Books

Regular readers of NZBusiness will be familiar with the ‘Exit Factor’ column by Laura Humphreys and Laura’s conviction that behind every business venture there should be a carefully engineered exit plan for the owner.Now Laura has published a practical step-by-step guide to creating financial freedom from your business. In Liber8 your Business learn:• The eight stages to creating a valuable, saleable business that is not dependent on you.• Why planning backwards from your end goal is the only way forward.• How to re-engineer your business so it will pay you back for all your hard work with a very successful exit.• How to get off the hamster wheel and start building your dream business.Endorsed by Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor

What happens when an old-school management guru leads a young team at a revolutionary company, with no email, no offices and no rules? The answer is an amazing and entertaining book about the future of work. Sixty million websites use WordPress software. The force behind WordPress.com is a convention-defying company where employees can work from wherever they wish, barely use email and launch product improvements many times a day.To find out how it’s all possible, Microsoft veteran Scott Berkun worked there from 2010 to 2012. His book The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work gives a behind-the-scenes look at the innovative firm driving the company’s phenomenal success. One of the best books you’ll read on the ways

Have you ever wondered why some business people have all the luck? Perhaps it’s because they talk to more people, says social media and influence expert and Blue Banana founder Linda Coles. Businesspeople are looking for new and alternative ways to market themselves and their businesses. By going back to good old-fashioned small talk and saying hello to strangers, more business opportunities and connections will arise she says. “Put simply, people like to do business with people they know, like and trust.”Coles’ book Start with Hello reveals how the most successful businesspeople and leaders share an overlooked and underappreciated talent – the ability to engage and communicate with strangers in productive, creative ways.You can learn to be more open and

Just because a person has sound business knowledge, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make a successful entrepreneur. Sandy Geyer reminds us that knowledgeable entrepreneurs lead their businesses to failure every day.To be enduring and thriving entrepreneurs, Geyer says, we need Entrepreneurial Intelligence (EnQ) to translate our knowledge and motivations into a profitable and rewarding business structure. Her book Path of the Lion identifies the limiting traits, tendencies and mistakes of her other three ‘entrepreneurial species’ (the EnQ Rhino, Fish Eagle and Baboon) and formulates a clear path of learning and application of that learning in order to successfully follow the path of “the ultimate king of the EnQ jungle – the Lion”.Sandy Geyer has combined her skills with her experiences

Every successful business person leverages their wisdom in order to achieve their goals. Wisdom comes from many sources and no matter how simple the message or profound the understanding, wisdom is key to success.Have you ever been in the position where you believe you are the only one battling with a challenge? Have you ever reflected on what other successful people have done?Claire Cilliers book Standing on the Shoulders of Giants reflects the collective wisdom of some of New Zealand’s most cherished and revered business and commercial professionals. Their quotes, stories and reflections provide inspiration and understanding for anyone irrespective of their level in business. Contributors include Hugh Fletcher, Roger Bell, Sir Roderick Deane and Sir William Gallagher, to name