Here are 100 books that The Culture Code fans have personally recommended if you like
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I think we can all agree we spend a lot of time at work. If we can help people to thrive at work, it makes such a big difference in their lives and it has such a ripple effect for the people around them. When we do well at work we do well at home. I have been working with people and organizations for over 25 years and over that time I have an instinct for the “temperature” of an organization. Work Your Magic helps you to diagnose what might be going wrong and then sets you up with a roadmap to make the changes that will make work, work again for you and your workplace.
If work is going to work again, we need to be curious. The world is moving fast and the issues we are facing are arguably more complex than ever before, so we must avoid at all costs the rigid my way or the highway thinking.
Sometimes it feels good when we lock a solution in quickly because we feel we have solved the problem perhaps ticked the box. I really encourage people to stay in the messy middle and to “think again” to make sure it is not the quick solution, but they stick with the problem solving so they get the best solution.
"THIS. This is the right book for right now. Yes, learning requires focus. But, unlearning and relearning requires much more-it requires choosing courage over comfort. In Think Again, Adam Grant weaves together research and storytelling to help us build the intellectual and emotional muscle we need to stay curious enough about the world to actually change it. I've never felt so hopeful about what I don't know." -Brene Brown, Ph.D., #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dare to Lead
The bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals examines the critical art of rethinking:…
Entrepreneurs have a tough lot in life. We dream of creating value for others, yet we are often cursed to pay a huge price in our own lives.
My experience as an entrepreneur is no different – I struggled through three mediocre business startups, learning a little bit more with each one. Along the way, I have put my lessons learned into writing: textbooks, how-to guides and even cover stories for Entrepreneur magazine.
Combining my own experience and the best advice from other entrepreneurs, I have systematically improved my current company… and have finally broken free of the curse! Now I love to share my experience with other business owners like you!
Building a great company and a great team takes more than love and data. In Leaders Eat Last, I learned the science behind why we join teams, why we leave a team, and how to build a team where people want to stay.
It turns out that being a part of a team is in our DNA. Literally. We have survived as a species by working together, and our brains produce pleasure chemicals when we are standing shoulder to shoulder with a co-worker.
But that’s not what makes this book great. Simon Sinek references both large companies and the military to make his case. Among other thoughtful insights, Sinek argues that the dedication, drive, and sacrifice that make the Air Force such a formidable team can be similarly created within work teams and companies.
This is a must-read if you want to really understand why and how we work together…
Leadership is not a rank, it is a responsibility. Leadership is not about being in charge, it is about taking care of those in your charge.
When we take care of our people, our people will take care of us. They will help see that our cause becomes a reality.
In Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek, internationally bestselling author of Start With Why, investigates these great leaders from Marine Corps Officers, who don't just sacrifice their place at the table but often their own comfort and even their lives for those in their care, to the heads of big business…
The first day of my career began with 1,000 people being laid off citing “post-merger efficiencies.” I was the young whippersnapper walking in as many more were walking out, boxes in hand. I saw, firsthand, the impact of uncertainty, lack of clear and transparent communications, and leadership, not just on performance, but also on the health and well-being of the colleagues around me. In that first job I became fascinated and obsessed with how work can be something we enjoy and find meaning in. Since then, I’ve devoted my career to making work more inspiring, engaging, and fulfilling. This became my passion and cause because I felt the very opposite.
As a budding professional I was told not to be so kind to others, so I wasn’t taken advantage of.
Changing who I was and wanted to be didn’t seem like the right recipe for my success. Grant’s debut book has likely had the most impact on how I show up in my career and in life – that being a giver can be the key to our success and fulfillment. A must read for anyone who wants to do well while doing good.
A groundbreaking look at why our interactions with others hold the key to success, from the bestselling author of Think Again and Originals
For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But in today's dramatically reconfigured world, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. In Give and Take, Adam Grant, an award-winning researcher and Wharton's highest-rated professor, examines the surprising forces that shape why some people rise to the top of the success ladder while others sink to the bottom. Praised by social scientists, business theorists, and corporate…
I have always been fascinated by human behaviour since going to a school where we were told there was a right and a wrong way to do everything. That never felt right to me – human beings are much bigger than that! I studied Counselling and Therapy at Norwich City College in the 1990s and later specific courses on Transactional Analysis. Many years on, I am still learning…
Another classic from the Positive Psychology stable. "Flow" is that feeling of deep involvement in a task, especially one where our creativity and skill are challenged.
