Managers often look for innovative means to teach key lessons in the quest to aid their firms in achieving superior performance. For example, some managers use quotes from popular movies that focus on business topics to inspire and motivate employees. Sales teams might be encouraged to “always be closing”–—the famous tagline from the popular movie Glenngary Glenn Ross (Zachary, McKenny, Short, & Ketchen, 2012). Incorporating unconventional methods to better engage workers may be especially critical in the current work environment wherein millennial employees, who are often associated with lower attention spans and a desire for more communal learning activities, make up a majority of the U.S. workforce (Anderson & Rainie, 2012). A variety of helpful ideas can be found in popular management bestsellers. As the above quote from Emerson suggests, gleaning insights from books has long been tied to the development of wisdom. One effective method to enhance learning is the use of novels. Indeed, a recent study of college students found that reading a fictional story results in heightened brain activity (Ryan, 2014). In turn, business books might be leveraged by recounting important historical events or the lives of successful individuals to illustrate strategies and practices. Below, we outline 10 business books that provide key lessons surrounding elements of strategic management. In our selection of books, we strive to create a balance between works recognized as classics and those viewed as more contemporary. As summarized in Table 1, our belief is that each of these works teaches enduring lessons of value for employees interested in understanding the longterm determinants of organizational success.

۱٫۱٫ Understanding the nature of cause: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

What does motorcycle repair have to do with philosophies relevant to business? Robert Pirsig’s fictionalized autobiography answers this question and more as he chronicles the tale of a 17-day motorcycle journey from Minnesota to California. The plot of the book follows multiple perspectives, alternating between a first-person account of the practical challenges of managing a father-son cross-country road trip and an alternative storyline focusing on numerous philosophical discussions such as the nature of belief. A key concept throughout the story is the seemingly paradoxical nature of value as a characteristic with both objective and subjective elements. The book examines the inherent complexity of the seemingly innocuous question: “What is good?”