Adam Grant
New York Times-bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Many books teach us why we make bad choices. Few help us make better ones. At long last, Annie Duke has tackled that problem. Her handbook for decision-making isn’t just evidence-based and practical—it’s fun too.” (from Amazon)
by Annie Duke·You?
Through a blend of compelling exercises, illustrations, and stories, the bestselling author of Thinking in Bets will train you to combat your own biases, address your weaknesses, and help you become a better and more confident decision-maker. What do you do when you're faced with a big decision? If you're like most people, you probably make a pro and con list, spend a lot of time obsessing about decisions that didn't work out, get caught in analysis paralysis, endlessly seek other people's opinions to find just that little bit of extra information that might make you sure, and finally go with your gut. What if there was a better way to make quality decisions so you can think clearly, feel more confident, second-guess yourself less, and ultimately be more decisive and be more productive? Making good decisions doesn't have to be a series of endless guesswork. Rather, it's a teachable skill that anyone can sharpen. In How to Decide, bestselling author Annie Duke and former professional poker player lays out a series of tools anyone can use to make better decisions. You'll learn: • To identify and dismantle hidden biases. • To extract the highest quality feedback from those whose advice you seek. • To more accurately identify the influence of luck in the outcome of your decisions. • When to decide fast, when to decide slow, and when to decide in advance. • To make decisions that more effectively help you to realize your goals and live your values. Through interactive exercises and engaging thought experiments, this book helps you analyze key decisions you've made in the past and troubleshoot those you're making in the future. Whether you're picking investments, evaluating a job offer, or trying to figure out your romantic life, How to Decide is the key to happier outcomes and fewer regrets.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“One of the most anticipated books of the fall!” (from Amazon)
by Janelle Shane·You?
“A deft, informative, and often screamingly funny primer on the ways that machine learning can (and often does) go wrong.” —Margaret Harris, Physics World “You look like a thing and I love you” is one of the best pickup lines ever…according to an artificial intelligence trained by the scientist Janelle Shane, creator of the popular blog AI Weirdness. Shane creates silly AIs that learn how to name colors of paint, create the best recipes, and even flirt (badly) with humans—all to understand the technology that governs so much of our human lives. We rely on AI every day, trusting it for matters both big and small, from unlocking our phones to hospital care. But how smart is AI really…? Shane delivers the answer to every AI question you’ve ever asked, and some you definitely haven’t—such as: How can a computer design the perfect sandwich? What does robot-generated Harry Potter fan fiction sound like? And is the world’s best Halloween costume really “vampire hog bride”? In this smart, often hilarious introduction to the most interesting science of our time, Shane shows how these machines learn, fail, and adapt—and how they reflect both the best and worst of humanity. "I can't think of a better way to learn about artificial intelligence, and I've never had so much fun along the way." —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals
Recommended by Adam Grant
“If you want to get more done, don't worry about willpower--focus on motivation. Challenging the dominant view of self-control as a muscle. Benjamin Hardy reveals that productivity is really about clarity and commitment.” (from Amazon)
by Benjamin Hardy·You?
by Benjamin Hardy·You?
We rely on willpower to create change in our lives...but what if we're thinking about it all wrong? In Willpower Doesn't Work, Benjamin Hardy explains that willpower is nothing more than a dangerous fad-one that is bound to lead to failure. Instead of "white-knuckling" your way to change, you need to instead alter yoursurroundings to support your goals. This book shows you how. The world around us is fast-paced, confusing, and full of distractions. It's easy to lose focus on what you want to achieve, and your willpower won't last long if your environment is in conflict with your goals--eventually, the environment will win out. Willpower Doesn't Workis the needed guided for today's over-stimulating and addicting environment. Willpower Doesn't Work will specifically teach you: How to make the biggest decisions of your life--and why those decisions must be made in specific settingsHow to create a daily "sacred" environment to live your life with intention, and not get sucked into the cultural addictionsHow to invest big in yourself to upgrade your environment and mindsetHow to put "forcing functions" in your life--so your default behaviors are precisely what you want them to beHow to quickly put yourself in proximity to the most successful people in the world--and how to adapt their knowledge and skills to yourself even quickerHow to create an environment where endless creativity and boundless productivity is the norm Benjamin Hardy will show you that nurture is far more powerful than your nature, and teach you how to create and control your environment so your environment will not create and control you.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“In a world dominated by distraction, this book is a timely reminder of the value of focused attention.” (from Amazon)
by Dandapani·You?
by Dandapani·You?
