10 books Richard Branson thinks everyone should read

richard branson

Richard Branson, the Virgin Group Founder and self-described tie-loathing billionaire, still finds time in his busy schedule to read.

Over the years he has offered up dozens of titles that have kept his attention and helped him grow as a businessman.

We can't guarantee you'll follow in the entrepreneur's footsteps, but the books could certainly set you in the right direction.

'Start With Why' by Simon Sinek

Sinek is a leadership expert who believes companies can't run effectively unless they approach their business with a specific purpose — or a reason for existing.

"Start With Why" describes a diagram of three concentric circles. The outermost ring he calls "What," the second "How," and the innermost ring "Why." The closer each circle is to the center, the more integral it is to business.

Too many companies focus on what they produce, not what they produce it, Sinek claims. Only by having a rock-solid reason for being in operation can companies connect with their customers.

'Black Box Thinking' by Matthew Syed

Failure is a key component of any successful system, but only if the people at the controls understand what went wrong.

In "Black Box Thinking," journalist Matthew Syed explores why some people try to ignore their mistakes and others confront them deliberately. Syed pushes people to adopt a growth mindset, as the psychologist Carol Dweck calls it, rather than a fixed mindset.

"It advocates for changing attitudes towards failure, and understanding that the only way we learn is by trying things and altering our behaviour based on the results," Branson writes on his blog.

'Ending the War on Drugs' by Richard Branson

Edited by Branson himself ("I couldn't resist sneaking in a book I contributed to," he writes) "Ending the War on Drugs" is a compilation of essays about the global drug war and the many failed attempts to end it.

"It brings together such a smart group of experts to explain why global drug policy reform is so important," Branson writes. The list includes philanthropist George Soros, former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo, and former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss, among others.

"Attitudes towards treating drugs as a health issue, not a criminal problem, are changing fast," Branson explains. "Anyone who reads this book will understand why."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider