Our Reading List

At GasPedal, we’ve got a pretty great corporate culture. Part of that is the time and enthusiasm we have for building that cullture, combined with a deep love by everyone for personal self-improvement.

We love to read and have an unlimited budget for business books (which everyone is encouraged to buy and keep). We also have ebook reader subsidies.

Frankly, we hope that the people we’re hiring are the kind of people who will enjoy this sort of personal growth. I do not know any successful executives who are not aggressive readers of business books and magazines. I have never been to a meeting where the latest business books weren’t part of the discussion — and there are always a few awkward junior people who were clearly out of the loop. Being well-read, and wanting to be well-read, is one of the key tickets to an executive career.

Here’s our reading list. Enjoy!

1. Word of Mouth Marketing
   1. Word of Mouth Marketing – Sernovitz
   2. Unleashing the Ideavirus – Godin
   3. Anatomy of Buzz – Rosen
   4. The Ultimate Question – Reichheld/Markey
   5. Purple Cow – Godin
   6. Selling the Dream – Kawasaki
   7. Creating Customer Evangelists – Huba/McConnell
2. Social Media in Big Companies
   1. Groundswell – Bernoff/Li
   2. Meatball Sundae – Godin
   3. New Rules of Marketing and PR – Scott
3. Community Building
   1. 18 Rules of Community Engagement – Connor
   2. Purpose-Driven Church – Warren
4. Working Well / Productivity
   1. Getting Things Done – Allen
   2. The Checklist Manifesto – Gawande
   3. Rework – Fried/Hansson
   4. Time Trap – Mackenzie/Nickerson
   5. Making Ideas Happen – Belsky
5. Entrepreneurship
   1. The E-Myth Revisited – Gerber (for new managers)
   2. Bootstrappers Bible – Godin
   3. The Knack – Brodsky/Burlingham
   4. Rules for Revolutionaries – Kawasaki
   5. Your Business Brickyard – Mann
6. Marketing
   1. 22 Immutable Laws of Branding – Ries/Ries
   2. Ogilvy on Advertising – Ogilvy
   3. Why Johnny Can’t Brand – Schley/Nichols
   4. Little Red Book of Selling – Gitomer
   5. Swim With The Sharks – Mackay
7. Customer Love
   1. Raving Fans – Blanchard/Bowles/Mackay
   2. The Fred Factor – Sanborn/Maxwell
   3. I Love You More Than My Dog – Bliss
   4. The Pursuit of Wow – Peters
8. Corporate Culture
   1. Tribal Leadership – Logan/King/Fischer-Wright
   2. Delivering Happiness – Hsieh
   3. Small Giants – Burlingham
   4. 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – Lencioni
   5. Why Work Sucks – Ressler/Thompson
9. How you succeed
   1. Fish – Lundin/Paul/Christensen/Blanchard (motivating a team)
   2. Johnny Bunko – Pink  (for young executives)
   3. Hello My Name is Scott – Ginsberg
   4. Linchpin – Godin
10. Communication Skills
    1. Presentation Zen – Reynolds
    2. Back of the Napkin – Roam
11. Web Design
    1. Designing with Web Standards – Zeldman/Marcotte
    2. Don’t Make Me Think – Krug
12. Management/Leadership
    1. The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive – Lencioni
    2. Radical Leap – Farber
    3. Hire the American Dream – Melton/McIntyre
    4. Who – Smart/Street
13. Making Change
    1. Break Through – Shellenberger/Nordhaus
    2. Switch – Heath/Heath