The Best Books For Improving Business Operations

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Running a business means taking into account a lot of factors, such as brand positioning, employee well-being and of course, operations. The operational efficiency of a company can be the difference between a growing business and one that is just standing still.

But what does “operations” cover?

When it comes to running a business, operations cover things such as:

Removing inefficiencies: The best businesses are constantly looking to improve. Operations leads will look at areas of the business that are not performing and think of ways to remove any elements blocking progress.

Supply chain management: For businesses that deal with products, Operations leads will look at optimising the supply chain. This could be through using more local suppliers to reduce transport time, or procuring products elsewhere to improve costs.

Productivity: Operations leads will also be tasked with helping to improve productivity within teams through workflow planning. This could be through management structures or investing in tools like Asana or Monday.com.

Growth planning: The operations lead of a business will also be in charge of working out how the company will grow and when it will be profitable. The distributions of these profits will also be set, making decisions to maximise growth quickly.

For those looking to master the art of operations, here we take a look at some of the best books to help.

 

Operations Management

 

 

This book, now in its 10th edition is all about how to understand and grow a business.

With practical examples and a theory around operations management to follow, the book is designed to encourage critical thinking and deep understanding around operations.

Buy the book here.

 

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t

 

 

Now over 10 years old, this book has been a go-to for thousands of CROs all over the world.

Covering people, strategy, execution and cash, this book is all about how to grow a business in an operationally efficient way.

Buy the book here.

 

 

The Innovator’s Dilemma

 

 

The innovator’s dilemma talks about how a company can do everything right, and still lose market leadership.

The secret to this is innovation – ripping up the playbook and learning from the successes and failures of others. The book encourages lateral thinking – a key skill for any operations leader.

Buy the book here.

 

This is Lean: Resolving The Efficiency Paradox

 

 

The efficiency paradox is all about how businesses can work less and do more.

The idea here is to work smarter, not harder, a key task that faces operations leaders.

Buy the book here.

 

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

 

 

Author Eliyahu Goldratt’s talks about business operations in terms of the Theory of Constraints, which shows how bottlenecks can affect an entire business.

The book is a great guide for anyone looking to understand and solve operational inefficiencies.

Buy the book here.

 

Measure What Matters: OKRs – The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth

 

 

OKRs (objectives and key results) are a powerful metric for teams to focus on business outcomes.

John Doerr has introduced his theory of OKRs to over 50 companies, helping them grow and achieve results. The book comes with information and case studies to help people understand how to adopt the theory effectively.

Buy the book here.