At the end of the day, when most people find the time to read, many of us are not in the mood for reading complex and engaging books. However, that doesn’t mean there is no place for such books that are intellectually challenging and that makes us think about life, our past, and our future. The value of these books is bigger than what we get from inspirational quotes or short articles. They are a set of well-defined ideas that invite argument and analysis. “Everyday Chaos” by David Weinberger and “The End of Competitive Advantage” by Rita McGrath are two books examining the changes in our economic thinking and how those changes influence our business decisions and strategy. Books like “Acting with Power” by Deborah Gruenfeld, “Courage to be Disliked” by Ichiro Kishimi, and “Guide to the Good Life” by William Irvine are diving into our personal power and status, approaches to our life philosophy, and how we can harness these elements in our everyday lives. “Thinking in Systems” and “The Tyranny of Metrics” are two books delving into our obsession with measuring everything in our lives and our inability to observe the events as a part of a bigger system. Finally, for a lighter topic, “The Box” by Marc Levinson is an interesting story about the invention and standardization of the shipping container, a simple idea with far-reaching economic consequences across many industries.
Key Takeaways:
- A new book by Rita McGrath advises companies to be aware of small changes.
- The Tyranny of Metrics argues that all our measurements are hurting productivity.
- One new book explains how the shipping container helped create the boom in global trade.
“for centuries, human’s imperfect knowledge about the world has rested on the assumption that if we work hard enough and think clearly enough, the universe will yield its secrets. It won’t, and it cannot: there isn’t a box of secret rules.”
Read more: 8 Books for When you’re in the Mood to Explore Possible Futures
