Growing a Business in a Changing Industry: Wil Reynolds and Jeremy Pound’s Reading List

Yesterday, SEO experts Wil Reynolds and Jeremy Pound faced off on Smashing the Plateau, and quickly found common ground in their philosophies towards managing client expectations in a field of few (or no) guarantees. This synchronicity was mirrored in their reading recommendations: both independently recommended Chip Heath for entrepreneurs looking to expand. For growing and directing a business in an ever-changing industry, here’s who Reynolds and Pound recommend:

1. Chip Heath, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard  – Reynolds

Reynolds describes how “We’re working in an industry that changes so frequently, and we all know that change to people is often met with some level of fear. The companies that get better at helping their organizations to embrace change in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s forced upon them are the ones that are going to succeed and keep their teams happy.” Heath’s book helps leaders guide teams through these sorts of transition: “It’s a great book. We all have to make changes in our businesses and in our lives, but how do we shape the path to make that as easy as possible with as little resistance as possible? That book is one of my favorites. I’ve read it four times.”

 2. Verne Harnish Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm – Pound

Pound describes how the habits laid out in Harnish’s book “really teach you to identify, solidify, and really focus on these leading indicators that will lead to success… an operational framework for growing any kind of business.”

3. Chris McChesney, The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals – Reynolds

Reynolds praises the book’s attitude: “It’s a good, hardcore, ‘get your business right, thinking right.’ ”

4. Blue Ocean Strategy – Pound

Pound summarizes the business philosophy’s main idea: “The best strategic opportunity is usually not to fit into your industry but to go in the opposite direction,” adding that “usually the best opportunities lie the other way.”

5. Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die… – Pound

Pound praises the Heath brothers’s explanation of successful ideas, noting that this book can help you to “understand why some ideas cut through the clutter, and how to make sure your messages do as well.”