The best business books are memoirs

We’ve been conditioned to think that a business book should read like a cross between a TED Talk and a quarterly report. Lots of bullet points. Bold headings. Key takeaways. You know the drill.

But here’s the thing: nobody lives in bullet points. They live it in stories. In scenes. In crises narrowly averted and bold moves that didn’t look so bold at the time. That’s why the best business books aren’t tidy how-tos or frameworks. They’re memoirs.

A memoir isn’t a long résumé padded with inspirational quotes and golf anecdotes. A good one—scratch that, a great one—dives deep into the turning points, the stuff that reshaped the way a person thinks or leads or acts. It’s personal, sure, but also reflective. You get sucked in, the way you do with a great novel. You’re entertained and enlightened at the same time. It’s the kind of book you actually want to read on a plane, in bed, or even at the beach.

Contrast that with most business books, which too often read like PowerPoint decks with a binding. They’re informative, yes—but try recalling one a week later. Try reading one twice. They instruct, but they rarely connect. And business—real business—isn’t just rational. It’s emotional, messy, human. You want to lead better? Sell better? Build better? You need stories that stick.

That’s what a great business memoir does. It walks you through real decisions, real dilemmas, real turning points. It teaches through experience—not through abstraction. And when the writing is good, those lessons go deeper. They stay with you.

You can’t say that about many PowerPoints.