My key points from 52 books I read in 2019 in less than 52 words each

At the beginning of 2019, I set myself the goal to read a book per week.

I believe reading is “learning accelerated”. In a handful of hours, I get to absorb what took someone else years to accumulate, understand, distill, and refine.

Reading is the best return on investment. 

We have to live our entire life in order to know one life. 

But with reading, we can know 100s of people’s lives for almost no cost. What a great return!

And I did it!

Ok, I have to admit, for the last book I am only 2/3s through. But then there are still a few days left in 2019 to make it totally happen.

They are all Non-fiction books but one (no prizes for spotting which one). But then someone might say that all books are fiction because they are all written by humans. Humans are biased and what one believes is fact and the truth might be fiction in other’s eyes.

Well, this could be splitting hair like insisting that 2020 is not the start of the next decade yet as there was no year ZERO to begin with.

Let’s ignore our faulty logic and get to those 52 books I finished reading (there were a few more that I put aside midway as I did not like them):

WARNING: You will find very few investing books here as my focus this year was on widening my horizon beyond investing and fighting my confirmation bias.

1            Under the Hood by Stan Slap – The employee culture with its own rules, beliefs and motivations is the power that drives the enterprise engine.

2            Creativity, Inc by Ed Catmull – Originality is fragile and in its first moments often far from pretty.

3            The Mentoring Manual by Julie Starr – Mentoring isn’t about changing someone, or getting someone to do something differently, it’s about waking someone up to who they really are. Naturally every professional should have a mentor like a professional sportsman is having a coach.

4            Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade by Matthew Dicks and Dan Kennedy – No one ever made a decision because of a number. They need a story. Tell them your own story. We all have storyworthy stories – every single day. They are 5-second moments. Notice them.

5            Back to Human by Dan Schwabel – Technology is a bridge not a barrier. Companies need to create a workplace where people feel connected and engaged—encouraged to develop their interpersonal skills rather than relying too heavily on technology for communication. Use technology the right way. We need to inject more humanity. Augmented Humanity.

6            Start With Why by Simon Sinek – Why doesn’t every manager follow this and become a leader?

7            Excellence Wins by Horst H Schulze – 35 years of delivering the “ultraluxury” hotel guest experiences condensed into one book. Employees respond enthusiastically to motives and objectives. They simply endure – put up with – orders and directions. Managers push. Leaders inspire.

8            The Power of Connections by Rik Rushton – The quality of our life is directly linked to the quality of our relationships. To form deeper connections we need to know how to communicate better with others as well as with ourselves. Communication is an inside out job. Keep asking yourself, am I communicating to understand or communicating to provide a solution?

9            The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki – It is not that a group will always give you the right answer but that on average it will consistently come up with a better answer than any individual could provide.

10         Talk Triggers by Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin – A talk trigger is a company’s benefit articulated with a story that’s discussed at a cocktail party and not in the conference room. Talk Trigger is a strategic operational differentiator that makes word of mouth involuntary.

11         Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella – His management style is characterized by a strong emphasis on empathy. Check out Microsoft’s Stock Chart from 2000 to now. Satya started in Feb 2014. Looks like that fluffy soft-stuff of managing people like humans has quite an impact on the hard stuff – those financial KPIs managers like to focus on.

12         Going Horizontal by Samantha Slade – We are a self-organizing species. That’s the modus operandi of our DNA. We function every day without a boss. We need horizontal workplaces because we are naturally a horizontal species. Working against that instinct has led us to 85% being disengaged from their work. Control leads to compliance. Autonomy to engagement.

13         Platform – Personal Branding by Cynthia Johnson – My personal brand is not about me. It is 100% based on others opinions of me. Personal branding has everything to do with how I make people feel, how I engage with them and what they say about me to my face and to others!

14         Thanks a Thousand by AJ Jacobs – Not one soul possesses all the know-how and skills to produce a simple cup of coffee. How many people does it take to make your morning coffee possible? AJ Jacobs journeyed to thank every single one of them and learned that gratitude makes us all happier, more generous, and more connected.

15         Barking up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker – Schools reward being a generalist. There is little recognition of student passion or expertise. The real world, however, does the reverse. Following the rules doesn’t create success. To be great we must be different. Everything we do in life is a trade-off; choosing to do one thing means not doing something else. Let go of busyness.

16         Win the Heart by Mark Miller – All high performance organizations have 4 things in common. They bet on leadership, acts as one, are talent magnets and they win the hearts. You cannot build a enduring great organization with hired hands. You must win hearts. When there is genuine care for people, in return people will care deeply about their work.

17         This is Marketing by Seth Godin – Changing your path to better is called marketing. We all can do it. Culture beats strategy by so much that culture is strategy. You definitely don’t have enough time and money to build a brand for everyone. Be very specific. Low price is the last refuge of a marketer who has run out of generous ideas.

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18         Bring Work to Life by Tracy Bower – Isn’t work an integral part of life? Worklife harmony is much more attainable than work-life balance. Let’s stop striving for that mythical work-life balance and getting disappointing when we don’t manage to get our work-life into balance. Instead, let’s strive for worklife harmony which is solely within our own power to achieve.

