Nathan Baschez
Writing and building. Co-founder of @Every. Building @lexdotpage. Previously: product at @SubstackInc, @GimletMedia. Always: @SoniaBaschez
20+ Book Recommendations by Nathan Baschez
Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition
W. Chan Kim
Argues against common competitive practices while outlining recommendations based on the creation of untapped market spaces with growth potential.@scientificcons3 The early Figma team decided on the current strategy based on a framework in the book Blue Ocean Strategy
Slouching Towards Utopia
J. Bradford DeLong
I reviewed Slouching Towards Utopia by @delong, a new book that came out this week! It’s super good, and changed the way I understand the current “societal collapse is in the air” vibes https://t.co/YdKQdfgCAe
Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert
The instant #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller "A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be free, and to be curious.” —PopSugar From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls: the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you’ve dreamed of. Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.@itsurboyevan Also this book helped me a ton https://t.co/NawE0zGFJW
Reap3r
Eliot Peper
Everyone has something to hide in this propulsive near-future thriller that grapples with the price of progress and how technology shapes our lives and world.Holy f this book is good Bravo @eliotpeper 👏 https://t.co/SkhskY78m2
Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert
The instant #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller "A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be free, and to be curious.” —PopSugar From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls: the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you’ve dreamed of. Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.I didn't think this book would be for me, but it's incredible, and exactly what I needed right now it's like a sage wine aunt sat me down and sorted me out stop aiming for perfect, have fun, don't take it so seriously, don't be a martyr or a saint, etc https://t.co/sBJXrwnk3W
Ringtone
Yves Doz
In less than three decades, Nokia emerged from Finland to lead the mobile phone revolution. It grew to have one of the most recognizable and valuable brands in the world and then fell into decline, leading to the sale of its mobile phone business to Microsoft. This book explores and analyzes that journey and distils observations and learning points for anyone keen to understand what drove Nokia's amazing success and sudden downfall. With privileged access to Nokia's senior managers over the last twenty years followed by a more concerted research agenda from 2015, the authors describe and analyze, the various stages in Nokia's journey. The book describes leaders making strategic and organizational decisions, their behavior and interactions, and how they succeeded and failed to inspire and engage their employees. Perhaps most intriguingly, it opens the proverbial 'black box' of why and how things actually happen at the top of organizations. Why did things fall apart? To what extent were avoidable mistakes made? Did the world around Nokia change too fast for it to adapt? And, did Nokia's success contain the seeds of its failure?Reading “Ringtone”—excellent book (if a bit dry) detailing the downfall of Nokia. It makes me wonder: was it even possible for them to succeed in smartphones? Or were they doomed, no matter how competent the mgmt team? Any examples of co’s in a similar position that won?
The Heart Aroused
David Whyte
Explaining how to transform the practical necessity of work into an opportunity for spiritual nourishment, a poet and corporate consultant argues that true success arises from working less on organizational matters and more on one's life. Reissue.Enjoying this book so far https://t.co/I5d9yBpYN1
Breath
James Nestor
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Who would have thought something as simple as changing the way we breathe could be so revolutionary for our health, from snoring to allergies to immunity? A fascinating book, full of dazzling revelations' Dr Rangan Chatterjee There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. In Breath, journalist James Nestor travels the world to discover the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can: - jump-start athletic performance - rejuvenate internal organs - halt snoring, allergies, asthma and autoimmune disease, and even straighten scoliotic spines None of this should be possible, and yet it is. Drawing on thousands of years of ancient wisdom and cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.@heathwblack @useMotion @joshgiddey Love that book, just read it last month! And just signed up for Motion, looks awesome
Feeling Good
David D. Burns
The good news is that anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and other ′black holes′ of depression can be cured without drugs. In Feeling Good, eminent psychiatrist David D. Burns, M.D. outlines the remarkable, scientifically proven techniques that will immediately lift your spirits and help you develop a positive outlook on life. Now, in this updated edition, Dr Burns adds an all-new Consumer′s Guide To Antidepressant Drugs, as well as a new introduction to help answer your questions about the many options available for treating depression. Recognise what causes your mood swings. Nip negative feelings in the bud. Deal with guilt. Handle hostility and criticism. Overcome addiction to love and approval. Build self-esteem. Feel good everyday.@visakanv Have you read “Feeling Good” by David Burns? It’s the classic CBT book, basically says thoughts -> emotions rather than the other way around. Really fascinating. You’d love it.