The life you want is in reach, if only you can master the power of focus Anxiety, stress, worry, and fear—these are the mental maladies that literally plague us, contributing not only to our growing unhappiness, but also to physical ailments such as heart disease and obesity when left unmanaged. As Hindu priest and renowned speaker Dandapani shows in this eye-opening and enriching new book, it is only through mastering one skill—the skill of focus—that we can permanently lay these mental roadblocks to rest. Dandapani spent ten years in a cloistered monastery, learning invaluable lessons on the benefits of concentration. In THE POWER OF UNWAVERING FOCUS, Dandapani distills the wisdom he gained as a monk into a practical, step-by-step guide to understanding and harnessing the mind. With clear definitions and practicable exercises (such as making your bed every morning), Dandapani teaches readers how to move awareness within the mind with willpower, incrementally integrating the practice of focus into daily life, resulting in sustainable change. Through his lectures and courses, Dandapani’s message of focus has already reached and helped millions overcome distraction. Now, THE POWER OF UNWAVERING FOCUS opens readers’ eyes to how practicing the skill of focus can drastically improve productivity, relationships, mental health, and happiness—ultimately gifting us the ability to direct awareness and energy toward achieving our life goals.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Smartcuts solves a major mystery, illuminating how visionaries and pioneers find faster ways to achieve their goals. With spellbinding stories and relevant research, Shane Snow has delivered one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking books of the year.” (from Amazon)
Entrepreneur and journalist Shane Snow (Wired, Fast Company, The New Yorker, and cofounder of Contently) analyzes the lives of people and companies that do incredible things in implausibly short time. How do some startups go from zero to billions in mere months? How did Alexander the Great, YouTube tycoon Michelle Phan, and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon climb to the top in less time than it takes most of us to get a promotion? What do high-growth businesses, world-class heart surgeons, and underdog marketers do in common to beat the norm? One way or another, they do it like computer hackers. They employ what psychologists call "lateral thinking" to rethink convention and break "rules" that aren't rules. In Smartcuts, Snow shatters common wisdom about success, revealing how conventions like "paying dues" prevent progress, why kids shouldn't learn times tables, and how, paradoxically, it's easier to build a huge business than a small one. From SpaceX to The Cuban Revolution, from Ferrari to Skrillex, Smartcuts is a narrative adventure that busts old myths about success and shows how innovators and icons do the incredible by working smarter--and how perhaps the rest of us can, too.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“This is the best book I’ve ever read on how to grow a company rapidly—and when that’s even worth trying in the first place. With a rare combination of fresh insights, vivid cases, and actionable advice, it’s a must-read for entrepreneurs and executives.” (from Amazon)
by Reid Hoffman, Chris Yeh, Bill Gates·You?
by Reid Hoffman, Chris Yeh, Bill Gates·You?
Foreword by Bill Gates LinkedIn cofounder, legendary investor, and host of the award-winning Masters of Scale podcast reveals the secret to starting and scaling massively valuable companies. What entrepreneur or founder doesn’t aspire to build the next Amazon, Facebook, or Airbnb? Yet those who actually manage to do so are exceedingly rare. So what separates the startups that get disrupted and disappear from the ones who grow to become global giants? The secret is blitzscaling: a set of techniques for scaling up at a dizzying pace that blows competitors out of the water. The objective of Blitzscaling is not to go from zero to one, but from one to one billion –as quickly as possible. When growing at a breakneck pace, getting to next level requires very different strategies from those that got you to where you are today. In a book inspired by their popular class at Stanford Business School, Hoffman and Yeh reveal how to navigate the necessary shifts and weather the unique challenges that arise at each stage of a company’s life cycle, such as: how to design business models for igniting and sustaining relentless growth; strategies for hiring and managing; how the role of the founder and company culture must evolve as the business matures, and more. Whether your business has ten employees or ten thousand, Blitzscaling is the essential playbook for winning in a world where speed is the only competitive advantage that matters.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“If you struggled through math and slept through science, there’s hope. In A Mind for Numbers, polymath Barbara Oakley reveals how to unlock the analytic powers of our brains so we can learn how to learn. This book should be required reading for students—and for my mother.” (from Amazon)
by Barbara Oakley PhD·You?
by Barbara Oakley PhD·You?
