This is much the best recent book on business. It shows the changing shapes of companies in the era of platforms, complex supply chains and more. Its greatest value is to remind us that great companies are essentially an expression of collective intelligence, and that their longevity depends on loving what they do. It documents many examples where firms forgot this, pursued short-term profit and ended up destroying their value - not just Enron but also others like Boeing or Deutsche Bank. Its also a healthy alternative to naive views of companies as nothing more than collections of contracts. Anyone with any role in business or finance should read it, and will learn far more than from 99% of airport books on business.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
'Original and thought-provoking... A brilliantly erudite account of the major waves in the theory and practice of management' Financial Times
'Instead of theory it has wisdom... an excellent book' New Statesman
For generations, we have defined a corporation as a business that uses its accumulated wealth to own the means of production and exercise economic power.
That is no longer the reality. Corporations no longer control their own industries, and our most desired goods and services aren't stacked in container ships: they appear on your screen, fit…
Almost 20 years ago, I committed to investing all of my money–starting with my cash–in ways that align with my values. It’s been a long and arduous journey, even with the help of financial advisors. When I retired, I took control of my money and realized investing this way does not have to be that hard. Moreover, most women want to invest in their values, but no one is helping them. So, I wrote a book to share the knowledge I’ve gained over 40 years as an investor. Later, I co-founded Invest for Better, a non-profit that puts women into investment clubs to help them become confident, values-aligned investors.
It is great to see women stepping up to write investment books that go beyond the status quo–a financial system developed primarily by men for men. Rather, they help us to think–and act–differently.
Unlike other books about investing for impact, this book leads with stories. Although the book addresses practical questions like: Do I need a financial advisor? How do I start as a 401(k) or DIY investor? How do I want to define risk and return?–it also tells the stories of women (and a few men) who are paving a new way of investing for others to follow, inspiring you to join them.
Whether you have $100 or $100 million in your bank account, you have the power to change the world for the better.
Having lived through recessions and pandemics, we all recognize the importance of financial well-being. But we are also living in a time of uncertainty, marked by injustice, climate crisis, and social change. How do we reconcile these two things--our financial well-being and our desire to advocate for a more just and equitable world? Perhaps you already donate to causes you care about, or you're looking to start, but the world of finance and investment feels intimidating, especially if…
From Side Hustle to Main Hustle to Millionaire
by
Ryan Scribner,
It's time to quit your day job. Anyone with the desire can start a side hustle, and there are more opportunities now than ever before. YouTube personality and personal finance guru Ryan Scribner went from a dead-end job to the limitless potential of self-employment by harnessing the power of the…
I’ve been passionate about the natural world since I was a child. This passion took me to many remote corners of the globe, and I always returned with a desire to share what I observed. As a science writer and journalist, I’ve been fortunate to tell multidisciplinary stories from the tops of the Andes to the reefs of Papua New Guinea and many places in between. As a writer, I know the importance of reading, and I’m constantly seeking out books by journalists and authors obsessed with topics that are often obscure but always fascinating—topics that have led them on journeys of exploration they share through their books.
I love books about obsession, and when they are told through the mind of a thoughtful and intelligent journalist, all the better in my book! As a journalist who has covered fisheries at the intersection of science and sustainability, I knew I had to read this book. I knew it would be important, but I had no idea I would love it so much.
Like the best nonfiction books on my shelf, this one is multidisciplinary and includes science, history, crime, environmental justice, and more. I moved seamlessly through the narrative, which carried me from dock to boat, science to policy, history to global dilemma. When a book leaves me reconsidering my place in the world, as this one did, I know it’s one to which I will return.
This is a tale of human obsession, one intrepid tuna, the dedicated fisherman who caught and set her free, the promises and limits of ocean science and the big truth of how our insatiable appetite for bluefin transformed a cottage industry into a global dilemma.
