Book Recommendations
Here’s a list of work-related books that have influenced and inspired me over the years. I’ve divided it into broad subject areas.
business Skills
Chris Anderson: Ted Talks The official TED guide to public speaking
Stella Cottrell: Critical Thinking Skills Definitive text on how to become a critical thinker
Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends and Influence People Written in 1936 and still full of great advice
Nancy Duarte: Resonate How to create great presentations
Nancy Duarte: Slide:ology How to create great slides
Ann Handley: Everybody Writes A guide to writing great content
Daniel Kahneman: Thinking Fast and Slow The groundbreaking book on how the brain works
David H Meister: The Trusted Advisor How to develop better client relationships
Cal Newport: Deep Work Rules for focused success in a distracted world
Hans Rosling: Factfulness How to use facts to overcome our cognitive biases
Richard Shotton: The Choice Factory Understanding 25 key behavioural biases
Kim Scott: Radical Candor A model for giving feedback
Coaching
Martin Howden; Don’t Look Back Coaching stories
Patrick Lencioni: The 5 Dysfunctions of Teams How to create high performing teams
Gladeana McMahon: 101 Coaching Strategies and Techniques A useful manual for coaches
Mark McKergow: The Solutions Focus goal-oriented coaching
Henry Kimsey-House: Co-active Coaching classic coaching bible
Nancy Kline: Time to Think The power of listening
John Whitmore: Coaching for Performance Featuring the classic GROW model
Creativity and Innovation
Tony and Barry Buzan: The Mind Map Book How to create and use mind maps
Julia Cameron: The Artist’s Way A spiritual path to higher creativity
Alan Fletcher: The Art of Looking Sideways Huge, full of quotes and creative inspiration
Edward de Bono: How to Have a Beautiful Mind Tips, suggestions on how to be more creative
Gary Hamel: Leading the Revolution An important book that looks at innovation
Austin Kleon: Steal Like An Artist 10 key lessons in creativity
Jake Knapp: Sprint A key influence in the growth of ‘agile’ working
Clay Sharky: Cognitive Surplus How businesses are responding to the new age of connectivity
Malcolm Gladwell: The Tipping Point How ideas spread
Seth Godin: The Idea Virus How ideas spread
Seth Godin: Purple Cow How to be remarkable
Hugh MacLeod: Ignore Everybody The keys to creativity
David McCandless: Information is Beautiful The power of infographics
David McCandless: Beautiful News Positive trends, uplifting stats, creative solutions
Michael Michalko: Tinker Toys Creative thinking tools and techniques
Steven Pressfield: The War of Art Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles
Rick Rubin: The Creative Act Lessons in creativity from the renowned music producer
Matthew Syed: Rebel Ideas The power of diverse thinking
John Yorke: Into the Woods How stories work and why we tell them
Entrepreneurship
Jim Collins and Bill Brazier: Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 Ways to build enduring companies
John Doerr: Measure What Matters A seminal book on the topic of OKRs
Walter Isaacson: Steve Jobs The definitive biography of the most influential business leader of our generation
Paul Jarvis: Company of One Why staying small is the next big thing
Guy Kawaski: The Art of the Start An entrepreneur’s user manual
Alex Stephany: The Business of Sharing Thought-provoking reflections on our new sharing economy
James Watt: Business For Punks Entrepreneurship the Brewdog Way
Marketing Strategy
W. Chan Kim: Blue Ocean Strategy How to create uncontested market space
Eatbigfish & PhD: Overthrow 2 10 ways to tell Challenger stories
Matt Beaumont: e Hilarious book, written entirely in email
Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts: Brandsplaining Why Marketing is (Still) Sexist and How to Fix It
Guy Browning: Office Politics One of several of Guy’s really funny books, exposing the absurdities of business life
Matt Haig: Brand Failures Stories behind some of the biggest marketing mistakes of all time
Seth Godin: All Marketers Tell Stories Advice from the guru
Seth Godin: This is Marketing More advice from the guru
Adam Morgan: Eating the Big Fish How challengers can compete against brand leaders
Adam Morgan and Mark Barden: A Beautiful Constraint Turning your limitations to your advantage
David Ogilvy: Ogilvy on Advertising Timeless advice from one of the original ‘Madmen’
Naomi Klein: No Logo An exploration on the power and influence of multi-nationals
Richard Rumelt: Good Strategy Bad Strategy The fundamentals of good planning
Byron Sharp: How Brands Grow One of the most influential books on marketing strategy in recent years
Mark Sherrington: Added Value The alchemy of brand lead growth from the co-founder of my old agency
David Taylor and David Nichols: The Brandgym A practical handbook to fuel brand growth from two Added Value alumni
Peters and Waterman: In Search of Excellence Lessons from America’s best-run companies
PErSONAL GROWTH
Oliver Burkeman: Four Thousand Weeks Time management for mortals
Susan Cain: Quiet A manifesto for introverts
Robert Caldini: Influence The psychology of persuasion
James Clear: Atomic Habits The definitive book on creating good habits
Elizabeth Day: Failosophy What we learn from failure
Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit Why we do what we do
Stephen R Covey: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People A timeless classic on how to achieve success
Tim Ferris: Tools of Titans The tactics, habits and routines of world-class performers
Malcolm Gladwell: Blink Trusting your intuition
Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers This is the 10 000 hours of practice book
Seth Godin: Linchpin How to become indispensable
Ryan Holiday: Ego is the Enemy Defeating your biggest enemy - yourself
Ryan Holiday: The Obstacle is the Way How to overcome adversity
Daniel H Pink: When The scientific secrets of perfect timing
Daniel H Pink: To Sell is Human How to persuade and influence
Simon Sinek: Find Your Why A guide for discovering purpose for you and your team
Mark Simmonds: Beat Stress At Work: How to balance your ambition with your anxiety
Thomas M Sterner: The Practicing Mind Bringing discipline and focus into your life
Matthew Syed: Bounce Debunking the myth of talent and extolling the virtues of practice
Steve Peters: The Chimp Paradox How to build self-belief