I've recently moved back to reading non-tech books (I have spent the last years reading on solely programming languages or frameworks) and it was a bit of an eye opener regarding getting a more general picture of startups and businesses.
I have read the four hour work week, the daily entrepreneur, and the 22 immutable laws of marketing.
I have a few others under consideration (like Peter Thiel's From zero to one) but I'm wondering which other books have you read that have had the most impact on you professionally or even personally?
An acquaintance recommended Peter Drucker's "The Effective Executive" as a first book to read about management. I found it very interesting and it changed my outlook on the value of tracking time, focusing on strengths and what contribution matters. (I am not a manager myself.)<p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Effective-Executive-Classic-Drucker-Collection/dp/0750685077" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Effective-Executive-Classic-Drucker...</a>
Deep Work has been one of the most influential books about productivity.<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/...</a>
"I'm wondering which other books have you read that have had the most impact on you professionally or even personally?"<p>Professionally: Peter F. Drucker's books.<p>Personally: "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius, "A Treatise of Human Nature" by David Hume, "The Law" by Frédéric Bastiat, "Autobiography" by Benjamin Franklin, "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine, "Gespräche mit Goethe" by Johann Peter Eckermann, "The Old Regime and the Revolution" Alexis de Tocqueville, "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill, "The Man Versus the State" by Herbert Spencer, "The Revolt of the Masses" by José Ortega y Gasset, "The Logic of Scientific Discovery" by Karl Popper, "On Power" Bertrand de Jouvenel, "1984" by George Orwell, "The State" by Anthony de Jasay, "Sketched With the Quill" by Andrzej Bobkowski, "Metaphysical Horror" by Leszek Kolakowski, "Rationality in Economics" by Vernon L. Smith, "The Machinery of Freedom" by David Friedman.
The most important books I've read in the last 10 yrs (with respect to professional growth) are:<p>Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, by G. Colvin<p>The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by C. Duhigg<p>These books have reshaped how I work and how I think about work. With the knowledge contained in these books it's not hard to outline the daily routines needed to be great at just about anything.
Thank you all for you feedback. I must admit I was not expecting so many responses :)
I have gone through all comments and compiled a list of all suggestions sorted by genre to keep track of everything if anyone else is interested:
<a href="https://github.com/kostistsaprailis/non-tech-books-for-developers" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/kostistsaprailis/non-tech-books-for-devel...</a>
I grew up in a single-parent household back in the 70's before computers and
startups were the thing they are now and although my mom was an uneducated immigrant,
I was fortunate to grow up in the bay area and get an education at a good public school
where my teachers introduced me to<p><pre><code> Harold Jacobs's "Geometry"
Nietziche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"
Freeman Dyson's "Disturbing The Universe"
Nigel Calder's "The Key to the Universe"
Jacob Bronowski's "The Ascent of Man"
Douglas Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
</code></pre>
I especially loved spending time in the library, reading OMNI magazine, Scientific American
magazine (especially Martin Gardner's column) and the stories of Issac Asimov and Larry Niven.<p>Those authors made me want to go to college and learn from people like them - people capable
of thinking big ideas about science and civilization - and while none of those books ever
helped me raise money or start a business, they did help me help me overcome my personal
feelings of inadequacy from having come from a poor family and eventually become accepted
into a technical community which appreciated an ability to think and ask questions.
Really surprised nobody has mentioned How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie yet. IMO, required reading for understanding and communicating with people.
Seneca's <i>Letters to Lucilius</i> helped me come to grips with the modest scale of my own achievements (or lack thereof) and the futility of further ambition at the expense of anything else.
FYI: For Your Improvement, A Guide for Development and Coaching (4th edition)<p>Several close colleagues & mentors recommended this book as their "career bible". I finally listened to them (took me 10 years, but finally did it). And glad I did.<p>In my opinion, it is the most infornation-dense, non-BS, completely actionable advice I have found in a business book. Strongly recommend. From my understanding, the 4th Ed is the one you want.<p>This is the way you take your professional & career life to the next level.<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/FYI-Improvement-Guide-Development-Coaching/dp/0974589233" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/FYI-Improvement-Guide-Development-Coa...</a>
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni. It's a pretty fast read, I think the thing that stuck with me the most from it was the reassurance that (constructive) conflict on a team is not something to be avoided at all costs.