The companion book to COURSERA®'s wildly popular massive open online course "Learning How to Learn" Whether you are a student struggling to fulfill a math or science requirement, or you are embarking on a career change that requires a new skill set, A Mind for Numbers offers the tools you need to get a better grasp of that intimidating material. Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. She flunked her way through high school math and science courses, before enlisting in the army immediately after graduation. When she saw how her lack of mathematical and technical savvy severely limited her options—both to rise in the military and to explore other careers—she returned to school with a newfound determination to re-tool her brain to master the very subjects that had given her so much trouble throughout her entire life. In A Mind for Numbers, Dr. Oakley lets us in on the secrets to learning effectively—secrets that even dedicated and successful students wish they’d known earlier. Contrary to popular belief, math requires creative, as well as analytical, thinking. Most people think that there’s only one way to do a problem, when in actuality, there are often a number of different solutions—you just need the creativity to see them. For example, there are more than three hundred different known proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. In short, studying a problem in a laser-focused way until you reach a solution is not an effective way to learn. Rather, it involves taking the time to step away from a problem and allow the more relaxed and creative part of the brain to take over. The learning strategies in this book apply not only to math and science, but to any subject in which we struggle. We all have what it takes to excel in areas that don't seem to come naturally to us at first, and learning them does not have to be as painful as we might think.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Combining extensive experience and evidence, this dynamic duo has created the road map you need to prepare for the unexpected.” (from Amazon)
by Erika H. James, Lynn Perry Wooten·You?
by Erika H. James, Lynn Perry Wooten·You?
The next crisis might be here now, or it might be around the corner. In The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before, two history-making experts in crisis leadership―James, dean of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Wooten, president of Simmons University―forcefully argue that the time to prepare is always. In no other time in recent history have leaders in every industry and on every continent grappled with so many changes that have independently and simultaneously undermined their ability to lead. The Prepared Leader encapsulates more than two decades of the authors’ research to convey how it has positioned them to navigate through the distinct challenges of today and tomorrow. Their insights have implications for every leader in every industry and every worker at every level. In their fast-reading and actionable book, James and Wooten provide tools and frameworks for addressing and learning from crises, and they provide insight into what you need to know to become a Prepared Leader, including: The five phases of crisis management and the skills you need for each phase. They examine how the National Basketball Association and its commissioner, Adam Silver, responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Making the right decisions under pressure and how to avoid common mistakes. They reveal how Burger King CEO Jose Cil began planning for the aftermath of a crisis right in the middle of one. Building a crisis leadership team and how to lead one that you’ve inherited. They detail how Wonya Lucas, CEO and President of the Crown Media Family Networks, aligned and mobilized an executive team during a time of crisis. James and Wooten argue that―in addition to people, profit, and the planet―prepared leadership should be the fourth “P” in a company’s bottom line. They bring decades of world-renowned research on crisis leadership, diversity and inclusion, management strategy, and positive leadership to the table to help leaders better prepare themselves to lead through crises―and for whatever lies around the corner.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Delightfully puckish, evidence-backed and full of insight, this book answers questions about success that have puzzled us for far too long.” (from Amazon)
by Eric Barker·You?
Wall Street Journal Bestseller Much of the advice we’ve been told about achievement is logical, earnest…and downright wrong. In Barking Up the Wrong Tree, Eric Barker reveals the extraordinary science behind what actually determines success and most importantly, how anyone can achieve it. You’ll learn: • Why valedictorians rarely become millionaires, and how your biggest weakness might actually be your greatest strength • Whether nice guys finish last and why the best lessons about cooperation come from gang members, pirates, and serial killers • Why trying to increase confidence fails and how Buddhist philosophy holds a superior solution • The secret ingredient to “grit” that Navy SEALs and disaster survivors leverage to keep going • How to find work-life balance using the strategy of Genghis Khan, the errors of Albert Einstein, and a little lesson from Spider-Man By looking at what separates the extremely successful from the rest of us, we learn what we can do to be more like them—and find out in some cases why it’s good that we aren’t. Barking Up the Wrong Tree draws on startling statistics and surprising anecdotes to help you understand what works and what doesn’t so you can stop guessing at success and start living the life you want.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Millions have sought their big break online. Ryan Williams has hunted down the few who succeeded, and distilled their inspiring stories into lessons that we can all put to use. It's an engaging, actionable read for anyone looking to gain fans, followers, or customers in the digital age.” (from Amazon)
by Ryan Williams·You?