19         Connected by Christiakis and Fowler – We make connections. Humans are lonely and we want to be seen and known. We want to be part of something. It’s safer that way. And often more fun. The ubiquity of human connection means that each of us has a much bigger impact on others than we can see. When we practice random acts of kindness, they can spread to hundreds of other people.

20         Captivate by Vanessa van Edwards – The science of succeeding with people – naturally. The biggest barrier to success in the “social game” is the belief that you’re either born with people skills or you’re not. It’s simply not true.

21         Companies Don’t Succeed People Do by Bob Nelson – People are the company. Employees may not need a pay raise as much as they do a personal thanks from their manager for a job well done. Treating people well at work, caring about them as humans, making sure they feel included & appreciated (= employee engagement) is above all simply the right thing to do.

22         Give and Take by Adam Grant – Success doesn’t have to come at someone else’s expense. When we help others out of a sense of enjoyment and purpose, we experience significant gains in energy. Giving gives a greater sense of autonomy, mastery and connection to others. Otherish givers start out with trust as the default assumption and keep their own interests in the rearview mirror.

23         10x Marketing Formula by Garrett Moon – It isn’t a detailed process, because those don’t work. It’s a framework, mindset shift, and attitude that says, “Screw it. We want 10x results, and we’re going to cut the crap and make sure we get there with some fresh principles.” Competition-free content adds tremendous value to your customers and audience that only I can produce.

24         Mr. Nice Guy by Jennifer Miller (fiction) – Written by a husband and wife duo it is a funny and all too real comedy about the pursuit of success in life – and love – in today’s working world. What makes gratitude so special is it can’t help but make two people happy.

25         Safe Enough to Soar by Frederick A. Miller – With a culture of openness and true collaboration, both the organization and individuals can soar! Interaction Safety is like Psychological Safety. The workplace energizes the workgroup and the workgroup energize its members. The norm is “yes, and” and not “yes, but”. Seeking to add value than to undercut each other.

26         Big Mistakes by Michael Batnik – The ways in which the biggest names in investing have failed and the lessons learned that shaped more successful strategies going forward. We all grow by making our own mistakes and taking them in stride. Intelligence in investing is not absolute; it’s relative. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, it matters how smart your competition is. EQ wins.

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27         Why People Don’t Believe You by Rob Jolles – So-called “soft skills” like pitch, pace, and tone of voice, are actually some of the most crucial factors in determining how people perceive us. It’s not the words, it’s the tune that really makes us memorable and credible. We all have it in us to practice it.

28         Leader’s Block by Ritu Gupta Mehrish – Singapore based Ritu coined the phrase “leader’s block” to describe the phase everyone goes through where we are not at our best. Leader’s block is in between getting into a funk and a burnout. The key is to recognize it, acknowledge it and then work to overcome it.

29         The Dumb Things Smart People Do With their Money by Jill Schlesinger – We do way too many dumbs things to list them all within 52 words. Read it, be aware of your biases, pause and think more before acting and then change bad habits sustainably; your financial independence and retirement might suddenly get so much closer.

30         Dare to Lead by Rene Brown – Daring leaders must care for and be connected to the people they lead. Both are irreducible requirements for wholehearted productive relationships between leaders and team members. We fail the minute we let someone else define success for us. The opposite of play is not work. The opposite of play is depression.

31         LinkedIn Unlocked by Melanie Dodaro – Social selling works; not because it is a gimmick or a way to inundate your target market with your marketing message, but because it is built upon our human need to create trust and build relationships. It is an ongoing process that requires regular time and upkeep. How can I help you!

32         Zen Your Work by Karlyn Borysenko – It’s not what I think of myself. It’s not what they think of me. It’s what I think they think of me. No one can make you successful at work if you first don’t make the decision to do it yourself. It all starts with our mindset. There is not a single perfect person in the world and no one expects you to be the first.

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33         Friend of a Friend by Daniel Burkus – The proven science of networks. It’s actually our distant or former contacts who will be the most helpful to us. It’s about getting a full picture of the network we already have access to and learning how to improve it. Everyone is a friend of a friend (even if we haven’t met that friend yet).

34         Chief Joy Officer by Richard Sheridan – Leadership Principles: Practicing servant leadership; Using systems thinking; Mentoring compassionately; Taking on difficult conversations; Thinking holistically; Taking chances on people; If you want engagement. If you want your team to lead even when you are not there, then only love will work. Not fear, not intimidation, not bullying and bravado. And not by being the smartest guy in the room.

35         The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle – CULTURE: from the Latin cultus, which means care. Individual skills are not what matters at work. What matters is the interaction. Misconception about highly successful cultures is that they are happy, light-hearted places. But mostly they are energized and engaged; at their core their members are oriented less around achieving happiness than around solving hard problems together.

36         Wisdom at Work by Chip Conely – We workers “of a certain age” are in fact less like a carton of spoiled milk and more like a bottle of fine wine of an especially valuable vintage. Modern Elders are the secret ingredient for the visionary businesses of tomorrow. The more high-tech we become, the more high-touch we desire.

