The 20 best business audiobooks to launch your next career move

The 4 Disciplines of Execution, commonly referred to as 4DX, was designed by Sean Covey and the FranklinCovey organization to help leaders take plans from ideas to execution. Each discipline is key to your success and built upon timeless practices. Take, for example, the idea of a Wildly Important Goal, or WIG—a goal so important that if it isn’t met, no other goals matter. Clear and easy-to-remember terminology like this makes each principle stick and simple to grasp. Performed by the authors, this listen sounds like you’re attending a conference hosted by experts, adding an element of discourse and discussion that keeps your attention the entire way through.

You may know Charles Duhigg for his first work, The Power of Habit, where he explored how habits impact our productivity. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Duhigg took the business world by storm with his inspired curiosity to understand habits and human behavior. In his second work, Smarter Faster Better, Duhigg is still focused on productivity, but this time his emphasis is on the “how” and not the why.

Mike Chamberlain, who has narrated hundreds of books, from noir thrillers and political dialogues to true crime, delivers a confident performance, his punctuated, clear tone a perfect complement to the research-backed anecdotes carrying the stories. Before you know it, your team’s performance will skyrocket—and all because of how you think.

After winning the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, Richard Thaler was credited with making the study of economics human. To Thaler, humans are error-prone, occasionally irrational, and biased—but that’s what he finds so interesting. Unlike most economic predictions, which assume rational behavior, humans tend to behave more erratically, which is what Thaler is so eager to understand.

This eagerness and enthusiasm shine through with Audie Award winner L. J. Ganser’s performance, as he voices Thaler’s studies of everything from the NFL to Uber to a classroom of students upset at a grade curve. As you listen, you’ll feel inspired to learn more about your own behaviors, and while you won’t be able to control them like an economic prediction, you’ll learn how to better analyze behavior as you see it.

Natural-born leaders always seem exactly that—like they were born with a secret we all wish we were privy to. Start with Why by Simon Sinek analyzes why certain people and things have influence over us while others fall flat. It all starts with a simple mission to inspire people at work, asking the simple question: Why? Many people know the what or the how of their work, but very few know the why.

Sinek answers this himself as he narrates his work, his passion for the topic apparent as you listen along. The why is the belief, the cause and, quite simply, the reason why anyone should care at all. And by tapping into this simple question, you can build further on your influence and leadership at work.

Most business advice focuses on a few key things—productivity, leadership, behaviors, and so on. But how does that advice tap into the subconscious, the area where most of us feel at our most creative? In Stealing Fire, Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal do just that, tapping into how we can all achieve ecstasis—otherwise known to athletes as being in the zone—to do our best work. Fred Sanders’s calm, deliberate cadence mirrors the meditative experience Kotler and Wheal allude to throughout their stories, helping you focus on the words and the wisdom of the story so you too can tap into your creative zone.

If there’s one thing you’ll learn from this list, it’s that many seemingly unlikely sources have a lot of wisdom to share on leadership—and Navy SEAL Officers certainly count. This may not be the only listen to feature lessons from the military, but unlike many others, this one comes firsthand from two experienced officers.

Extreme Ownership, performed by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin themselves, focuses on these high-stakes experiences to understand and emphasize the importance of leadership. And while combat may seem far removed from business negotiations and leadership summits, you’ll be convinced otherwise as Willink and Babin explain and translate their experiences in a way that will leave you with clear, lasting lessons for success.

An age-old adage says it takes 30 days to make—or break—a habit. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg sets out to find just what makes those habits stick—and it’s far less simple than 30 days of doing the same thing. Duhigg first breaks it down by three key elements—the cue, the routine, and the reward—then builds upon these with anecdotes and examples. Mike Chamberlain, a seasoned nonfiction narrator and the performer for both of Duhigg’s motivational audiobooks, easily keeps your attention as you follow along on your habit-building journey. And given how long The Power of Habit stayed on the New York Times Best Sellers list, it’s safe to say you can join countless others in learning a thing or two from Duhigg’s work.

Jim Collins believes that good is the enemy of great, and he opens Good to Great by saying just that. Based on the idea that acceptance of good, or even mediocrity, holds businesses and ideas from being outstanding and innovative, Collins sets out to discover if any business can go from good to great, or if greatness is something a business needs from the very start.

Built on five years of research, this listen is narrated by Collins himself as he compares 28 different companies with an articulate, educational tone. It’s clear as you listen to him tell each story that he is well-researched and deeply interested in the topic, and likely to spark the same interest in his listeners.

Jesse Itzler is a man who likes to take risks and get out of his comfort zone. So when he found himself falling into the same habits over and over, he hired a Navy SEAL, David Goggins, to live with him for 31 days and shake up his routine. In Living with a SEAL, Itzler takes these lessons from Goggins and turns them into a study on the benefits of getting out of your comfort zone. A frequent keynote speaker, Itzler’s skills as a crowd-pleasing presenter shine in his narration; listeners are sure to enjoy his colorful New York accent as he brings each moment over his 31-day training, from the inadvertently hilarious to the downright frustrating, to life.

Soon is not as good as now, Seth Godin says in Poke the Box. Starting, or trying something new, is often the hardest part of any new project or task, and Poke the Box aims to kick you into action. It’s easy to be risk-averse, relying on what we know, but that’s often what stifles us from innovation and creativity. Godin delivers his message clearly and without sugar-coating it—his to-the-point performance is there to inspire you into action, even if it feels risky or frightening. Best of all, Poke the Box can be listened to in the time it takes to watch a movie or prepare dinner, eliminating all the excuses that delay you from getting started on your project now instead of soon.

