Top 7 Management Books MBA Students Need To Read

Victims of Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes by Irving Janus

A management classic describing the consequences when a group’s desire to maintain the harmony among members interferes with its ability to engage in thoughtful, rational decision-making. Irv Janis takes the reader through policy decisions from Pearl Harbor to the Watergate break-in to make the case that group cohesiveness can reinforce faulty assumptions and insulate the group from challenging information, all of which overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. The term “groupthink” is now well established in the management lexicon; now visit the fascinating and highly readable book that first focused our attention on the prevalence of this problem … and the ways in which it can be avoided.

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

From Super Bowl quarterbacks, to the Israeli Mossad, to the World Series of Poker—and from serial killers to airline pilots — Johan Lehrer analyzes the cognitive science of decision-making. He is an engaging storyteller that uses well known decision contexts to convey how we handle the complexities of decisions that we face in business and in life. Highly readable and entertaining, yet remarkably faithful to the scientific literature. Like your favorite novel, it’s a page turner.

Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin

That talent is overrated is a valuable, simple but powerful argument as to why some are great and others are not. That deliberate practice is hard and becoming great takes many years even ten or twenty, stands to reason. Mr. Colvin points out not what we do not already know, but what we do not realize: knowing the basics of your profession will help no matter what; great innovations did not instantly appear, they grew out of hard work and the accumulation of past work; the earlier you start the more deliberate practice, experience, and knowledge you will compile to achieve in your adult life, what you have been slaving at since childhood, and that most discouragingly organizations do not encourage or utilize what is in this book, or the hundreds of others, that tell how to breed creativity, motivate workers, and build “talented” high performing employees.

Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Daniel H. Pink suggests the way we can achieve high performance and satisfaction for both organizational and individual levels by exposing the mismatch between what science knows and what business does.

Today’s world requires intrinsic motivation, consisting of three key elements: autonomy, mastery and purpose. He provides clear examples about each concept and emphasis the key points about type I behavior – autonomy, mastery, and purpose – consistently throughout the book.



Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Want to give your great idea the power of viral marketing enjoyed by urban legends, parables, and fables?  Follow the recipe for SUCCESS!  Whittle your idea down to its Simple core by excluding everything that’s relevant, but not critical.  Then translate that core into uncommon sense with an Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional Story focused on the human context.







Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

What do Mozart and Bill Gates have in common? In short, success.

Gladwell’s fascinating Outliers tells the stories of some of the most successful people this globe has seen.

Some took advantage of opportunities in front of them while others simply got lucky. Most worked hard, too.

This is a great read for those looking into why some people succeed and some people just never reach their full potential.



The Wal-Mart effect: How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works — and How It’s Transforming the American Economy by Charles Fishman

How does giant retailer Wal-Mart have 2 percent of the U.S. GDP? Learn about the ruthless culture of Wal-Mart and how it has become one of the most powerful companies in the world. Fishman outlines how the somewhat disturbing culture allows Wal-Mart to dominate the competition. A truly captivating read.