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 The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, Wait, I’m the Boss?!?: The Essential Guide for New Managers to Succeed from Day One, Leading in the Digital World: How to Foster Creativity, Collaboration, and Inclusivity, Personality Isn’t Permanent: Personality Myths That Hold You Back

From Daniel Akst: Management lessons of The True Believer

“If you are a leader beset by such thorny questions, perhaps you should consult a working stiff. The one I have in mind, a consummate autodidact empowered by a library card, spent his career as a farm worker, day laborer, and longshoreman. Once a cultural figure of such consequence that he was said to be President Eisenhower’s favorite author, he courted controversy and disfavor during the 1960s and 1970s, when his ideas and his politics were out of sync with the times. He was rediscovered after the 9/11 attacks reignited interest in fanaticism, and readers turned anew to his first and most famous book, The True Believer.”

From Kevin Eikenberry: Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

“I don’t know about you, but it seems there are more things to distract me than ever. And since distractions are the enemy of productivity and achievement, I’d like to change that. Rather than lamenting those distractions, I’d rather learn the skills for managing distractions. Enter this book, which promises to help us control our attention and choose our lives. That sounds good to me.”

From Wharton: What Poker Can Teach Us about Making the World a Better Place

“In her new book, The Biggest Bluff, psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova writes about her immersion into the world of high-stakes poker. Starting as a novice who knew nothing about the game, she eventually rose to become a world-class professional poker player. Yet, poker was never just about the cards or money for Konnikova, and neither is her book. Instead, she picked up poker as a means to explore human decision-making in an environment where every player has very little control. Wharton operations, information and decisions professor Katherine Milkman recently spoke with Konnikova about what poker has taught her about letting go of the control we think we have over our lives, and using the control we do have to make the world a better place.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this review.

From Skip Prichard: Wait, I’m the Boss?!? The Guide for New Managers to Succeed

“Peter Economy’s book, Wait, I’m the Boss?!?, is exactly that: a roadmap and guidebook for new leaders. If you don’t know him, Peter is a bestselling business book author and ghostwriter with more than 100 books to his credit. He’s also known as Inc.’s “Leadership Guy” because of his many articles on that platform. I spoke to him about his work. How I wish we had an entire day to talk about management and leadership.”

From Theodore Kinni: Fit-for-context leadership

“Hult International Business School professor Amit Mukherjee argues that new leadership practices are needed for a digital era.”

Wally’s Comment: My co-host, Art Petty, really liked this book and recommended it in our podcast, “Our Favorite Little-Known Reads.”

From Michael McKinney: Personality Isn’t Permanent: Personality Myths That Hold You Back

“Benjamin Hardy takes to task the idea that we were born hardwired as he person we are, and we cannot change that in Personality Isn’t Permanent.”

Reading Lists

From Orianna Rosa Royle: Business books to read: Summer 2020

“From the economics of coronavirus to the decline of General Electric, Management Today rounds up the books to add to your Amazon basket this summer.”

From Michael McKinney: First Look: Leadership Books for August 2020

“Here’s a look at some of the best leadership books to be released in August 2020. 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 to read? Monday is “Book Day.” Come back for book reviews. reading lists. and the podcast “Leadership and Management Book Talk” where Art Petty and I chat about books we like and some we don’t.