I guess someone has to be the first to say "Thinking Fast and Slow"[1] by Daniel Kahneman. It's certainly a very useful book (even for it's flaws) for it's detail on cognitive phycology and human biases. It certainly improved my personal and professional life.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow</a>
Depends on what you're after. If you like the 4 hour work week and want to change your lifestyle then I'd read inspiration for the four hour work week; vagabonding by Ralf Potts and more recently the obstacle is the way by Ryan Holiday. At the end of this month I'll be heading off on a round the world trip with no return ticket starting in india. I have the four hour work week to thank for that, I changed my job to one where I was able to work remote, started my own product gocaller.co.uk whether it's going to bring income to support long term travel will be interesting to see, nevertheless it's a fun ride. I feel more confident now that I can go back to doing what im doing now I love software development and the interesting people I've had the pleasure of working with
"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Rome-Marcus-Aurelius-Meditations/dp/B01FOD7CRG/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472852903&sr=1-10&keywords=meditations+marcus+aurelius" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Rome-Marcus-Aurelius-Meditati...</a>
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams by Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister (<a href="http://amzn.to/2ckIYbJ" rel="nofollow">http://amzn.to/2ckIYbJ</a>)
"The Goal" by Eliyahu Goldratt, while set in a traditional manufacturing world, does a great job in clarifying the role of constraints in any team effort. It's written in the form of a novel.<p>It is not perfect. I think it hase some sexist undertones, is generally just super-eighties and kind of self serving as a novel. But it has definitely changed the way I think about business in a deep way.
"The Power Broker" by Robert Caro.<p>At first glance, it's a 1,000-page, detailed biography of a (in)famously effective city planner Robert Moses. At its core, it's a lucid examination of the anatomy of power. It has completely changed how I think about power, where it comes from (whether it's at work or in the greater market/world) and how it is retained and lost.<p>It's also a great antithesis to junk-food journalism and online reading that we've become addicted to. Caro's research is thorough and his writing is inspiring.
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman<p>This should be a required reading for anyone who does UI design. It helps explain why items you interact with subconsciously frustrate you and why product simplicity is typically better than more features.
A couple of these have been named and I've upvoted them, but this is my list:<p>* "Flow" by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. Being fully immersed and engaged in an activity. 1) Knowing the value of this mental state, 2) being able to recognize when you're in it, and 3) setting yourself up so that you can be in this state as much as possible is really valuable. File it under living an examined life, IMO. All the popular "don't interrupt the programmer" and Pomodoro and other time management techniques build on this old research.<p>* "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius (several translations, worth comparing for even more insight) -- this is a man who understood duty and getting things done! (Not surprising from a stoic, but somehow this collection has extra impact because I know they were primarily notes and reflections written for his own clarity, more than for an audience.) Wisdom to apply to situations. Patterns to recognize in yourself and others.<p>* "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. When more sophisticated or trendy approaches to effectiveness reach their limits, you can't go wrong falling back on "Begin with the end in mind", "Sharpen the saw", classifying activities into the Four Quadrants, etc.<p>* Modern (typically psychological) interpretations of Buddhism. If a single book pops into my head, I will update this, so right now I'm talking about a whole category of books on Buddhist perspectives on character traits and habits of behaviour. If you strip any paranormal nonsense from Buddhist psychology you are often left with effective ways to classify your own thoughts, words, and deeds and work on improving them. A simple example would be the Four Sublime Attitudes. If I reflect on any relationship or interaction I have with colleagues or clients or new prospects, I can almost always take direct action immediately to improve it by applying these old rules: 1) replace anger toward someone with active good will toward them, 2) replace jealousy or envy of someone else's fortune with sympathetic joy for them, 3) approach anyone's suffering as your own suffering (compassion), 4) treat all situations and people impartially without judgement of of "good" or "bad" (equanimity).<p>I'm sorry these are really old! For me, these just don't go out of style and their wisdom works cross-culture.
I really enjoyed and got value from books about companies/people I admire; Hatching twitter, In the Plex, Elon Musk, etc.<p>More specific topics, however:<p>* "what every body is saying" - how to read/understand body language<p>* "an astronauts guide to life on earth" - by Chris Hadfield, lots of good general advice<p>* "speed reading" - for digesting information quickly (albeit, I find with less depth)<p>* "The 8 traits successful people have in common" - kinda painfully obvious advice, but often it's the context and stories that help you digest a message<p>* "the lean startup" - wasn't mindblowing but looks aligned with what you've been reading, still worth reading.
