Favourite Books of 2018 | Nest & Mettā Team

When not hosting events, running programs, posing for Fun Friday pics 😎📷and participating in inter-office bake off 🎂😋competitions, someone somewhere in our team is quietly upskilling themselves, letting their imagination loose, and finding solace in a book. This year we had a few Nesties share their favourite reads of 2018.

Lawrence Morgan- CEO, Nest

The honest story of hardship, hard work and resultant highs and lows of building a business that every entrepreneur faces during their ‘journey’. It’s rawness doesn’t glamourise or apply hindsight ‘visionary’ abilities to the founder, but takes you through his personal journey from an importer of Japanese Onitsuka Tiger footwear in tough post-war USA, to a hugely successful global manufacturer.
As a track athlete, Phil was solving a need in creating thin, light running shoes with grip at a time when drivers slowed down to ridicule and shout jokes at runners along roads. I wrongly thought Nike was a marketing-led brand, and as a keen runner myself, this book appealed!

Maurice Otieno- General Manager- Mettā Nairobi

Andrew Shaffer makes it a simple read for the audience. I like the way he brings out the camaraderie and the pride that the American society has towards their country. Through the book, he goes ahead to elicit a lot of value that the American people are known for in the world from Justice, to love for the country, diversity. He uses Obama’s charisma and Joe’s little mischief to bring out the value of friendship.
From the book I learnt, genuine friendship is important, family is key & work (and something important to be done) will always be there.

Dennis Plomp- Principal, Nest Ventures.

In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling explains why almost all of us have an incorrect perception of the world and global trends. We tend to divide the world into two camps (often the developed and developing countries), which is nowadays almost always a wrong distinction. We think our planet is in a worse state than it actually is, but we disregard the things that threaten us most. Factfulness is a very inspiring, entertaining and upbeat read about the (f)actual state of our world.

Amanda Williams- Head of Innovation, Nest

A light-hearted thriller that is a cross between Clue & Groundhog Day. The setting is a 1920s English country house full of people with different motives for murder. Every day in the morning there is a murder and the narrator wakes in the body of a different character, slowly building a complete picture of what’s happened, why and, of course, who did it.

Mysteries provide escape while still exercising my problem-solving skills. This one has a bonus touch of magical realism.
The unique format held my attention and I appreciated it’s focus on empathy, on seeing situations from multiple perspectives; a critical skill for today’s polarized world.

Solomon Muigai- Head of Content & Events, Mettā Nairobi

A Lyndy book that will go on to be a classic. This book provides the often ignored third dimensional thinking when assessing risk, uncertainty, human error, decision making and probability. It reveals lessons from nature which showcases the previously unnamed phenomenon of ‘anti-fragility’ against the previous recorded “fragility” and “robustness.” The core involves the triad perfectly summed up by the illustration: ‘The fragile wants tranquility, the antifragile grows from disorder and the robust doesn’t care much. This masterpiece provides useful heuristics on how to detect sucker problems, desist from naive interventionism and thrive under uncertainty. Love is an understatement when describing this book.

Daisy Chesang- Operations & Programmes Lead, Mettā Nairobi

In the digital era, getting things done without distractions can be challenging. Some days it seems our to-do lists go up in flames before we’ve even had a chance to take a lunch break. But this doesn’t mean we should give in to the world’s interruptions. This book provides practical ways to help you strip back life’s distractions and really drill down into what it is that you want to accomplish, the ‘why’ behind it, and some effective ways to increase the odds you’ll achieve it. It begins and ends with the premise that our habits will determine our future.
“Life doesn’t happen to you. It’s all about the choices and how you respond to every situation.” Loved every bit of it.