It’s that time of year again — when business owners should be carving out some downtime. And what better way to unwind than with a good book? Bonus points if that book gives you some thought-provoking insight so you return to business feeling empowered and refreshed!
To help you choose something worthwhile, we asked our Facilitators and the MYMAX team for their top recommendations. Feel free to share this list with family and friends if they still don’t know what to buy you.
You’ll find thought-provoking business books, a great kids’ book (perfect for your next-gen owners), and even a fun fictional read with strong business lessons included. Enjoy!
Enterprise Value: How the Best Owner-Managers Build Their Fortune, Capture Their Company’s Gains, and Create Their Legacy by Peter Worrell
Enterprise Value is the book I recommend every owner reads before they start talking to buyers. It’s written specifically for owner-managers and focuses on how to deliberately build and ultimately realise the value of their business; not just grow revenue. Worrell combines corporate finance basics with real world cases to show what actually drives multiples, how to reduce key-person risk, and how to think about legacy and plan for life after exit. It’s a practical, plain-spoken guide to creating value that will be recognised, and paid for, when the time comes.
Recommended by Damien Rossi | OMP Facilitator & Presenter
Top Stocks 2026 by Martin Roth
It’s easy to read and compare stocks in Australia. Explanations are simply explained. The book does not offer advice, rather a platform for comparison. It is interesting to read the companies that did not make the cut into the book and why.
Recommended by Shirley Smith | OMP/LDP Facilitator & Presenter
Shifting Foundations by Michael Furey
The book that inspired me this year is Shifting Foundations written by Michael Furey.
Michael has sought and presented contributions from 21 impressive business and education leaders on what they consider are the key issues and key advice to leaders they perceive face businesses today. He also presents the key advice to business leaders and finishes off with his commentary on their contributions. The book is focused, concise, and delivers valuable insights from people that matter. If you want a book you can peruse in small doses, receive concise impact, get insights from proven leaders—both local and global—plus give you 21 disparate insights to improve your business, then this is the one for you.
Recommended by Barry Johnson | Finance for Owners and Managers Facilitator & OMP Presenter
Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari
This book traces the history of information networks through history through to our current engagement with AI. Highly thought provoking as it lays out our collective biases and societal risks of dealing with new technology and shared consciousness. I found it very different to other AI-centred content as it really guides your thinking through to an understanding of the societal shifts we can expect through more digital information being created by AI and what lessons we really need to learn from history.
Recommended by Andrew MacDonell | MYMAX Advisor and OMP Presenter
The Economic Singularity by Calum Chace
Regarding the impact of AI on Humanity. A great read to help you focus on the key issues we will face, challenge your thinking on the proposed recommendations and solutions, and highlight just how quickly we’ll need to develop answers across these areas.
Recommended by Rob Ashley | MYMAX Advisor & OMP Presenter
Barefoot Kids: Your Epic Money Adventure by Scott Pape
This is a very relatable and practical read for children who are interested in the deeper fundamentals of money and how they can make it work for them and into the future.
Recommended by Sue Bird | MYMAX Business Relations
Scary Smart – The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World by Mo Gawdat
A thought-provoking book by a former Google X executive who has seen the machinery behind the curtain. If AI is a mirror to human behaviour – every post, comment, and digital trace feeds the models. On the flip side, if society is polarised, angry, or spiteful, the machines will learn those behaviours also. Where will it end up, and how much control do we actually have now that AI is out in the world for everyone to use, train and potentially manipulate in their own search of power?
Recommended by Anita Skyring | MYMAX Administration Manager
Things will calm down soon by Zoe Foster Blake
This book is a great summer read if you want something fictional with a strong dose of business. The author, Zoe Foster Blake, is a well-known entrepreneur who built the Go-To beauty brand, sold it, and then bought it back for a fraction of the cost. She’s written this book as a tribute to her own business advisor, who had a real gift for making the complicated world of business feel simple and human. EBITDA gets a mention more than once, and I couldn’t help but think of our own Chris Robinson throughout (core themes include M&A and Exits).
This book will especially resonate with women who are navigating business ownership while juggling busy family life.
Recommended by Rebecca Hunt | MYMAX Marketing & Communications
