Innovator and blogger
I tend to love the business, psychology and philosophy sections of Exclusive Books, but it recently hit me that I was reading almost predominately books written by males. So, in the middle of 2020, I vowed to make an effort to read more books by female authors
Chief Innovation Officer: Tencent Africa
Women face unique challenges in their battle for business success. So their voices are amazing, and this needs to be amplified. Here are three books by exceptional females I would recommend:
Thrive by Arianna Huffington Arianna has written over 15 books, co-founded the Huffington Post and is the CEO of Thrive Global. In Thrive, Arianna challenges the core metrics of success of money and power and states there has to be a third to hold up the two: wellness. In our incredibly fast-paced world of new technology, we are addicts, and this book is about the great reset. It teaches how to remain present and calm and manage time effectively through the caring lens of self-love.
No more feedback: cultivate consciousness at work by Carol Sanford Carol has consulted with prominent companies such as Google, Intel, Proctor and Gamble. She is passionate about changing the very fabric of work. In No more feedback, Carol questions the working feedback loops used by staff. We have often been told that these feedback loops result in a dynamic and growing team, but Carol says that by its very nature, feedback is biased and laced with a personal take on the moment and person. No matter how astute you think you are or how explicitly aware of cognitive biases themselves, it’s still just about impossible to act without being influenced by a cognitive bias in one way or another. So if feedback is not the answer, how do we grow? Self-reflection. Self-reflection should become a core tenet of how you operate in the work you do.
Powerful: building a culture of freedom and responsibility by Patty McCord Netflix’s culture has earned folklore status in Silicon Valley. Every tech company has seen, discussed and tried pieces of the 129-page Netflix culture deck. Netflix releases their public thoughts on culture and people regularly. It is the voice on the cutting edge of dealing with people. Patty McCord wrote the manifesto, and she drove the cultural paradigm. She changed the face of company culture forever. For more on her story, written by another female, Erin Meyer, read No rules rules. This is the tale of how the Netflix founder, Reed Hastings, decided to change the script and create a culture based on freedom and fewer rules.
Reframing ideology
Diversity in the workplace is critical, but so is the variety of the content you consume. If you pigeonhole yourself into reading only the things you have always read, you will not grow.
