Reading Ideas for Success Throughout the Year

“I can think of no better way to become more intelligent than sit down and read.”

-Warren Buffet, CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

The summer season may have come to an end, but for many, the pandemic will slow the usually dramatic shift into fall, allowing a summer-like feeling to linger. The remote work environment and subsequent time gained by reductions in commutes, personal commitments or professional gatherings that might typically fill up a fall calendar could just leave you with a little extra down time in the coming weeks. Reading can be a valuable and rewarding usage of time, and while there is knowledge to be gained in almost every book, here are a few ideas to inspire your reading list.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

“Always Day One: How the Tech Titans Plan to Stay on Top Forever” Alex Kantrowitz

In the words of Jeff Bezos, day one is characterized by innovation and flexibility, and day two is “stasis, followed by irrelevance, followed by excruciating, painful decline, followed by death.” Through 130 interviews with tech titan insiders, from Mark Zuckerberg to hourly workers, Kantrowitz reveals the tech giants’ blueprint for sustainable success.”

“How Innovation Works: And Why it Flourishes in Freedom”
Matt Ridley

In this book, bestselling author Matt Ridley argues that we need to change the way we think about innovation, and see it as an incremental, bottom-up, fortuitous process that happens to society as a direct result of the human habit of exchange. He derives these lessons through lively stories of innovation such as steam engines, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, copyright, and more.

Productivity and Leadership

Sometimes, it feels like there is never enough time in the day. These books can help you find more time and be a more effective leader by harnessing technology, learning new skills, and adjusting your goals and expectations.

“CARE to Lead: How to Master and Implement Four Keys to Leadership: Communication, Accountability, Relationships and Example of Excellence”
Alec McGalliard

This book, written by U.S. Navy veteran and nuclear energy industry executive Alec McGaillard, emphasizes meaningful leadership coaching that doesn’t take years to learn. It pulls on his experiences to teach you a simple formula to enhance your leadership qualities and learn to lead by example: Communication, Accountability, Relationships, and Example of Excellence, or CARE.

“Work Smarter: 500+ Online Resources Today’s Top Entrepreneurs Use to Increase Productivity and Achieve their Goals”
Nick Loper

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, but this book aims to teach you to use these hours to work smarter, not harder. In this book, more than 800 entrepreneurs like Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Chris Brogan, and more share their favorite resources to improve productivity, communication, project management, and more. In total, more than 500 resources are shared in this book.

“The Upbeat, Organized Home Office: Five Simple Steps to SORT and SUCCEED for an Organized Mind, Better Time Management Skills & an Office that Makes you Smile”
Darla L. DeMorrow

Everyone deserves a home office. Even if you don’t work from home, you will need a place to pay bills, answer emails, and more. This book offers five simple steps to organize your home office one area at a time. Find time, save money, and overcome information overload with organizing strategies.

Finance and Economics

Between a global pandemic and a recession, now may be the perfect time to develop a better understanding of the national and international economy. These books won’t teach you about trading tips and budgeting, but instead provide detailed analyses and information about how to predict, understand, and capitalize on turns in the economy on a larger scale.

“Narrative Economics:
How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events”
Robert J. Shiller

Ideas spread through popular stories can go viral and move markets – whether it’s the belief that tech stocks can only go up, or that housing prices never fall. However, most economists have paid little attention these stories. Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times bestselling author Robert Shiller sets out to change this in his groundbreaking account of how stories help drive economic events.

“Cavemen with Smartphones:
How Evolution Shaped History and Finance”
Richard Amador

Financial journalist Richard Amador examines the evolution of human psychology in order to explain the development of trade, civilization, and world finance. This book is all humanity; the factors that shaped our minds and how we put our brains to use. With intelligence came knowledge. Wisdom gave us civilization. Society brought us finance. The free markets gave us choice.

Technology

Technological innovation is driving the world at a pace that has never before been set. In order to avoid being left behind, it’s essential to keep up with what is happening in technology on the world economic stage. These books will help you to understand the crucial trends and advancements in technology and how they are affecting the economy and the workplace.

“The Future is Faster than you Think: How Converging Technologies are Transforming Business, Industries, and our Lives”
Peter H. Diamandis, Steven Kotler

Technology is accelerating far more quickly than anyone could have imagined. In this gripping and insightful roadmap to our near future, bestselling authors Diamandis and Kotler investigate how wave after wave of exponentially accelerating technologies will impact both our daily lives and society as a whole.

“Applied Artificial Intelligence: A Handbook for Business Leaders”
Mariya Yao, Adelyn Zhou, Marlene Jia

A practical guide for business leaders who are passionate about leveraging machine intelligence to enhance the productivity of their organizations and the quality of life in their communities. If you want to drive innovation by combining data, technology, design, and people to solve real problems at an enterprise scale, this is your playbook.