Accel5’s Business Book Summaries of the Month: June 2022Add these summarized business books from Accel5 to your reading list.
June 1, 2022
This month’s collection covers various topics, including creativity, innovation, networking, resilience and more, all briefed to be enjoyed in minutes.
Cyril Bouquet, Jean-Louis Barsoux & Michael Wade
Summary: The origin of truly original ideas is ALIEN thinking. If you want to capture creative breakthroughs, you need to harness the strategies and tools used by successful innovators in science, medicine, business, and the arts. In ALIEN Thinking, Cyril Bouquet, Jean-Louis Barsoux, and Michael Wade present the five vital patterns that lead to consistent creativity. This book is meant for entrepreneurs and innovators in any business sector who want to hurdle past predictability and stagnation.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Creativity
- Innovation
- Managing Self
Dr. William A. Howatt
Summary: More and more people feel isolated and cut off from others. Authentic social connections are the cure, but we often erect barriers to forming them. Negative thoughts make us doubt our ability to forge new friendships, while fear of rejection keeps us from trying. In The Cure for Loneliness, Dr. Bill Howatt offers a pathway out, empathetically describing the mechanics of loneliness and isolation and the dangers of mental traps formed by negative thoughts, and presenting a model for achieving authentic social connections.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Managing Self
- Networking & Relationship Building
- Positive Outlook
Dr. Pippa Grange
Summary: Most people don’t realize it, but fear is their behavioral GPS. In Fear Less, psychologist Dr. Pippa Grange provides techniques to liberate you from both the fears that hold you back and the anxiety-based behaviors they generate, which include jealousy, perfectionism, isolationism, and being judgmental. By using her three-step framework, you can replace your fears with healthier beliefs and start pursuing a life that’s meaningful to you.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Resilience
- Stress Management
Paul Polman & Andrew S. Winston
Summary: In light of biodiversity loss, climate change, and enduring inequality, businesses, like people, have a call to create a better world. Business can’t thrive unless people and the planet thrive as well. In Net Positive, Paul Polman and Andrew Winston explore the complex relationship between the realities of living on a finite planet and the demands for infinite economic growth. They offer examples of how the strains between them fuel systemic collapse. But primarily, they provide a how-to on the path leaders can take today to profit and thrive by solving the world’s problems, not by creating them. Net Positive companies start from purpose—of both the leaders themselves and the organization—set big goals, build trust with the world through transparency, and build deep partnerships with business and government to tackle the biggest systemic problems.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Business Essentials
- Corporate Social Responsibility
Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Summary: Since its first publication in 2008, New York Times best-seller Nudge has impacted how governments and organizations are run. It’s also influenced many of the ways that people, families, and societies behave. Through their work, the authors, Nobel Prize winner Richard H. Thaler and Holberg Prize winner Cass R. Sunstein, are credited with revolutionizing how people think and create choices for themselves and others.
In the years that followed its initial release, the world has changed dramatically. But through the new issues that have emerged—and the continuation of past problems—Thaler and Sunstein’s approach to “nudging” continues to be relevant and applicable in a host of scenarios. Their latest edition, dubbed “the final edition,” contains new insights and actionable steps people everywhere can take to effect change.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Business Essentials
- Decision Making
- Managing Others
Marisa Santoro
Summary: Eager to be valued, trusted, and seen as a leader worth following? Rational decision-making alone won’t get you there. In Own Your Authority, Marisa Santoro explains that leaders need to tap into their intuition and find mindful responsive energy; self-trust, and grace under pressure. This type of “gusty leadership” can give you a confident conviction that you’ll find the right paths forward for yourself, others, and your organization.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Communication
- Leadership
- Managing Others
Mike Zani & Stephen Baker
Summary: Even the most confident, competent managers can benefit from outside perspectives, especially when making hiring decisions and optimizing teams. In The Science of Dream Teams, Mike Zani (along with Stephen Baker) explains what he’s learned from new tools, technologies, and people-management strategies to help other organizations lift morale, build better terms, and boost productivity. His techniques, used regularly by his organization, The Predictive Index, can help you optimize your talent strategies and find an unbeatable competitive advantage.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Leadership
- Managing Others
- Managing Teams
Tim Koelzer & Kristin Kurth
Summary: Too often, professionals unnecessarily limit the range of marketing strategies at their disposal by conflating marketing with its best-known subcomponent: downstream marketing or selling products that have already been designed and released to the market. In Upstream Marketing, Tim Koelzer and Kristin Kurth take deep dives into the enduring success of seven companies (Disney, Nike, Southwest, Amazon, Google, Starbucks, and Apple) to clarify what upstream marketing is and why strong organizations go the extra mile to make the most of it.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Business Essentials
- Marketing
Alison Hill & Darren Hill
Summary: In Work from Anywhere, Alison and Darren Hill share how to build an exceptional hybrid team so your employees can successfully work from anywhere. Embrace the journey of slaying the beasts that stand in your way, and learn new strategies to lead your team effectively. The authors’ tips will help you gain a toolbox of skills to develop an effective team culture and reach peak performance and individual autonomy.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Leadership
- Managing Others
Harvard Business School
Summary: In nearly every industry, technology has become ubiquitous. With technology comes disruption and risk, as well as high potential rewards. Today’s leaders must grapple with the impact of innovations like virtual reality, blockchain, and quantum computing on their businesses. The Year in Tech 2022 offers a curated selection of relevant articles from Harvard Business Review with the insights organizations need to move forward with greater confidence.
For those looking to improve upon these competencies:
- Business Essentials
- Innovation
- Technology
