Welcome to my virtual bookshelf; a collection of all the books that I have read or am reading. I’ve categorised my reading into six buckets of practical worldly wisdom: numeracy, human nature, history, natural science, business and second-level thinking and ordered my books within them based on their influence upon me.

CURRENTLY READING: Bennis G. (2009) On Becoming a Leader

PREVIOUSLY READ: Pfeffer J. (2015) Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time

Jump to books by category of worldly wisdom:

Numeracy

“The ability to understand and think in numbers and properly quantify. This would include a basic understanding of statistics and its limitations, of probability thinking and its limitations, and basic numerical and quantitative thinking applied to the real world.”

Taleb N. N. (2007) Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
Taleb N. N. (2010) The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Spitznagel M. (2013) The Dao of Capital: Austrian Investing in a Distorted World
West G. (2018) Scale: The Universal Laws of Life and Death in Organisms, Cities and Companies
Bernstein P. L. (1998) Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk 

Human Nature

“The ability to understand the true nature of the people around you, and of yourself, with heavy consideration given to human psychology.”

Kahneman D. (2012) Thinking Fast & Slow
Cialdini R. (2007) Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Tetlock P. (2016) Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
Carnegie D. (originally published 1936) How to Win Friends & Influence People
Berger J. G. (2016) Simple Habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders
Berger J. G. (2013) Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders for a Complex World
Hoffman R. et al (2013) Accelerated Expertise: Training for High Proficiency in a Complex World
Schon D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner
Kegan R. & Lahey L. (2016) An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization
Clarke A. (2016) Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind
Emerson B. & Lewis K. (2019) Navigating Polarities: Using Both/And Thinking to Lead Transformation
Lee G. (2003) Leadership Coaching: From Personal Insights to Organisational Performance
Kegan R. (1998) In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life
de Haan E. (2019) Critical Moments in Executive Coaching
Storr A. (1997) Solitude
Chivers T. (2024) Everything is Predictable: How Bayes’ Remarkable Theorem Explains the World
McGilchrist I. (2012) The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
Coates J. (2013) The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: How Risk Taking Transforms Us, Body and Mind
Cowen T. & Gross D. (2022) Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World
Klein G. (2004) The Power of Intuition: How to Use Your Gut Feelings to Make Better Decisions at Work
Murphy Paul A. (2005) The Cult of Personality Testing: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves
Syed M. (2019) Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking
Garvey Berger J. & Coughlin C. (2022) Unleash your Complexity Genius: Growing your inner capacity to lead
Rogers C. (1977) On Becoming a Person: A Therapists View of Psychotherapy
Livingston R. (2021) The Conversation: How Talking Honestly About Racism Can Transform Individuals and Organizations
Senge P. (2006) The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization
Grossman D. (2013) On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and Peace
Johnson S. (2011) Hold Me Tight: Your Guide to the Most Successful Approach to Building Loving Relationships
McChrystal S. (2015) Team of Teams: New Rules for Engagement in a Complex World
Syed M. (2016) Black Box Thinking: Marginal Gains & the Secrets of High Performance
Whitmore J. (first published 2009) Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership
Downey M. (2003) Effective Coaching: Lessons from the Coach’s Coach
Helgesen S. & Goldsmith M. (2019) How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back
Henrich J. (2015) The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter
Neill H. B. (1954) The Art of Contrary Thinking
O’Brien J. (2020) How Not To Be Wrong: The Art Of Changing Your Mind
Kegan R. & Lahey L. (2009) Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization
Eurich T. (2018) Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think
Bungay Stanier M. (2016) The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Gallway T. (1974) The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance
Waitzkin J. (2008) The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
Paul J. & Moynihan B. (2013) What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
Schulz K. (2010) Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
Dweck D. (2017) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Stulberg S. (2017) Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success
Frankl V. (first published 1962) Man’s Search for Meaning
Heller R. & Levine A. (2012) Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How it Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love
Schein E. (2009) Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help (Humble Leadership)
Ellis K. & Boston R. (2019) Upgrade: Building your capacity for complexity
Green R. (2012) Mastery
Kay, J. & King, M. (2020) Radical Uncertainty: Decision-making for an unknowable future
Goleman D. Working with Emotional Intelligence
Headlee C. (2017) We Need To Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter
Berger W. (2016) A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
Willink J. & Babin L. (2015) Extreme Ownership: How US Navy Seals Lead and Win
Berne E. (1964) Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships
Clear J. (2018) Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

History

“The knowledge of what’s come before you in the world.”

Harari Y. N. (2015) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Graeber D. (2014) Debt : The First 5000 Years
Mukherjee S. (2011) The Emperor of All Maladies: A Brief Biography of Cancer
Gertner J. (2012) The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
Miller C. (2022) Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology
Greenspan A. & Wooldridge A. (2018) Capitalism in America: A History
Goldstein A. (2018) Janesville: An American Story

Natural Science

“An understanding of the physical world around us.”

Waldrop M. M. (1993) Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order & Chaos
Smil V. (2021) Grand Transitions: How the Modern World Was Made
Smil, V (2022) How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future
Quammen D. (2007) The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin & the Making of His Theory of Evolution
Hawking S. (2011) Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes

Business

“An understanding of commerce and finance, concepts we must all regularly deal with unless we plan to live in a monastery.”

Chouinard Y. (2006) Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
Grove A. (1983) High Output Management
Maister D. (2001) The Trusted Advisor
Heifetz R. et al (2009) The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing your Organisation and the World
Cohen W. A. (2018) Consulting Drucker: Principles & Lessons from the World’s Leading Management Consultant
Drucker P (2007) The Effective Executive
Schmidt E., Rosenberg J. & Eagle A. (2019) Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell
Christensen C. (originally published 1997) The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Grove A. (1996) Only The Paranoid Survive
Rumelt R. (2011) Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The difference & why it matters
Hughes Johnson, C (2023) Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building
Ries E. (2011) The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses
Thiel T. (2014) Zero to One: Notes on Startup, or How to Build The Future
Bock L. (2016) Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead
McCord P. (2017) Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility
Gailbraith J. K. (1994) A Short History of Financial Euphoria
Dalio R. (2017) Principles: Life & Work
Knight P. (2018) Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Thorp E. O. (2017) A Man for All Markets
Ogilvy D. (2007) Ogilvy on Advertising
Gil E. (2018) High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People
Westlake S. & Haskel J. (2017) Capitalism Without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy
Denning S. (2018) The Age of Agile: How Smart Companies Are Transforming the Way Work Gets Done
Martin R. L. (2009) The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking
Horowitz B. (2014) The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Blas J & Farchy J (2022) The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
Palmer K. & Blake D. (2018) The Expertise Economy: How the Smartest Companies Use Learning to Engage, Compete & Succeed
Tenelius K. & Gill L. (2020) Moose Heads on the Table
Azar A. (2021) Exponential: How Accelerating Technology Is Leaving Us Behind and What to Do About It

Second-Level Thinking

“The ability to think beyond the ‘first step’ and think through consequences. And then what?”

Coram R. (2004) Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
Bevelin P. (2007) Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger
Marks H. (2007) The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor
Deutsch D. (2012) The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
Perlroth N. (2021) THIS IS HOW THEY TELL ME THE WORLD ENDS
Heath C. & Heath D. (2013) Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work