We would be remiss to leave Lean In off of our list of best business audiobooks. Spawned from her acclaimed TED talk in 2010, Sheryl Sandberg’s work addresses her concerns with women’s progress in the business world. Using comedic anecdotes as a vehicle for advice, this title addresses topics like parenthood in the workplace and the myth of women who do it all.

These narratives pack a punch, and the performance by actress Eliza Donovan, best known for her role as Amber in Clueless, delivers the message like an honest, caring friend who has only your best interests at heart. Sandberg’s tough love and candor are perfectly balanced by Donovan’s assertive and friendly delivery, a perfect pairing that might just be why Donovan has been called on to narrate Sandberg’s subsequent works.

Former FBI agent and hostage negotiator, Chris Voss may not immediately seem like the ideal source for business advice. However, after years of negotiating with different criminals, Voss has become an expert at influencing conversations so that they always lean in your favor. From asking for a raise to changing your contract to building relationships with your partner or friend, negotiation is embedded in our daily interactions. Michael Kramer, who has received both the AudioFile Earphones Award and the Torgi Award, narrates these strategies and tips for negotiating with a clear and precise voice, so all you have to focus on is how to influence your next conversation.

Negotiating anything doesn’t come without its pain points. Beyond the possibility that your negotiation may not go as intended, it’s often easy to get angry or take the end result personally. Enter Roger Fisher’s Getting to Yes, where he focuses on not only how to negotiate effectively, but also how to do it without losing your cool.

Narrator Dennis Boutsikaris is at his best when given no-bull, cut-to-the-chase material to perform, which is why he is the perfect voice to articulate Fisher’s incredibly efficient explanations of the principles of negotiation. Though some of what the audiobook covers may feel like common sense, Getting to Yes presents it in a way that empowers listeners to start trusting their own common-sense instincts to negotiate for what they want.

Influencer marketing blew up faster than anyone expected and continues to grow everyday. If you need a social media platform breakdown to bring you up to speed—then get you ahead—Gary Vaynerchuk’s manifesto on influencer marketing will get you there in no time. Every aspect of social media is now part of your personal brand, and Vaynerchuk is here to help you define it. The entrepreneurial titan’s skills as a public speaker are on full display here, and he narrates the work in a way that makes it feel like he’s not reading a script, but speaking candidly and directly to the listener. It’s clear Vaynerchuk crafted the personalized audio experience with care—he even lets longtime fans know when they can skip ahead if they’ve heard his other work.

One of the biggest words businesses focus on is growth. If a business isn’t strategizing how to grow, they’re focused on why they aren’t. But the one thing most companies aren’t focusing on? How to stop growing. Paul Jarvis’s Company of One focuses on the benefits of a single-person business—and one that’s committed to staying that way. Jarvis believes that staying small is the key to a happy, sustainable entrepreneurship. His enthusiasm for this topic is demonstrated in the delivery of his stories and advice, where he champions for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and more to take the plunge and start working for themselves.

EOS, or the Entrepreneurial Operating System, is a groundbreaking approach that has helped more than 2,000 businesses. In Traction by Gino Wickman, you’ll learn the key components you need for launching your next business. But even if you’re not ready to start a new business—or already in the thick of it with your current one—there is still much to learn from Wickman. EOS’s focus on vision, discipline, and team health helps omit frustration and pain points in regular business conversation, making it great for anyone in a leadership role looking to pave their way to success. With the benefit of narration by veteran performer and Audible-approved producer Kevin Pierce, this listen shines with easy-to-grasp concepts you’ll want to apply immediately.

Fran Hauser has an impressive portfolio, with experience at InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, and AOL, and investments in female-founded companies like HelloGiggles and The Wing. For that reason alone, it’s worth hearing her insights directly as she narrates her own work, The Myth of the Nice Girl. Hauser addresses the impossible line women are told they must walk head-on: not to be too nice, but also not to be too bossy. Unlike most experts, however, Hauser adamantly believes in being too nice. Told passionately—but also frankly—you’ll feel inspired to hold onto your integrity at work and take your leadership skills to the next level.

In Patrick Lencioni’s first work, The Five Temptations of a CEO, he focused on the individual. In The Ideal Team Player, he focuses on the team, and how to build a successful one. While Lencioni uses stories and fables to share his message, Stephen Hoye delivers each lesson with calm, genial directness. Together, the two create a foundational story for anyone interested in leadership or recruitment.

Following the arc of a mythical company, you’ll work through the problem said company is facing, then learn how to apply the key virtues to the issue. For the ideal team player, Lencioni highlights traits like humility, hunger, and common sense. Carried through the hypothetical scenario by Hoye’s narrative storytelling, the listener can apply what they’ve learned to the fictional business Lencioni’s introduced, practicing the methodology while they listen.

With a title like Get Over Your Damn Self, you know Romi Neustadt won’t take herself too seriously. Instead, Neustadt employs a funny, to-the-point tone, her narration offering the coaching session you need to start building your business. Neustadt’s blueprint is a no-nonsense approach to establishing your first direct sale or building your marketing business. Empowering listeners to take ownership of their career path and separate their work life from their home life, Neustadt removes your excuses and supplies you with the tools you need to build the life you want, no matter the circumstances.

Even if you’re not in sales, knowing how to pitch a project or idea to someone can be the key to your success. To most, the idea of pitching something—be it a raise or a new business idea—can be downright terrifying. Oren Klaff eases listeners fears in Pitch Anything, his best selling work that teaches you the science of a good pitch. Plus, there’s no better way to learn how to pitch something than from Klaff himself. His enthusiasm and powerful tone throughout the performance set the perfect tone for listeners to get inspired and build up the confidence to make their pitch.