The 5 Books That Helped Me Get Through 2020, And Why You Should Read Them In 2021
Each year I add new books to my list of best books ever. This year in particular a few books kept me going—personally and professionally—and made me a better person than I was a year before. I'm especially excited to share them with you because they come from a variety of categories outside of the usual LinkedIn type of book recommendation.
I'll spare the long introduction, so you can spend your time reading these masterpieces!
A Book That Will Give You Hope For Humanity And Make You Laugh And Cry At The Same Time:
This wonderful novel is a new favorite of mine. It’s about an orphan boy in a small town who is looking for his lost sister.
But it’s actually about all the different people in the town with their different hopes and dreams and struggles—and how they come together to make something magical happen.
I didn’t even realize that I was crying at the end because I was so engrossed.
A Book That Will Teach You How To Take Bad News Well AND Give Better Feedback At The Same Time:
The subtitle of this book says it all: “The Science & Art of Receiving Feedback Well, even when it is off-base, unfair, poorly worded, or frankly you’re not in the mood.”
Honestly, if we all got better at receiving feedback, the whole world would be so much happier. And the truth is, learning what’s in this book will make you better at GIVING feedback, too.
A Book That Will Make You A Better Storyteller & Creative Collaborator At The Same Time:
I've read a lot of memoirs of directors and filmmakers, and none hold a candle to Ted Hope’s book here. That's because this book isn't about bragging about his accomplishments (which are numerous). It's about becoming a better writer, storyteller, filmmaker, etc… and also about dealing with people well, so that you can do the creative work you were meant to do.
And Ted's philosophy on that is both effective and wonderful.
A Book That Will Teach You The History Of Pirates AND Corporations At The Same Time:
Stephen Johnson is one of my favorite authors on innovation, but Enemy of All Mankind takes a bit of a turn from the usual. It’s about the most famous, successful, and mysterious pirate in the early history of pirating. But it’s also actually about how corporations and governments first became intertwined during the East India Company days—and a lot more.
Super fun read, and surprisingly insightful from that innovation standpoint after all!
A Book That Will Teach You How To Win At Poker AND In Life At The Same Time:
Honestly, I am thinking now that every book Maria Konnikova ends up writing will make it onto my best books ever list. She’s able to make complicated psychology easy to understand and implement. In this one, she learns how to play poker and, using what she knows about psychology and what she learns from her poker trainer… and becomes a world champion.
This book won’t just teach you how to be better at poker, but how to be better at managing uncertainty (and jerks) in LIFE.
By the way, if you want more book recommendations like these, I have a huge post on my website of my favorite books in every category here.
Happy New Year, everybody!
Shane
P.S. In case you missed it, my next Dream Teams Leadership Intensive has been moved to March. So there’s still time to sign up and get an early bird discount! If you’ve enjoyed my emails or posts over the year, I’d be delighted if you forwarded this link along to someone who you think highly of: https://snow.academy/leadership
partner development manager @ ringlogix | strategic partnerships
3 年good choices. very interesting.
Strategy @ ACNE
3 年Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Talent Acquisition Manager at Celus
3 年Thanks Shane for your suggestions ????