Welcome back to “Show Me Your…” where Owen students show off their stuff. Today Matt Pearson (MBA 2012) is showing off some gems from his personal library. Matt is concentrating in finance and strategy and spent this past summer interning for Gen Cap America a mid-market private equity group in Nashville.

1) How to Win Friends and Influence People

This book should be required reading for business school.  Technical knowledge can get you to a point, but the ability to influence others is critical to business leaders.  Despite some age, Carnegie continues to resonate with leaders at all levels.  The mixture of instruction and anecdote make for an easy and rewarding read.

2) The Prince

Often recommended to aspiring politicians, Machiavelli offers advice on leading the masses through a variety of scenarios.  This book provides a nice insight on human nature and provides some interesting perspective on keeping large groups in check.  Essential for those hoping to lead teams after business school.

3) Reengineering the Corporation

A throw back from my own days as an Industrial Engineer, this book made me question business processes in general.  The book challenges the reader to question whether actions add or detract from value creation in a firm and then lay out some interesting approaches to changing those that do not.  If read with an open mind, this one can be a game changer.

4) Competitive Strategy

This is another that should be required reading for business school.  Probably one of the most influential business books ever written, Porter lays out a concise framework for setting competitive strategy within a firm.  The ideas in this book are some of the most influential in business.

5) The Intelligent Investor

I found this book about three years ago and it helped immensely in my understanding of finance.  Graham explains quite simply how firms can be valued as well as the investment strategies surrounding arbitrage opportunities in the markets.  An old book, but in my opinion timeless.

6) De Officiis

Beautiful Latin, but it comes in English too!  Cicero’s timeless work on man’s obligation to society, his country, and his god.  Written as three letters to his son, Cicero lays out the duty expected from each individual throughout life.  The focus is on service and contribution to the general good.  A great work, and a short read.

7) To Have and Have Not

I’m a huge Hemingway fan, and this is one of my favorites.  This will not make you a better leader, business-person, or investor, but it will provide a great weekend of reading.  Enjoy!