Strategy is the art of making choices. As a manager and leader, you must make difficult decisions every day. A strategic management book will help you do just that. Here are 23 books on strategic management that will have you ready to lead in no time.
Business Strategy: Managing Uncertainty, Opportunity, and Enterprise
Author J.C. Spender uses his decades of business knowledge to talk about strategic management, strategy tools, and approaching uncertainty head-on. Check out the book here.
Blue Ocean Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy focuses on how companies can outperform their competition and create increased demand for their product or service. Authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne paint a new picture of what strategic success looks like. You can check out the book here.
Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters
In this book, author Richard Rumelt tackles the problems caused by having too many strategies and focuses on implementing a single, action-based strategy instead. Get the book here.
Measure What Matters
This New York Times Bestseller dives into the ways businesses can utilize Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to see exponential growth. Author Jon Doerr uses tech giants such as Google and Intel as examples for other growing businesses. Check it out here.
The Art of Strategy
“The Art of Strategy” is all about game theory and how mastering game theory can bring you success in all aspects of life. Authors Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff use various case studies to help readers master game theory. Learn more here.
Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-making
In this book, Jeremy Kourdi walks readers through the entire strategic process—from vision and brainstorming to implementation and innovation. If you want a guide that covers the whole strategic management process, check out this book.
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works
Authors A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin focus on five strategic questions that, when applied to your business, will help you edge out your competition. They discuss the purpose of strategic management, why it matters, and how you can use it to your advantage. Learn more here.
Your Strategy Needs a Strategy
With an endless sea of strategic approaches, which one is best for your business? Author Martin Reeves dives into the various approaches to strategic management and gives you the tools you need to decide which one is best for your business. Check it out here.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t
Author Jim Collins analyzed multiple businesses to figure out their secret to sustained growth and success. This book will give you the tools you need to take your business from good to great. Learn more here.
Scaling Up
Ever wonder why some businesses make it big while others fail? Author Verne Harnish gives readers the tools and techniques they need to turn this business into an industry powerhouse. Check it out here.
Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors
Author Michael E. Porter uses three generic strategies to help business owners develop a structure within their strategic planning. This book helps readers learn more about their competitors to strengthen their own strategic management plan. Learn more here.
Business Model Generation
If your business is stuck using yesterday’s strategies, and you need help implementing new and innovative techniques, this is the book for you. Authors Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur walk you through the process of implementing a game-changing strategic model. Learn more here.
Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy
Author Patrick Bet-David gives readers the tools they need to think like a chess grandmaster—or a successful business owner—and plan five steps ahead. This book will have readers seeing the bigger picture and planning a successful future for their business. Get the book here.
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
This book compares the histories of eighteen successful companies and compares them to their competitors. What decisions did these companies make that put them out on top? Authors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras give readers specific examples of strategic decisions that led major corporations to long-lasting success. Learn more here.
The Innovator’s Dilemma
Author Clayton Christensen dives into the importance of innovation and how even the largest companies can get pushed aside if they fail to innovate. This book will help you implement a business strategy that takes advantage of disruptive innovation instead of being overtaken by it. Get the book here.
Seeing Around Corners
In this book, author Rita Gunther McGrath walks readers through the importance of predicting changes in the business landscape. The best businesses are ready to shift when they need to, while other businesses fall to a constantly changing landscape. Learn more here.
The Invincible Company
Authors Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur take a look at the world’s most successful companies and discuss how they managed to disrupt entire industries. They also look at innovative business strategies and help readers learn how to promote innovation within their businesses. Get the book here.
Return on Influence
This book will become your go-to guide for learning how to incorporate influencer marketing into your business strategy. Though this book is nearly a decade old, author Mark Schaefer dives into influencer marketing and business strategy topics that are sure to benefit your business today. Check it out here.
Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers
Author Niraj Dawar talks about the importance of building customer interactions into your business strategy to develop long-term value within your business. Tilt will help you shift your business strategy downstream. Get the book here.
Fewer, Bigger, Bolder
Fewer, Bigger, Bolder will help you start growing your business with intention and focus more on growth strategies to add value to your business. Authors Sanjay Khosla and Mohanbir Sawhney look at companies, both big and small, and see how simplicity adds value to their business. Learn more here.
The Strategy-focused Organization
Authors Robert Kaplan and David Norton give readers five key steps to creating a strategy-focused business. If you’re looking for sustainable business growth and improvements, this is the book for you. Check it out here.
Breaking the Fear Barrier
“Breaking the Fear Barrier” is all about the number one killer of successful businesses: fear. Author Tom Rieger discusses the ways business owners can adjust their strategy to limit fear, build courage and continue innovating within their business. Get the book here.
Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through the Wilds of Strategic Management
Authors Henry Mintzberg and Joseph Lampel walk readers through the complex history of strategic management in this best-selling book. The book goes in-depth into ten business strategies that have emerged over the past four decades. Learn more here.
If you’re still looking for great business books, check out these great business management books.