Check: 100 must read Business books

Ultimately we're all products of our influences. Even groundbreaking business thinkers use the ideas, perspectives, and advice of others as the basis for their own thoughts and actions.

Since much of that acquired knowledge comes from books -- and since thousands of books were published this year and one can read everything -- what were the best business books in 2015?

That's a great question, one Jurgen Appelo, a speaker, author, and leader of the business network Happy Melly, set out to answer. (I published his list of the Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts last year.) His team factored in ratings, votes, and rankings in an attempt to quantify the best business books of the year.

I've included Jurgen's description of the methodology at the bottom of this post. Though truly quantifying "best" is impossible, the approach Appelo's team used makes sense, especially when you read the books that made the list.

If you see books in the list below you haven't read, check them out. All of us are products of our influences, so it only makes sense to improve both the quantity and the quality of the people we listen to.

Here we go:

A Work in Progress: A Memoir -- Connor Franta

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice -- Bill Browder

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win -- Jocko Willink, Leif Babin

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) -- Felicia Day

Elon Musk: Inventing the Future -- Ashlee Vance

Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few -- Robert B. Reich

How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy -- Stephen Witt

The School of Greatness: A Real-World Guide to Living Bigger, Loving Deeper, and Leaving a Legacy -- Lewis Howes

The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion -- Elle Luna

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction -- Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner

Rising Strong: The Reckoning, the Rumble, the Revolution -- Brene Brown

Do Over: Everything You Need to Get Unstuck at Work -- Jon Acuff

Work Rules! Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead -- Laszlo Bock

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics -- Richard H. Thaler

Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World -- General Stanley McChrystal

Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World -- Peter H. Diamandis, Steven Kotler

Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family -- Anne-Marie Slaughter

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear -- Elizabeth Gilbert

Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better -- Pema Chodron

The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor -- Mark Schatzker

The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5 -- Taylor Pearson

America's Bank: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve -- Roger Lowenstein

The Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs -- Austin Kleon

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory -- John Seabrook

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World -- Bruce Schneier

Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry -- Jacquie McNish, Sean Silcoff

Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season -- Urban Meyer

Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It -- Marc Goodman

America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System -- Steven Brill

The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything -- Guy Kawasaki

Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money -- Nathaniel Popper

What to Do When It's Your Turn (and It's Always Your Turn) -- Seth Godin

Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives -- Gretchen Rubin

The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge -- Matt Ridley

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future -- Martin Ford

Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be -- Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter

Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both -- Adam Galinsky, Maurice Schweitzer

The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money -- Ron Lieber

The Road to Character - David Brooks

Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective -- Thomas Sowell

How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery -- Kevin Ashton

Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection -- Jia Jiang

How to Make a Living With Your Writing: Books, Blogging and More -- Joanna Penn

Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job. Kill It in Your Career. Rock Social Media. -- Aliza Licht

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age -- Sherry Turkle

Move Your Bus: An Extraordinary New Approach to Accelerating Success in Work and Life -- Ron Clark

Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future -- Paul Mason

Who Gets What--and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design -- Alvin E. Roth

People Over Profit: Break the System, Live with Purpose, Be More Successful -- Dale Partridge

Meaningful: The Story of Ideas That Fly -- Bernadette Jiwa

Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo! -Nicholas Carlson

6 Months to 6 Figures -- Peter Voogd

Life Is Good: The Book -- Bert Jacobs, John Jacobs

Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era -- Tony Wagner, Ted Dintersmith

The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You - Jessica N. Turner

Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life -- Ruth Soukup

Why We Work -- Barry Schwartz

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users -- Guy Kawasaki, Peg Fitzpatrick

A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life -- Brian Grazer, Charles Fishman

I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time -- Laura Vanderkam

Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security -- Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller, Paul Solman

God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican -- Gerald Posner

Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe -- George Friedman

You Win in the Locker Room First: The 7 C's to Build a Winning Team in Business, Sports, and Life -- Jon Gordon, Mike Smith

The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry -- John Warrillow

The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time -- Alex Korb

The Introvert Entrepreneur: Amplify Your Strengths and Create Success on Your Own Terms -- Beth Buelow

The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World -- Pedro Domingos

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success -- Amy Morin

Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time -- Jeffrey Pfeffer

Louder Than Words: Harness the Power of Your Authentic Voice -- Todd Henry

The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game -- Mary Pilon

15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs -- Kevin Kruse

Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success -- Matthew Syed

Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of the World's Most Successful Companies -- Charles G. Koch

Happy Habits: Energize Your Career and Life in 4 Minutes a Day -- Vicki Morris

Are You Fully Charged?: The 3 Keys to Energizing Your Work and Life -- Tom Rath

Other People's Money: The Real Business of Finance -- John Kay

Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll -- Peter Guralnick

Get Backed: Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams -- Evan Baehr, Evan Loomis

The Heart-Led Leader: How Living and Leading From the Heart Will Change Your Organization and Your Life -- Tommy Spaulding

The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace -- Ron Friedman

The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life -- Bernard Roth

Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It -- Dorie Clark

Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work -- Whitney Johnson

Lean Out: The Struggle for Gender Equality in Tech and Start-Up Culture -- Elissa Shevinsky

Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared Prosperity -Joseph E. Stiglitz

Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work -- and Your Life -- Scott G. Halford

Serial Winner: 5 Actions to Create Your Cycle of Success -- Larry Weidel

Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate -- Spencer Rascoff, Stan Humphries

Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception -- George A. Akerlof, Robert J. Shiller

Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking -- Richard E. Nisbett

Works Well With Others: An Outsider's Guide to Shaking Hands, Shutting Up, Handling Jerks, and Other Crucial Skills in Business That No One Ever Teaches You -- Ross McCammon

The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers -- Gillian Tett

Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World -- Donald Sull, Kathleen M. Eisenhardt

Boss Life: Surviving My Own Small Business -- Paul Downs

Grit to Great: How Perseverance, Passion, and Pluck Take You From Ordinary to Extraordinary -- Linda Kaplan Thaler, Robin Koval

Content Inc.: How Entrepreneurs Use Content to Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Businesses -- Joe Pulizzi

Steal the Show: From Speeches to Job Interviews to Deal-Closing Pitches, How to Guarantee a Standing Ovation for All the Performances in Your Life -- Michael Port

Rich Bitch: A Simple 12-Step Plan for Getting Your Financial Life Together... Finally -- Nicole Lapin

The Methodology

Jurgen's team collected titles of business books throughout the year and augmented that list with books found in other "best of 2015" lists.

They then determined the earliest publication dates on Amazon and GoodReads and removed titles released before December, 1 2014, and after November 31, 2015.

Then they collected votes and ratings on GoodReads and created rankings based on the average number of votes per day, the average number of points per day, and the average rating. They then averaged those three ratings to determine a final ranking.

source: techgig.com