Leaders are readers. Reading helps you discover ideas to try and expand your mental models. In this post I point you to reviews of recent business books. You’ll find pointers to reviews of Mutualism: Building the Next Economy from the Ground Up, The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer, Insight: The surprising truth about how others see us, how we see ourselves and why the answers matter more than we think, Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company, and Work: A Deep History From the Stone Age to the Age of Robots. Plus there’s a pointer to Michael McKinney’s list of business books scheduled for release in May 2021.

From Mike Jakeman: Mutual respect

“In her new book, Freelancers Union founder Sara Horowitz urges people to rely less on government and more on a powerful cooperative spirit.”

From the Next Big Idea Club: The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer

“Steven Kotler is the author of thirteen books and a journalist whose work has appeared in publications including the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, TIME, and the Harvard Business Review. He is also the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective, an organization that studies the science of human performance and trains members of the military, Fortune 100 executives, and the general public.”

From Suzi McAlpine: Be a better leader with awareness

“I’ve been told several times, by several different people, that I have a tendency to interrupt. The first time someone told me this, I vehemently denied it. The second time I was given this feedback, I started to get uncomfortable. Maybe there was something to this feedback after all. The third time? That was my cue to take a closer look at this pesky tendency. As Tasha Eurich says in her great book, Insight: The surprising truth about how others see us, how we see ourselves and why the answers matter more than we think, ‘feedback from one person is a perspective; feedback from two people is a pattern; but feedback from three or more people is as likely to be as close to a fact as you can get.'”

From Michael McKinney: Hot Seat: Jeff Immelt at GE

“IN SEPTEMBER 2001, Jack Welch was a tough act to follow. The day after Jeffrey Immelt became CEO of General Electric, he had an even bigger challenge to deal with—the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

From Kevin Eikenberry: Work: A Deep History, From the Stone Age to the Age of Robots

“If you are reading these words, you have experience with, thoughts about, and a wide variety of feelings about work. For many of you, your experiences, thoughts, and feelings have changed over the last year. While our personal experiences are valid, maybe it is time develop a better understanding of work in a broader context. Let me explain why.”

From Michael McKinney: First Look: Leadership Books for May 2021

“Here’s a look at some of the best leadership books to be released in May 2021. Don’t miss out on other great new and future releases not listed here.”

Reading recommendations are a regular feature of this blog. Want more recommendations about what tao read? Monday is “Book Day.” Come back for book reviews, reading lists and other reading-related posts.