The best business books tend to be about music and sports

Here is a question I once asked myself while browsing in a modest-sized bookstore, which is one of my favourite things to do: If I had to read all the books in the store section by section, which one would I enjoy the most—and which the least? Failures and lesser successes are also worth studying, but traditional business books tend to focus too much on villains and scandals rather than attempt a sympathetic understanding. One of my favourite ‘business books’ is a scintillating autobiography by Alex Ferguson, the famous coach of Manchester United. Traditional business books, in contrast, are frequently written to get consulting work or on to the speaker’s circuit. The trick is to know that the very best business books tend not to be written for reasons of… well, business.