When Ryan Williams began attending VidCon, Comic-Con, South by Southwest (SXSW), TechCrunch Disrupt and other tech and fan-geek conferences, he noticed two remarkable things: these events were celebrating geeks, technology, and modern social media; and no one was telling the stories of the awesome people embracing this new form of influence and the wildly successful businesses they were creating. Ryan Williams is a former stand-up comedian turned tech entrepreneur. He was a founding team member at DigiSynd, a pioneering social media marketing group, acquired by Disney in 2008. After leaving Disney to join the Machinima.com, a YouTube video network for the gaming generation, he drove network growth to over 4 Billion video views a month, focused on influencer-driven YouTube video creation. As a start-up marketing executive, he has lead go-to-market product launches for global companies such as Disney, Microsoft, Activision, and Warner Bros. In 2014, Ryan went on to launch a popular podcast dedicated to interviewing the pioneers of what he calls the Influencer Economy. After speaking to more than a hundred artists, experts, and entrepreneurs--from world-famous YouTubers to New York Times best-selling authors to the most creative start-up founders and investors on the planet--he reverse engineered their careers, to understand the stories behind their success, and now presents everything he learned in The Influencer Economy. The three primary steps to success in the Influencer Economy -- launch, share and thrive -- can be applied to both business and life. Ryan tells the fascinating stories of more than a dozen people who turned their visions, ideas, and hobbies into influential and profitable digital media empires. He provides the "Influencer School Lessons" derived from each of these individual's journeys. As well as specific actions that readers can take to follow on the way to launching their own ideas into the online universe. In order to thrive in the digital age, you don't need to go to business school. You don't need an Ivy League degree. You don't need to know celebrities. And you don't need to have a lot of money. You just need to learn the new business framework from the leaders of the Influencer Economy. _____________________________________________ Ryan Williams is an entrepreneur, writer, podcast host and former stand-up comedian. He is the Founder of Ryno Lab; a collaborative influencer-based studio that helps brands and entrepreneurs create digital products, build networks and thrive in the digital age. Ryan's professional experience includes 12 years in marketing, business development, and entertainment. He was an early team member at the venture-backed startups DigiSynd (acquired by Disney), Machinima.com and State.com. He hosts Stories from the Influencer Economy podcast, featured in Apple's "New and Noteworthy" in 2015. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and two daughters.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Many people go to therapy to work through the issues in their heads, overlooking that their biggest challenges often lie in their family relationships. In this book, therapist Nedra Tawwab offers practical wisdom to help you handle problems with parents, siblings, children, and yes, even in-laws. In a time when mental health is finally getting the attention it deserves, this is a vital guide to building healthier families.” (from Amazon)
by Nedra Glover Tawwab·You?
by Nedra Glover Tawwab·You?
Instant New York Times Bestseller From the bestselling author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, a road map for understanding and moving past family struggles—and living your life, your way. Every family has a story. For some of us, our family of origin is a solid foundation that feeds our confidence and helps us navigate life’s challenges. For others, it’s a source of pain, hurt, and conflict that can feel like a lifelong burden. In this empowering guide, licensed therapist and bestselling relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab offers clear advice for identifying dysfunctional family patterns and choosing the best path to breaking the cycle and moving forward. Covering topics ranging from the trauma of emotional neglect, to the legacy of addicted or absent parents, to mental health struggles in siblings and other relatives, and more, this clear and compassionate guide will help you take control of your own life—and honor the person you truly are.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“A thoughtful examination of what it really means to have the right stuff.” (from Amazon)
by Steve Magness·You?
