In this post, we’ll be maintaining the top 5 business books we think entrepreneurs should read. Without further ado:

• Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. (For the importance of imagination.) A key role of the entrepreneur is to see what’s not there yet, and to bring it to life. In this book, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios Ed Catmull shares the stories, lessons, and advice that helped shape one of the most successful creative powerhouses.

• Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play by Mahan Khalsa and Randy Illig. (For the importance of understanding.) Sales is not about closing the deal, but coming from a sincere place of wanting to help others and create value for them. Mahan and Randy share from their vast experience on how to make the process real, rather than awkward, or even worse, slimy.

• The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. (For the importance of sustaining energy.) You will get distracted, and you will tire. This book helps you know how to work with your natural energy, not against, to see your way through and enjoy the journey.

• The Four C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan. (For the importance of courage.) Entrepreneurism involves going into the unknown, and all the internal disruption that results. Simple and short, Dan’s framework for progressing from commitment, to courage, to capability, to confidence will help you make, and continue making, the leap. (Read our “book review“.)

• Business Model Generation/Value Proposition Design by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur. (For the importance of economic design.) The business environment does not stay the same forever, and seems to even be evolving more rapidly nowadays. Understanding the principles of designing a business model, and a value proposition, that work economically, is the difference between between evolution and extinction.

(All links affiliate.)