You are what you read
I’ve always been a fan of nonfiction books that can be useful in working life.
Sorry for opening with an awkward description, but I wanted to avoid saying “business books”, as that, in turn, is a bit limiting. A useful book can be a self-help guide or a history book and still provide ideas and insight to use at work.
Like most people, I’ve struggled with finding time to read. There’s so much to keep you busy that making time to sit down and read isn’t easy.
This year’s been different.
For the most of 2018, I’ve been adventuring between two journeys — my previous position as a co-founder/CEO at Wunder and whatever comes next. This situation has given me the privilege to read more and ”upgrade” my brain more freely than ever before. As a result, I’ve read over 20 books so far this year. I’m making this point to recognise that it really is a privilege that I currently possess and that most people in most circumstances do not. I don’t think I’m a better person than you who read less than I do. I’m just more fortunate right now.
One thing that I’ve learned during this year — something that can be useful to almost anyone — is to use audiobooks instead of reading everything on paper or off of a device. My most common way to consume books is to walk in the forests of Helsinki’s Central Park. I do this almost daily with our dog Arvo. I just checked that I’ve done 200km of these trails in September and October alone. In this format, it’s easy to focus and stay alert. There’s also multiple sources of motivation: taking the dog out, getting mild exercise, the meditative energy of nature, the book itself.
If you haven’t tried audiobooks and, like me, have trouble taking the time to read in the traditional format, take a shot at it. Just make sure you can dedicate your focus on the book or podcast and not the apps on your phone.
In my experience, reading a good book creates a permanent change in your brain. It enriches your vocabulary, creates new abstractions and shakes you off of your previous way of thinking. The experience doesn’t so much replace your previous thought patterns and attitudes but augments and expands them. You become a little bit more than what you were prior to the book.
You can’t necessarily choose how the books change you, but you are responsible for choosing what to read. For this reason, I try to read different kinds of books from self-help type of titles such as “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” (rated 4/5 by me) or “Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life” (rated 1/5 by me; just couldn’t absorb that stuff) to positive psychology and the future of transportation or AI.
Many books are nice, some are great and few are outright dangerous. I recently read a psychology classic titled “Punished by Rewards” (rated 5/5 by me) and have since been haunted by it. The book brutally reveals how carrots and sticks in workplaces, schools and parenting can be deeply counterproductive. So, if you want to keep your current concepts as to how people are motivated, do not touch that book! It uses an overwhelming amount of scientific data to prove its point and as said, the conclusions are in painful conflict with how motivation is perceived in systems from parenting to workplaces. Don’t read it. It will mess you up! 😉
I’ll next list and write short descriptions of a few of my recently read books, in case something in the list would attract your interest. For a near real-time list of what I read, there’s a feed available on Goodreads:
Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car — And How It Will Reshape Our World
An excellent and up-to-date book on the mobility revolution that is going to shape our society (for the better) a lot in the years to come. Highly recommended.
Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being
A great book on leadership and the power of many over individual achievements.
Chasing Excellence: A Story About Building the World’s Fittest Athletes
This is an excellent book (I rated 5/5) about goals, mental toughness and hard work. It happens in the context of CrossFit, so if that’s totally strange to you or sets you off, don’t irritate yourself with this.
Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change
Many of us have read “Thinking Fast And Slow” and learned the concepts of System 1 and System 2. This book creates a comparable separation between analytical and elastic thinking. Analytical thinking is the brute force algorithmic thinking that enabled Deep Blue to beat Garry Kasparov in chess in the nineties, whereas elastic “thinking” is what helped the DeepMind AI beat the best human in the game of Go in 2017.
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
A book on negotiation skills and tactics written by one of the most experienced hostage negotiators. Surprisingly good stuff on the human mind and power of empathy.
Principles
An autobiography and principles of Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates (one of the most successful wealth management firms in the World). Filled with good stuff to reflect upon as a business manager and stories about the stock market in the past four decades. I was delighted to read that the one single thing that has made this company so great — according to the founder — is its culture.
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other Bribes
I warned you about this. Read at your own risk.
The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age
An easy book to read about the current and should-be relationship between employees and companies. Great useful stuff that changed something within me for good.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
A fun book (if you can stomach the amount of F-words used) on feelings, depression, self-hatred, shame, blaming others and similar contemporary topics. Distil away the f’s and you’ll get a useful message that you’re ultimately responsible for all of your experiences, so you’d better make them work for you.
Happy reading!