In 2004, an enigmatic charter captain named Al Anderson caught and marked one Atlantic bluefin tuna off New England's coast with a plastic fish tag. Fourteen years later that fish - dubbed Amelia for her ocean-spanning journeys - died in a Mediterranean fish trap, sparking Karen Pinchin's riveting investigation into the marvels, struggles, and prehistoric…
I haven’t always had a terribly healthy relationship with failure.
I was a perfectionist, who wanted to avoid being wrong, especially being publicly wrong, at any cost. My own journey to getting comfortable with failure took a long time and some pretty hard work, through building a practice of design thinking. If only I’d had Amy’s book to help me along the way!
Amy’s work is always thoughtful and inspiring, and this book builds on her essential thinking on psychological safety. Here, she lays out a helpful model for understanding good and bad failure, with a focus on reflection and learning. Intelligent failure goes far beyond a simple Fail Fast mantra, and Amy explains it all with wit and nuance.
Shortlisted for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year
A revolutionary guide that will transform your relationship with failure, from the pioneering researcher of psychological safety and award-winning Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson.
We used to think of failure as the opposite of success. Now, we’re often torn between two “failure cultures”: one that says to avoid failure at all costs, the other that says fail fast, fail often. The trouble is that both approaches lack the crucial distinctions to help us separate good failure from bad. As a result, we miss the opportunity to fail…
As a Gex Xer who came of age in the 80s, I haunted record stores, collected albums, and listened to music to gain insight into the bands I loved. As a musician I’ve always been fascinated by the creative process of songwriting. I’m intrigued by the interpersonal dynamics that make and break bands. I’m drawn to the business side of the music industry and the way iconic bands and music were marketed to us. The five books I’ve recommended are my personal favorites for highlighting how the music so many Gen Xers love was created and how years later it can still move us and give meaning to our everchanging lives.
Daniel Rachel is a master storyteller whose book answered every big and small arcane question I’ve ever had about the birth and popularity of the British 2 Tone ska movement and bands. As a 2 Tone nerd, I know a lot about the bands, but Rachel revealed stories and anecdotes I never knew.
I also consider him a huge influence on my approach to writing music history. He expertly combines incredibly detailed archival research and deep, personal interviews with musicians, label heads, journalists, and rabid fans to tell the definitive story of 2 Tone and its cultural impact, which remains relevant more than 40 years later.
In 1979, 2 Tone exploded into the national consciousness as records by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born.
2 Tone was black and white: a multi-racial force of British and Caribbean island musicians singing about social issues, racism, class and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and took fight against right wing extremism.
The music of 2 Tone was exuberant: white youth learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae; and crossed with a…
United States society constantly debates the role of our social safety net (or the lack of one) every political season. Holding It Together documents how women are forced to pick up the slack where we fall short in everything from childcare to elder care to baking brownies for a school bake sale. Poignantly told through the stories of women interviewed for the book, your views on the United States system of care and women's roles within it, will be changed by reading this book.
Other countries have social safety nets. The U.S. has women. Holding It Together chronicles the causes and dire consequences.
America runs on women—women who are tasked with holding society together at the seams and fixing it when things fall apart. In this tour de force, acclaimed Sociologist Jessica Calarco lays bare the devastating consequences of our status quo.
Holding It Together draws on five years of research in which Calarco surveyed over 4000 parents and conducted more than 400 hours of interviews with women who bear the brunt of our broken system. A widowed single mother struggles to patch together…
Head, Heart, and Hands Listening in Coach Practice
by
Kymberly Dakin-Neal,
This NABA award-winning book explores intentional listening as an essential skill for adults, introducing the Head, Heart, and Hands Listening model to amplify effective listening in personal and professional interactions. It’s a vital resource for coaches, psychologists, HR professionals, teachers, counselors, salespeople and others who listen for a living. Listening…
I believed the Internet would be as colorful a cultural phenomenon as LSD. But before I was even able to convince people that something wonderful was on the horizon, big business swooped in and recontextualized the digital renaissance as a business revolution and the Silicon Valley mindset was born: Companies should grow exponentially forever! Any tech problem can be solved with more tech! Humans on Earth are just larvae–maggots–while wealthy tech bros will get to Mars or upload their minds to the cloud. This list of books is meant to show how these guys think and why they’re taking us in the wrong direction.