Professionally by adding to soft skills - Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High<p>Personally - by helping me appreciated science better - Cosmos: Carl Sagan<p>As a side note - a lot of the startup stuff is learned on the job and by talking to others about their experiences. Doing a side project can be a good way to try out and you will be forced to think about marketing, sales, etc.<p>Shameless plug: <a href="http://hackernewsbooks.com/" rel="nofollow">http://hackernewsbooks.com/</a> - is what books the HN community comments on, maybe you find something interesting there
How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business . A vital step in becoming a more (instrumentally) rational person is to track and calibrate your beliefs.<p>This book teaches you of how to do that.
Probably the best to start with is "How to read a book". That opened my eyes and helped me a lot with deciding what to read and how to read it.
I have a lot of the classics on my list, but a new one that I've found extremely growth spurring was "Ego is the Enemy" by Ryan Holiday. I never really considered myself an egotists; confident perhaps, but something I never struggled with. This book showed me that I indeed did have more ego than necessary and gave me some really good guidance on how to live a better, happier, and more fulfilled life. Really something for a book I didn't even know I needed.
This is a very different book, it definitely impacted my personal life.
He literally helped me go out of an infinit loop in life when it came to interactions with women and humen connections:<p>Game Over: From Pick-Up Artist to Social Heartist<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Game-Over-Pick-Up-Artist-Heartist/dp/1522918493" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Game-Over-Pick-Up-Artist-Heartist/dp/...</a><p>GOOD LUCK!
Up the organization
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Up-Organization-Corporation-Stifling-Strangling/dp/0787987751" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Up-Organization-Corporation-Stiflin...</a><p>The complete Yes Minister
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yes-Minister-Prime-Complete-Collection/dp/B000HXDM0U" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yes-Minister-Prime-Complete-Collect...</a><p>The undercover economist and it's follow up
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Undercover-Economist-Tim-Harford/dp/0349119856" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Undercover-Economist-Tim-Harford/dp...</a><p>I would struggle to encapsulate it all except "people and organizations can be vicious and complex but we all innately want them to be simple, fair and if we can find someone believable we can turn around any hideous situation"
Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" changed me when I was younger.
Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" changed me back when I got older.
A couple of thought provoking professional reads-<p>The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business from Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times > <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6515635-the-sticking-point-solution" rel="nofollow">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6515635-the-sticking-poin...</a><p>Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal > <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10321016-pitch-anything?ac=1&from_search=true" rel="nofollow">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10321016-pitch-anything?a...</a><p>* Several excellent recommendations already posted here, always impressed by HNers!
Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by
Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen.<p>I think it has made me a better teammate, mentor, and mentee.<p>If you'd like to know more before buying it, check out
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/09/22/434597124/trying-to-change-or-changing-the-subject-how-feedback-gets-derailed" rel="nofollow">http://www.npr.org/2015/09/22/434597124/trying-to-change-or-...</a><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thanks-Feedback-Science-Receiving-Well-ebook/dp/B00DMCV0XE#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1472850774308" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Thanks-Feedback-Science-Receiving-Wel...</a>
I would look at a few design and user experience books... "Don't make me think", "Thinking fast and slow" and "Designed for use" come to mind.<p>As developers, and even PMs we will tend to overload our users with too much... simplification, structure, clarity come to mind. Another deep issue, and I don't have any books to recommend center around nomenclature... Too many projects don't take the time to concentrate on naming things from a high level... From project features to user roles and the language/platform that integrate them, there's often confusion and blurred lines with the same names used in different contexts.
I agree with others on the "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius.<p>Off the top of my head, I would add:<p>* "The Way to Wealth," by Benjamin Franklin: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0918222885" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/0918222885</a> (also available online for free; it's in the public domain) -- no-nonsense practical advice from a super-successful individual<p>* Warren Buffett's Letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: <a href="http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html</a> (also available organized by topic, in a bound book: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1611637589" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/1611637589</a> which some will find much easier to read)<p>* "The Intelligent Investor," by Benjamin Graham (specifically the chapters titled "The Investor and Market Fluctuations" and "Margin of Safety"): <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060555661" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060555661</a><p>* "Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion," by Robert Cialdini: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688128165" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688128165</a><p>Also:<p>* "Devil Take the Hindmost," by Edward Chancellor: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0452281806" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/0452281806</a><p>* "A Short History of Financial Euphoria," by John Kenneth Galbraith: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140238565" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140238565</a><p>* "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds," by Charles Mackay: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1586635581" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1586635581</a>
Great Work with the list! I can see it becoming a thing in the future!<p>I would add Douglas Adams & Terry Pratchett to your fiction category, although it is hard to quantify why. They are an amazing interplay of imagination, creativity & playfulness and by going through them, some of it rubs off to their readers.<p>In the case of Terry Pratchett in particular, some of the books are actually quite indirectly educational and as good as philosophical critiques on society and aspects of. Including: Authoritarianism, Government, Racism, Superstition, Charlatanism, Economics, Mortality etc etc.
