5 Business Books to Read in August

National Jeweler’s recommended reads for the month include a book on dealing with complaints and one that questions long-held beliefs about business management.

Michelle Graff michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com

Heading to the beach this month? If you are a small business owner, perhaps you should consider taking a book (or five) along with you.

New York--The owner of a custom furniture company recounts his experience as a small business owner while another author categorizes complainers and a third gives tips on manners in the digital age.

These are among the new, or relatively new, releases that National Jeweler found for the month of August.

For those about to take some much-needed time off, these five books might be worth throwing in that beach bag or downloading onto an e-reader.

1. Boss Life: Surviving My Own Small Business
Paul Downs

This book was published in 2015 but there’s good news for those who like to save money--this month, it’s coming out in paperback.

Downs, a New York Times columnist and blogger, has been running a custom furniture company for more than 20 years. In this book, his first, he talks candidly about what it’s like to run a business, manage employees and confront challenges. This book is 352 pages.

2. Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers

Jay Baer

This book also is not a true new release for the month of August. Hug Your Haters actually came out in March but the National Jeweler staff somehow missed it, so we’re including it this month.

In his book, Baer classifies complainers into two groups--offstage haters and onstage haters--gives business owners strategies for dealing with both and explains why it’s a bad idea to ignore complaints. This book is 240 pages.

3. The Etiquette Edge: Modern Manners for Business Success

Beverly Langford

This book is described on GoodReads as a “crash course” on modern business manners from the woman who wrote 2005’s The Etiquette Edge: The Unspoken Rules for Business Success.

The updated Edge reviews how to navigate digital interactions--which can be difficult to interpret--be smart about how and when smartphones are used and create a polished image on social media. This book is 256 pages.

4. TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

Chris J. Anderson

Anderson took over the nonpartisan, nonprofit TED organization in the early aughts. In this book, which was released in May, he tells readers how they can deliver short, powerful talks like those for which his organization is known.

He shares insights from some of the most popular TED speakers, including Bill Gates and author Elizabeth Gilbert. This book is 288 pages.

5. Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual
David Burkus

Published in March, this book

Banner will be right here …

challenges many of today’s widely accepted principles of business management and aims to prove that they are outdated or simply don’t work. Questions addressed by the author and Oral Roberts University professor Burkus include: Are annual performance reviews necessary? And can a business succeed by worrying about its employees first and its clients second? This book is 256 pages.

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.