The team at Branded3 has rounded up their all-time favourite business books including everything from Sir Richard Branson to Ogilvy.

2. Ogilvy on Advertising
• By David Ogilvy
• Suggested by Andy Curry, Creative Manager
Ogilvy is a legendary ad man, nailing marketing
and advertising to a wall. It’s great fun to read –
loads of nostalgia and behind the scenes stories,
but the real pull is his totally uncompromising
way of writing about his experiences and
discoveries – nothing is sacred

3. Rework
• By Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
• Suggested by Andy Curry, Creative Manager
One of the things I love about the book is the author's
enthusiasm for machine-gunning sacred cows in almost
every chapter. There's a great deal I agree with, a great deal I
will apply to my working (and home) life and a great deal
that sounds great but is, in truth, utterly impractical in my
version of the real world. However, the sentiment is great

4. Start With Why
• By Simon Sinek
• Suggested by Laura Crimmons, Head
of PR & Social
It’s a fantastically inspiring book that
helps you to think completely
differently about marketing as a whole,
with great case studies to prove why
the method works. There’s also a great
accompanying TED talk on the same
subject, which is a must-watch

5. How to Win Friends and
Influence People
• By Dale Carnegie
• Suggested by Laura Crimmons, Head of PR & Social
Although much of it is common sense, it really helps
you to evaluate all of your interactions and
understand how to get the best out of people. The
simplicity combined with the examples throughout
the book really helps to nail the point home

6. Rocket Surgery
Made Easy
• By Steve Krug
• Suggested by Emma Barnes, Senior
Insights and Analytics Analyst
It’s peppered with really good and clear
usability ideas. It’s a fairly quick read that
gets the point across quickly with some good
examples

7. Cult of Analytics
• By Steve Jackson
• Suggested by George
Watson, Insights Analyst
The writing style is really good
and, in my opinion, it’s not filled
with too much technical jargon.
It gave a different perspective
compared to other books on
the topic that I’ve read

8. Don’t Make Me Think
• By Steve Jackson
• Suggested by George Watson, Insights Analyst
This book is really short, but manages to pack a
lot of information in. It states in the intro that it
was written in such a way that an exec could
read it over a two-hour flight

9. Jab Jab Jab
Right Hook
• By Gary Vaynerchuk
• Suggested by Stephen
Kenwright, Head of Search
Gary doesn’t talk about how,
he talks about why. As a
result, you’re probably better
equipped to do it

10. Predatory Thinking
• By Dave Trott
• Suggested by Stephen Kenwright, Head of
Search
It provides short, sharp anecdotes that actually
stay with you

11. Brand New
• By Wally Olins
• Suggested by Stephen Kenwright, Head of
Search
I never thought much about how the inferred
concept of “brand” plays into digital. I thought
it was someone else’s job until I read this

12. Creativity Inc
• By Ed Catmull
• Suggested by Matthew Jackson, Planning
Director
It’s a great read for anyone in a
management role within a creative
environment, especially when discovering
how to get the most out of people without
stifling their creativity

13. Essentialism
• By Greg McKeown
• Suggested by JJ Grice, Search Strategist
It’s really great for those who say “yes” too much
and get distracted by things that don’t hold
much value in the long run. It’s perfect for
strategy, as it helps you to focus on the work that
really matters

14. Gravitas
• By Caroline Goyder
• Suggested by JJ Grice,
Search Strategist
It’s awesome for people who
are involved in public
speaking. It also really helps
with day-to-day
communication as well (in
meetings, interviews etc.)

15. The Virgin Way
• By Richard Branson
• Suggested by JJ Grice, Search Strategist
This gives some really profound examples
of innovation throughout the Virgin brands
and gives a good insight into the fine line
between success and failure