Some business owners and their businesses flourish.
Too many fail.
Others get stuck. The business survives but doesn’t prosper. The owner is stuck on the “hamster wheel”, running hard but making little or no progress.
What Does Being Stuck Mean For A Business Owner?
Either the business doesn’t grow or it grows without increasing profit.
Or it places such high demands on the business owner that he or she is left wishing that it hadn’t grown.
Or perhaps the fear of a bigger business and “losing control” stops the business owner trying to grow, even though the current size isn’t providing enough profit.
In truth, the business can become stuck, the business owner can become stuck in his or her decisions or avoidance of decisions or both can be stuck in a vicious circle. Business problems cause personal problems which cause more business problems as the owner is trapped in a “doom loop”.
It’s not a good situation to be in, whatever the cause and whilst a business can stay stuck for a long time, it can suddenly move from drifting along in a steady but not exciting state to where first there is a some kind of serious crisis and then possibly failure.
It’s much better for you and the business to get unstuck. For those who would like advice and to work with a coach, I’m here to help those based in the UK.
For others, there are business books that relate to people who are stuck, businesses who are stuck and growth has stalled and businesses that have lost direction and need a need strategy and plan.
If your business has been stuck for a long time and performance has dropped to an uncomfortable level that indicates urgent action is needed, here is my list of thebest Business Turnaround books.
The Best Books About Getting Unstuck For Business Owners
You will only see the books I’ve rated at Four Stars (meaning good and well worth reading) and Five Stars (excellent and very highly recommended). Reviews of lower rated books appear on Amazon.co.uk but I haven’t brought the reviews across to my own website.
If you read my reviews, you’ll see I try to explain why I like them but also to identify any weaknesses. My job as a reviewer is to help you to find the most appropriate books rather than to help sell more books.
On that note, if you do decide to buy, I’d appreciate it if you could click through to Amazon on my links as (hopefully) I’ll earn a small referral commission.
Some of these books can be very expensive so, if you’re happy with a hard back or paperback book, take a look at the second hand options on Amazon. Personally I only buy if the condition is described as “As New” or “Very Good” unless I’m really keen and forced to drop down to “Good”.
Five Star Books On Getting Unstuck For Business Owners
The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Summary: The E-Myth Revisited: Review and Analysis of Gerber’s Book
The E-Myth is the classic small business book where the owner of a pie shop is struggling and regrets taking on staff until she meets the author. The thinking is very powerful, the writing style is a problem which is why I’ve included a professional summary. The idea is to give you the good stuff without the nonsense. By and large they succeeded.
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox
Forget the Urgent! by Matías Birrell and Javier Arévalo
The two books share two things in common. They are both novels and they both look at the Theory of Constraints. The Goal is the original set in manufacturing with the ideas about production scheduling. The second is much wider in scope and shows how the Theory of Constraints can affect many parts of a business.
Four Star Books On Getting Unstuck For Business Owners
Business SOS by Paul Avins
Unstuck by Kenyon Blunt
Breeding Gazelles by Dan Bradbury
What To Do When You Are Stuck by Richard Dotts
Isn’t It Obvious? By Eliyahu Goldratt – based on the Theory of Constraints for retailers
Absolute Certainty by John Haylock – based on the Theory of Constraints for service businesses
Breaking the Circle by Gabor Holch
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
The Unstuck Process by Robert Middleton
How to Get Unstuck by Barry Moltz
Getting Unstuck by Cara Stein
Turn Around Your Business by 5 PM by Maurice Stein
Meet and Grow Rich by Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler
Unstuck by Keith Yamashita
Other Business Book Categories That May Interest You
Business Planning –Business Strategy – Business Turnaround – Inner Game – KPI & Performance Measurement – Leading Your Team – Marketing – Profit Improvement – Project Management – Sales Training – Systems – Theory Of Constraints – Thinking –
Paul Simister is a business coach who helps business owners who are stuck, get unstuck. If your business is based in the UK, you can have a free Business SOS consultation with me to help you get unstuck.
