The Books That Shaped How I Think

April 23, 2026

People ask me for reading recommendations. My honest answer is that I’ve read hundreds of business books and five of them changed how I operate. The rest I forget.

The Pareto Principle, anywhere

I don’t have one book on this. I have ten. The 80/20 principle is the single most important idea in business. If you understand it deeply, you can apply it to any company, any market, any career. If you don’t, you’ll spend your life optimizing the wrong 80%.

Good to Great, Jim Collins

Old book. Still right. The idea that disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action compound over time is the foundation of every great company I’ve built or bought.

The Goal, Eliyahu Goldratt

This is the best operations book ever written. It’s fiction. It reads like a novel. It will change how you see bottlenecks, constraints, and capacity forever.

Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink

Leadership in one sentence: if it’s your team, it’s your fault. I’ve reread this book more times than I’ll admit.

My own books

I’m supposed to pretend to be humble here. I’m not. I wrote my books because they were the books I wished I’d had when I was running my first turnaround. If you’re running a middle market company, start there.

Want Bill to speak to your team, board, or event?

Bill Canady keynotes sharpen middle market executives on turnaround, profitable growth, and the 80/20 discipline behind $3B+ in enterprise value. Inquire about speaking engagements at billcanady.com.

About the Author

Bill Canady

Bill Canady is a national best-selling author, Founder & CEO of The 80/20 Institute, and a global business leader known for transforming companies into high-performing, profitable enterprises. Over the course of his career, Bill has led multibillion-dollar organizations through their most critical challenges—navigating complex regulatory, investor, and media environments—while consistently delivering profitable growth.

Drawing on decades of executive experience, Bill created the Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS), a proven framework designed to help leaders cut complexity, focus on the critical few, and accelerate growth. Through The 80/20 Institute, he and his team partner with CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs worldwide to apply the 80/20 methodology in real-world settings, unlocking revenue growth, margin expansion, and shareholder value.

As both an operator and advisor, Bill’s mission is clear: to give leaders the tools, systems, and confidence they need to achieve sustainable, profitable growth — without sacrificing focus, culture, or execution.

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