As long as someone can control your mind, they can control who you are and how you behave. I decided at an early age that I was never going to allow myself to be in a position where someone could control my mind and control my behavior because of my lack of information and knowledge. I decided that I was going to strive to read and learn as much as I possibly could on a continual basis because I believed people would garner greater respect for me if they respected me intellectually. I have often felt, in life, if I had the choice between being liked or respected. I would far more hope that I am respected than liked. I have never worked at trying to get people to like me.
Books have been my most profitable investment. Reading expands who you are and is a marvelous way to connect the dots between history, your life, now and the future. I am consistently visiting bookstores four to five times every week. I call these trips search and discovery. The books that have the most impact on me are the ones that make me change the way I think, act, behave and perform.
May the following books I have purchased over the last sixty days inspire a search and discovery of new knowledge, skills, and insights that bring meaningful value to your life as you explore the outer depths of who you are while being a positive difference maker in the lives of others.
1. Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change By Frank Sesno
“Emmy-award-winning journalist and media expert Frank Sesno aims to change that with Ask More. From questions that cement relationships, to those that help us plan for the future, each chapter in Ask More explores a different type of inquiry. By the end of the book, you’ll know what to ask and when, what you should listen for, and what you can expect as the outcome.”
2. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century By Yuval Noah Harari
“Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today’s most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, hacking becomes a tactic of war, and the world feels more polarized than ever, Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive.”
3. Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence By by Ajay Agrawal, Avi Goldfarb, and Joshua Gans
“Prediction Machines, three eminent economists recast the rise of AI as a drop in the cost of prediction. With this single, masterful stroke, they lift the curtain on the AI-is-magic hype and show how basic tools from economics provide clarity about the AI revolution and a basis for action by CEOs, managers, policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs.”
4. Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together By Thomas W. Malone
“Superminds – groups of people and computers together – can act more intelligently than any person, group, or computer has ever done before. They already make many of our most important decisions, whether through the hierarchy of a multinational company or the democracy of a nation state. And they will do a lot more. Groundbreaking and utterly fascinating, this book will change how you think, now and in the future.”
5. Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth—and How to Fix It By by Dambisa Moyo
“In Edge of Chaos, Dambisa Moyo shows why economic growth is essential to global stability, and why liberal democracies are failing to produce it today. Rather than turning away from democracy, she argues, we must fundamentally reform it. Edge of Chaos presents a radical blueprint for change in order to galvanize growth and ensure the survival of democracy in the twenty-first century.”
6. Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World By by Anand Giridharadas
“Former New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas takes us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, where the rich and powerful fight for equality and justice any way they can–except ways that threaten the social order and their position atop it. We see how they rebrand themselves as saviors of the poor; how they lavishly reward “thought leaders” who redefine “change” in winner-friendly ways; and how they constantly seek to do more good, but never less harm. We hear the limousine confessions of a celebrated foundation boss; witness an American president hem and haw about his plutocratic benefactors, and attend a cruise-ship conference where entrepreneurs celebrate their own self-interested magnanimity. “
7. Do Big Things: The Simple Steps Teams Can Take to Mobilize Hearts and Minds, and Make an Epic Impact By Angela V. Paccione, Craig W. Ross, and Victoria L. Roberts
“Do Big Things provides your team with the common language necessary to be authentic, empathetic and transparent so that potential barriers to success come to light – faster. This empowers the team to be more accountable with an enterprise mindset because they can have the profound discussions needed to adapt quickly to unforeseen challenges and demonstrate an innovative reflex.”
8. The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation By Darrell M. West
“Looking past today’s headlines, political scientist and cultural observer Darrell M. West argues that society needs to rethink the concept of jobs, reconfigure the social contract, move toward a system of lifetime learning, and develop a new kind of politics that can deal with economic dislocations. With the U.S. governance system in shambles because of political polarization and hyper-partisanship, dealing creatively with the transition to a fully digital economy will vex political leaders and complicate the adoption of remedies that could ease the transition pain. It is imperative that we make major adjustments in how we think about work and the social contract in order to prevent society from spiraling out of control.”
9. In Defense of Troublemakers: The Power of Dissent in Life and Business By Charlan Jeanne Nemeth
“An eminent psychologist explains why dissent should be cherished, not feared. We’ve decided by consensus that consensus is good. In Defense of Troublemakers, psychologist Charlan Nemeth argues that this principle is completely wrong: left unchallenged, the majority opinion is often biased, unoriginal, or false. It leads planes and markets to crash, causes juries to convict innocent people, and can quite literally make people think blue is green. In the name of comity, we embrace stupidity. We can make better decisions by embracing dissent. Dissent forces us to question the status quo, consider more information, and engage in creative decision-making.”
10. The Genius Within: Smart Pills, Brain Hacks and Adventures in Intelligence By David Adam
“The Genius Within, bestselling author David Adam explores the ground-breaking neuroscience of cognitive enhancement that is changing the way the brain and the mind works – to make it better, sharper, more focused and, yes, more intelligent. Sharing his own experiments with revolutionary smart drugs and electrical brain stimulation, he delves into the sinister history of intelligence tests, meets savants and brain hackers and reveals how he boosted his own IQ to cheat his way into Mensa. Going to the heart of how we consider, measure and judgmental ability, The Genius Within asks difficult questions about the science that could rank and define us, and inevitably shape our future.”
11.The New Science of Radical Innovation: The Six Competencies Leaders Need to Win in a Complex World By Sunnie Giles
“The New Science of Radical Innovation provides profound insights and actionable tools to help you accelerate the speed of execution, a balance between team cohesion and self-organization, and tap into the power of collective wisdom. Inside, discover how to develop the six leadership competencies you need to catalyze radical innovation in your organization.”
