The key facts
- Dilmurod Khodiyev recommends books by Daniel Priestley, Michael Gerber, David Allen, Akhadkuli Kholmukhammad ugli and Clayton Christensen
- C-Space grew from a single floor near the Buyuk Ipak Yoli metro station into a network of venues totaling over 20,000 sq.m with a thousand residents
- Khodiyev prefers audiobooks and listens to books 2–3 times over
Five books from the C-Space founder
C-Space coworking network founder Dilmurod Khodiyev shared a selection of five books that, in his words, influenced his views and approach to work. Khodiyev launched the project in 2018, when coworking spaces were little known; today the company manages venues with a total area of more than 20,000 sq.m, where over a thousand residents work — from startups and freelancers to large companies, while the company does not own the real estate.
What made the list
The list includes 'Entrepreneur Revolution' by Daniel Priestley, 'The E-Myth Revisited' (Small Business: From Illusions to Success) by Michael Gerber, 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen, the Uzbek-language 'Savdogarlar ustozı' by Akhadkuli Kholmukhammad ugli, and 'The Innovator's Solution' by Clayton Christensen. According to Khodiyev, the Priestley book was recommended to him by a friend, and he urges entrepreneurs to complete the ten exercises from it. Gerber helped him view a business as a set of processes and standard operating procedures, while Allen helped him apply the two-minute rule and end every meeting by defining next actions. 'Savdogarlar ustozı,' in his assessment, shows that the basic principles of business boil down to simple human qualities; the story of the hero Abdulla is based on the life of a real person.
How reading influenced the business
Khodiyev said that as a child he did not like reading, and his interest appeared in his second or third year at university after an assignment from a teacher. He reads only non-fiction and prefers audiobooks — reading a book takes him about 10 hours versus 5 hours of listening, so he listens to books 2–3 times. The Jobs to Be Done concept from Christensen's book, in his words, helped rethink the C-Space product: the company does not rent out offices, but the business owner's 'peace of mind.' It was precisely this approach, he noted, that led to the emergence of the virtual office and the analysis of residents' emotional, social and functional needs.
