Here are 47 books that The Gig Economy fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’m passionate about workplace leadership, both as a writer and former human resources executive. I spent three decades in corporate HR roles. At the same time, I wrote 17 books on effective people leadership practices and published hundreds of articles as a columnist for SHRM—the Society for Human Resource Management. I’ve taught in UCLA Extension’s School of Business and Management for years, trained for the American Management Association, and served as a keynote speaker at many conferences. I find leadership and management fascinating—hiring, motivation, professional development, accountability, innovation, and even termination. Building people's muscle while protecting companies from unwanted legal liability has been my passion throughout my career.
I love this book and recommend it often because of its exceptional forecasting ability. Author George Friedman can’t guarantee the future, but his arguments for likely outcomes are exceptionally cogent and well thought through. The book was written in 2009 and well before the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed things considerably in terms of economic impact, labor scarcity, global migration patterns, and so much more.
Still, its findings are more than insightful and combine a well-honed imagination with historical expertise to forecast the 21st century’s likely trajectory by decade, including the United States, Russia, China, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. It provides a healthy perspective and a 30,000-foot view of what we may likely experience as a planet, especially in geopolitical, technical, and cultural terms.
In his long-awaited and provocative book, George Friedman turns his eye on the future-offering a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century. He explains where and why future wars will erupt (and how they will be fought), which nations will gain and lose economic and political power, and how new technologies and cultural trends will alter the way we live in the new century.
The Next 100 Years draws on a fascinating exploration of history and geopolitical patterns dating back hundreds of years. Friedman shows that we are now, for…
I’m passionate about workplace leadership, both as a writer and former human resources executive. I spent three decades in corporate HR roles. At the same time, I wrote 17 books on effective people leadership practices and published hundreds of articles as a columnist for SHRM—the Society for Human Resource Management. I’ve taught in UCLA Extension’s School of Business and Management for years, trained for the American Management Association, and served as a keynote speaker at many conferences. I find leadership and management fascinating—hiring, motivation, professional development, accountability, innovation, and even termination. Building people's muscle while protecting companies from unwanted legal liability has been my passion throughout my career.
This was the best book I’ve read for new managers because of its broad coverage of key areas of responsibility and its practical application and wisdom for newly minted leaders to build their self-confidence and transition effectively into their new roles and responsibilities.
New managers are the base of the leadership pyramid—the foundational structure of what makes businesses work. They set the tone, serve as role models, and literally create each organization’s unique culture. And they need training—lots of it—to master their craft and forge strong relationships (sometimes with people who, until recently, were their peers).
This book gets them off on the right foot and helps them build critical muscle around effective leadership principles, legal awareness, self-care, emotional intelligence, remote team management, and so much more.
The trusted management classic and go-to guide for anyone facing new responsibilities as a first-time manager.
Learn to conquer every challenge like a seasoned pro with the clear, candid advice in The First-Time Manager. For nearly four decades, this expert guide has brought newcomers up to speed on the realities of managing people.
The updated seventh edition delivers new information that helps you manage across generations, use online performance appraisal tools, persuade with stories, oversee remote employees, build a team dynamic, match a boss's style, and more.
I’m passionate about workplace leadership, both as a writer and former human resources executive. I spent three decades in corporate HR roles. At the same time, I wrote 17 books on effective people leadership practices and published hundreds of articles as a columnist for SHRM—the Society for Human Resource Management. I’ve taught in UCLA Extension’s School of Business and Management for years, trained for the American Management Association, and served as a keynote speaker at many conferences. I find leadership and management fascinating—hiring, motivation, professional development, accountability, innovation, and even termination. Building people's muscle while protecting companies from unwanted legal liability has been my passion throughout my career.
Women in leadership are our nation’s superpower...the growth and development of our economy hinges on placing more female leaders into senior corporate executive and board roles to meet the talent shortage and inject a high level of emotional intelligence into corporate America. But we’ve experienced centuries of destructive cultural conditioning, messaging, and reinforcement.
This book helped me see through the assumptions we’ve created and move beyond them. In the United States, more bachelor's, law, and medical degrees are now going to females. Yet, 80% of CEOs are male, corporate boards are more than 80% male, and women still make roughly $.80 to a male’s dollar in similarly situated roles. This book opens the door to the clarity we need to leverage our most important asset.
From the NPR host of The Indicator and correspondent for Planet Money comes an "accessible, funny, clear-eyed, and practical" (Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author) guide for how women can apply the principles of 16th-century philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli to their work lives and finally shatter the glass ceiling-perfect for fans of Feminist Fight Club, Lean In, and Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office.
