The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan.
1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel that you are both a person who gets things done and someone who offers penetrating analysis? Well, you can discover whether you are truly an “achiever” or an “analytical” by completing the online quiz. Then, the book will give you “ideas for action” and tips for how best you can work with others. More of a patiencetester than Strengthsfinder, the quiz/book is probably best for those who have lots of time on their hands.
2. The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey. Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host.
3. TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments (J-B Warren Bennis Series) by Mette Norgaard and Douglas R Conant. Speaks to the theory and craft of leadership, promoting a balanced presence of rational, authentic, active, and wise leadership practices.
4. Small Message, Big Impact: How to Put the Power of the Elevator Speech Effect to Work for You by Terri L. Sjodin. A how-to guide on effectively communicating an important message in a short period of time.
5. Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner. The business columnist of The New York Times and her coauthor exposes how the watchdogs who were supposed to protect the country from financial harm were actually complicit in the actions that finally blew up the American economy.
6. Knowing Your Value: Women, Money and Getting What You’re Worth by Mika Brzezinski. Blends personal anecdotes from White House star Valerie Jarrett, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Joy Behar, Donnie Deutsch, Jack Welch, and Donald Trump and opinions with the latest research and polling on issues such as equal pay, women in the boardroom, and access to start-up capital.
7. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz. The president and chairman of Starbucks shares the remarkable story of his return and the company’s ongoing transformation under his leadership, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic times in history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity.
8. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins. The author of Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies examines the question “How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?”
9. The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream by Suze Orman. The financial planner asserts that the New American Dream is not the things we accumulate but the confidence that comes from knowing that which we’ve worked so hard for cannot be taken away from us.
10. Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard. This story is about adjusting attitudes toward change in life, especially at work. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not, but the author affirms that it can be positive. His principles are to anticipate change, let go of the old, and do what you would do if you were not afraid.