Three Books That Changed My Thinking About Business
The number of new book titles published already in 2021 is 492,000 and climbing. You can check how many new books are published here
How does one decide which books are worth reading? Which books can make a difference?
Here’s my pick of three that changed my thinking about business.
Tribes - Seth Godin
Tribes turned my thinking on leadership and motivating a group on its head. I had read many books on leadership before Tribes and they all seemed to focus on one thing, the leader. You might think that’s an obvious thing to do, but if one isn’t careful leadership books can encourage narcissism rather than service.
Tribes talks about those who need leaders and how to lead them.
“In this fascinating book, Seth Godin argues that now, for the first time, everyone has an opportunity to start a movement - to bring together a tribe of like-minded people and do amazing things. There are tribes everywhere, all of them hungry for connection, meaning and change. And yet, too many people ignore the opportunity to lead, because they are "sheepwalking" their way through their lives and work, too afraid to question whether their compliance is doing them (or their company) any good. This book is for those who don't want to be sheep and instead have a desire to do fresh and exciting work. If you have a passion for what you want to do and the drive to make it happen, there is a tribe of fellow employees, or customers, or investors, or readers, just waiting for you to connect them with each other and lead them where they want to go.”
This book not only changed my thinking, it changed my life - it motivated me to start the Experts Blog which has now had over 50 millions of visitors since it started… what better testimony than that?
Atomic Habits - James Clear
They say the road to hell Is paved with good intentions. In business those good intentions are often grand plans l, or visions that seem amazing when thought up, but over time they fizzle out and little changes.
“People think that when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions: doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call.”
Atomic Hablts focusses on the power of incremental gains. Clear uses both practical lessons and powerful examples to demonstrate what is possible by concentrating on small habits.
I applied the principles to my businesses and saw significant growth. I also applied it to my personal life and lost 25% of my body weight and got fit.
Black Box Thinking - Matthew Syed
What do the airline industry and the healthcare sector have in common? You might think very little, but in his captivating book Black Box Thinking, Syed shows how both deal with failure and the stark consequences of not learning from them.
“Black Box Thinking is a new approach to high performance, a means of finding an edge in a complex and fast-changing world. It is not just about sport, but has powerful implications for business and politics, as well as for parents and students. In other words, all of us.
Drawing on a dizzying array of case studies and real-world examples, together with cutting-edge research on marginal gains, creativity and grit, Matthew Syed tells the inside story of how success really happens - and how we cannot grow unless we are prepared to learn from our mistakes.”
Syed’s take has encouraged me to face business failures head on and use them to make the business even stronger.
Summary
It’s never been easier to acquire knowledge, these books are available in print, e-reader, or in most cases as spoken word.
I encourage you to read each one and I hope you’ll be as motivated as I have been and see some lasting change.