More generally, it is about clearing the mind of clutter and appreciating the moment. Another book I dip back into regularly.
“Csikszentmihalyi arrives at an insight that many of us can intuitively grasp, despite our insistent (and culturally supported) denial of this truth. That is, it is not what happens to us that determines our happiness, but the manner in which we make sense of that reality. . . . The manner in which Csikszentmihalyi integrates research on consciousness, personal psychology and spirituality is illuminating.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
The bestselling classic that holds the key to unlocking meaning, creativity, peak performance, and true happiness.
Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an…
I am a scientist in the field of medicine, and I like to read books that provide a surprising insight into our thinking and decision-making with a scientific basis. It is special how we think we are acting rationally while much of our action is influenced by the environment and news that comes our way. Some of the books in my list provide special insights that are refreshing and hold a mirror up to us.
A book that clearly depicts why it is so important to include diverse minds with diverse ideas. If you have a tough challenge, the best solutions will arise when you discuss these with those who might disagree.
The best example that the author provides is the CIA before 9/11. The intelligence service was mainly acquiring males with a Caucasian background who were not able to correctly interpret the danger signals from terrorists with an Islamic background.
If there is a crisis to solve, do not just select the top 5 experts in the world to solve the problem since they will likely originate from the same school or University. After #1 and #2, the others (3,4, and 5) will have little to add if they have the same background. Including someone in the team with a different background and opinion is better.
'I like listening to people who know things that I don't,' Gareth Southgate told me. 'That's how you learn.'
Former Olympian and best-selling author Matthew Syed is one of the advisors Gareth Southgate engaged from outside football in order to find new ways of working as a team. In Rebel Ideas, discover how Southgate 'the man with the plan' replaced 50 years of hurt with two major tournament semi-finals in three years.'
Matthew Syed's phenomenal bestseller will change the way you think about success - for ever.
'Syed is a superb storyteller. I couldn't put the book down, and I…
Early in my career, I was a federal prosecutor and moved to California to get involved in tech as a midlife career change. I became passionate about leadership and personal development because I worked alongside some outstanding leaders at companies like eBay and Airbnb for over 20 years. If I could take away one lesson, it would be this: you become what you surround yourself with. Want to be happy? Read books about happiness, spend time around people who are happy, focus on the positive each day. Want to be a great leader? Talk to other great leaders, read books about leadership. These books have each, in their way, helped me on the journey.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, because it’s focusing on what really matters in life. Living a life filled with gratitude can change your entire perspective on the world…what would happen if you spent a few minutes each day writing a short thank you note to someone in your life, expressing gratitude for who they are or what they’ve done. Kralik was mired in a world of personal troubles when he decided to give it try, and the results will make you want to rethink how you look at the world. Every day, there are a dozen reasons to say it’s a good day, and a dozen reasons why it’s a bad day. You choose how to define it.
One recent December, at age 53, John Kralik found his life at a terrible, frightening low: his small law firm was failing; he was struggling through a painful second divorce; he had grown distant from his two older children and was afraid he might lose contact with his young daughter; he was living in a tiny apartment where he froze in the winter and baked in the summer; he was 40 pounds overweight; his girlfriend had just broken up with him; and overall, his dearest life dreams--including hopes of upholding idealistic legal principles and of becoming a judge--seemed to have…
Early in my career, I was a federal prosecutor and moved to California to get involved in tech as a midlife career change. I became passionate about leadership and personal development because I worked alongside some outstanding leaders at companies like eBay and Airbnb for over 20 years. If I could take away one lesson, it would be this: you become what you surround yourself with. Want to be happy? Read books about happiness, spend time around people who are happy, focus on the positive each day. Want to be a great leader? Talk to other great leaders, read books about leadership. These books have each, in their way, helped me on the journey.
Do you focus on the negative each day, or the positive? Dr. Frederickson looks at the science behind the ratio of positive thoughts to negative thoughts…what’s your ratio? And is there an ideal ratio that you should strive for, that can actually change your life? The answer is 2.9 to 1…and the choice is yours.
World renowned researcher Dr. Barbara Fredrickson gives you the lab-tested tools necessary to create a healthier, more vibrant, and flourishing life through a process she calls "the upward spiral."