COMPLEXITY
M. Mitchell Waldrop
A look at the rebellious thinkers who are challenging old ideas with their insights into the ways countless elements of complex systems interact to produce spontaneous order out of confusion@SamHBarton @mattellsworth @michaelgarfield Also check out this book, there's a whole section dedicated to Stuart Kauffman's theories of the origin of life, and they're super fascinating https://t.co/WyxxdUw1Gh
Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned
Kenneth O. Stanley
@p_millerd @visakanv There’s a book on this that deeply influenced me a few years ago. I should re-read https://t.co/2836WpVjKR
The Personal MBA
Josh Kaufman
'A business classic. You're pretty much guaranteed to get your money's worth - if not much, much more' Jason Hesse, Real Business This revised and expanded edition of the bestselling book, The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman, gives you everything you need to transform your business, your career or your working life forever. An MBA at a top school is an enormous investment in time, effort and cold, hard cash. And if you don't want to work for a consulting firm or an investment bank, the chances are it simply isn't worth it. Josh Kaufman is the rogue professor of modern business education. Feted by everyone from the business media to Seth Godin and David Allen, he's torn up the rulebook and given thousands of people worldwide the tools to teach themselves everything they need to know. The Personal MBA teaches simple mental models for every subject that's key to commercial success. From the basics of products, sales & marketing and finance to the nuances of human psychology, teamwork and creating systems, this book distils everything you need to know to take on the MBA graduates and win. 'File this book under: NO EXCUSES' Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and Linchpin 'Josh Kaufman has synthesized the most important topics in business into a book that truly lives up to its title. It's rare to find complicated concepts explained with such clarity. Highly recommended' Ben Casnocha, author of My Start-Up LifeJosh Kaufman is a hero of mine — his book "The Personal MBA" is one of my all-time favorites. Loved this interview on Superorganizers 💘 https://t.co/XsEPq5Ym55
The Passion Economy
Adam Davidson
"This is a Borzoi Book"--Copyright page.@david_doswell @adamdavidson @ljin18 Adam's book and Li's essay are both great! https://t.co/UjOSJxABJR https://t.co/v7wc8FtX9k
Six Seasons
Joshua McFadden
Winner, James Beard Award for Best Book in Vegetable-Focused Cooking Named a Best Cookbook of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Bon Appétit, Food Network Magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, USA Today, Seattle Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Library Journal, Eater, and more “Never before have I seen so many fascinating, delicious, easy recipes in one book. . . . [Six Seasons is] about as close to a perfect cookbook as I have seen . . . a book beginner and seasoned cooks alike will reach for repeatedly.” —Lucky Peach Joshua McFadden, chef and owner of renowned trattoria Ava Gene’s in Portland, Oregon, is a vegetable whisperer. After years racking up culinary cred at New York City restaurants like Lupa, Momofuku, and Blue Hill, he managed the trailblazing Four Season Farm in coastal Maine, where he developed an appreciation for every part of the plant and learned to coax the best from vegetables at each stage of their lives. In Six Seasons, his first book, McFadden channels both farmer and chef, highlighting the evolving attributes of vegetables throughout their growing seasons—an arc from spring to early summer to midsummer to the bursting harvest of late summer, then ebbing into autumn and, finally, the earthy, mellow sweetness of winter. Each chapter begins with recipes featuring raw vegetables at the start of their season. As weeks progress, McFadden turns up the heat—grilling and steaming, then moving on to sautés, pan roasts, braises, and stews. His ingenuity is on display in 225 revelatory recipes that celebrate flavor at its peak.@kimmaicutler @briannekimmel @sallyhurricane @ChefEinat +1 great book
Working
Robert A. Caro
@lehrjulian @kevinakwok This book is really short yet wonderful: https://t.co/ASuaiVGcL0
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
Richard P. Rumelt
Argues that a manager's central responsibility is to create and implement strategies, challenges popular motivational practices, and shares anecdotes discussing how to enable action-oriented plans for real-world results.@EricJorgenson @readwiseio Good book!
Draft No. 4
John McPhee
@franciscohmello I have not but will add that to my list! Just finished "Draft No. 4" by McPhee and loved it. It's also about this kind of thing.
Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mandel
@zck Station Eleven is perfect for the current moment 👌🏼 https://t.co/0Lz8Roxkk9
Understanding Michael Porter
Joan Magretta
Examines and explains the revolutionary business frameworks of Michael Porter, with examples to illustrate and update Porter's ideas for achieving and sustaining competitive success.The quote was in this wonderful book: https://t.co/KikRWYifkT
The Book Business
Mike Shatzkin
Many of us read books every day, either electronically or in print. We remember the books that shaped our ideas about the world as children, go back to favorite books year after year, give or lend books to loved ones and friends to share the stories we've loved especially, and discuss important books with fellow readers in book clubs and online communities. But for all the ways books influence us, teach us, challenge us, and connect us, many of us remain in the dark as to where they come from and how the mysterious world of publishing truly works. How are books created and how do they get to readers? The Book Business: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) introduces those outside the industry to the world of book publishing. Covering everything from the beginnings of modern book publishing early in the 20th century to the current concerns over the alleged death of print, digital reading, and the rise of Amazon, Mike Shatzkin and Robert Paris Riger provide a succinct and insightful survey of the industry in an easy-to-read question-and-answer format. The authors, veterans of "trade publishing," or the branch of the business that puts books in our hands through libraries or bookstores, answer questions from the basic to the cutting-edge, providing a guide for curious beginners and outsiders. How does book publishing actually work? What challenges is it facing today? How have social media changed the game of book marketing? What does the life cycle of a book look like in 2019? They focus on how practices are changing at a time of great flux in the industry, as digital creation and delivery are altering the commercial realities of the book business. This book will interest not only those with no experience in publishing looking to gain a foothold on the business, but also those working on the inside who crave a bird's eye view of publishing's evolving landscape. This is a moment of dizzyingly rapid change wrought by the emergence of digital publishing, data collection, e-books, audio books, and the rise of self-publishing; these forces make the inherently interesting business of publishing books all the more fascinating.@terrellwrites https://t.co/5AWKxgGaNN
The Secret of Our Success
Joseph Henrich
How our collective intelligence has helped us to evolve and prosper Humans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the wild, often failing to overcome even basic challenges, like obtaining food, building shelters, or avoiding predators. On the other hand, human groups have produced ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have permitted us to successfully expand into a vast range of diverse environments. What has enabled us to dominate the globe, more than any other species, while remaining virtually helpless as lone individuals? This book shows that the secret of our success lies not in our innate intelligence, but in our collective brains—on the ability of human groups to socially interconnect and learn from one another over generations. Drawing insights from lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, mobile hunter-gatherers, neuroscientific findings, ancient bones, and the human genome, Joseph Henrich demonstrates how our collective brains have propelled our species' genetic evolution and shaped our biology. Our early capacities for learning from others produced many cultural innovations, such as fire, cooking, water containers, plant knowledge, and projectile weapons, which in turn drove the expansion of our brains and altered our physiology, anatomy, and psychology in crucial ways. Later on, some collective brains generated and recombined powerful concepts, such as the lever, wheel, screw, and writing, while also creating the institutions that continue to alter our motivations and perceptions. Henrich shows how our genetics and biology are inextricably interwoven with cultural evolution, and how culture-gene interactions launched our species on an extraordinary evolutionary trajectory. Tracking clues from our ancient past to the present, The Secret of Our Success explores how the evolution of both our cultural and social natures produce a collective intelligence that explains both our species' immense success and the origins of human uniqueness.In SSC's review of @JoHenrich's "The Secret of Our Success," he shares some fascinating anecdotes proving this. Some tribes use "oracle-bones" to tell them where to hunt. Others have an elaborate process for preparing manioc, a toxic root. They're both essential for survival. https://t.co/lpGEy9BT5Q
@SparksZilla https://t.co/ZA5xiNimAm
The Accidental Superpower
Peter Zeihan
I am loving this book. What podcasts (or individual episodes) pair nicely with it? https://t.co/CkAvRfqa5M
7 Powers
Hamilton Helmer
7 Powers details a strategy toolset that enables you to build an enduringly valuable company. It was developed by Hamilton Helmer drawing on his decades of experience as a strategy advisor, equity investor and Stanford University teacher. This is must reading for any business person and applies to all businesses, new or mature, large or small.@SparksZilla The book "7 Powers"
@CodyBrown @antoniogm @pt @mathewi @kubakostecki I haven't read it but I hear this is good on the same topic, as well: https://t.co/RzFJcNMDyI
The Great Alignment
Alan I. Abramowitz
@sarthakgh The Great Alignment