I posted on another forum a recent article at EWeek (not by me) that covers this great need for a mix between technical and business knowledge.
Also, please understand, I do not advocate one skillset over the other. It isn't either/or. It is both/and. However, when I had my consulting company, if I had a choice to hire someone who was 90% proficient in needed technologies but 60% proficient in business/communication skills versus someone who is 90% proficient in business/communication and 60% proficient in the necessary technology, I would - in the huge majority of cases - select the latter person.
My feeling was that technical aptitude was easier to teach than the business/communication knowledge. That has been my experience and is why, when counseling a hardcore techie, I fill them with reading material that is non-technical.
A short list of recent or important reads (excluding fiction):
The Goal - Eliyahu Goldratt
Written as a novel but covers a turnaround manufacturing and organizational expert's work with a struggling company. Probably not the greatest work of fiction but great business insight and you learn a little about manufacturing. This book had been (and might still be) required reading for Pepperdine University's MBA program.
7 Habits... Stephen Covey
Enough said. it's a classic. I thought his other books - covering each of the 7 habits were less necessary - but that's just me.
Winning The Talent Wars - Bruce Tulgan
Cover's key elements of this new - free-agent driven economy. I view his message as critical for technologists who want to understand the phenomenon of I.T. work going overseas and why there is tremendous opportunity still here in the U.S.
The Roaring 2000's - Harry Dent
Cover's what will make the next several years prosperous for the U.S. Common sense but also warns it does not predict anything as precise as year by year because too many factors play a part. Does point out that the number of spending consumers in a market determines the long-term strength of that market.
24 Hour MBA
A simple coverage of marketing, business plans, financial plans, and business operations. It won't make you an MBA but you probably don't need to have that to succeed.
Dangerous Company - O'Shea and Madigan
Covers the debacles and successes of management consulting over the past 50 years and particularly the '80s and '90s. This was required reading for my consultants.
Running Training Like A Business - Adelsberg & Trolley
I found this fascinating because the training and development industry suffers from some of what the I.T. industry suffers from. Lots of highly technically proficient individuals who often fail to see or convey the link to a clearly defined business objective.
The Business of Consulting - Elaine Beich
Good nuts and bolts on setting up a generic consulting business. Includes proposal process and how to determine your rate and marketing effort.
The Entrepreneur Magazine Small Business Advisor
I thought this book was a great reference. Nuts and bolts of running a small business, financing, business plans, tracking growth, marketing, operations, etc.
The Elements of Style - Strunk & White
If you write anything, this is a must. 107 pages covering all the topics you ignored in English.
Technically, from a networking standpoint, I look at anything written by Mark Minasi and since I am soooo Microsoft centric I use MSDN, SQL Server Magazine, Visual Studio, and Windows .NET as resources.
This is not an exhaustive list. It is, however, representative of the non-technical to technical ratio of reading that I do. Two things to note.
First: I read a lot (50-120 pages a night - cursory overview reading model).
Second: You should too. Find out what the people you admire and/or find intriguing read because there is usually a reason they read what they read.
I hope this is helpful.
Matthew Moran