Women have been making strides towards equality for decades, or so we're often told. They've been increasingly entering male-dominated areas of the workforce and consistently surpassing their male peers in grades, university attendance, and degrees.…
I’m passionate about workplace leadership, both as a writer and former human resources executive. I spent three decades in corporate HR roles. At the same time, I wrote 17 books on effective people leadership practices and published hundreds of articles as a columnist for SHRM—the Society for Human Resource Management. I’ve taught in UCLA Extension’s School of Business and Management for years, trained for the American Management Association, and served as a keynote speaker at many conferences. I find leadership and management fascinating—hiring, motivation, professional development, accountability, innovation, and even termination. Building people's muscle while protecting companies from unwanted legal liability has been my passion throughout my career.
In survey after survey, Gen Y Millennials and Gen Z Zoomers value diversity of thoughts, ideas, and voices as a top five priority. This book focuses on creating a work environment where people of all races, backgrounds, interests, and life experiences can partner together to do their best work every day with peace of mind. Kriska provides practical insights and roadmaps on how to lead diverse groups effectively, build trust and respect into team DNA, and bring out the best in others by having their backs.
Developing what she calls a “We Mindset” fosters a stronger sense of teamwork and camaraderie. As the world of work shifts more to team productivity and performance (as opposed to individual achievement), Kriska shows us the way to avoid “us versus them” constructs and excuses in order to build stronger performing teams where everyone wins and benefits, not the least of which is the…
Discover how this leader-focused approach to understanding, managing, and maximizing organizational diversity and inclusion can increase employee retention and productivity.
Workplace misunderstandings lead to lost revenue, lost time, and increased legal risk, thus your success in the marketplace will depend on our ability to collaborate across difference. Yet, inevitably, Us versus Them gaps disrupt workplace efficiency.
In The Business of WE, cross-cultural consultant and diversity expert Laura Kriska will:
Provide a practical roadmap for creating trust with others who are culturally different from yourself
Help you create a WE mindset throughout your organization, bringing teams together into cohesive units.
Walk…
I fell into freelancing when I unexpectedly got the opportunity to act in Bollywood after graduating from law school and business school. With six figure student loans, I needed to make money and still have time for auditions. Enter freelancing! A decade later, I’ve helped other people expand beyond their day jobs, change careers, or tap into a different skillset, and I’ve collected stories of over fifty freelancers who are doing the same. I hope these books inspire and support you as you venture off the beaten path to create a career that’s just right for you!
A couple years ago, I accepted a full-time job on top of my freelancing so I could be part of a bigger team.
I thought landing the job would be the hard part, but on my first day of work I found out I was wrong. It had been years since I’d worked at a company and I had no idea how to navigate office politics. This book totally saved me.
It helped me transition from freelance to full-time, but it also made me a better freelancer because I understood my clients and what they valued more deeply, so I could communicate in a way that resonated with them. Whether you’re freelance or full-time, this book is a must.
Named one of 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 by Thinkers50
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
"...this guide provides readers with much more than just early careers advice; it can help everyone from interns to CEOs." - a Financial Times top title
You've landed a job. Now what?
No one tells you how to navigate your first day in a new role. No one tells you how to take ownership, manage expectations, or handle workplace politics. No one tells you how to get promoted.
The answers to these professional unknowns lie in the unspoken rules-the certain ways of doing…
I have been an organizational psychologist and executive coach for more than two decades, advising high-level executives, including Fortune 500 leaders, to build workplace cultures in which all employees can flourish. Yet, for many employees of color, the workplace is so challenging that many feel professionally stifled. I realized many years ago that to accomplish my own goals; I needed to take control of my career and not depend upon the vagaries of individual leaders. I needed to set goals, take a long game view, be honest with myself and my leaders, and help leaders understand how changing some habits could help them and me succeed in a disrupted world.
Think Big is a science-based roadmap to help a reader achieve their wildest dreams, by taking small and big steps that move you incrementally toward the goal. Sometimes the steps require doing things you have not done before but sometimes they require stopping or reducing or changing your current patterns of dealing with the realities of life.
What are you doing today to make your dream future come true?
'A rare self-help book that's actually informed by evidence. A host of perceptive, practical tips for getting out of your own way and making progress toward your career goals.' Adam Grant, bestselling author of Think Again and Originals
'A practical and accessible guide to using behavioural science in your career.' Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible Women ________________
We all have big ambitions for the future but those dreams only become reality if we do something towards them regularly. To achieve audacious goals, we need to take action…
My career journey started as an HR trainee in Karachi, Pakistan, and ended as the head of HR at two major companies. Across 31 years, I have worked for blue-chip companies like The Gillette Company, P&G, and Del Monte, building my own and observing firsthand many extraordinary careers. Unfortunately, for every person I observed who built a fantastic career, I have seen many more feel unsuccessful and unfulfilled in their careers. This is why I am passionate about using my knowledge and experience to help people navigate the challenges of the modern workplace and to provide them with the tools and strategies necessary to create their own extraordinary careers.
I love this book because it is a game-changer in the world of career guidance. I wish they had written this book when I was starting my career.
Personally, I love it because it is written for the modern career, where there is so much change and traditional concepts of careers are dead. I love how they encourage embracing uncertainty and squiggles, offering practical advice and inspiration along the way.
