Are you looking for ways to take your business to the next level, or develop your skills as a leader? If so, this feature is for you! In it, we will provide a selection of book recommendations to deliver the key strategies required to improve your business, increase your success and be the best version of yourself.

The average CEO reads a book a week. In an interview with The New York Times, Bill Gates once shared that he read around 50 books per year. Reading is, he commented, “the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding”.

Elon Musk, one of the richest people on earth who made millions out of PayPal and built Tesla and SpaceX into two of the world's most famous companies, and who made headlines worldwide with his bid to buy Twitter, is another avid reader. Whenever anyone asks him how he learned to build rockets, he says, "I read books."

Whether you're an aspiring Gates or Musk, here is a selection of books that will help pave your way to success.

If you love Dragon's Den as much as I do, you might have a bit of a soft spot for the incredible Steven Bartlett. From a bedroom in Manchester, he built Social Chain when he was just 22 years old before taking his company public at 27, with a market valuation of £200m. I love listening to his award-wiunning podcast Diary of a CEO; if you'd don't listen, do. In his first book he dismantles the most popular, unaddressed lies about happiness that we've been led to believe. It's a must read, and I am eagerly awaiting his second book being published in August. 

If you've not heard of Simon Sinek, you have to get yourself out from under that rock, and buy his book Start With Why. Steve Jobs, The Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King have one thing in common: they started with why. Sinek can help you navigate your why.

World-renowned habits expert James Clear shows how tiny changes can impact dramatically. Get one per cent better every day with the ground-breaking and life-changing Atomic Habits.

Tame your inner chimp and follow Steve Peters' mind management programme for confidence, success and happiness highlighted in The Chimp Paradox. It's one of the bestselling self-help books of all time in the UK. Peters has been a consultant to over 20 Olympic and national sporting teams and organisations over the course of his career, works in elite sport and is best known for his work with British Cycling. Sir Chris Hoy credits him with helping him win his Olympic Golds.

Originals by Adam Grant has to make the list. An original himself, he passionately pursues the science of what motivates people, busting myths and revealing truths. A great idea is a great start. But it's what you do next that counts. Be enlightened, supported and better understand how to champion your best ideas with this brilliant book.

If you love a business memoir, there aren't many I've enjoyed as much as Shoe Dog, the story from the man behind the swoosh. It's an honest, humble and beautifully written book with no holds barred. Fresh out of business school, Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his dad, and the rest they say is history. Realise, appreciate and understand that arduous and incredible history with Shoe Dog.

Malcolm Gladwell is a cultural commentator and the author of five New York Times bestsellers — The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw. And two of these make this list. From The Tipping Point you will understand the fascinating social dynamics that cause rapid change. You won't look at things in the same way again. And Outliers is another stonker of a book. Buy a copy, be inspired, be reassured as Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success.

Of course, we are not short of inspiring business books written by women. Jo Malone's My Story, is a brilliant rags to riches tale, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, written in response to Sheryl’s 2010 TED Talk on the ways women are held back—and the way we hold ourselves back—viewers around the world shared their own stories of struggle and success.

This overwhelming response inspired Sheryl to write this book where she shares her personal stories, uses research to shine a light on gender differences, and offers practical advice to help women achieve their goals.

And Ahead of Her Time by Judy Piatkus of Piatkus Books fame is a great read. Read how a one-woman start up became a global publishing brand. Piatkus describes her learning experience as an entrepreneur, what it really means to run a company, the many triumphs and the pitfalls, what worked and what didn't, how the company learned to reinvent itself through lean times and how it felt to finally strike gold.

We can learn so much from reading other people's stories and be motivated by their successes. Which business books have you loved, which would you want to share, and press into the hands of others?