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.

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.

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.

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a "position" in a prospective customer's mind-one that reflects a company's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.…

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.

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.

Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy

In this perennial bestseller, embraced by organizations and industries worldwide, globally preeminent management thinkers W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne challenge everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success. Recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful str…

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.

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.

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.

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.

Strategy: A History

Strategy: A History

In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives. The range of Free…

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.

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.

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