Favorite Books

Here’s the list of books that I would recommend. I am a Non-fiction fan, majorly reading books on Self Help topics, Business Management and Biographies. Here’s from the list of books, that have been transforming and had lasting impact.

(Quick Note – Have clubbed books basis the genre, so in case you want to read similar types of books then list becomes helpful)

Leadership Books

Question. What do you need in life?
Answer. A Purpose

Both the books ‘Start With Why‘ and ‘Drive’, talk about how having a purpose does wonders. Great perspectives for both personal life or and professional life. No external factor can motivate you unless you have he willingness to do whatever it Takes. Money shall motivate you for a duration, but beyond that for you to move ahead you will need this purpose.

Simon Sinek is a wonderful orator and he has tried to replicate the same style in his motivational videos. Daniel Pink has an amazing art of clearly and precisely communicating his ideas.

Technology Books

In the early days of my professional career in Information technology, i wasn’t sure of how my work does impact on business front.

I picked up this book called Business at the speed of Thought, by Bill Gates. And after reading this book, I was overwhelmed by the impact of Information technology on businesses. Replacing the age old paper files with Databases have lead to streamlining , continuous access and faster delivery.

When it comes to World is Flat, this book was a recommendation from a friend. This book talks about how IT and internet have changed the global economy, transforming it into one small giant world. Global economy no more is what it was before. Today when you start of a new business, it has to be on the internet and it is Global in nature. A highly recommended book.

While the above two books talk more about how IT helped in business, Hit refresh is a Satya Nadella’s thought work on how he approached his tenure of CEO at Microsoft. Satya Nadella asked the basic question of WHY Microsoft exists. Today you can see the transformation at Microsoft across all levels. This book would help understand what a clear purpose can do and how it can help revive an organization who had lost its path.

Management Books

All the organizations obviously are doing almost the same work in terms of making long strategy, a short term plan and executing it. Customer acquisition and satisfaction would be the end goals for almost all organizations. But what is it that separates the Best from the rest. Jim Collins based on an elaborate research came up with some interesting differentiation attributes and illustrations on how it has helped several organizations.

When it comes to taking management lessons, Jack Welch is considered to be
Guru, Growth hacker and Astute decision maker. Both books Winning and Straight From Gut are transformation and have some finest practical management lessons

Self Help Books

My first impression on self-help books was that they dry and monotonous to read. It was only after reading books like Unlimited Power, Power of Sub conscious mind and Magic of thinking Big, I was initiated to the world of Self help books and now i enjoy reading them.

Unlimited Power talks Makes you believe how one can switch from a habit with a power phrase / word; contrary to popular belief of how much difficult to overcome any situation. A definite must read.

Magic of thinking big, on the other side, works on core of how your thought process impacts the results that you achieve or are unable to achieve. Simple and a helpful process to make a lasting impact on what you think and impact on what you achieve.

History

While i am not a big fan of books in evolution and history, this book still makes it to my favorites. A satirical but a thought provoking journey which takes you through right from 10000 BC till date.
A must read for taking learning from history