Top Strategy books curated by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we have connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favouriteStrategy books – and here are the answers.

  • Curated by industry experts
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Top Strategy books recommended by experts
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Fundamentals of Strategy

Understanding the concepts of Strategy starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

On War

On War

Carl von Clausewitz’s On War is the most significant attempt in Western history to understand war, both in its internal dynamics and as an instrument of policy. Since the work's first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, political…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

All entrepreneurs and business leaders face similar frustrations—personnel conflict, profit woes, and inadequate growth. Decisions never seem to get made, or, once made, fail to be properly implemented. But there is a solution. It's not complicated or theoretical.The Entrepreneurial Operating Sy…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors

Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors

Now nearing its sixtieth printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity—like all great breakthroughs—Porter’s analysi…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Built to Last : Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Built to Last : Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studied each in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from t…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business & Life

The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business & Life

Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by devel…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Dare to Disrupt: A Playbook for Transformational Business Growth

Dare to Disrupt: A Playbook for Transformational Business Growth

Fearless Disruption is not just for the Apples, Amazons, and Teslas of the world, and Keegan is here to prove it. True business transformation—the revolutionary changes that enable a company to outpace its competitors and innovate rapidly to attain exponential growth—is achievable by every busin…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Additional Strategy Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Strategy, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It... and why the Rest Don't

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It... and why the Rest Don't

This is the first major revision (2022) to Scaling Up since it was published in 2014. With over 500,000 copies in print, it’s become the standard for scaling any for-purpose or for-profit organization. In Scaling Up, Harnish and his contributors share practical tools and techniques for scaling a…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Lean Startup

The Lean Startup

Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Thinking Strategically

Thinking Strategically

A major bestseller in Japan, Financial Times Top Ten book of the year, Book-of-the-Month Club bestseller, and required reading at the best business schools, Thinking Strategically is a crash course in outmaneuvering any rival. This entertaining guide builds on scores of case studies taken from b…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Good strategy identifies the key challenge to overcome. Bad strategy fails to identify the nature of the challenge. If you don't know what the problem is, you can't evaluate alternative guiding policies or actions to take, and you can't adjust your strategy as you learn more over time.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy (including Featured Article "What Is Strategy?" by Michael E. Porter)

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy (including Featured Article "What Is Strategy?" by Michael E. Porter)

Is your company spending too much time on strategy development—with too little to show for it? If you read nothing else on strategy, read these 10 articles (featuring “What Is Strategy?” by Michael E. Porter). We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the mos…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Specializations and Deeper Strategy Knowledge

You've got your basics in order – time to move on to some advanced and specialized concepts. Strategy is evolving every day, these books can help you master it.

THE ART OF WAR: Ancient Wisdom & Modern Applications - A Practical Guide to Strategic Mastery (2025 Great Classics)

THE ART OF WAR: Ancient Wisdom & Modern Applications - A Practical Guide to Strategic Mastery (2025 Great Classics)

For over two millennia, Sun Tzu’s legendary work The Art of War has inspired leaders, entrepreneurs, and strategists to achieve unparalleled success. This timeless masterpiece goes beyond the battlefield, offering profound lessons in strategic thinking, overcoming obstacles, and achieving your g…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy

Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy

Both successful entrepreneurs and chess grandmasters have the vision to look at the pieces in front of them and anticipate their next five moves. In this book, Patrick Bet-David translates this skill into a valuable methodology that applies to high performers at all levels of business. Whether y…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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