Stephen King says that if you want to be a writer, there are two things you must do: read a lot and write a lot. This is about the “read a lot” part. I include reading lists and book reviews that will help you do business more effectively and write better for business.
In this post, I point you to reviews of The Innovation Code, Getting to “Yes And”: The Art of Business Improv, Everybody Lies: Big Data, Little Data, And What The Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are, Making Big Decisions Better: How to Set and Simplify Business Strategy, and What to Do When Machines Do Everything.
From Michael McKinney: What Kind of Innovator Are You?
“When it comes to innovation, it is no different. Jeff DeGraff writes in The Innovation Code, ‘Your dominant worldview is your biggest strength—the quality that makes you stand out from other people.’ He adds, ‘On the other hand, your dominate worldview is holding you back. Your defining quality is also your greatest weakness. The problem is that our dominate worldviews overpower all other points of view.’ And it distorts reality as we miss the bigger picture.”
From Wharton: How Improv Methods from Comedy Can Lift Business Performance
“Improvisation, or the art form called improv, may call to mind comedy shows but it is now also a serious business tool. Organizations are using it to foster team work, collaboration, positive engagement and mindfulness, says Bob Kulhan, founder and CEO of Business Improv, who is also a part-time comedian and an adjunct professor at Duke University and Columbia Business School. Kulhan describes his strategies in his new book, ‘Yes And’: The Art of Business Improvisation, which he co-authored with Chuck Crisafulli.”
From Smartbrief: The dangers of corporations and big data
“This post is an adapted excerpt from ‘Everybody Lies: Big Data, Little Data, And What The Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are,’ by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz (May 2017, Dey Street Books). Stephens-Davidowitz is a New York Times op-ed contributor, a visiting lecturer at The Wharton School, and a former Google data scientist. He received a BA in philosophy from Stanford, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and a PhD in economics from Harvard. His research, which uses new, big data sources to uncover hidden behaviors and attitudes, has appeared in the Journal of Public Economics and other prestigious publications. He lives in New York City.”
From Skip Prichard: How to Set and Simplify Business Strategy
“I’ve read many books on strategy. There are many that are theoretical. I enjoy them and think about the implications. But there are a few that are actionable. As a CEO, I can use aspects of them immediately. That’s what I found when I read Tim Lewko’s new book, Making Big Decisions Better: How to Set and Simplify Business Strategy. Tim Lewko is the CEO of Thinking Dimensions Group, and his book goes right to the core of setting strategy that you can implement immediately.”
From Irving Wladawsky-Berger: Automation Anxieties – We’ve Been Here Before
“Overall, the authors are optimistic about the future, reminding us that we’ve been here before. Automation anxieties have been with us ever since the 1810s, when the so-called Luddites smashed the new weaving machines that were threatening their textile jobs, and they continued to resurface over the past two centuries right along with advances in technology.”
Reading recommendations are a regular feature of this blog. Want more recommendations about what to read? Check out my Three Star Leadership blog and Michael McKinney’s LeadingBlog.