National Bestseller "In Do Hard Things, Steve Magness beautifully and persuasively reimagines our understanding of toughness. This is a must-read for parents and coaches and anyone else looking to prepare for life's biggest challenges." -- Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers and host of the Revisionist History podcast From beloved performance expert, executive coach, and coauthor of Peak Performance Steve Magness comes a radical rethinking of how we perceive toughness and what it means to achieve our high ambitions in the face of hard things. Toughness has long been held as the key to overcoming a challenge and achieving greatness, whether it is on the sports field, at a boardroom, or at the dining room table. Yet, the prevailing model has promoted a mentality based on fear, false bravado, and hiding any sign of weakness. In other words, the old model of toughness has failed us. Steve Magness, a performance scientist who coaches Olympic athletes, rebuilds our broken model of resilience with one grounded in the latest science and psychology. In Do Hard Things, Magness teaches us how we can work with our body – how experiencing discomfort, leaning in, paying attention, and creating space to take thoughtful action can be the true indications of cultivating inner strength. He offers four core pillars to cultivate such resilience: Pillar 1- Ditch the Façade, Embrace RealityPillar 2- Listen to Your BodyPillar 3- Respond, Instead of React Pillar 4- Transcend Discomfort Smart and wise all at once, Magness flips the script on what it means to be resilient. Drawing from mindfulness, military case studies, sports psychology, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, he provides a roadmap for navigating life’s challenges and achieving high performance that makes us happier, more successful, and, ultimately, better people.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“A personal, practical guide to mobilizing local solutions to global problems.” (from Amazon)
by Wendy H. Steele·You?
by Wendy H. Steele·You?
You are the right person, at the right time, to do something generous. What if you and just a handful of other dedicated, generous women could affect powerful change? That’s the question Wendy H. Steele set out to answer when she founded Impact100, one of today’s most significant grassroots organizations. In Invitation to Impact, she shares her story of creating a unique, successful giving model, as well as the stories of the amazing women who helped to make it grow, empowering you to spark change in your own community. From Impact100’s launch to its global spread, you will follow Wendy on her path to challenging the status quo of and democratizing women’s roles in philanthropy. By illustrating how small sacrifices, when shouldered collectively, can lead to big outcomes, Wendy reveals that every person can take action to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems despite their financial or time constraints. Between Wendy’s life story, inspirational anecdotes from regional Impact100 chapters, and current research on philanthropy patterns, Invitation to Impact demonstrates that women have an incredible capacity to transform this world for the better.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Full of both hilarity and wisdom.” (from Amazon)
by Mel Brooks·You?
by Mel Brooks·You?
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now he shares his story for the first time in “a wonderful addition to a seminal career” (San Francisco Chronicle), “infused with nostalgia and his signature hilarity” (Parade). ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: New York Post • “Laugh-out-loud hilarious and always fascinating, from the great Mel Brooks. What else do you expect from the man who knew Jesus and dated Joan of Arc?”—Billy Crystal For anyone who loves American comedy, the long wait is over. Here are the never-before-told, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and remembrances from a master storyteller, filmmaker, and creator of all things funny. All About Me! charts Mel Brooks’s meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Whether serving in the United States Army in World War II, or during his burgeoning career as a teenage comedian in the Catskills, Mel was always mining his experiences for material, always looking for the perfect joke. His iconic career began with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, where he was part of the greatest writers’ room in history, which included Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart. After co-creating both the mega-hit 2000 Year Old Man comedy albums and the classic television series Get Smart, Brooks’s stellar film career took off. He would go on to write, direct, and star in The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs, as well as produce groundbreaking and eclectic films, including The Elephant Man, The Fly, and My Favorite Year. Brooks then went on to conquer Broadway with his record-breaking, Tony-winning musical, The Producers. All About Me! offers fans insight into the inspiration behind the ideas for his outstanding collection of boundary-breaking work, and offers details about the many close friendships and collaborations Brooks had, including those with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, Alfred Hitchcock, and the great love of his life, Anne Bancroft. Filled with tales of struggle, achievement, and camaraderie (and dozens of photographs), readers will gain a more personal and deeper understanding of the incredible body of work behind one of the most accomplished and beloved entertainers in history.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“I’ve been waiting years for someone to write this book—I’ve built it up in my mind into something extraordinary. But it is even better than I imagined. Daniel Coyle has produced a truly brilliant, mesmerizing read that demystifies the magic of great groups. It blows all other books on culture right out of the water. Read it immediately.” (from Amazon)
by Daniel Coyle·You?
by Daniel Coyle·You?
