[新鮮書市]創業者暑期必讀圖書

在經濟危機裁員的浪潮下，你是否想過擺脫別人的屋檐，自己幹一番事業呢？你是否問過自己該如何開始呢？該怎樣着手呢？如果你正這樣想着，那你肯定忙着查天時評地利。暑假已至，在忙亂之餘，用前人的經驗來充實自己或許更好，下面就爲您介紹幾本暑期創業者首選的書籍吧。

Summer Reading (and Listening) for Entrepreneurs（創業者，企業家）

By Amy Barrett and Amy S. Choi

Have fun this summer—and don't forget to load the beach bag（裝沙灘裝備的口袋） and iPod with these books and podcasts

Rubies in the Orchard
By Lynda Resnick with Francis Wilkinson
Broadway Books, February 2009; $24.95

This autobiography of Resnick—who built POM Wonderful and FIJI Water（她建立了POM Wonderful（石榴飲品）和FIJI（瓶裝水）兩個品牌）—is both entertaining and enlightening（娛樂性與啓發性並存）. The book chronicles （以編年體撰寫）Resnick's life, including fascinating detours （繞道）such as her role in the publishing of the Pentagon Papers. (She provided the photocopier.) But what's really valuable to business owners is Resnick's insight on marketing, a field where she's built a well-­deserved reputation as a master.

Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging and Outmarketing Your Competition

By Guy Kawasaki
Portfolio, October 2008; $29.95

You've probably read Apple veteran Kawasaki's best-seller The Art of the Start（開始的藝術）—now take the time to read his latest book. An easy read, Reality Check is made up of 94 short, entertaining, and tip-filled chapters on everything from how to schmooze to how to suck up to a blogger. Kawasaki keeps it lively with section headings such as "The Top Ten Lies of Venture Capitalists（風險投資家常用的十個謊言）."

Outliers: The Story of Success
By Malcolm Gladwell
Little, Brown & Co., November 2008; $27.99

Here, the author of The Tipping Point and Blink argues that breakthrough success is more a function of timing, opportunity, and hard work than exceptional talent or brilliance（想要成功必須勤奮工作，抓住時機而不是依靠太天賦或才智）. In typical Gladwell fashion, he bolsters his argument with diverse real-life examples, including an account of the ascent of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and an explanation of the significance of the birth months of elite Canadian hockey players. Food for thought for any entrepreneur striving for the big time.

Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: Managing in a Downturn
By Ram Charan
McGraw-Hill Companies, December 2008; $22.95

Management consultant Charan isn't offering revolutionary thinking here. But his advice on how to weather the economic storm（金融風暴） has value in part because of its simplicity. One key lesson: focus on cash flow and forgo expansion（現金流通和避免膨脹）—for now—if it jeopardizes your cash cushion. Sound thinking for unsettled times.

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
By T.J. Stiles
Knopf Doubleday, April 2009; $37.50

For a fun history lesson on the life of one of America's greatest entrepreneurs—the man many consider the creator of modern U.S. capitalism—it's worth tackling this tome about Cornelius Vanderbilt. From his early days growing up on a Staten Island farm to his conquest of the steamboat and railroad industries（汽船和鐵路大亨）, The First Tycoon tells the tale of a brilliant and ruthless titan.

How We Decide
By Jonah Lehrer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, February 2009; $25

This look at the science of deciding combines neuroscience with tales of real-life decision making（我們的神經元和現實生活影響我們的決策）. Whether it's describing how New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady decides to throw a pass or how a poker player deploys his cards, this book lays out how our brains are firing. For entrepreneurs, there are insights on potential traps, such as how negative information carries more weight than positive. For the boss who has to make tough calls every day, it's well worth reading.

The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers
By Keith McFarland
Crown Business, January 2008; $27.50

Why do some entrepreneurial enterprises hit it big, while others struggle but never take off? After years of studying and analyzing successful growth companies, McFarland lays out strategies and busts myths about how to make it to the next level. Among the insights: the importance of ensuring that a company doesn't revolve around its founder's personality and the need to solicit criticism that challenges company assumptions（最重要的是保證公司不會圍繞着建立者的個性發展並不刻意祈求評論）.

In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules
By Stacy Perman
Collins Business, April 2009; $24.99

First a disclosure: Stacy Perman is a writer for BusinessWeek, so we're biased. But there has been widespread praise from other reviewers for her book on the secretive Snyder family, which built a wildly successful California burger chain. Perman's book provides a business analysis of the factors that helped produce In-N-Out Burger's cultlike following (among them, a high-quality product and well-paid employees), as well as a chronicle of the turbulent family that built it. Fun reading and a great success story.

The Small Business Podcast
smallpod.blogsp

David Michaels, co-founder of production studio Tudec Entertainment, and Daniel Miller, co-founder of consumer products company Ranger Labs, chat about their ups and downs as business owners and interview other entrepreneurs and franchisees. The high-energy podcasts range from how-tos on the basics of finance to some enthusiastic crabbing about the less glamorous details of managing a business, such as trimming budgets and dealing with unruly customers.

Get-It-Done Guy

This "work less and do more" podcast, hosted by serial entrepreneur Stever Robbins, is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips franchise, which also includes podcasts on nutrition, manners, and grammar. Robbins offers tips on how to streamline virtually every task, from tracking business expenses and keeping your in-box empty to ending business relationships and delegating.

Manager Tools

Michael Auzenne and Mark Horstman, both consultants, put up a weekly podcast focused strictly on management（把每週關於管理的播客放在網站上）. The programs are divided into tools for managing your own business and tools for advancing your career. There's less kitsch and more serious discussion here than on some of the other podcasts, but the straightforward, simple language is never boring.

Help! My Business Sucks!

Andrew Lock, who has written several marketing books, offers up a vlog (which can also be watched over a mobile device) with an irreverent take on marketing strategy for entrepreneurs. He takes viewer questions and gives blunt observations on their ideas. Typical podcasts cover how to compete against an established brand and what business lessons can be gleaned from Sesame Street.

SBA Podcasting

The SBA offers a series of podcasts featuring experts discussing subjects such as how to select a business that's right for you（SBA是美國一個專爲中小企業設立的資訊中心）, disaster planning, and finding financing. It's not the most entertaining of podcasts, but it's informative for the first-time entrepreneur.

Keke View：很多人都渴望創業，但苦於沒有資金。想要創業，就必須考慮如何能低成本創業。首先必須要有心理準備，要有吃苦和百折不撓的精神、要勤奮，要有正確的方向和方法，要有良好的規劃和人生設計。要充分利用現有的資源，要發揮自己的主觀能動性，要發揮自己的優勢，揚長避短、要善於借勢。下面列舉幾個低成本創業的途徑：