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An Off-The-Grid Book List for Leaders

The Bailey Group | August 19, 2014 | Blog | Leadership/Other | 3 minute read

Last week I was at a breakfast talk on innovation.  One of the things discussed was how inspiration and innovation can come from seemingly unrelated sources or occurrences, freeing the brain to make different connections. This got me thinking about the obviousness of reading the top business books on The New York Times Business Best Sellers List and how many other books there are that can also shape decision making and leadership styles. While there is good value in reading and knowing the newest and greatest, I’d like to offer an off-the-grid* book list for leaders seeking inspiration, innovation, or a new connection to a common problem:

The Why Axis by Uri Gneezy and John A. List – Part Freakonomics  and part Switch, these economists search the world over to explain how to find the right incentives to change outcomes.  They look at what has worked in solving big problems, understanding the motives around human behavior, and how incentives really work.  A key is understanding what people really value and creating frameworks to influence desired behavior.  Great societal questions posed and fascinating connections and research throughout.

Grow by Jim Stengel – Another research on human behavior filled with success stories of the top fastest growing global companies and brands over a 10-year period.  The interesting twist is that it focuses on ideals with the theory that these companies grew faster because they focused on making people’s lives better.  Using neuroscience to explain and understand customer engagement, Grow provides the steps global companies have taken to translate their ideals for human/consumer connection.

The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss – I debated whether to include this one but I have to say, I keep going back to it and finding ways I can be more productive by working smarter, not harder.  I’m not anywhere near a four-hour work day, let alone a week, but this is still a good reference book when wondering what I could be doing differently.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown – There are a lot of perfectionists amongst us.  Brené breaks it down on why people strive for perfection, and how cutting oneself some slack and being kinder to ourselves can actually improve our professional and personal relationships.  This isn’t the easiest book, but could be the most transformational.

Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work by David Rock – Understanding how the brain works sheds light on how to improve performance of self and others.  Rock has written other brain books, yet I selected this one because I think of it more as a resource tool to keep going back to when something isn’t working.  The six steps can be easily referenced to help solve a problem, figure out a breakdown in communication, and serve as a reminder of where and how I’m contributing to a problem…and what to do differently.

Rules for Renegades by Christine Comaford-Lynch – This is just a fun book from a serial entrepreneur who challenges the status quo and has found a way to do it her way.  Filled with “personal” experiences (she dated Bill Gates and was a rare woman in technology), the book focuses on how to get what you want and provides supporting resources after each chapter.

*Not on the New York Times’ Best Sellers Business List based on sales for July 2014.

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