Do some more reading this week. You know you want to…

I have been doing a lot of reading this year.

Much of what I have read has been really good. Here’s a few I can recommend:

21 Lessons for the 21st Century – Yuval Noah Harari

This book turns many common-sense notions on their proverbial ears. For example, science fiction tells us that robots will at some point eclipse us intellectually and make us all their slaves. Harari explains that is much more likely that a madman will gain control of a robot army and direct that army to enslave us.

He also makes a great case for how countries are now an irrelevant concept.

Absolutely worth the read. I can’t wait to read Sapiens (another of his books)

Never Split The Difference – Chris Voss

I really expected to hate this one, as I’m inherently wary of salesmen and this just struck me as a guidebook to trick people.

I was wrong.

Chris was an FBI hostage negotiator, and the stories about his career are riveting. He also has a very non-arrogant, almost self-effacing tone throughout.

A key point for me was his assertion that, when you’re giving someone advice, such as “You should really quit smoking. It’s terrible for you,” and the smoker says, “You’re right,” this is simply code for “if I tell you you’re right, will you leave me alone about it?”

The response you’re looking for as an advice giver is, “That’s right!” which connotes an honest realization.

The book is full of ways to avoid being bullied as well. A real surprise treat.

Linchpin – Seth Godin

I have become quite the Seth Godin fan. I found his Akimbo podcast (which is great) and heard about his altMBA program (which I joined and is also great) and got this book as part of the program.

Seth charts a course for us to stop being “cogs” in the workplace, blindly following the status quo–never rocking the boat. Instead, he calls us to be linchpins, people who bring our whole selves to the job and use our genius to do transformative work.

Really inspiring. Plus, the chapters are super short. 🙂

Enjoy!