This is the story of how and where the tech bro mindset was born. I was at first intimidated by the size of this thing and the breadth of its subtitle. But Harris manages to explain how the ethos of Palo Alto was forged long ago in a system of horse breeding that has carried through to the way startups are funded, evaluated, and shed today.
What I liked about it most were the stories of the people who developed this strange part of the country and how all of them contributed to what is now unquestioned: the Silicon Valley mindset. It really has nothing to do with doing business properly. It’s more of a cult.
The true, unvarnished history of the town at the heart of Silicon Valley.
Palo Alto is nice. The weather is temperate, the people are educated, rich, healthy, enterprising. Remnants of a hippie counterculture have synthesized with high technology and big finance to produce the spiritually and materially ambitious heart of Silicon Valley, whose products are changing how we do everything from driving around to eating food. It is also a haunted toxic waste dump built on stolen Indian burial grounds, and an integral part of the capitalist world system.
In Palo Alto, the first comprehensive, global history of Silicon Valley,…
I
picked this book because of its value to everyone in business. Everyone knows
mentorship matters: 84% of the Fortune 500 have mentoring programs, and 100% of
the Fortune 50 do. And yet, how many mentors and mentees are given guidelines
to help foster this important relationship?
While well-intentioned, many of
these relationships end up on a wing and a prayer, but thanks to The
Ultimate Guide to Great Mentorship by Scott Miller, that doesn’t have to
be the case anymore!
This book is a super easy read, incredibly relatable, and
helpful to everyone in business. It has 13 roles a mentor plays, guidelines and
tips, common pitfalls to avoid, and so much more. This book is a must have on
every manager’s shelf – I love it!
Easy, practical guidance on how to make the most out of your mentorship journey.
Being a great mentor leads to thriving, engaged employees on both sides of the mentor-mentee relationship and helps drive renewed purpose. There are growing expectations and interest in business today that leaders will make themselves available as mentors to provide future leaders growth opportunities and help them grow in their roles. There is also plenty of evidence that shows how impactful mentorship can be for the mentors when approached with the right mindset.
The Ultimate Guide to Great Mentorship walks mentors through the mentorship journey, from…
'The definitive guide for anyone who's ready to walk a crucial pathway: from the appearance of control, to the possession of a quiet power.' SUSAN CAIN
'This book will forever change the way you view perfectionism and yourself. An irresistible invitation to reclaim your natural state of wholeness, your joy and your life.' DEEPAK CHOPRA
'Gives you permission to be more in a world that's telling you to be less.' LORI GOTTLEIB
'Provocative... identifies the strategies and mindsets every high-achieving woman needs to quell her inner critic and embrace her true talents.' HOLLY WHITAKER
Why is it that the way companies are managing employees seems to have gotten worse over time - less training, career development, job security, more stress, and so forth? It is not a push for greater efficiency. These practices end up being more expensive and less efficient.
Oreskes
and Conway have been heroes of mine ever since their masterful Merchants of Doubt. They are now doing
for free-market fundamentalism what they previously did for climate change
denialism: showing how con artists have tricked Americans into believing it.
I teach a lot of conservative students, and it can be hard to get past their
distrust and defensiveness. Revealing the “magic trick” of how they have been
manipulated is one of the few things that work.
"A carefully researched work of intellectual history, and an urgently needed political analysis." --Jane Mayer
“[A] scorching indictment of free market fundamentalism … and how we can change, before it's too late.”-Esquire, Best Books of Winter 2023
The bestselling authors of Merchants of Doubt offer a profound, startling history of one of America's most tenacious--and destructive--false ideas: the myth of the "free market."
In their bestselling book Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway revealed the origins of climate change denial. Now, they unfold the truth about another disastrous dogma: the “magic of the marketplace.”
