10 books like Playing to Win

By A.G. Lafley, Roger L. Martin,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like Playing to Win. Shepherd is a community of 7,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported.
We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through links on our website. This is how we fund the project for readers and authors. Please join our membership program to support our endeavor.

Difficult Conversations

By Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Douglas Stone

Book cover of Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

Jennifer Riel Author Of Creating Great Choices: A Leader's Guide to Integrative Thinking

From the list on to think differently on creative problem solving.

Who am I?

I am a writer, teacher, and partner at IDEO, the global design and innovation firm. Before IDEO, I spent more than a decade teaching university undergrads and MBAs to create better choices, in their work and their lives. Now, I work with business leaders to help them do the same thing, at the intersection of design and strategy. I believe that one key to getting to those better choices is the ability to understand, reflect on and, yes, even improve our own way of thinking and engaging with the world. The books on this list have shifted my own understanding of the world and how I think. I hope they inspire and challenge you as well. 

Jennifer's book list on to think differently on creative problem solving

Discover why each book is one of Jennifer's favorite books on to think differently on creative problem solving .

Why this book?

For most of my life, I avoided conflict. I was a classic people pleaser. But this book, and the work by academic Chris Argyris that helped inspire it, quite literally changed my life. The book offers practical ways to engage in productive disagreement, to have tough conversations with a better hope of a good outcome. It’s a short and easy read, with lots of very practical tools for navigating the conversations you may be dreading.

Difficult Conversations

By Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Douglas Stone

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Difficult Conversations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The 10th-anniversary edition of the New York Times business bestseller-now updated with "Answers to Ten Questions People Ask"

We attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day-whether dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with a spouse, or negotiating with a client. From the Harvard Negotiation Project, the organization that brought you Getting to Yes, Difficult Conversations provides a step-by-step approach to having those tough conversations with less stress and more success. you'll learn how to:

· Decipher the underlying structure of every difficult conversation 
· Start a conversation without defensiveness 
· Listen for the meaning of what is not said 
·…


Thinking, Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman,

Book cover of Thinking, Fast and Slow

Jo Owen Author Of The Mindset of Success: Accelerate Your Career from Good Manager to Great Leader

From the list on helping to think, live, and lead better.

Who am I?

I am an accidental guru on leadership, as a result of starting Teach First which is now the UK’s largest graduate recruiter. I discovered that the best leaders are not always the most skilled. That set me on a 20 year quest to discover their secret X-Factor: their mindset. I have conducted thousands of original interviews plus studying neuroscience with Harvard and Positive Psychology with the University of Pennsylvania. I also practice what I preach: I have set up 7 NGOs with turnover of £100m, started a bank, and built a business in Japan. It has been a life-enhancing journey of discovery: I hope you enjoy it too.

Jo's book list on helping to think, live, and lead better

Discover why each book is one of Jo's favorite books on helping to think, live, and lead better .

Why this book?

When I read this book I suddenly realised that I never really thought.

I was always too busy reacting and responding in the moment, which meant that I failed to slow down and really think properly.

As Kahnemann is a Nobel Prize winner, this book is seriously credible but also easy to read and full of practical insights. The overall thrust is about how we make decisions, or default into a decision.

It shows all the traps we fall into and all the ways in which we can frame decisions positively so that others make the decision we want them to make.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman,

Why should I read it?

29 authors picked Thinking, Fast and Slow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The phenomenal international bestseller - 2 million copies sold - that will change the way you make decisions

'A lifetime's worth of wisdom' Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics
'There have been many good books on human rationality and irrationality, but only one masterpiece. That masterpiece is Thinking, Fast and Slow' Financial Times

Why is there more chance we'll believe something if it's in a bold type face? Why are judges more likely to deny parole before lunch? Why do we assume a good-looking person will be more competent? The answer lies in the two ways we make choices: fast,…


Mindset

By Carol S. Dweck,

Book cover of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Jo Owen Author Of The Mindset of Success: Accelerate Your Career from Good Manager to Great Leader

From the list on helping to think, live, and lead better.

Who am I?

