Source: Financial Times
by Wynne Lewis,
October 18, 2016.
My former workplace was full of people who loved to read so we started a book club. We would source a list of recommendations from everyone, send it out in a survey and vote for our top picks. We would then meet to discuss the highlights, lowlights, and main takeaways over pizza and wine. It was the best.
In the end, it was these great reads that were the perfect fuel to energize me as I was getting ready for school. Here are my top picks:
Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead, Lazlo Bock – It should not come as a surprise that a New York tech start-up chose a Google book to read for some office inspiration but I was pleasantly surprised by how rich a conversation starter this book was. Lazlo Bock, head of Google’s people operations goes deeper than the traditional Google anecdotes to bring you tips, tricks and lessons learnt along the way. Mr Bock does a great job of explaining why certain things worked for Google in strengthening their working environment and more importantly, why some things did not.
We found that not everything was applicable to us but there were ideas we could reform to fit our needs as a growing company that was working hard to maintain culture while streamlining productivity. I am excited to see if there are any overlaps with HR practices in Denmark.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World Adam Grant – We read both of the Wharton professor’s books this summer but this one was my favourite. That being said, I highly recommend Give and Take as well. What I liked most about Originals was that Prof Grant used so many varied and well-known cases from different fields to support his new paradigm for success: champion innovative ideas that you believe in, even if they go against the norm. This book is a must read for everyone but especially helpful in getting into a product ideation and marketing mindset.
Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products, by Nir Eyal. Mr Eyal has taken a lot of research and boiled it down to a couple of easy to understand core concepts in this quick read. His four-step process helps you understand how consumers work and how to subtly and effectively keep them coming back to your product. We had a member of the engineering team lead the discussion for this book and it was a very insightful conversation.
One of the main lessons for me was: if you are looking to build anything successful, you need to understand user experience and the research it takes to design a product that sticks. If you like this book, I highly recommend The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen for a more detailed look into establishing processes to ensure a great user experience. A large number of my future classmates at CBS come from an engineering and product background, and I am interested to hear their thoughts after reading both of these books.
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, by Simon Sinek – I am a huge fan of this author and have watched his TED talks about both of his books many times. If you do not have time to read the whole book, which Mr Sinek builds out with varied and interesting case studies, watch the talks. The underlying theme in this book is that putting your people first inspires them to give their all and enjoy their work. That is, of course, a very simplified version of it, but the way that Mr Sinek builds his premise inspires a new way of approaching people management. I am excited to see if there are any overlaps with his book and my leadership discovery class at CBS.
The Industries of the Future, by Alec Ross – We did not get a chance to read this one as a group but I could not resist it. Alec Ross had a unique position as senior adviser for innovation to former US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton and shares his insights in this fascinating read. He covers everything from bitcoins to robot caretakers with economic analysis layered on top to assess the next big trends in innovation. This book is for the investors and entrepreneurs who want to pave the way to the future. A perfect read for overall MBA inspiration.
Those are my top five. I hope you find something that peaks your interest. As well as the books I need to cover my MBA syllabus, I am looking forward to the suggested reads that come from professors and peers. In the end, I find that nothing beats a personal recommendation.
