Flow, The classic work on how to achieve happiness. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. First published in 1992 this book explains why decay into disorder is the normal condition of human beings, individuals and groups, and how to combat this psychic entropy. It’s a serious piece of work by a brilliant psychologist and author. My top read for 2018.
The Progress Principle, using small wins to ignite joy, engagement, and creativity at work. Amabile and Kramer. This has an amazing insight for management that the authors say no manager knows and from my modest research since reading it I think they might be right. The book covers the considerable research that went into discovering the insight. Personally I didn’t need all the evidence, I believe it. Read together, this book and “Flow” have been a leadership and management eye opener for me.
TheArt of Gathering, Create transformative meetings, events and experiences. Priya Parker. My work as a leadership team coach is all about bringing people together through gatherings so this was a must read for me this year and it was well worth it, especially the second half of the book. I really must read this book again and again.
Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind. Yuval Noah Harari. If you have read this far, by now you will sense I am interested in how humans work, tick. This fascinating book explains where we have come from; it questions the basic narratives of our world. The authors follow up book Homo Deus takes a scary look into our future, also a brilliant book.
Prisoners of Geography, ten maps that tell you everything you need to know about global politics. Tim Marshall. We are shaped by ‘place’ and this book explains macro ‘place’ like none other I have read. I was engrossed from start to finish. How come Russia, China, Europe, USA, the Middle East behave the way they behave? Take a look from 40,000 feet and it becomes much clearer.
Rest, why you get more done when you work less. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. I was burnt out, couldn’t think straight. Sue sent me to Portugal for a week to get some vitamin D. Browsing in the airport bookshop I struggled to find something to read, though the spine of this book seemed to be shouting at me. It’s radically changed my daily routine and probably my life, again.
Bohm on Dialogue. David Bohm. There is a big difference between debate and dialogue. The former is what you see in the House of Commons, where there is no listening going on, it’s about proving the other side wrong. Period. (As the Americans say). This book is a classic from the mid-nineties. It’s about deeper listening and more open communication to cope with complexity. It’s a short, challenging read though for me a must. I wonder how Brexit would look if all politicians and their advisers on all sides read and ‘got’ this. And then I thought “dream on Dave”
Steal like an Artist. 10 things that nobody told you about being creative. Austin Kleon. This is a little book of ideas and tools for being creative presented creatively. I love it, and his follow up book Show Your Work. When I was salaried I never thought I was creative; me and everything around me was against the clock, there was no time to think. Now I get to think. Having read “Rest” and this author’s work I’ve now got capacity and tools, I think I am at my creative best.
Mastery, The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfilment. George Leonard. Another book from the early nineties. I sometimes wonder if ‘mastery’ has gone out of fashion, yes it probably has. Well not for me. For the last two decades I have worked to become a master coach; think I’m about a tenth of the way through. And for the last ten years have been trying to master swimming, a highly technical activity carried out in an infinitely unstable medium. Every time I read this book I appreciate why getting really good at something is not easy and takes a long time. And every time I read this book I am better prepared for the long haul. No quick fixes here.
Footprints on the Moon, What Changemakers Know. Seth Godin. Sorry, you probably can’t get this book without going on Seth’s Marketing Seminar. It’s a gem, in Seth’s slightly disconnected and dare I say rambling style, though it helped me massively when I needed it most. “Here, I made this. I as in me, the person who is on the line. This is the work of a human”. A wonderful quote taken from the book and applicable to all my work. If you have the slightest interest in making a difference then I would recommend Seth’s programme The Marketing Seminar and you will get the book thrown in.
My favourite post ever – I love to see peoples book recommendations and reading lists. I now want to go and buy all ten!! But think I shall start with the top 2. This is a post I shall keep returning to every time I need to find a new book to read. Thank you 🙂
this looks interesting. Do you read novels? I find them a great break. Also a great autobiography is Adrian Newey’s “How to build a racing car” (title might be not exactly right): if you like F1 and if you are an engineer this book is fantastic
Hey Fern, two and a half years on how you getting on with this list?
What’s your big learning from your reading and how is it impacting your endeavour?
Cheers,
Dave
My favourite post ever – I love to see peoples book recommendations and reading lists. I now want to go and buy all ten!! But think I shall start with the top 2. This is a post I shall keep returning to every time I need to find a new book to read. Thank you 🙂
this looks interesting. Do you read novels? I find them a great break. Also a great autobiography is Adrian Newey’s “How to build a racing car” (title might be not exactly right): if you like F1 and if you are an engineer this book is fantastic
Yes, Charlie. I have just read “Featherhood” by Charlie Gilmour. Very moving.
Hey Fern, two and a half years on how you getting on with this list?
What’s your big learning from your reading and how is it impacting your endeavour?
Cheers,
Dave