I am an accidental guru on leadership, as a result of starting Teach First which is now the UK’s largest graduate recruiter. I discovered that the best leaders are not always the most skilled. That set me on a 20 year quest to discover their secret X-Factor: their mindset. I have conducted thousands of original interviews plus studying neuroscience with Harvard and Positive Psychology with the University of Pennsylvania. I also practice what I preach: I have set up 7 NGOs with turnover of £100m, started a bank, and built a business in Japan. It has been a life-enhancing journey of discovery: I hope you enjoy it too.

Jo's book list on helping to think, live, and lead better

Discover why each book is one of Jo's favorite books on helping to think, live, and lead better .

Why this book?

This book blew me away because of one central insight: you can choose how you feel.

Until that moment, I had always thought that my feelings were dictated by circumstances. That is classic victim mentality.

Once you realise that your feelings are your choice, you are empowered to make good choices about how you feel, even (especially) in bad moments. 

Mindset shows you the power of making good choices, and how you can make them. For me, it was a life-enhancing book.

Mindset

By Carol S. Dweck,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Mindset as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the renowned psychologist who introduced the world to “growth mindset” comes this updated edition of the million-copy bestseller—featuring transformative insights into redefining success, building lifelong resilience, and supercharging self-improvement.

“Through clever research studies and engaging writing, Dweck illuminates how our beliefs about our capabilities exert tremendous influence on how we learn and which paths we take in life.”—Bill Gates, GatesNotes

“It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest.”

After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this…


Book cover of Confessions of an Advertising Man

Ian Brodie Author Of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

From the list on small business marketing.

Who am I?

I'm a writer and consultant on marketing and creating online courses. I’m obsessed with “cracking the marketing code.” Ever since I saw firsthand what a huge impact even small marketing changes could have on a business's success I’ve been determined to figure out what the really big impact but low workload changes are. I’ve written about some of them in my book Email Persuasion and I share others in my blogs and videos.

Ian's book list on small business marketing

Discover why each book is one of Ian's favorite books on small business marketing .

Why this book?

Ogilvy was a true force of nature and perhaps the original “mad men” prototype. This book is part autobiography and part guide to his philosophy of advertising. Reading it, you’ll laugh, you learn a lot, and you’ll wonder how on earth he got away with half the things he did.

I’ve included this book in the list as a kind of “light interlude” to the other, denser books. But nonetheless it contains great insights that are as true today as when Ogilvy penned this 50 years ago.

Confessions of an Advertising Man

By David Ogilvy,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Confessions of an Advertising Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?



A new edition of the timeless business classic featured on Mad Men—as fresh and relevant now as the day it was written

 

"We admire people who work hard, who are objective and thorough. We detest office politicians, toadies, bullies, and pompous asses. We abhor ruthlessness. The way up our ladder is open to everybody. In promoting people to top jobs, we are influenced as much by their character as anything else."  —David Ogilvy

 

David Ogilvy was considered the "father of advertising" and a creative genius by many of the biggest global brands. First published in 1963, this seminal book revolutionized…


The Tipping Point

By Malcolm Gladwell,

Book cover of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Mindy Weinstein Author Of The Power of Scarcity: Leveraging Urgency and Demand to Influence Customer Decisions

From the list on marketing mastery to better understand customers.

Who am I?

Simply put, I am a marketer (for over two decades). Yet, I am fascinated with the human brain. In my opinion, the two go together. To create powerful marketing messages, we must understand the mind of our customers. While working on my doctorate in general psychology, I was able to dive deep into consumer behavior and the psychological factors that drive us. All of my recommended books touch on psychology in some way or another and will teach you how to motivate your customers to take action.

Mindy's book list on marketing mastery to better understand customers

Discover why each book is one of Mindy's favorite books on marketing mastery to better understand customers .

Why this book?

I read The Tipping Point nearly 10 years ago and it has stuck with me. The book explores how small changes can lead to big impacts. Gladwell does a good job examining the factors that contribute to the spread of ideas, products, and behaviors, and he provides valuable insights into how to create and capitalize on "tipping points" in business and society. The book is filled with fascinating examples that illustrate Gladwell's points in a compelling and engaging way. Whether you're a marketer, entrepreneur, or just someone who wants to make a difference, The Tipping Point will change the way you think about the world.

The Tipping Point

By Malcolm Gladwell,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Tipping Point as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An introduction to the Tipping Point theory explains how minor changes in ideas and products can increase their popularity and how small adjustments in an individual's immediate environment can alter group behavior.