I haven't got a chance to put its advice into practice yet, but I liked "Getting to Yes". It's short and to the point, providing a good perspective on handling negotiations.
<i>Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel</i> by Rolf Potts<p>On the surface, it's about traveling the world on a budget for extended periods of time, but deeper than that is a philosophy about going without things you don't need and connecting with people more authentically.<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-...</a>
What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith.<p>This book really helped me make the transition between being valued primarily for my technical abilities and focusing more on interpersonal relationships and how that affects my ability to be part of a successful team. It was very humbling to read as I realized I had been guilty of so many of the things mentioned in this book. It really changed my career for the better.
The first scene in Tolstoy's War and Peace should be required reading for engineering graduates, particularly the hyper-rational Sheldon types. I'm referring specifically to the impact Pierre has on the people at the party, the importance of manners, why small talk, etc. War and Peace is generally a great book because of how much it captures about human nature and power plays and it is still relevant today. It has a reputation for length but I found it much more readable than, say, Lord of the Rings.<p>Delta Force by Col. Charlie Beckwith. Think your company has red tape? Try the US Army post-Vietnam. It's a great example of someone moving through bureaucracy to achieve great things and taught me to stop making excuses based on organisational behaviour. The Phantom Major by Virginia Cowles is in the same vein with some phenomenal hustling lessons. I still think of both men whenever I think whatever I'm doing is hard.<p>Dynamic Hedging by Taleb was written whilst he was a pit trader and is the most intuitive introduction to thinking about options I've read. It informs my thinking about decision making in terms of probability, path dependency and higher order greeks, and helps me take risks in a smart manner. I recommend it to a lot of people but nobody takes it up because (I'm guessing) it's only available as a second hand paper copy, and people think trading options has nothing to do with their life.<p>Legionnaire by Simon Murray was recommended to me by my thesis supervisor shortly before graduation. I respected his opinion so I read the thing and it blew my mind in what people were capable of doing when pushed to the edge. Murray went on to have multiple interesting careers and set records as a helicopter pilot.<p>There are two books that were lessons in what they did not teach me.<p>Clayton Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma/Solution presents a very enticing idea but I think the core explanation for what it covers is much better set forward in Marc Bloch's Strange Defeat. There are regular sub-threads on the book on HN so I won't go into it further.<p>I also read a couple of Jack Welch books and thought, wow, this guy knows what he is talking about. This was before 2007. After 2007, I heard from a few people - including very smart investors - who basically put GE's success down to the 30 year bull market and to the growth of GE Capital which became something like 60% of the company and indeed did almost take down GE with it after Lehman. It introduced the possibility that some famous leaders and gurus might not be as competent as they are branded to be and it's important to check for confounding variables.
The Tao of Power by R.L. Wing
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Power-Leadership-Excellence-translation/dp/0385196377" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Power-Leadership-Excellence-trans...</a><p>It's like The Art of War, but for life in a business/leadership context.
Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest
by Amy Cuddy<p>and<p>The Charisma Myth: Master the Art of Personal Magnetism
by Olivia Fox Cabane<p>I really liked these books about how to be more influential in everyday life. These books provide simple techniques you can use right after you have read. Available as audiobooks too.
Have you seen the awesome list[1] Ramiro Gomez put together? Lot of great non-tech books on there.<p>[1] <a href="http://ramiro.org/vis/hn-most-linked-books/" rel="nofollow">http://ramiro.org/vis/hn-most-linked-books/</a>
I never see this recommended but any book about Contracts (law). It's very valuable for lay persons to understand the basic principles and it will help a lot in your business and personal life.
Old related thread <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12243611" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12243611</a>
Made in Japan had a profound impact on me - how two engineers disgruntled by their nation's defeat in world war 2 went on to become leading company in electronics.
Atlas Shrugged. It clarifies the moral benefit of a selfish honest creative pursuit of money. It seriously improves your workday to feel faintly heroic about it.
Never Split the Difference is ostensibly a book on negotiation, but I found it also a great primer on the more subtle and emotional side of human communication.
Extreme Ownership by Joko Wilink<p>Team of teams by Gen. Stan McChrystal<p>Both of these are required reading for understanding how humans work together.
"made to stick" is a great read for techies because it helps you think about simplifying communication to non techies. It also helps technical founders think about market perceptions about your product. It's a super fast read and well written.