The Financial Solutions Christmas Reading List  

While Christmas is a notoriously busy time of year, it also presents a good opportunity for a bit of R n R and some reading.  

If you’re considering breaking away from your existing situation or just looking for some light relief, the FS team have made a list of some of their favourite books, from business strategy to literary existentialism, we have you covered.  

5 Books for Starting a Business:  

1) Positioning: the battle for your mind, Al Ries & Jack Trout 

What it’s about: It distils how brands win by claiming a clear, memorable space in the customer’s mind. They show why perception beats product quality, why differentiation must be ruthless, and how simplicity cuts through noisy markets. A sharp, data-backed classic that reshaped modern marketing strategy. 

Why we like it – Harry, Head of Marketing: if you’re thinking about starting something new, this is a great book to understand how pitching to the whole market (which is everyone’s safe place) is unwise and how picking a clear niche is beneficial. Plus, it’s short, always a win. It’s not an accident Financial Solutions is pitched specifically at advisers looking to breakaway from their current situation and not just every adviser.  

2) Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara 

What it’s about: It argues that extraordinary service isn’t a perk—it’s a competitive weapon. Will Guidara shows how obsessive attention to human details transforms businesses, using lessons from Eleven Madison Park’s rise to the world’s top restaurant. It’s a manifesto for giving more than expected to create loyalty, magic, and memorable experiences. 

Why we like it – Ruth, Head of Admin: This book just resonated. Guidara shows how the smallest thoughtful gesture can transform an ordinary interaction into a story client they actually retell. Our business grows best from referrals so thinking how our advisers experience us is crucial. It made me rethink how we show up: not just delivering the service but delivering the feeling. In a world where 80% of firms claim “great service”, this book proves that genuine, human surprise is the real differentiator. It’s changed how I lead teams and treat clients. 

3) Black Box Thinking, Matthew Syed 

What it’s about: Syed argues that success comes from learning faster, not failing less. He shows how high-performance cultures, from aviation to elite sport, treat mistakes as data, while others hide them. It’s a sharp, evidence-led case for curiosity, feedback loops, and progress through intelligent failure rather than ego-driven denial. 

Why we like it – Adam, Operations Director:  From an Operations Director’s seat, Black Box Thinking is catnip. It’s about building systems that learn instead of pointing fingers. Syed shows using hard data from aviation, medicine, and sport, why teams that surface mistakes outperform those that bury them. If you care about process, reliability, and getting better every cycle, this book speaks your language. It’s a cliché to say “learn from your mistakes” but it’s so true and this book is the evidence for it. 

4) The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, Ben Horowitz 

What it’s about: Ben Horowitz, one of Silicone Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs offers essential advice on building and running a startup. He doesn't promise a winning formula, it’s just practical advice based on his real-life experiences. 

Why we like it – Leanne, Managing Director: Who doesn't like a book where every chapter opens with a quote from a variety of rap songs (Even more enjoyable if you listen to the audiobook)?! This book emphasises that building and leading a startup involves facing and overcoming difficult challenges and that there are no easy answers. Easy to digest, personable and funny. 

5) Never Split the Difference, Chris Voss 

What it’s about: it frames negotiation as emotional intelligence, not logic. The author drawing on FBI hostage cases and MBA classes he taught, showing how tactical empathy, calibrated questions, and listening drive better outcomes than compromise. The book argues, backed by behavioural research, that understanding psychology beats “meeting in the middle,”. Where your chatting fees with clients, resolving conflicts, or navigating everyday conversations it’s a great book. 

Why we like it – Harry, Head of Marketing: Never Split the Difference is one of those books I have with tens of post it notes in and scribbles in the margins. It completely changed how I listen in conversations and it’s not theory-heavy - it’s sharp, usable, and a bit addictive. I’ve even used the tactics with my kids – though their irrationality throws some spanners in the practise.  You catch yourself trying the techniques immediately, and they do work. The stories make it stick, and the psychology explains why it works, not just what to do.