Book cover of The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads

Renee Hobbs Author Of Mind Over Media: Propaganda Education for a Digital Age

From the list on understanding propaganda and persuasion.

Who am I?

I’ve been fascinated with propaganda and persuasion since childhood. Growing up in Detroit, our family would watch both American and Canadian TV channels. The TV commercials shown on the American TV channels were noisier, nosier, zanier, and more intrusive than the more sedate and polite forms of persuasion on Canadian shows. Because advertising and propaganda are kissing cousins, I've always appreciated how they shape politics, journalism, entertainment, activism, education, and the arts. Propaganda's greatest (and most dangerous) power is its ability to both unify and divide people, and there's never been a more important time to look carefully at how propaganda is shaping our understanding of reality through the many screens in our lives.

Renee's book list on understanding propaganda and persuasion

Discover why each book is one of Renee's favorite books on understanding propaganda and persuasion .

Why this book?

You may think you can tune out advertising, but you’re wrong. You may think it’s natural for so much entertainment to be available “for free” on all your digital devices. But most of us don’t realize how many businesses are profiting from harvesting our attention—and they keep finding new ways to entertain, inform, and persuade us, that we may not even notice them. I loved this book because of the engaging way that Tim Wu chronicles the history of the many industries that feed on human attention. He demonstrates how influencers, hawkers, celebrities, politicians, and pitchmen are not just salespeople, but the living heart of media and technology systems. 

The Attention Merchants

By Tim Wu,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Attention Merchants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Attention merchant: an industrial-scale harvester of human attention. A firm whose business model is the mass capture of attention for resale to advertisers.
In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of advertising enticements, branding efforts, sponsored social media, commercials and other efforts to harvest our attention. Over the last century, few times or spaces have remained uncultivated by the 'attention merchants', contributing to the distracted, unfocused tenor of our times. Tim Wu argues that this is not simply the byproduct of recent inventions but the end result of more than a century's growth and expansion…


Nudge

By Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein,

Book cover of Nudge

Olivier Sibony Author Of You're About to Make a Terrible Mistake: How Biases Distort Decision-Making and What You Can Do to Fight Them

From the list on how we make decisions and to make better ones.

Who am I?

I had a long career as a management consultant, advising business leaders about their most important choices. One question never stopped bothering me: why do really, really great businesspeople sometimes make really, really bad decisions? After 25 years, I finally decided that this question was interesting enough that I wanted to become a professor in order to study it. So that’s what I do now – and I write about what I find.   

Olivier's book list on how we make decisions and to make better ones

Discover why each book is one of Olivier's favorite books on how we make decisions and to make better ones .

Why this book?

After "bias," what is the second-most-popular behavioral science buzzword? Nudge, of course. Some think nudges are a brilliant invention; others claim they're a tool for cynical manipulation. Whether you are in one camp or in the other, the place to start is the book that made the case for "libertarian paternalism," now in a new, "final" edition. If you think you already know what nudges are, you may be surprised to find that "choice architecture," as Thaler and Sunstein call it, is a much more subtle art than you think.

Nudge

By Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Nudge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*Once again a New York Times bestseller! First the original edition, and now the new Final Edition*

An essential new edition revised and updated from cover to cover of one of the most important books of the last two decades, by Nobel Prize winner Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein

More than 2 million copies sold

Since the original publication of Nudge more than a decade ago, the title has entered the vocabulary of businesspeople, policy makers, engaged citizens, and consumers everywhere. The book has given rise to more than 400 "nudge units" in governments around the world and…


Book cover of Duct Tape Marketing  The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide

Ian Brodie Author Of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

From the list on small business marketing.

Who am I?

I'm a writer and consultant on marketing and creating online courses. I’m obsessed with “cracking the marketing code.” Ever since I saw firsthand what a huge impact even small marketing changes could have on a business's success I’ve been determined to figure out what the really big impact but low workload changes are. I’ve written about some of them in my book Email Persuasion and I share others in my blogs and videos.

Ian's book list on small business marketing

Discover why each book is one of Ian's favorite books on small business marketing .

Why this book?

Duct Tape Marketing is probably the best “if you could only have one book” guide to marketing for small businesses. Written by a guy who’s been “in the trenches” working with small businesses on their marketing for over two decades, it’s practical and actionable and keeps you firmly focused on what’s really important to succeed, not on “flavor of the month” tactics.

