I recently finished a couple of books that I thought were pretty inspirational and instructional.
I am also re-reading a biz classic, "Selling the Invisible", by Harry Beckwith. What a great book.
There is so much good info and valuable insights into truths, myths, and misconceptions in marketing. A few salient points which I'm sure most of us have heard a gazillion times and yet continue to ignore or at least not pay enough attention to. Customer service is king. Especially these days as we are inundated with voice mail, store clerks that can't be bothered with us, (not to mention count back your change properly), and self service everything. It would be so nice just to be "Waited On". Oh, dare to dream.
Another of those salient points. Do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it. Better yet, do it before you said you would, and you might get Knighted.
"It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be" by Paul Arden has a "Break the accepted rules" message. No it's not an outside the box kinda book. Can we just forget about the box already. What it is, is a ton of useful insight about accomplishing things we set out to do, or goals we want to achieve.
The last book, and my personal favorite - at least for now anyway - is "Ignore Everybody", by Hugh MacLeod. I think the title says it all. Truly a creative approach to creativity. Basically a go with your gut message. One chapter is titled "Don't Try To Stand Out From The Crowd. Avoid Crowds Altogether". Hugh also has a great blog "Gapingvoid.com". Check it out. I think he sells wine too.
Anyway, these are all quick reads, but have a ton of great info in them. I'm sure I will be re-reading them often.