Recommended by Dmitriy Ostapenko

Books on
business and money

The books I recommend to clients and read myself. Every one of them tested by practice and by real stories of real people.

RelationshipsPersonal GrowthBusiness & Finance
Cover of the book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”
T. Harv Eker 2005

«Secrets of the Millionaire Mind»

Harv Eker argues that your financial result is a direct consequence of your “money thermostat”, set in childhood. The book shows how to find the mental programmes that hold you at a particular income level — and rebuild them deliberately.

Why it is worth reading

  • Explains why clever, hard-working people often stay poor — the problem is not in the actions but in the beliefs.
  • 17 key differences between how rich and poor people think — concrete, with no surplus theory.
  • Exercises at the end of every part: the book works as a practical course, not just reading.
  • Gives an honest picture: wealth is neither luck nor greed, but a skill you can learn.
Cover of the book “Good to Great”
Jim Collins 2001

«Good to Great»

Jim Collins and his team spent 5 years studying companies that jumped from good results to outstanding ones and held them for at least 15 years. The result: 7 principles that separate great companies from merely good ones. A book that changed how leadership is understood.

Why it is worth reading

  • Built on real data: 5 years of research, 1,435 companies, strict selection — facts rather than opinions.
  • Introduces the “Level 5 Leader” — modest but iron-willed in discipline — and dismantles the myth of the charismatic CEO.
  • The “Hedgehog Concept” is one of the most practical tools for defining a business or career strategy.
  • Useful beyond executives: the principles apply to personal effectiveness and life decisions.
Cover of the book “The Psychology of Money”
Morgan Housel 2020

«The Psychology of Money»

Morgan Housel shows that doing well with money depends not on intelligence or financial knowledge but on behaviour. 19 short stories about how greed, fear, self-deception and luck shape people's financial lives.

Why it is worth reading

  • Reads like a collection of essays — every chapter stands alone, and every one shifts your angle.
  • Explains why intelligent people make foolish financial decisions — and how to avoid it.
  • One of the few authors who speaks honestly about the role of luck and chance in financial success.
  • Changes how you see wealth: not “how do I earn more” but “how do I not destroy what I already have”.
Cover of the book “Same as Ever”
Morgan Housel 2023

«Same as Ever»

Morgan Housel's second book is about the constancy of human nature in a changing world. While technology and markets change, fear, greed, self-deception and the appetite for simple answers stay the same. Those who understand this make better decisions.

Why it is worth reading

  • Helps you tell temporary trends apart from the permanent laws of human behaviour.
  • A collection of essays: every chapter is a self-contained story held together by one idea.
  • Especially valuable for anyone making long-term decisions — in business, investing or a career.
  • Morgan Housel is one of the best financial writers of our time: easy to read, long to think about.
Cover of the book “The Art of Spending Money”
Morgan Housel 2024

«The Art of Spending Money»

Morgan Housel's third book is about the most personal financial question of all: how to spend money so that it brings real happiness rather than status or the illusion of prosperity. Housel examines why money often fails to make us happier — and what to do about it.

Why it is worth reading

  • Raises the question most financial books stay silent about: spending money matters as much as accumulating it.
  • Shows the gap between what we think will make us happy and what actually does.
  • Short, dense essays in Housel's signature style — every story gives you a new angle.
  • Best read after The Psychology of Money: together the two give a full picture of a healthy relationship with money.
Cover of the book “Start with Why”
Simon Sinek 2009

«Start with Why»

Simon Sinek uncovered the “Golden Circle” principle: great leaders and companies always start with WHY. Not with what they do or how, but with what it is all for. That is exactly why Apple inspires people and other tech companies do not.

Why it is worth reading

  • Explains why some brands create fanatical loyalty and others do not, even when the products are the same.
  • Applies beyond business: it helps you find personal meaning and put your own mission into words.
  • One of the most watched TED talks in history — the book unfolds the idea in full.
  • Changes your approach to marketing, hiring, leadership and communication — from “what” to “why”.
Cover of the book “Delivering Happiness”
Tony Hsieh 2010

«Delivering Happiness»

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, tells the story of a company that became a symbol of corporate culture. Zappos sold shoes but built happiness — for its employees, its customers and its partners. It was eventually sold to Amazon for 1.2 billion dollars.

Why it is worth reading

  • Shows that company culture is not an HR function but the main competitive asset.
  • The story is told honestly: with the failures, the mistakes and the moments when everything hung by a thread.
  • One of the rare CEOs who put employee happiness above short-term profit — and won.
  • Inspires you to build a business for meaning rather than money — and shows that it is more profitable that way.
Cover of the book “The Goal”
Eliyahu Goldratt 1984

«The Goal»

A business novel: a plant manager is given 90 days to save his factory from closure. Through that story Eliyahu Goldratt lays out the Theory of Constraints (TOC) — a revolutionary approach to management that changed operations worldwide.

Why it is worth reading

  • Theory through story: complex management concepts are clear from the first page.
  • TOC applies to any business — manufacturing, services, healthcare, IT: the bottleneck principle is universal.
  • Changes how you see productivity: you should not optimise everything, only the constraint of the system.
  • One of the most quoted business books in the world — still being reissued 40 years on.
Cover of the book “It's Not Luck”
Eliyahu Goldratt 1994

«It's Not Luck»

The sequel to The Goal — this time about sales and marketing. Goldratt shows how to apply the logical tools of TOC beyond the factory floor: how to build an offer for the market, find hidden constraints, and make offers that cannot be refused.

Why it is worth reading

  • Extends TOC beyond the plant: marketing, sales and negotiation through the same logic.
  • The “clouds” and “logic trees” tools — visual methods for resolving conflicts and making decisions.
  • The “mafia offer” — a concept that changes your approach to selling for good.
  • An easier read than the first book: the story moves faster, the insights are just as deep.

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