37         When by Daniel Pink – The importance of good and bad timing; Drink water just after waking up; The Nappuccino for the afternoon boost – drink coffee and follow with a nap of 10 to 20 minutes is the ideal technique for staving off sleepiness; by tracking our ‘dones’ (not ‘to-dos’) we know whether we are progressing.

38         Never Be Closing by Tim Hurson and Tim Dunne – Asking questions is giving yourself permission to listen. Catalytic open-ended questions provoke interest, clear away the fog, open the door to novel solutions and motivate the desire to act; How might you … ? They don’t ask about how things are done but about the ways how they might be done. They are future-oriented.

39         The Coaching Habit – Say Less Ask More by Michael Bungay Stanier – 7 essential questions I can use to change how I engage others, manage my relationships, and guide my employees or co-workers to solve problems and develop themselves. “If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?” – Scott Adams

40         Conversations That Sell by Nancy Bleeke – Effective selling is about having meaningful, collaborative conversations where you, the buyer, and your companies win, and where you are an important part of your solution. Understand the buyers POWNs (problems, opportunities, wants, needs). Emotional factors are the true underlying motivator to the buying decision.

41         Helping by Edgar H. Schein – Why is it so difficult to provide or accept help? Effective help occurs when the helping relationship is perceived to be equitable. Organizational change is particularly complex because it contains three forms of help – one-on-one, teams, leadership. Best done by “reframing the process” from a change process to a helping process.

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42         Switch by Chip and Dan Heath – Our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—that compete for control. When they are in alignment, change can come quickly and easily. We usually ask: “What’s broken and how do we fix it.” Instead of “What’s working now and how can we do more of it?”

43         The Social Animal by David Brooks – Staying open-minded and curious to learn about the latest research in cognitive science, psychology and sociology by following a couple from birth to death. Human beings emerge out of relationships. The health of a society is determined by the health of those relationships not by the extent to which it maximizes individual choice.

44         Originals by Adam Grant – Hire not on cultural fit but on cultural contribution. Originality does not come from people who match the culture but those who enrich it. Original breakthroughs come after more criticism and not less. Welcome criticism. It is hard to encourage dissent if you don’t practice what you preach.

45         The Optimism Bias by Tali Sharot – The Optimism Bias is a cognitive illusion that is hard-wired into our brain. It is keeping us moving forward. If you’d like to increase your employees’ commitment to your company, remind them every so often of their freedom of choice. Remind them of their decision to work for this company.

46         Fascinate by Sally Hogshed – Better is weak. Better is running faster and faster on the hamster wheel. Different is king. When you differentiate yourself in the marketplace you step off the hamster wheel never to return. Find out what makes you different and do it on purpose to avoid the threat of commoditization.

47         Brain Rules for Ageing Well by John Medina – There are endless ways of transition to aging. And there are 10 Principles for staying vital, happy and sharp. Socialize, Be grateful, Practice Mindfulness, Exercise regularly, Sleep 6 to 8 hours every night, Never retire. 20% of how long we live is hereditary and 80% is up to our life-style choices.

48         Web Magic by Krista Goon and Nic Sim – Alamak, my website has so much room for improvement; better get to it soon as a website is the best marketing asset of a small company; provide value add, insights and solutions to the problems a prospective client might be looking for.

49         The Art of the Good Life by Rolf Dobelli – The good life is only achieved through constant readjustment. The ability to self-correct is growing ever more important—even though it’s hardly taught at school. 52 practices towards the art of correction by revising the things that aren’t quite working—swiftly and without feeling guilty. My input is more important than my output!

50         Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch – It’s all about getting someone who has a need to know to like and trust you. Every sales objection boils down to two simple things, A The prospects aren’t really qualified enough or B They don’t have enough information. My job is to solve either objection by way of education.

51         Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker – The world has made spectacular progress in every single measure of human wellbeing. But almost no one knows about it due to the media’s preference for “bad news”.

52         The Monk and the Philosopher by Jean Francois Revel – A father (the philosopher) and son (the scientist turned Tibetan monk) discuss the meaning of life. They engage East with West, ideas with life, and science with the humanities, providing wisdom on how to enrich the way we live our lives. The most important science is knowledge of oneself and of reality.

What did I learn from those 52 books?

What makes a book change me is less about how good a book is, and more about how right a book is — whether the right person is reading the right book at the right time.

Somehow in ways I cannot list or know, but I am not the person in the end who I was at the start. An idea, a truth, and insight have tinkered with my thinking, it has reshaped how I feel. 

So little else in life is so altering like reading widely.

Which book impressed you most in 2019?

Any hot recommendations for me so that I can continue my reading habit in 2020?

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Oh, I almost forgot: I only managed to plow through those 52 books with a bit of help from our National Library and its free audiobook App “Overdrive”. Made my commutes and drives so much more enjoyable. But listening to audiobooks is certainly not as intensive and immersive as reading a hardcopy or ebook. Still, in my ears, it’s better than listening to Singapore’s boring radio channels.

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