I got a lot of value from the book because it's about finding fulfillment and purpose in your career journey.
'The Squiggly Career is about navigating work in a way that suits you, it's a timely and brilliant handbook for now' Stylist
'A brilliant guide. Read it and get the tools you need to thrive in your career now and in the future' Marie Forleo, author of Everything is Figureoutable
'Logical, practical and based on tried and tested models' Financial Times's Book of the Month
Career ladders and jobs for life are a thing of the past
Today, we're living in a world of squiggly careers, where moving frequently and fluidly between roles,…
I am one of the founders of the American dispute resolution field and have taught negotiation, legal ethics, mediation, alternative dispute resolution and international dispute resolution for 40 years in over 25 countries on every continent. I have mediated, negotiated or arbitrated hundreds of cases. I am a law professor who has taught legal ethics since it was required post-Watergate for all law students. As a negotiation teacher and practitioner, I have seen the effects of deceit and dishonorable negotiations in law and diplomacy and peace seeking and I have also seen what can happen when people treat each other fairly to reach better outcomes for problems than they could achieve on their own.
Drawing on years of business school teaching and research and leading negotiation trainings in many countries, Shell provides an important guide for people to stand up for their values in business, law, and complex work situations. Real-world stories put flesh on the bones of outlines of both philosophical and political approaches to difficult choices in career and workplace negotiations. This book can assist any negotiator in figuring out what is really important to them (and their clients and organizations) and then how to actualize behaviors that make principled change happen. This book also provides great advice about when to walk away from the negotiation table or a particular task or job because higher values call.
The Conscience Code is a practical guide to creating workplaces where everyone can thrive.
Surveys show that more than 40% of employees report seeing ethical misconduct at work, and most fail to report it--killing office morale and allowing the wrong people to set the example. Collegiate professor G. Richard Shell has heard work misconduct stories from his MBA students which inspired him to create this helpful guide for navigating these nuances.
Shell created?this book?to point to a better path: recognize that these conflicts are coming, learn to spot them, then follow a research-based, step-by-step approach for resolving them skillfully.?By committing…
I’ve been fascinated with living life on my own terms since I was a child and drew pictures with inspirational quotes such as ‘go your own way!’ and ‘aim for the moon!’ Fast forward to my thirties and I quit my 9-5 career to embrace what it means to live out my wildest dreams. I was terrified but, aren’t we all? I can’t get enough of inspiring books that teach me how to live big, believe in myself, and push far beyond what society tells us we should do. All of which helped me to build my dream life and live it. Now get out there and make your dream life happen!
In amongst the inspiring tales of world travel and lives made magnificent, you need a practical handbook to get you started and guide you along the way. Be a Free Range Human fits the bill perfectly.
The author is one of the pioneers of quitting the 9-5 and knows her stuff. This book is full of guidance and exercises to help you work out what you really want and how your dream life looks.
I was so impressed with the range of topics the book contains and how it gave me the ultimate freedom to dream without constraint – even when I was working in a grey, corporate office.
DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE: NYC Big Book Award 2020 - Career
Trapped in a job or business that's "just not you"? Always dreaming of your next vacation or living for the weekend? Marianne Cantwell's straight-talking bestseller will help you break out of that career cage and Be A Free Range Human. It's about much more than just quitting your job and becoming your own boss. It's about life on your terms, working when, where and how you want - so you don't have to fit yourself into someone else's box to make a great income. This second edition won't just inspire you,…
My career journey started as an HR trainee in Karachi, Pakistan, and ended as the head of HR at two major companies. Across 31 years, I have worked for blue-chip companies like The Gillette Company, P&G, and Del Monte, building my own and observing firsthand many extraordinary careers. Unfortunately, for every person I observed who built a fantastic career, I have seen many more feel unsuccessful and unfulfilled in their careers. This is why I am passionate about using my knowledge and experience to help people navigate the challenges of the modern workplace and to provide them with the tools and strategies necessary to create their own extraordinary careers.
I picked up this book because I heard Carter Cast on a podcast and was very impressed with what he had to say.
This book isn't just a career guide; it's a game-changer. It resonates with me deeply because it's not about following a generic path to success but about embracing your unique strengths and qualities.
I like his refreshing and funny way of presenting his take on career success. His stories and actionable advice resonate with me because he has learned from his own career, which is also my story.
Nearly a quarter century ago Carter Cast seemed to have it all together: he had a first-class education, an all-American athletic career, and was a very bright and energetic rising star on the fast track at a Fortune 100 company, PepsiCo. But blissfully unaware of how negative perceptions were shaped, he was stunned when called into his boss's office, and told he was "unpromotable" because he was "obstinate," "resistant," and "insubordinate."
Baffled, scared, and embarrassed, that defining moment led to Cast's years-long effort to try to understand why he came so close to going off track, discovering that what he…
