Books like Blink — picked by fans

I find great pleasure in learning a little bit about a lot of things, and this book scratches that itch in a great way. Touring through big scientific concepts, Bryson delivers the potentially overwhelming (and boring) information in a fun way that made me understand space-time way more than any middle school physics class did.

It’s not a book that needs to be read in order or even be read in its entirety to enjoy, so it’s fun to have around to pick up a chapter here and there or read it straight through. The other day I went back and referred to it while having a conversation about space time and found an explanation that we both understood—and enjoyed. 

This book has been a timeless source of wisdom for me. I love how Sun Tzu's insights on strategy, leadership, and adaptability transcend time and are incredibly applicable to modern business challenges.

This book has profoundly influenced how I approach competition and strategic planning in AI and technology sectors. It reminds me that understanding the landscape and being flexible is key to success.

I’m not going to lie. I find the life of Houdini fascinating. It would be easy to focus on the magician/escape artist parts of his persona. However, the book details his drive and intentions from a young age to absorb information and develop his craft are inspiring. Before he was even a teenager, Houdini was walking 20+ miles (one way) to the neighboring town to find work and develop his craft.

As he became the worldwide phenomenon he is known for today, Houdini used his talents and never abused his notoriety. Houdini was very intentional in how he wanted to entertain the masses. But when other groups (alleged psychics and spiritual mediums) started to abuse the power of (dis)belief, Houdini took it upon himself to discredit the practice of these scam artists based on his sense of social awareness.

Deep Economy takes both macro- and micro-economics and breaks them down to their most simplest levels. Examining what we have learned over time from our expanding economy, McKibben examines all of the positive and negative impacts that have occurred during our country’s growth.

With a focus on understanding how groundbreaking innovations can disrupt numerous industries, Deep Economy takes the approach on what leaders can learn from the past and how breakthroughs can (and will) have unintended consequences whether they are positive or negative. Recognizing these patterns and incorporating them into our business decisions can only help us make better decisions.

I find this book answers questions many people ask: Why aren’t we always logical? What gets in the way of our making effective decisions?

I first read this book when I started my consulting practice and realized I needed to combine psychology with philosophy in teaching critical thinking in professional settings. People want to understand why we can be unreasonable in the first place. Kahneman’s book helped me improve my own thinking, making me aware of the ways my previous experiences quickly provide interpretations of new experiences.

I find the ability to “hit the pause button” regarding my response to a specific situation and to ask myself, “Is my immediate, intuitive response useful or misleading me?” is one of my most important insights from this book.

This is another great book that will help you understand how we make decisions and how we can make better ones. Klein and Kahneman are famous frenemies, with Klein giving far more credit to our ability to make good snap decisions. This work was the inspiration for Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, but Klein’s book offers much better examples and much deeper insights for those who want to learn to make better decisions, particularly in high-stress, time-constrained situations.

This book by Graham Allison (revised and expanded with Philip Zelikow) examines how leaders frame problems, gather information, and arrive at decisions and actions in times of crisis and pressure.

The volume examines closely the Cuban Missile Crisis and the processes which led to its resolution. It was a time of immense tension, and the template used by leaders to make their decisions was critical.

While this book is clearly an examination of how government and political leaders operate in arriving at decisions in times of crisis, there are immense implications for any organizational leader.

Allison offers a number of decision-making lenses that are available to leaders: the rational model, based on goal analysis and utility and best payoff; the bureaucratic or organizational process model, based on making decisions embedded in preexisting lines of authority, precedent, repertoires, and templates that have been used before; or the political model, based on… show more.

This book was a revelation.

I first encountered it when the original 1974 edition was assigned in an undergraduate course on social movement politics. I have never looked back.

Lukes’ three-dimensional view of power, and especially his two and three-dimensional views, make visible the power relations that are at work in areas where power does not seem to be active at all.

This has turned out to be an amazingly helpful way to look at power relations in the modern world. Lukes added two chapters to update his original text in the second edition.

I read Lukes’ work as anticipating constructivist insights. Even though others have since developed these ideas at greater length, in my opinion, this book remains a necessary guide to navigating the twenty-first century. 

Over the last few years, I became deeply passionate about leadership, personal development, and growth. This triggered a step change in my personal happiness and my professional successes. It all started with this book. Reading this was like someone lifting the veil on successful leadership. It simply communicated what I thought was wrong with legacy leadership models.

After reading this book, I gave speeches at work about the importance of clarity and competence, of using the words ‘I intend’. It inspired me to write about leadership. This book changed my outlook on life and was the fuel to accelerate my career. 

I often pose a simple thought experiment: “How many renowned 20th century CEOs created something new to the world? Now, how may renowned 21st century CEOs haven’t done so?”

The answer, in both cases, is near zero. Our organizations are moving from being productivity-focused (doing more with less) to creativity-focused (giving form to something that doesn’t exist). Most managers and aspiring leaders are clueless about this profound change even though they will probably fail if they don’t make this shift.

Roberto argues that six flawed beliefs—such as in benchmarking and in focused execution—preclude creativity and provides tools to help reinvent moribund organizations.