Books to Read Prior to B-School

Figure out where you wish to apply
This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2011 7:06 pm

by MichaelZheng » Thu Jul 21, 2011 7:07 pm
Great recommendations, thanks a lot!

MBA Student
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:47 am
Location: Washington, DC
Thanked: 8 times

by beatvit » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:29 pm
I just posted a Pre-MBA Reading List for Poets -
https://parttimembadegree.com/2011/07/27 ... ist-poets/ in my blog. The books I listed there are not on general business topics, but specifically to prepare for quantitative core courses in MBA. The books I am recommending there are easier read than any MBA textbook you will encounter, and they give you enough foundation so you can concentrate on more advanced applications once you get in MBA classroom.

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 378
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2010 4:23 am
Thanked: 28 times
Followed by:27 members

by MBACrystalBall » Fri Aug 05, 2011 2:32 am
I'm hoping my book Beyond The MBA Hype gets added to must-read list soon.

The first edition will be released only in India.

For now, the only thing out there on the internet is a cheesy book trailer in Hindi.
Watch these MBA videos

Sameer Kamat, Founder - MBA Crystal Ball | Careerizma
Email: info at mbacrystalball dot com

Must read for MBA aspirants
1. Beyond The MBA Hype | 2. Business Doctors: Management Consulting Gone Wild

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 10:26 pm
Thanked: 4 times
Followed by:1 members

by Siddharthpaul » Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:09 am
A bunch of books on management & related stuff.

1) Tom Peters - Circle of Innovation
2) Maverick - Ricardo Semler
3) Managing Radical Change - Sumantra Ghoshal
4) Every Business is a growth business - Ram Charan
5) Getting to Yes - William Ury
6) Getting past NO - William Ury & Gang
7) The Ffth Discipline - Peter Senge
8 ) Made in Japan - Akio Morita ( A very simplistic book though )
9) First, Break all the rules - Marcus Buckingham
10) Best Practices - Arthur Andersen

My favourite fiction author is - Eric Van Lustbader - Works include Ninja, Dark Homecoming and few others.
Siddharth Paul
IIM Calcutta
Indian Applicants, ThroughMBA.com

contact me : https://throughmba.com/contact/contacts/throughmba
Call me : +91-7873282250

User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2011 12:11 am
Thanked: 1 times

by TrueGritMick » Sun Oct 23, 2011 11:38 am
Great reads posted. I would also add:

From Battlefield to Boardroom - Dennis Laurie
The Marine Corps Way - Santamaria
The Undercover Economist - Harford
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Lencioni
The Five Dysfunctions of a CEO - Lencioni
The Box (for anyone in the transportation industry)
Talent Masters
Atlas Shrugged
A Sense of Urgency - Kotter
Emotional Intelligence
Blink - Gladwell (also The Tipping Point, Outliers, What the Dog Saw)
Built to Last & Good to Great - Collins
Driving Change
The Dip - Godin
Guns, Germs & Steel
The Informant!
All The Devils Are Here - Nocera
The Alchemist - Coelho
Man's Search for Meaning
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
The Essential 55
Math Magic
The Number Devil

The last bunch of books may not appear to be business-related at face value, but look again - there is intrinsic value in lessons that apply to businesses and business people both. (The last one, Math Magic, admittedly is more useful before the GMAT :)

Mick

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 42
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 3:19 pm
Thanked: 15 times

by MM_Ed » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:32 pm
Kaneisha Grayson wrote: My fourth recommendation is for single women who are going to business school and are hoping--in addition to getting an outstanding education, having an amazing experience, and launching a new career--to meet that special guy like I was. The book is "Make Every Man Want You" by Marie Forleo.
So what's the counterpart for men? :þ

Of course, it also helps to know what the enemy reads, so thanks ; )
If you found one of my answers useful, hit the shiny Thanks button! : )

User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:53 am

by LSmith412 » Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:04 pm
Oh my gosh. What an amazing and thorough list of books. I am new to these forums and I can see already how helpful the community will be in my search for finding the best B-school and beating the GMATS.

Thanks to Eric for founding this site.

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Site Admin
Posts: 6774
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 1249 times
Followed by:994 members

by beatthegmat » Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:07 pm
LSmith412 wrote:Oh my gosh. What an amazing and thorough list of books. I am new to these forums and I can see already how helpful the community will be in my search for finding the best B-school and beating the GMATS.

Thanks to Eric for founding this site.
Welcome to our community! :)
Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school