Are you a voracious reader?
I have to admit that I’m not. I’m what you call a voracious book starter. A lot of topics interest me, but there are only a few books each year that keep my attention long enough for me to finish them.
I’ve looked at some of the business books coming out over the next few months, and highlighted twelve that sound incredibly interesting and informative. I know I’ll start them, but which ones will I finish?
What about you? Which books in this list will you check out? Post a comment below to tell me!
Do you want to win a book? We’ve got details on a book giveaway you can enter today. Scroll to the end of this article for entry details.
Business Advice:
1. How to Fly a Horse
The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery
By Kevin Ashton
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
I’m a sucker for great storytelling, and “How to Fly a Horse” looks like it will be a fascinating string of stories that demonstrate how innovators make lots of small improvements that lead to big changes.
From the description:
“Why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it, why most organizations stifle creative people, and how the most creative organizations work. In a passionate and profound narrative that amazes and inspires, Ashton’s book sheds new light on how ‘new’ comes to be.”
Available: January 20 | Buy it
2. Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader
By Herminia Ibarra
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
I’m a hands-on learner, so the concept of acting like a leader in order to learn how to be a better leader sounds promising. However, there are plenty of books on leadership, so it will be interesting to see if this one truly offers a noteworthy path.
From the description:
“Defying standard leadership development guidance, which encourages deep self-reflection into strengths and weaknesses, this book shows that the most effective way to change is through action, not analysis, and by learning from experience, not introspection. In short, it will teach you to change from the outside in by first acting like a leader and then thinking like one.”
Available: February 10 | Pre-order now
3. Design to Grow
How Coca-Cola Learned to Combine Scale and Agility (and How You Can Too)
By David Butler and Linda Tischler
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
The opportunity to get an inside view at how the billion-dollar soda company adapts to market changes sounds too good to pass up.
From the description:
“In ‘Design to Grow,’ a Coca-Cola senior executive shares both the successes and failures of one of the world’s largest companies as it learns to use design to be both agile and big. In this rare and unprecedented behind-the-scenes look, David Butler and senior Fast Company editor, Linda Tischler, use plain language and easy-to-understand case studies to show how this works at Coca-Cola—and how other companies can use the same approach to grow their business.”
Available: February 10 | Pre-order now
4. Stress Less. Achieve More
Simple Ways to Turn Pressure into a Positive Force in Your Life
By Aimee Bernstein
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
Who isn’t stressed? Rather than adding de-stressing activities to my to do list, I’d like to learn more about channeling that stress into positive results in the moment.
From the description:
“Who has time for yoga poses amid nonstop meetings and pressing deadlines? Stress reduction becomes one more thing to do!
Executive coach and psychotherapist Aimee Bernstein offers a more effective and realistic approach: embrace the pressure. See it as an energy source. Tap into its flow to accomplish more while feeling calm and centered. It’s a counterintuitive message that frenzied professionals can actually use.”
Available: February 11 | Pre-order now
5. The Creator’s Code
The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs
By Amy Wilkinson
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
Will knowing “six essential skills” make you or me a better entrepreneur? No. But the book makes my list because I’m interested in reading stories about the founders of the companies listed in the description.
From the description:
“How do some people turn ideas into enterprises that endure? Why do some people succeed when so many others fail? ‘The Creator’s Code’ unlocks the six essential skills that turn small notions into big companies. This landmark book is based on 200 interviews with today’s leading entrepreneurs including the founders of LinkedIn, Chipotle, eBay,Under Armour, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, Spanx, Airbnb, PayPal, Jetblue, Gilt Groupe, Theranos, and Dropbox.”
Available: February 17 | Pre-order now
6. Small Business and the City
The Transformative Potential of Small-Scale Entrepreneurship
By Rafael Gomez, Andre Isakov, and Matt Semansky
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
The concept of Business Improvement Areas sounds really interesting, and I’d love to hear about a new model for helping small businesses succeed despite current roadblocks.
From the description:
“The power of small-scale entrepreneurship to transform local neighborhoods and the cities they inhabit. In their evaluation of the factors that help small businesses survive and thrive, the authors highlight the success of a Canadian concept which has spread worldwide: the Business Improvement Area (BIA). By encouraging small-scale entrepreneurs to pool their resources with like-minded businesses, BIAs become sources of urban rejuvenation, magnets for human talent, and incubators for local innovation.”
