Reading about other people’s successes and failures as entrepreneurs can hold the key to helping you decide how to navigate your own business, says Anne Marie Knott, visiting assistant professor of entrepreneurship and management at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ms. Knott, who became fascinated with the lives of entrepreneurs in the sixth grade, when she started to check out library books about businesspeople like Franklin Winfield Woolworth, says certain biographies can not only help readers get a sense of which business theories work, but also help them develop their own theories about how to find success.

Here are some of the books she suggests, with her comments on each.

Allison Stuart felt scared during the day she spent at the hospital in New Orleans awaiting surgery for recurring ear infections. Most 7-year-olds would. She had some things to comfort her, though - not reassuring words from her doctor or the prospect of a new treatment, but far simpler gifts: a colorful quilt and a heart-shaped pillow.

The gifts were the brainchild of entrepreneur Lisa Honig Buksbaum. In 2001, Buksbaum closed her marketing firm, Boxtree Communications (Buksbaum means “boxtree” in Yiddish), which boasted a roster of brands such as Colgate and Lipton, to launch Soaringwords, a New York City nonprofit that helps sick children and their families.

Buksbaum, 46, understands from experience the need for this type of support: Within a span of ten months in 1998, her 35-year-old brother died suddenly of an asthma-induced heart attack, her father had a recurrence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (he defied the odds and survived) and her 9-year-old son became gravely ill with rheumatic fever, which left him bedridden for four months. “Everyone wants to do something positive, but they don’t know what to do to help,” she says.

Since its founding in 2001, Soaringwords has boosted the spirits of more than 150,000 pediatric patients in the U.S. and, through its Web site, reached children as far away as China, Israel, Mexico and Russia.

CNN Money

Things Scam Companies Don’t Want You To Think About

My editor, Owen Thomas, recently passed along to me an email that had found its way to his inbox about a stock called Xethanol (XNL), suggesting that I might be interested in looking into it. The email claimed that Xethanol was attempting to defraud investors. I wasn’t too familiar with the company, but I knew it produced ethanol and was often mentioned alongside companies like Verasun (VSE) and US BioEnergy (USBE). That was enough to spark my interest, and a quick search of the company name along with the word ’scam’ came up with this Sharesleuth article.

Read the article at Business2.0

It all started with an accident. Late one night, while experimenting with a jet pump and a nozzle for a refrigerator cooling system, Lonnie Johnson shot a stream of water clear across his bathroom. Where some people might have seen a mess to clean up, Johnson saw an opportunity. Thus was born the mother of all water guns, the Super Soaker.

After leaving NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1982, Johnson built the prototype for what would become the Super Soaker in his basement workshop. He had several false starts, but “a good challenge keeps me going,” he says. Although he applied for his first patent on the water-gun design in 1983, it wasn’t issued until 1987. About that time, he decided to leave the Air Force and work on several private projects, “any one of which might have made it,” says Johnson. But when he left the Air Force, they all fell apart. “There I was with no home, no job and a family of five to support.”

He returned to JPL and began shopping his water gun to toy companies. After two frustrating years, he hit the jackpot with Larami Corp. By that time, he had already sunk close to $15,000 into the project, and his licensing check was only $5,000. But Larami’s goal was to produce 100,000 water guns the following year. In 1990, despite little advertising, the gun — first christened Drencher — became a sellout. Renamed the Super Soaker in 1991, Johnson’s invention became the number-one toy in the country.

Larami has since been sold to Hasbro, but Johnson, who lives in Atlanta, still works with the company on updating the Super Soaker. His quarterly royalties have made him a millionaire, giving him the wherewithal to start his own research-and-development company, which is currently working on energy technology. Before his invention took off, “I had days when I’d stop and think, Why is it taking so long?” says Johnson. “But I never thought about giving up.”

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine

Marshall Goldsmith is an author of management-related literature, professor, consultant and executive coach. Born in Valley Station, Kentucky, he received his BS from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, his MBA from Indiana University and his Ph.D. from UCLA. From 1976-2000 he became an Assistant Professor and then Associate Dean at Loyola Marymount University’s College of Business. He currently is a University Professor at Alliant International University.

Goldsmith also works with entrepreneurs, including Jonathan Klein, who started Getty Images. In an interview with FSB editorial director Brian Dumaine, Goldsmith dissects five common (and particularly annoying) habits that he says can hold back even the best small-business owner.

1. Winning too much
2. Starting with ‘no,’ ‘but’ or ‘however’
3. Adding too much value
4. Playing favorites
5. Goal obsession

Are you an entrepreneur who can relate to these habits? Can you name other annoying habits?

FSB

Faux Pas #1: Not responding quickly to referral partners
Treating each of your networking partners as one of your best clients is critical. Return phone calls from them immediately, as it speaks to your credibility and reliability as a professional.

Faux Pas #2: Confusing networking with direct selling
Entrepreneur’s need to understand that networking isn’t about simply gathering contact information and following up on it later. That’s nothing more than glorified cold calling. There’s a better way to build long-term business.

Faux Pas #3: Abusing the relationship
Never mislead your networking partners or anyone else. Trust is everything when you’re talking about relationship networking.

Full article.

All of these Faux Pas directly relate to good people skills. The prevailing theme of all three is to treat your referral partners and potential referral partners with professionalism and care.

Before long, your cell phone will also be your wallet, keys, and garage-door opener. These mobile applications transform cell phones into life management devices.

www.fastcompany.com