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
  • Proven learning resources
  • Updated annually
Top Strategy books recommended by experts
User Check

Did you know?

We have over 3,000 mentors available right now!

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.

Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach

Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach

You think you have a winning strategy. But do you? Executives are bombarded with bestselling ideas and best practices for achieving competitive advantage, but many of these ideas and practices contradict each other. Should you aim to be big or fast? Should you create a blue ocean, be adaptive, p…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The 33 Strategies of War

The 33 Strategies of War

Robert Greene’s groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, and Mastery, espouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to help readers vanquish an enemy, ensnare an unsuspecting victim, or become the greatest in your field. In The 33 Strategies of War, Gree…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

Playing to Win, a noted Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestseller, outlines the strategic approach Lafley, in close partnership with strategic adviser Roger Martin, used to double P&G’s sales, quadruple its profits, and increase its market value by more than $100 billion when Lafley was…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Art of War

The Art of War

The Art of War is a book of conflict knowledge and tactics revolving around several key concepts, including: Knowing when to fight and when not to fight. Knowing how to mislead the enemy. Knowing oneself and one's enemy.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World

The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World

Remarkably, fifty years ago that's the way it was. Businesses made plans, certainly, but without understanding the underlying dynamics of competition, costs, and customers. It was like trying to design a large-scale engineering project without knowing the laws of physics. But in the 1960s, four …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Prince

The Prince

"Il Principe" (titolo originale in lingua latina: "De Principatibus", lett. "Sui Principati") è un trattato di dottrina politica scritto da Niccolò Machiavelli nel 1513, nel quale espone le caratteristiche dei principati e dei metodi per mantenerli e conquistarli. Si tratta senza dubbio della su…

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.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't

he Challenge: Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the verybeginning. But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How…

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.

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't (Rockefeller Habits 2.0 Revised Edition)

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't (Rockefeller Habits 2.0 Revised Edition)

It’s been over a decade since Verne Harnish’s best-selling book Mastering the Rockefeller Habits was first released. Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) is the first major revision of this business classic which details practical tools and techniques for building an industry-dominating business.…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business

Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business

Do you have a grip on your business, or does your business have a grip on you. 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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your Strategy books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Still not convinced? Don't just take our word for it

We've already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they've left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a Strategy mentor