“Leaders are readers.”
Yep, if you want to do that leading thing well, you need to read. One challenge is sorting through all the “leadership” and other business books to find good ones. This post should help. Here are some pointers to reviews of and excepts from recent leadership (in the broadest sense) books.
In this post I point you to reviews of Make Your Own Waves, Appetite for Innovation: Creativity and Change at elBulli, and Predictive Analytics for Newcomers and Nontechnical Readers.
From Bob Morris: Make Your Own Waves: A book review
“Here are unique insights about ‘a way of thinking, a way of acting, and a way of pushing the limits'”
From Theodore Kinni: ElBulli and the Limits of Corporate Innovation
“In 2010, elBulli was named the second-best restaurant in the world. In 2011, superstar chef and co-owner Ferran Adrià shuttered the small restaurant in a small town on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, marking the end of a remarkable, three-decade run of culinary success. By that time, Adrià and his staff were receiving 2 million requests for reservations annually — from people who were willing to travel to the northeastern corner of Spain to eat the 8,000 meals conjured up during the six months the restaurant was open each year. Moreover, 3,000 or so of the world’s most talented culinary pros were applying for elBulli’s 30 unpaid internships.”
From Adam Kahn: Book Review: Predictive Analytics for Newcomers and Nontechnical Readers
“Predictive Analytics is an introductory foray into the world of machine learning and big data, giving you a realistic look at the ways in which predictive analytics technology is changing the game. Computers can ‘learn’ from data, and perform complex statistical maneuvering that allows them to use that data to predict individual behavior—in some cases, behavior that is years in the future. This book takes you on a tour of the industry and introduces you to the people, machines, and technology that are making it happen.”
Reading recommendations are a regular feature of this blog. Want more recommendations about what to read? Check out my Three Star Leadership blog, Michael McKinney’s LeadingBlog, and Bob Morris’ Blogging on Business.