Dilbert and the way of the weasel by Scott Adams
There’s more good advice about running a business in here than there is in most ‘proper’ business books.
Peopleware by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister
If you read one book about creating and managing software teams, this should be it.
The mythical man month by Fred Brooks
A classic.
The psychology of computer programming by Gerald Weinberg
Athough this book is 35 years old, it’s still a worthwhile read, with interesting chapters on topics such as computer programming as a social activity.
Facts and fallacies about software development by Robert L Glass
The title says it all. An excellent book
In search of stupidity: Over 20 years of high-tech marketing disasters by Rick Chapman
Covers, among other things, the mistakes that Netscape and many other of Microsoft’s competitors made.
Information rules – by Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian
Written at the peak of the dotcom boom, this is one of the only books to point out that profits still mattered, and that everything hadn’t changed.
Showstopper – by G Pascal Zachary
An account of the deathmarch to ship Windows NT
The design of everyday things – Donald Norman
Read this and you’ll spend weeks swearing at door handles and kettles.
Good to great – Jim Collins
One of the few business books out there based on hard research and facts, this examines the characteristics that companies that make the transition from good to great have.
If you’re convinced that performance-relatated pay, forced rankings and separating work from the rest of life will make your business better then you should read this book and be prepared to change your mind.