Enchantment: Art of Getting People to Do What You Want
by Guy Kawasaki
Summary: A number of ideas and techniques to create enchanting products and relationships for the benefit of all involved
Intended Audience: Those in positions of influence who are looking for ways to build deeper relationships
Summary: A significant contribution of ideas about how to improve capital efficiency in startups and more deeply engage employees and customers to create tighter learning and feedback loops.
Intended Audience: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-at-heart. And anyone interested in helping their organization learn faster. And probably you.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell
Summary: An anecdotal and scientific investigation into whether initial impressions are helpful or hindering. Packed with examples, it includes tips on when to recognize which situation is which.
Intended Audience: Anyone who has every had a gut feeling that they should read this book
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One of the things that I love about attending Agile 2011 is the rapid-fire exposure to new ideas. In particular, I usually get enough book ideas to fill up my reading list for a good part of the next year. This year, I am certain I will not get to all of these.
Here are the books that I made note of this year.
Outliers: The Story of Success
by Malcolm Gladwell
Summary: An investigation into the conditions that lead to successful individuals and why traditional assumptions about intelligence, personality, and effort are only a part of the picture.
Intended Audience: Widely accessible book for those curious about why some are successful and some are not
Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup
by David Cohen and Brad Feld
Summary: A compendium of short discussions on what you will encounter in an early-stage startup and advice that can help you to handle these situations.
Intended Audience: Anyone involved in startups that is looking for guidance or new ideas
Management 3.0: Leading Agile Developers, Developing Agile Leaders
by Jurgen Appelo
Summary: A wealth of explanations, techniques, and tips for building and leading agile teams so that you can effectively solve complex and complicated problems in your organization and for your customers
Intended Audience: Agile managers and leaders and those who want these responsibilities
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Summary: An investigation into why some ideas stick better than others, with a discussion of six qualities of ideas that can increase their stickiness
Intended Audience: Anyone seeking to influence or advocate their ideas at work, at home, or in the community; those who have seen great ideas fail
Predictably Irrational, Revised And Expanded Edition
by Dan Ariely
Summary: A discussion of the results of a number of surprising experiments from the fields of economics and psychology on how people act and make decisions. This book helps to explain a lot of choices that you see or make in day-to-day life that don’t seem to be the right thing to do.
Intended Audience: Of general interest as an accessible introduction to behavioural economics
The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace for the 21st Century
by Stephen Denning
Summary: Traditional management practices are failing to create value in the new economy and a new way of managing and leading in the workplace is needed to foster innovation
Intended Audience: Influencers in both old and new organizations
Continue reading Book: The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management