My Top 10 Books of 2019

Well every year I share a list of top 10 books I read year round. This year I got particularly late in sharing this, chiefly because I was a bit ill for over 2 weeks. Now I guess before January ends, let me write this and share it with the world. I read a lot of amazing books in 2019 that widened my outlook towards a lot of things. I guess the more you read, the easier it becomes to connect the dots. So without further ado, let me share the top 10 books of 2019.

1. Intercom on Startups-Well I didn’t really know about this book’s existence until I ordered it. Although it was an arduous process waiting for it but it was indeed worth it. This book is like the Holy Grail for technology startups. Every bit of information is realistic and has been tried out. It does not have any hypothesis. I mean I wish I had read this book earlier when I was an entrepreneur myself. Most of what the Intercom team talks about are things that helped them grow exponentially. They discuss general industry topics around product, tech, customer acquisition, hiring, culture and growth and talk about what they did to build a state of the art system in each of these. They also share important anecdotal stories about customer empathy and how you could leverage it to build your first 100 users. It is a must read for any tech entrepreneur or a product manager.

2.Never Split The Difference- This book is perhaps a bible in the big bad world of negotiation. I wish i could give it more stars than just 5. The brilliance of this book lies in the real life examples quoted where the said psychological hacks worked effectively. After you are done reading this book you’d start seeing the world in a different light. This book shows you things that are so obvious but were invisible to the human eye till date.Its a must read for every person on the planet because it shows how to interact with people and how to empathise with them.

3.Influence:The Psychology Of Persuasion- Well if there is one book you wish to read about human psychology, this is the one. Robert Cialdini leaves no leaves unturned in coming up with this brilliant piece that tell us about the things we never really observed all our lives. Words fall short while describing this book. Its a must read for humanity.

4.Zero To One- Quintessentially the best book ever written on startups. If you don’t read this in your lifetime you really have no idea what you are missing out. Thiel is a visionary and a philosopher. Most of his ideas if adopted by the industry could change the world exponentially. There is a lot of depth behind what he writes and you need to knock your brains out to fully comprehend the meaning behind his words. I could read this book as many times possible in this mortal lifetime and still not be bored. Its Ulysses devoid of the complexity. Thiel could be perhaps be termed as the ‘Nietzsche’ of this century.

5.Buyology- This is one book that’ll dispel a lot of myths marketers have had around consumer psychology. It’s a must read namely due to the contrarian nature of the claims made by Martin which have been scientifically validated. This book is a game changer as it tends to rubbish a lot of belief systems around behavioural psychology. I would recommend anyone with a penchant for understanding consumer psychology to read this book. Its iconoclastic and breaks stereotypes around marketing.

6. The $100 Startup- Nothing short of ingenious. It’s really surprising to find how some entrepreneurs have created some jaw dropping businesses around simple ideas that solved a major problem. Its definitely a refreshing view of entrepreneurship. I would recommend it to anyone who dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

7. Predictably Irrational- This is one of those rare books that will force you to think hard. It will question the belief system, one has had all this while and then take one down to terrains completely unheard of. This book will force revelations on you, that will completely change the way you have been thinking all this while. I wish I had read this gem a decade earlier. Dan Ariely is a genius and his insights are so powerful that it forces one to think about things one never really thought about. I’d highly recommend it for people who claim they are thinkers as it will change your way of thinking.

8. The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F****-Three words nothing more nothing less. Ingenious, Truthful and impactful. One book you’d wanna read before you die.

9.Delivering Happiness- Well what can I say about this book. This is a life changing book. The struggles an entrepreneur faces and the life threatening risks that he takes to convert his dreams into reality, something only an entrepreneur would understand. Delivering happiness is a fascinating tale of how one man went all the way up and down to create an enterprise of global standards. Tony Hsieh could be called a legendary entrepreneur since he built an effective customer success engine that delivered happiness to its customers , its vendors, its partners and even to its employees. Some of the things spoken about in the book relates well with what I have practised in my own career with jaw dropping results. This book sets out to prove that a great business is never about profits but about happy customers. Whatever Zappos achieved with everyone working tirelessly to keep the customers happy, with a healthy culture and awesome leaders is stuff that inspires one to become an entrepreneur. It also shows unlike a lot of Silicon Valley stories that its extremely difficult to build a company and the immense pressure associated with it. Starting a company is not for the faint hearted. A must read for every entrepreneur.

10.Made In America- It’s been an absolute delight reading this book. Sam Walton could perhaps be termed as one of those visionaries who changed the World for good. Not sure why the think different ad doesnt show him. In a humorous, coarse yet interesting way, Walton talks about how he ended up creating the biggest Retail Outlet in the entire world. He talks about his failures, his team work, his passion for retail, a penchant for state of the art customer service and his scrappiness. The stories he recounts are so enchanting and fresh that it gives you all the more reasons to gobble it up. For people in the entrepreneurial space this is one heck of a book you just can’t miss.

So with this I have mentioned most of the great books I read last year, that taught me a lot about different things I was oblivious to. I am planning to read more in 2020 and perhaps write more too. As much as it is important to read books, it is equally pertinent to write about your experiences, so the entire world knows who you really are. Let me come back towards the end of 2020 with some more books hopefully. I hope you will invest the year in reading some epic books and share the list with me too. Happy Reading :)