Available: March 9 | Pre-order now
7. The Membership Economy
Find Your Super Users, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue
By Robbie Kellman Baxter
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
I work for a software company that offers a subscription-based product, but I still have a lot to learn about this kind of business model.
From the description:
“The membership-based business is a problem-solver for both businesses and individuals. It spares people from the duties of ownership, and provides a feeling of commonality and affiliation. For businesses, it offers the opportunity to create a “forever customer” who remains loyal and participatory, even as the company shifts and changes. Membership allows for building direct relationships, and continuously generates a data stream that can be tapped for a variety of purposes.”
Available: March 20 | Pre-order now
8. The Psychology of Work
Insights into Successful Working Practices
By Chantal Gautier
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
Every company’s culture is different, and the psychology behind why people behave the way they do in the workplace offers some great insight into how to improve your own.
From the description:
“To make sense of people’s behavior in complex organizations, instead of offering a dry presentation of organizational psychology theories, Chantal Gautier analyzes transcripts from interviews with people at different levels in various types of organizations and sheds light into real organizational work practices. Personal narratives, exercises, and reflective practices make the material relatable to everybody’s experience.”
Available: March 28 | Pre-order now
9. Widgets
The 12 New Rules for Managing Your Employees As If They’re Real People
By Rodd Wagner
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
Management books are almost always boring. This one looks to break from the mold.
From the description:
“Armed with empirical evidence from the provocative studies he leads around the
globe, Wagner guides readers through the new realities of what it takes to get the highest levels of intensity from people in a more mercenary, skeptical, and wired work world. He explains how elements such as individualization, fearlessness, transparency, recognition, and coolness are reciprocated with loyalty, productivity, innovation, and—inescapably—corporate reputation.
Research-driven with a healthy dose of humor and pop culture, WIDGETS is a
practical and much-needed playbook for motivating employees by treating them like real people.”
Available: April 14 | Pre-order now
10. Rejection Proof
How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection
By Jia Jang
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
Social experiments such as Jia Jang’s may be light on applicable takeaways, but they almost always offer the chance to encounter unique people and perspectives.
From the description:
“Jia Jiang came to the United States with the dream of being the next Bill Gates. But despite early success in the corporate world, his first attempt to pursue his entrepreneurial dream ended in rejection. Jia was crushed, and spiraled into a period of deep self doubt. But he realized that his fear of rejection was a bigger obstacle than any single rejection would ever be, and he needed to find a way to cope with being told no without letting it destroy him.
Thus was born his “100 days of rejection” experiment, during which he willfully sought rejection on a daily basis—from requesting a lesson in sales from a car salesman (no) to asking a flight attendant if he could make an announcement on the loud speaker (yes) to his famous request to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the shape of Olympic rings (yes, with a viral video to prove it).”
Available: April 14 | Pre-order now
Biographies and Memoirs:
11. A Triumph of Genius
Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War
By Ronald K. Fierstein
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
I am not at all familiar with Edwin Land’s accomplishments and contributions to technology, but after reading the description below, this book sounds like a must-read.
From the description:
“[Edwin] Land is perhaps the most important, yet least known, inventor and technology entrepreneur in American history. ‘A Triumph of Genius’ tells the incredible story of the reclusive genius who, as a teen, invented the plastic polarizer, which is still used almost a century later in countless popular applications including our sunglasses and LCD screens. Land went on to pioneer a revolutionary system of photography that provided instant gratification.
‘A Triumph of Genius’ also chronicles, in an unprecedented inside account, Polaroid’s landmark legal battle with Kodak, the outcome of which continues to influence the protection of technological innovation well into the 21st century.”
Available: February 16 | Pre-order now
12. The Monopolists
Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game
By Mary Pilon
WHY I’M INTERESTED:
Like many others, Monopoly was my first introduction to the concepts of entrepreneurship, success, and the pitfalls of greed. How could I pass up what sounds like a dramatic telling of its origins?
From the description:
“‘The Monopolists’ reveals the unknown story of how Monopoly came into existence, the reinvention of its history by Parker Brothers and multiple media outlets, the lost female originator of the game, and one man’s lifelong obsession to tell the true story about the game’s questionable origins.”
Available: February 17 | Pre-order now
Book Giveaway:
Jonathan is the Engagement Marketing Manager for Palo Alto Software, and has spent the last 9 years developing and implementing digital marketing strategies. During that time, he has learned that empathy and authenticity are strengths by which companies can effectively engage with individuals at every point throughout the customer journey.
