recommended reads: the best business books of 2018

So many books, so little time! Reading can be one of life’s sweetest luxuries. But how to quickly find the next great volume to dive into? To lend a hand, every month we’ll share our Dandelion Chandelier Recommended Reads: books that we’ve personally read and loved – some brand new, and some published long ago. Selected to suit the season, we think they deserve a place on your nightstand. Or your e-reader. In your backpack. Or your carry-on bag. You get the idea. In this edition, we’re sharing our picks for the best business books of 2018.

what makes for a great business book?

In our view, the criteria for a great book about business are pretty simple. First, it should be instructive – based on a case study or individual dealing with actual real-world issues, and providing some pragmatic and actionable advice. Second, it should be provocative – we want to be challenged. Third, it should be inspiring. Because we all need a shot of hope right now.

With that in mind, here’s our list of the best business books of the year. Whether they end in triumph or tears – whether they focus on creativity, or leadership in tough times, or recount a cautionary tale about hubris – these books made us think. And gave us some new ideas for how to lead in the new year. 

the best business books of 2018

one

New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—And How to Make It Work for You by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms. The authors argue that for most of human history, the rules of power were clear: power was something to be seized and then jealously guarded. This “old power” was out of reach for the vast majority of people. But our ubiquitous connectivity makes a different kind of power possible. “New power” is made by many. It is open, participatory, and peer-driven. It works like a current, not a currency—and it is most forceful when it surges. The battle between old and new power is determining who governs us, how we work, and even how we think and feel.

two

Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author offers an illuminating exploration of the early development, growth, and exercise of leadership. Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader? Drawing upon the lives of the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson—she illustrates how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others.

three

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou covers the rise and fall of Theranos, the multi-billion-dollar biotech fraud startup headed by Elizabeth Holmes. In 2014, Holmes was widely seen as “the female Steve Jobs:” a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup promised to revolutionize the medical industry. Theranos conducted a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work.

four

Creative Quest by Questlove is a guide to creativity from one of the most wildly creative people around. The musician, bandleader, designer, producer, culinary entrepreneur, professor, and all-around cultural omnivore shares his wisdom on the topics of inspiration and originality. His inspirations, stories and lessons should help all of us live our best creative lives in the new year.

five

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters by Priya Parker conducts a human-centered assessment of the times we gather together. Its goal is to help us all create more meaningful and memorable experiences –  large and small, for work and for play. The author takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn’t, and why. Across a wide array of gatherings–conferences, meetings, a courtroom, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp– she demonstrates how simple, specific changes can invigorate any group experience.

six

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown. How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?

seven

That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together By Joanne Lipman. Companies with more women in senior leadership and on their boards perform better on numerous financial measures. Yet many organizations struggle with creating the conditions for success for diverse leaders. Despite good intentions, there are still lots of fumbles, missteps, frustration, and misunderstandings. The author – a senior female leader in the media industry – shares her insights on workable solutions that individual managers, organizations, and policy makers can employ to make work more equitable and rewarding for all professionals.

eight

It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work By Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson. The authors share their strategy for creating what they see as the ideal company culture: “the calm company.” Their approach addresses the toll taken by the chaos, anxiety, and stress that plague many workplaces. They argue that the answer to better productivity isn’t more hours. It’s less waste and fewer things that induce distraction and foster persistent stress. It’s time to stop celebrating Crazy, and start celebrating Calm.

nine

This is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership that Matters by Drew Dudley. This fast-moving read focuses on the leader inside each of us, and how we can define what leadership means to us, and how we ideally want to show up as leaders. It’s based on one core belief beautifully illustrated by the author: positive change is possible to achieve and sustain if you treat every day like Day One. Because Day One is when you have the most conviction, the most clarity, and the most hope.

ten

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle. The author goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations–including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs–and reveals what makes them tick. He identifies three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind. Drawing on real-world examples, he offers specific strategies that trigger learning, spark collaboration, build trust, and drive positive change.

eleven

Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen Carter. Eunice Hunton Carter was black and a woman and a prosecutor, a graduate of Smith College and the granddaughter of slaves, as unlikely a combination as one could imagine in New York in the 1930’s. Without the strategy Carter devised, Lucky Luciano, the most powerful Mafia boss in history, would never have been convicted. When special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey selected twenty lawyers to help him clean up the city’s underworld, she was the only member of his team who was not a white male. Rather than talk in theoretical terms about the value of diverse teams, this living example of the power of bringing marginalized voices to the table should be required reading for any organization serious about unleashing all of its available talent.

twelve

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink. It’s commonly stated that “timing is everything.” But we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of “when” decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork. Timing, it’s also commonly stated, is “an art.” In this book, the author shows that timing is really a science.

That’s it. Our list of the best business books of 2018. What say you? What did we miss that you loved this year?

By the way, if you’re looking for additional reading material, check out our list of the best books of 2018 and the best books published in 2018 for bibliophiles. Or if you’re  in need of something lighter, have a look at the best beach books of 2018. They could be a perfect gift – or self-gift!

Happy New Year.

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