entrepreneur,” howard h. stevenson, michael j. roberts, and h. irving grousbeck: boston: richard d. irwin, inc., 1989.
textbook that traces the entrepreneurial process from the initial idea through business operations to harvest and includes case studies.
“soloing,” harriet rubin: new york: harper collins publishers, inc., 1999.
discussing the ups and downs of going solo in business.
“the book of entrepreneurs’ wisdom,” edited by peter krass: new york: john wiley & sons, inc., 1999.
classic writings by legendary entrepreneurs such as; lillian vernon, phil knight, and dave thomas.
“the entrepreneurial mindset,” by rita mcgrath and ian macmillan: cambridge: harvard university press, 2000.
strategies for continuously creating opportunity in an age of uncertainty.
“the 10-second internet manager,” by mark breier: new york: crown business, 2000.
survive, thrive, and drive your company in the information age.
“moral intelligence: enhancing business performance and leadership success” by doug lennick & fred kiel.
demonstrates that maintaining the highest ethical standards is not only the ‘right’ thing to do, but produces the best companies and the best results.
“engineering your start-up: a guide for the high-tech entrepreneur” by james a. swanson and michael l. baird, 2003.
gives you all the basic information needed to make your idea a business reality.
silicon valley
“understanding silicon valley: the anatomy of an entrepreneurial region,” edited by martin kenney, stanford university press, 2000.
“regional advantage,” annalee saxenian. cambridge: harvard university press, 1996.
analysis of the factors contributing to the success of silicon valley and route 128.
“the silicon valley way,” elton b. sherwin, rocklin, ca: prima publishing, 1998.
provides background on the growth of silicon valley and a concise business planning approach.
“in the company of giants,” rama dev jager, rafael ortiz. new york: mcgraw hill, 1997.
conversations with 16 leaders of the digital world.
“the silicon boys and their valley of dreams,” david a. kaplan, new york: william morrow and company, inc., 1999.
a look at some of the most powerful people in silicon valley: bill gates, jim clark, andy grove, to name a few.
“the monk and the riddle,” randy komisar, cambridge: harvard university press, 2000.
the education of a silicon valley entrepreneur.
start-up stories
“upstart start-ups!,” ron lieber. new york: broadway press, 1998.
learnings from 34 young entrepreneurs, including 1993 stanford gsb graduates, steve pollock and gary alpert, founders of wet feet press.
“growing a business,” paul hawken. new york: simon & schuster, 1987.
a classic story of building a business.
“startup: a silicon valley adventure,” jerry kaplan. new york: penguin books, 1994.
a behind-the-scenes look at a company’s creation and eventual demise.
the internet
“aol.com,” kara swisher. new york. random house, 1998.
how steve case beat bill gates, nailed the netheads, and made millions in the war for the web.
“webonomics,” evan i. schwartz, new york: broadway books, 1997
strategies for capitalizing on potential of the internet.
financing
“blown to bits,” philip evans and thomas s. worsted, boston: harvard business school press, 2000.
how the new economics of information transforms strategy.
“done deals,” edited by udayan gupta. cambridge: harvard business school press, 2000.
venture capitalists tell their stories.
“where to go when the bank says no,” david r. evanson. princeton: bloomberg press, 1998.
practical advice on how to get small business financing.
“finding your wings,” gerald a. benjamin, joel margolius. new york: john wiley & sons, 1996.
guide to finding private investors to fund a start-up.
reference guides
“the home business bible,” david r. eyler. new york: john r. wiley & sons, inc., 1994.
an encyclopedia of information for the home-based entrepreneur.
“the entrepreneur’s guide to business law,” constance e. bagley, craig e. dauchy. west educational publishing company, 1998.
this guide walks the entrepreneur through all the legal steps required to start a business.
“guts & borrowed money,” tom s. gillis. austin: bard press, 1997
nuts and bolts guide to starting your own business.
social entrepreneurship
“revolution of the heart,” bill shore. new york: riverhead books, 1995.
the story of share our strength, a self-sustaining nonprofit organization.
“new social entrepreneurs: the success, challenge and lessons of non-profit enterprise creation,” jed emerson and fay twersky. san francisco: the roberts foundation, 1996.
experiences of the roberts foundation in nonprofit enterprise development.