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Talent Code unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to build a cohesive, motivated culture. “A truly brilliant, mesmerizing read that demystifies the magic of great groups.”—Adam Grant, author of Think Again A BLOOMBERG AND LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Where does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing? In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations—including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs—and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind. Drawing on examples that range from Internet retailer Zappos to the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade to a daring gang of jewel thieves, Coyle offers specific strategies that trigger learning, spark collaboration, build trust, and drive positive change. Coyle unearths helpful stories of failure that illustrate what not to do, troubleshoots common pitfalls, and shares advice about reforming a toxic culture. Combining leading-edge science, on-the-ground insights from world-class leaders, and practical ideas for action, The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded. Culture is not something you are—it’s something you do. The Culture Code puts the power in your hands. No matter the size of your group or your goal, this book can teach you the principles of cultural chemistry that transform individuals into teams that can accomplish amazing things together.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“In workplaces around the world, meetings are where productivity and creativity go to die. Steven Rogelberg is the world's leading expert on how to fix them, and here he shares the best evidence on how we can stop wasting time and falling victim to groupthink.” (from Amazon)
by Steven G. Rogelberg·You?
by Steven G. Rogelberg·You?
⧫ One of the ten Leadership books to watch in 2019 —The Washington Post ⧫ One of the top business books everybody will be reading in 2019 — Business Insider ⧫ As seen on “CBS This Morning”⧫ “In workplaces around the world, meetings are where productivity and creativity go to die. Steven Rogelberg is the world’s leading expert on how to fix them, and here he shares the best evidence on how we can stop wasting time and falling victim to groupthink.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take A recent estimate suggests that employees endure a staggering 55 million meetings a day in the United States. This tremendous time investment yields only modest returns. No organization made up of human beings is immune from the all-too-common meeting gripes: those that fail to engage, those that inadvertently encourage participants to tune out, and those that blatantly disregard participants' time. Most companies and leaders view poor meetings as an inevitable cost of doing business. But managers can take heart: researchers now have a clear understanding of the key drivers that make meetings successful. In The Surprising Science of Meetings, Steven G. Rogelberg, researcher and consultant to some of the world's most successful companies, draws from extensive research, analytics and data mining, and survey interviews with over 5,000 employees across a range of industries to share the proven practices and techniques that help managers and employees enhance the quality of their meetings. For those who lead and participate in meetings, Rogelberg provides immediate direction, guidance, and relief, offering a how-to guide to change your working life starting today.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“Conscious offers the clearest, most compelling explanation that I’ve seen of consciousness. If you’ve ever wondered how you have the capacity to wonder, some fascinating insights await you in these pages.” (from Amazon)
by Annaka Harris·You?
by Annaka Harris·You?
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "If you’ve ever wondered how you have the capacity to wonder, some fascinating insights await you in these pages.” --Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals As concise and enlightening as Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, this mind-expanding dive into the mystery of consciousness is an illuminating meditation on the self, free will, and felt experience. What is consciousness? How does it arise? And why does it exist? We take our experience of being in the world for granted. But the very existence of consciousness raises profound questions: Why would any collection of matter in the universe be conscious? How are we able to think about this? And why should we? In this wonderfully accessible book, Annaka Harris guides us through the evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific findings that probe our limited understanding of consciousness. Where does it reside, and what gives rise to it? Could it be an illusion, or a universal property of all matter? As we try to understand consciousness, we must grapple with how to define it and, in the age of artificial intelligence, who or what might possess it. Conscious offers lively and challenging arguments that alter our ideas about consciousness—allowing us to think freely about it for ourselves, if indeed we can.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“This book will shatter some of your basic assumptions about aging—and how we can lead longer, healthier, and happier lives. Becca Levy is the world’s foremost expert on the psychology of aging, and she shares rigorous, remarkable evidence that one of the best ways to stay mentally and physically fit is to rethink your stereotypes about what it means to be an older person.” (from Amazon)
by Becca Levy PhD·You?