It’s a great book for non-marketing people. And it very much focuses on setting up systems and processes so we get consistent results from our marketing. In other words, the boring stuff we tend to avoid but that actually makes the most difference!

Duct Tape Marketing The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide

By John Jantsch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Duct Tape Marketing The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In his trusted book for small businesses, John Jantsch challenges you to craft a marketing strategy that is as reliable as the go-to household item we all know, love, and turn to in a pinch: duct tape.

As a renowned marketing guru and small business coach, John Jantsch has become a leading advisor on how to build and grow a thriving business. Duct Tape Marketing shows you how to develop and execute a marketing plan that yields more revenue and ensures the longevity of small businesses.

Taking a strategic, systemic approach to marketing rather than being constantly won over to…


Book cover of How to Write Sales Letters That Sell

Ian Brodie Author Of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

From the list on small business marketing.

Who am I?

I'm a writer and consultant on marketing and creating online courses. I’m obsessed with “cracking the marketing code.” Ever since I saw firsthand what a huge impact even small marketing changes could have on a business's success I’ve been determined to figure out what the really big impact but low workload changes are. I’ve written about some of them in my book Email Persuasion and I share others in my blogs and videos.

Ian's book list on small business marketing

Discover why each book is one of Ian's favorite books on small business marketing .

Why this book?

David Ogilvy said, “Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world,” and you can see why he said it in this book.

At some point in your marketing you need to get your potential customers to become paying customers. To actually part with their hard-earned cash. This book is a masterclass on how to do that in print – either on your website or in letters, adverts, brochures, or flyers. Bird’s writing has that amazing quality of charm, of being able to get you to buy without feeling you’ve been sold to. The book shows you how to get something similar yourself and is chock full of examples to learn from.

How to Write Sales Letters That Sell

By Drayton Bird,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Write Sales Letters That Sell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The right piece of direct mail can produce excellent response rates and have an extraordinary effect on business. But why do some sale letters achieve spectacular results whilst others are instantly consigned to the bin? This book reveals the secrets of creating successful sales letters. Containing examples of real sales letters, it includes plenty of advice on what to avoid as well as what to include. Key topics are covered such as: the secrets of persuasion; planning a letter which will get replies; creating offers that get responses and timing mailings for maximum effect.


Captivology

By Ben Parr,

Book cover of Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention

Ian Brodie Author Of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email

From the list on small business marketing.

Who am I?

I'm a writer and consultant on marketing and creating online courses. I’m obsessed with “cracking the marketing code.” Ever since I saw firsthand what a huge impact even small marketing changes could have on a business's success I’ve been determined to figure out what the really big impact but low workload changes are. I’ve written about some of them in my book Email Persuasion and I share others in my blogs and videos.

Ian's book list on small business marketing

Discover why each book is one of Ian's favorite books on small business marketing .

Why this book?

Of all the marketing challenges facing us today, the biggest by far is the immensely difficult task of getting and keeping the attention of our target customers in a ridiculously noisy world.

Captivology isn’t necessarily a marketing book per se. But it’s the best guide to the art and the science of capturing attention. It shows you what gets people to take notice of something, to pay it deeper attention, and then to keep coming back and devoting time to it. You can apply these lessons across all your marketing and of all the marketing ideas and concepts I’ve come across in the last decade, this one has had the deepest and most positive impact on me and the results in my business.

Captivology

By Ben Parr,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Captivology as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


Why are we captivated by sites like Facebook and Instagram, but couldn't care less about MySpace Why do some musicians grow as popular as Beyonce, while others never make the charts Why do some nonprofits, such as Charity: Water, succeed in getting our donations, while other charities are ineffective And why can't anyone seem to ever get the attention of their kids

In Captivology, Ben Parr, former editor of Mashable and cofounder of DominateFund, reveals how and why our mind pays attention to some events, ideas, or people and not others. Vividly bringing to life the stories of entrepreneurs, musicians,…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in organizational change, success in life, and strategic planning?

7,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about organizational change, success in life, and strategic planning.

Organizational Change Explore 28 books about organizational change
Success In Life Explore 164 books about success in life
Strategic Planning Explore 25 books about strategic planning