You’ll discover:
•What positivity is, and why it needs to be heartfelt to be effective • The ten sometimes surprising forms of positivity • Why positivity is more important than happiness • How positivity can enhance relationships, work, and health, and how it relieves depression, broadens minds, and builds lives • The top-notch research that backs the 3-to-1 "positivity ratio" as a key tipping point • That your own sources of…
I am a work in progress, on my way to becoming a conscious communicator and an even better human being. I believe that intentional communication and (the) quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives, careers, and societies. I’ve spent decades guiding people and cultures to foster open communication, cultivate self-understanding, and deepen trust, from large Fortune 500 to small businesses. Building communication skills is a practice that leads to self-transformation and finding meaning, and happiness. Each of these books will help you to better understand yourself and others, and learn to communicate at the level of trust.
If you lead a team, you know that providing clear and actionable feedback is one of the trickiest conversations that you have on a regular basis.
The most effective leaders are those who are able to provide both direct feedback and caring support to their employees––and that’s the central idea of Radical Candor. It provides you with a framework for giving feedback, building strong relationships, actively listening, and building trust.
It’s loaded with practical tips and exercises for fostering open communication.
Featuring a new preface, afterword and Radically Candid Performance Review Bonus Chapter, the fully revised & updated edition of Radical Candor is packed with even more guidance to help you improve your relationships at work.
'Reading Radical Candor will help you build, lead, and inspire teams to do the best work of their lives.' - Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In.
If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all . . . right?
While this advice may work for home life, as Kim Scott has seen first hand, it is a disaster when adopted…
My passion for leadership and aspiring women leaders comes from my own leadership experiences and working with women and men executives and aspiring executives, every day. I had to make some difficult work choices in my 20s and 30s (with four young children) and was wonderfully supported by some wise women. Many of my choices were different from my peers and we continue to have to make more difficult choices than our male colleagues. We need to help each other, every day. I lead a blended life co-leading an executive search and leadership advisory firm, while also being a mother, grandmother, wife, mentor, friend, and lover of good music, theatre, food, wine, and curious people.
The Advantage lays out a compelling case that if an organization has strong organizational health it is well placed to succeed in its goals and in its industry.
Goodorganizational healthembraces great teamwork, clear and consistent company culture and goals, and how to have effective meetings. Lencioni brings together many pragmatic and practical perspectives through many years of working with executive teams.
The key element for me is his articulation of the ‘five dysfunctions of teams’ and then how to address these. That one chart has been pivotal to my facilitation of many challenging executive discussions with clients, particularly when paired with Covey’s approach to trust and trust building.
Modelling Trust is the first step in building effective executive teams.
There is a competitive advantage out there, arguably more powerful than any other. Is it superior strategy? Faster innovation? Smarter employees? No, New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. In this book, Lencioni brings together his vast experience and many of the themes cultivated in his other best-selling books and delivers a first: a cohesive and comprehensive exploration of the unique advantage organizational health provides. Simply put,…
I see it every day. People wake up and trudge to work, resentfully working at a company that falls short of its promises and values. This is a problem that I've dedicated my career to resolving. My job is to ‘help organizations discover and live their possible’. This mission has guided me throughout my career as an international author, speaker, coach, and consultant with more than 25 years of corporate experience. Your brand promise doesn't determine your customer’s experience, your culture does. The problem is that we see culture as a means to an end leading us to a “set it and forget it mentality.” Culture is a living, breathing thing that must be nurtured.
The world changed the moment we were hit with a global pandemic. Most books are out-of-date and irrelevant. Not this one.
This book is all about culture in a post-pandemic world. He built this book from extensive interviews and research. I know too many companies that are struggling with culture and remote workforces. This book is timely, relevant, and sorely needed.
Rethink everything you know about office culture, hybrid work, and remote teams.
"If you want to thrive in a post-pandemic world, read this book!" --Dr. Tasha Eurich, New York Times Bestselling Author of Insight
"The future of work isn't fixed; it's waiting to be built. Remote, Not Distant offers a tactical blueprint to building a better future for all." --Darren Murph, Head of Remote, GitLab
"Gustavo Razzetti captures the return to the office/remote debate so well and enables us to understand how we can utilize the benefits of remote working without compromising on having a great company culture. A great…
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