Book Briefing
The best work and management books of the past year
We've read more than 10,000 pages to cover 41 books this year. Here are our recommendations and takeaways.
Books
We publish a briefing—including a summary, takeaways, and other context— about a new business book weekly.
Book Briefing
'Bias Interrupted' by Joan C. Williams: Small tweaks that add up to more inclusive workplaces
The new book 'Bias Interrupted' spells out how a series of small changes to an organization’s practices can make it more inclusive.
Book Briefing
'Impact Players' by Liz Wiseman: How to become invaluable to your boss and colleagues
What research says about the behaviors and mindsets of successful “impact players.”
Book Briefing
'Built to Innovate' by Ben M. Bensaou: The approaches behind the Magic Eraser, Marvel Studios, and other breakthroughs
'Built to Innovate' is a playbook for closely marrying the execution and innovating functions within organizations rather than separating them as is often done, and empowering all employees to play a role.
Book Briefing
'Play Nice But Win': Michael Dell’s insider take on building and saving his company
The new book 'Play Nice But Win' is an entertaining behind-the-scenes chronicle of Michael Dell’s sparring with Carl Icahn and other competitive battles en route to building and transforming his company.
Book Briefing
'The Long Game' by Dorie Clark: Being a long-term thinker in a short-term world
The new book by Clark, a business-school teacher and consultant, is a step-by-step guide to setting long-term individual goals and going about pursuing them.
Book Briefing
'Net Positive' by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston: How to make money by solving problems rather than creating them
Polman’s prominence and success as CEO of Unilever, one of the biggest multinationals, make this book important and compelling.
Book Briefing
'The Exponential Age' by Azeem Azhar: The misunderstood dynamic behind tech’s impact on business and society
In his new book, Azhar argues that there’s an “exponential gap” between changes to society and the responses of institutions, such as governments, which tend to evolve in a slower, linear fashion.
Book Briefing
'Masters of Scale' by Reid Hoffman with June Cohen and Deron Triff: Distilled lessons from business successes
A book by a LinkedIn co-founder and former PayPal executive about how to get the idea for a business and then lead it to success.
Book Briefing
'Beyond Collaboration Overload' by Rob Cross: How to reclaim your time and make the best use of networking
Beyond Collaboration Overload offers timely cautions about overdoing some of the connection and communication that are hallmarks of modern workplaces and thought-provoking analysis of what high-performing leaders do differently from the rest of us.