Recipient of the 2023 Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Book Award Yale professor and leading expert on the psychology of successful aging, Dr. Becca Levy, draws on her ground-breaking research to show how age beliefs can be improved so they benefit all aspects of the aging process, including the way genes operate and the extension of life expectancy by 7.5 years. The often-surprising results of Levy’s science offer stunning revelations about the mind-body connection. She demonstrates that many health problems formerly considered to be entirely due to the aging process, such as memory loss, hearing decline, and cardiovascular events, are instead influenced by the negative age beliefs that dominate in the US and other ageist countries. It’s time for all of us to rethink aging and Breaking the Age Code shows us how to do just that. Based on her innovative research, stories that range from pop culture to the corporate boardroom, and her own life, Levy shows how age beliefs shape all aspects of our lives. She also presents a variety of fascinating people who have benefited from positive age beliefs as well as an entire town that has flourished with these beliefs. Breaking the Age Code is a landmark work, presenting not only easy-to-follow techniques for improving age beliefs so they can contribute to successful aging, but also a blueprint to reduce structural ageism for lasting change and an age-just society.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“We all love hearing a great story, but surprisingly few of us know how to tell one. Karen Eber is one of those few, and in this book, she shares her secrets. Come for the engrossing content, and stay for the lessons that might just change how you talk, write, and lead.” (from Amazon)
"Come for the engrossing content, and stay for the lessons that might just change how you talk, write, and lead.” —Adam Grant Learn how to take any story and make it perfect—from storytelling expert Karen Eber, whose popular TED Talk on the subject continues to be a source of inspiration for millions. What makes a story perfect? How do you tell the perfect story for any occasion? We live in a story world. Stories are a memorable and engaging way to differentiate yourself, build connection and trust, create new thinking, bring meaning to data, and even influence decision-making. But how do you turn a good story into a great story that informs, influences, and inspires? In The Perfect Story, Karen Eber—leadership consultant, professional keynote storyteller, and TED speaker—shares the science of storytelling to teach you to: Leverage the Five Factory Settings of the Brain to hack the art of storytellingBuild a toolkit of endless story ideasDefine the audience for your storyApply a memorable story structureEngage senses and emotionsTell stories with dataAvoid common storytelling mistakesUse your body to tell dynamic storiesEnsure your story doesn't manipulateNavigate and embrace the vulnerability of storytellingWithout relying on complicated models or one-size-fits-all prescriptions, this book makes storytelling accessible with practical and impactful steps for anyone to tell the perfect story for any occasion. Through interview vignettes, The Perfect Story also shares approaches from different storytellers, including the Sundance Institute cofounder, an executive producer of The Moth, the former creative director at Pixar, the TED Radio Hour podcast host, and many more. Whether you are leading a team, giving a presentation, hosting a podcast, selling a product or service, interviewing for a job, or giving a toast at a wedding, The Perfect Story will help you take your stories and make them perfect.
Recommended by Adam Grant
“'Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that gives us startling new insights. QUIET is that book: it will change the way you see yourself, other people, and the world.'—Adam Grant, author of Give and Take” (from Amazon)
by Susan Cain, Gregory Mone, Erica Moroz, Grant Snider·You?
by Susan Cain, Gregory Mone, Erica Moroz, Grant Snider·You?
The monumental bestseller Quiet has been recast in a new edition that empowers introverted kids and teens Susan Cain sparked a worldwide conversation when she published Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. With her inspiring book, she permanently changed the way we see introverts and the way introverts see themselves. The original book focused on the workplace, and Susan realized that a version for and about kids was also badly needed. This book is all about kids' world—school, extracurriculars, family life, and friendship. You’ll read about actual kids who have tackled the challenges of not being extroverted and who have made a mark in their own quiet way. You’ll hear Susan Cain’s own story, and you’ll be able to make use of the tips at the end of each chapter. There’s even a guide at the end of the book for parents and teachers. This insightful, accessible, and empowering book, illustrated with amusing comic-style art, will be eye-opening to extroverts and introverts alike.