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 Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World–and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Organizations Need and Employees Want, Unlocking Creativity: How to Solve Any Problem and Make the Best Decisions by Shifting Creative Mindsets, The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture, and New Patterns of Power and Profit: A Strategist’s Guide to Competitive Advantage in the Age of Digital Transformation. There’s also a list of ten exciting new leadership books coming out in 2019.
From Kevin Eikenberry: Factfulness
“Few books give you advice on how to think more effectively. Fewer definitively answer big questions. This book does both. On the surface, Factfulness is about the subtitle of the book: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. The book delivers on that promise, using data and trends that will surprise you. But it is more than that.”
From Skip Prichard: Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go
“Julie Winkle Giulioni partners with organizations worldwide to improve performance through leadership and learning. Named one of Inc. Magazine‘s top 100 leadership speakers, Julie is the co-author of the international bestseller Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Organizations Need and Employees Want. After reading the newly updated edition of her book, I reached out to Julie to hear her latest perspectives on leadership and career development.”
From Michael McKinney: Unlocking Creativity: Are These Creativity-Inhibiting Mindsets Holding You Back
“In struggling to generate a sufficient number of creative ideas, we typically blame the number of creative individuals in our organization or hierarchy and bureaucracy. But in Unlocking Creativity, Michael Roberto takes a different perspective. He believes that we are getting in our own way by the way we think, decide, and act with regard to the development of original ideas.”
From Mark Gimein: Muddling Through
“Scott Belsky’s new book offers inspiration to leaders slogging through the life span of a successful business.”
From Wharton: How Pattern-based Thinking Gives Companies an Edge
“Today’s technology giants, such as Uber and Google, are successful because they introduced something new and innovative to the market, according to conventional wisdom. But Wharton professor of operations, information and decisions Eric K. Clemons thinks that’s too simplistic. Patterns repeat throughout history, and one can find glimpses of today’s new business models in the most successful companies of yore, he says. Mastering ‘pattern-based thinking’ will help today’s companies get ahead, Clemons argues.”
From Jessica Stillman: 10 New Leadership Books to Get Excited About in 2019
“A fresh year demands fresh ideas, and a new crop of books soon to be released in the coming months promises to deliver them. Which should you add to your to-read queue? Few are better positioned to offer recommendations then star Wharton professor and bestselling author Adam Grant.”
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 Skip Prichard’s Leadership Insights.