20 Must-Reads on The Future of Work

The beginning of the year is a time when we start thinking about the future. As CEO of Upwork, I read widely in order to better anticipate and understand the trends in work. If you want to immerse yourself in visionary reading about the future of work, education, and cities—and perhaps even become your own futurist—check out my picks that look to the road ahead.

On the future of work and business:

1. Embracing Progress: Next Steps For The Future Of Work — by A. Sophie Wade
2. The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future 1st Edition — by Kevin Kelly
3. Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future — by Andrew McAfee
4. Hillbilly Elegy — by J. D. Vance
5. Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change — by Ellen Pao
6. Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone — by Satya Nadella
7. Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator’s Dilemma — by Professor Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman
8. Reinventing Organizations: An Illustrated Invitation to Join the Conversation on Next-Stage Organizations — by Frederic Laloux (Author),? Etienne Appert
9. Influencing Virtual Teams: 17 Tactics That Get Things Done with Your Remote Employees — by Hassan Osman
10. Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving In The Age of Accelerations — by Thomas Friedman
11. The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want — by Diane Mulcahy
12. The Startup Way — by Eric Ries
13. The Million Dollar, One-Person Business — by Elaine Pofeldt
14. WTF?: What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us — by Tim O’Reilly

On the future of cities:

15. The Road Taken: The History and Future of America’s Infrastructure — by Henry Petroski

16. Future Cities: 42 Insights and Interviews with Influencers, Startups, Investors — by Stefano L. Tresca

On the future of education:

17. The Future Of Higher Education: How Emerging Technologies Will Change Education Forever — by Lasse Rouhiainen

18. Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (MIT Press) — by Joseph E. Aoun

19. The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World In Flux — by Cathy N. Davidson

20. Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era — by Tony Wagner

What are your favorite future of work books? Let me know in the comments.

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