I am a professor of technology management at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. I have interacted and learned from hundreds (or possibly thousands) of students and senior executives on how they develop new products and more broadly how they make better decisions in business and life. I am hoping that the books I shared with you will move you in that direction too.
I wrote
From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology
From Breakthrough to Blockbuster is an essential resource for students, scientists, investors, entrepreneurs, physicians, policymakers, and all others interested in…
I love this book because it gives an insider’s view of Amazon’s decision-making processes and culture that enabled all these amazing products to be created.
It shows that Amazon’s exponential growth for over two decades was not the outcome of luck, but of excellent management and leadership skills at every step of the way. Even if you are not interested in business, you will learn a lot about thinking in productive ways and making better decisions.
'Essential for any leader in any industry' - Kim Scott, bestselling author of Radical Candor
Working Backwards gives an insider's account of Amazon's approach to culture, leadership and best practices from two long-time, top-level Amazon executives.
Colin Bryar and Bill Carr joined Amazon in the late 90s. Their time at the company covered a period of unmatched innovation that brought products and services - including Kindle, Amazon Prime, Amazon Echo and Alexa, and Amazon Web Services - to life. Through the story of these innovations they reveal the principles and practices that drive Amazon's success.
Strategy is one of the most abused and confusing terms in the world of business.
This book explains clearly the essence of strategy and why it is so important for every organization to get it right.
It will be an eye-opener for the vast majority of people and organizations who typically do something completely different (hint: bad strategy) when they think they are designing a good strategy.
When Richard Rumelt's Good Strategy/Bad Strategy was published in 2011, it immediately struck a chord, calling out as bad strategy the mish-mash of pop culture, motivational slogans and business buzz speak so often and misleadingly masquerading as the real thing.
Since then, his original and pragmatic ideas have won fans around the world and continue to help readers to recognise and avoid the elements of bad strategy and adopt good, action-oriented strategies that honestly acknowledge the challenges being faced and offer straightforward approaches to overcoming them. Strategy should not be equated with ambition, leadership, vision or planning; rather, it is…
Brother. Do. You. Love. Me. is a true story of brotherly love overcoming all. Reuben, who has Down's syndrome, was trapped in a care home during the pandemic, spiralling deeper into a non-verbal depression. From isolation and in desperation, he sent his older brother Manni a text, "brother. do. you.…
THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A SPECTATOR AND FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022
'If you read just one book about how the modern world is driving us crazy, read this one' TELEGRAPH
'This book is exactly what the world needs right now' OPRAH WINFREY
'A beautifully researched and argued exploration of the breakdown of humankind's ability to pay attention' STEPHEN FRY
'A really important book . . . Everyone should read it' PHILIPPA PERRY
Why have we lost our ability to focus? What are the causes? And, most importantly, how do we get it back?
For…
If you are fascinated by the way that Netflix revolutionized our home entertainment, you should read this book.
Written by the co-founder and executive chairman of Netflix, it explains how you can break all the traditional corporate rules, in a productive and fun way.
A great read for managers and leaders who are worried that empowering their people will lead to chaos. It doesn’t have to.
Hard work is irrelevant. Be radically honest. Adequate performance gets a generous severance. And never, ever try to please your boss.
These are some of the ground rules if you work at Netflix. They are part of a unique cultural experiment that explains how the company has transformed itself at lightning speed from a DVD mail order service into a streaming superpower - with 125 million fervent subscribers and a market capitalisation bigger than Disney.
Finally Reed Hastings, Netflix Chairman and CEO, is sharing the secrets that have revolutionised the entertainment and tech industries. With INSEAD business school professor Erin…
We all want peace. We all want a life of joy and meaning. We want to feel blissfully comfortable in our own skin, moving through the world with grace and ease. But how many of us are actively taking the steps to create such a life?
If you want to make sense of data and numbers, this is one of the most fun books to read.
In very intuitive terms it shows why being able to read between the data is so important for making sense of the world. A great introduction to anyone who wants to make more evidence-based decisions.
Once considered tedious, the field of statistics is rapidly evolving into a discipline Hal Varian, chief economist at Google, has actually called "sexy." From batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics continues to grow by leaps and bounds. How can we catch schools that cheat on standardized tests? How does Netflix know which movies you'll like? What is causing the rising incidence of autism? As best-selling author Charles Wheelan shows us in Naked Statistics, the right data and a few well-chosen statistical tools can help us answer these questions and more.…
From Breakthrough to Blockbuster is an essential resource for students, scientists, investors, entrepreneurs, physicians, policymakers, and all others interested in how new medicines come into being, why the process is so breathtakingly expensive, and how small entrepreneurial ventures can compete in one of the world’s most expensive and heavily regulated industries. Beyond that, the account of how a vast collection of inexperienced, underfunded, and unprofitable small companies have created more life-changing new medicines than the largest global pharmaceutical firms is a David-and-Goliath story well worth reading.
Return to Hope Creek is a second-chance rural romance set in Australia.
Stella Simpson's career and engagement are over. She returns to the rural community of Hope Creek to heal, unaware her high school and college sweetheart, Mitchell Scott, has also moved back to town to do some healing of…
This book is a literary historical novel. It is set in Britain immediately after World War II, when people – gay, straight, young, and old - are struggling to get back on track with their lives, including their love lives. Because of the turmoil of the times, the number of…
