We’re full of startups and business experts here at Evolve. People with good ideas and the drive to build a business. Invariably that’s a group of people always eager to learn more. So we’ve got some reading suggestions to help you think smarter about your business. 

Four Unexpected Business Reads

Here are four books we recommend that might not make the typical list of business books but can offer some unique insights:

Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon made his mark with Steal Like an Artist, his first in a series of ‘kick-in-the-pants’ books for creatives. Show Your Work is the second in the series, and though it’s geared for creative types, it’s highly applicable for business types as well. After all, what is a good business if not incredibly creative? 

The entire premise of Show Your Work is the value of, well, showing your work. For creatives, that’s about showing work in progress. So painters showing messy canvases, authors posting half-finished snippets, bands posting new riffs. Rather than giving away your work, it’s about building a fanbase. It offers a lesson or two for businesses about how to communicate in this social media age.

Bonus: It’s written for creative types, so the layout is artsy. That means it’s a quick read, with lots of pictures and very digestible. Perfect for the busy business person who isn’t going to read a “regular” book.

Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much by Tony Crabbe

Written in 2014, well before the pandemic, Tony Crabbe perfectly captures the problem with today’s busy world. The pandemic brought it into sharp relief, but now the question is what are we going to do about it. The answer is not working faster or more efficiently. 

Instead, Crabbe offers practical solutions that can make a real difference:

• Stop task switching: Multitasking is not productive. It just makes you feel scattered. 

• Choose the right priorities: You can’t do it all, so do the most important. Focus on what you’re good at. Work smarter, not harder.

• Make decisions with context: It’s not a simple yes or no decision about each task (it’s hard to say no), it’s choosing between the competing demands on your time.

• Attitude matters: Fight the plague of busy by being positive, celebrating wins, taking breaks, and being playful.

Stop working harder or faster or longer. Work smarter.

Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending by Elizabeth Dunn & Michael Norton

Money can’t buy happiness. But it turns out how you spend your money can lead to happiness. Full of research and unexpected insights, this book offers some counterintuitive lessons that can help us better understand the relationship between money and happiness. 

• More money doesn’t make you more happy: Despite our get-rich-quick dreams, making more money does not lead to more happiness. 

• Do things, don’t buy things: Experiences tend to make us happy more than stuff. 

• Avoid debt: Owing money is kind of a downer, and in fact, the opposite of debt—paying now and consuming later—can actually make you happier.

• Treat yourself: There’s interesting science on how scarcity and anticipation can increase our happiness. So surprise treats and looking forward to something can boost our happiness.

• Give it away: The best way to be happy? Give your money away. 

While much of this applies to our personal lives, it has some incredibly interesting applications for the business world. Instead of a year-end gift, consider the benefit of creating an experience for your team. Don’t overlook the value of a surprise thank you. Google experimented with a program where employees could reward each other. Think differently about how happiness can work as a motivator. 

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller 

Marketing templates are a dime a dozen. That cookie-cutter approach always seems to fall flat. But Donald Miller’s StoryBrand framework is a helpful and insightful way to think about how your business communicates. The book works your marketing message into the form of a story—with a hero, a villain, a challenge, a plan, and more. 

Here’s the most important lesson: The hero of your company’s story is not you, it’s your customer.

It’s an incredibly helpful read, but only if you do the work to go through the StoryBrand process. Once you do, it makes marketing a lot easier.

What are your favorite business books?