38 Books Like Mentor Minutes

Most books about lessons learned and good practices tell you what you ought to be doing. AntiPatterns warns you about things you should not be doing. It points out a wide range of software project approaches that the authors believe are not advisable. The antipatterns have whimsical titles such as Poltergeists, Golden Hammer, Spaghetti Code, Stovepipe System, and Design by Committee. Each pattern describes the symptoms, causes, and consequences of that particular behavior, as well as offering a restructured approach that’s likely to yield better results. As with other lessons-learned books, this book lets you learn from the pain suffered by others to avoid stepping into the same traps on your own projects.

This book describes a methodology of thinking that is used in Japan by Toyota for innovation and creativity. It describes a series of principles that are used to discover new ideas and gives examples and stories that demonstrate how these principles have been applied in industries throughout Japan. The “Breakthrough Thinking” methodology has been applied in businesses of all types throughout the world.

Polya was a great mathematician who knew what counted (after all, he made major contributions to combinatorics, the mathematics of counting). He thought hard about what he was doing when working on problems in mathematics, developing a mental process that lead to creative breakthroughs and solutions. Polya’s problem-solving method is broadly applicable to domains other than mathematics, and this book features many nice puzzles to improve your thinking.

Algorithm design is challenging because it often requires flashes of sudden insight which seem to come out of the blue. But there is a way of thinking about problems that make such flashes more likely to happen. I try to teach this thought process in my books, but Polya got there first.

I love being “caught” by great truths in the shape of precious, funny picture books. And this is one that did just that!

We all get that strangers are scary and probably not friendly and probably not nice and probably.. and probably... Well, I didn’t know how Maggie could possibly change the situation for her family, but she sure did.

I laughed and was so glad that I had discovered this book! It was written in 1979 and is so worth the search to find! 

Many of us can relate to a younger sibling bugging the heck out of their older sibling when they are trying to get something done. Jabari is trying to build a flying machine and his little sister, Nika wants to be involved.  I love this book because it not only demonstrates Kabari’s perseverance but also the strategies he uses and the reflection that he does between each attempt. (He sketched, he planned, he made changes) When he became frustrated, he took a break, took a breath (a great strategy for all of us to use when we get “stuck”), and allowed his little sister to be his thought partner! Lots of lessons in this fun picture book for kids: Perseverance, resiliency, changing strategies, reflection when you make a mistake, and having a thought partner. Hmmmm…perhaps a lot of good lessons for adults too!!

Imagine being able to feel a peace so deep that you never knew existed; a love so profound that it transforms you and your whole life… Well, by reading the wonderful words of Dr. Wayne Dyer and by following his wise guidance, you will get to experience all of that and even more. In fact, at the end of the book you will have this profound feeling that you no longer are the same person you were when you first started reading this book and that you have become better, wiser, more peaceful, and far more loving and trusting than you used to be.

The Pyramid Principle is about problem-solving and communication, two areas completely decisive for anyone who has the ambition to get the most out of their personal and professional lives.

It offers practical advice on how to organize your ideas and present them in a clear and persuasive manner. It provides a framework for effective problem-solving communication that can be applied to a variety of contexts, from business writing to presentations and speeches.

When I first read this as a child, it blew my mind. What a great idea! Whoever thought of a clever mouse who helped Ben Franklin develop his best ideas, like bifocals and the kite ride that led to the discovery of electricity?

It was pure delight to me, and that’s when I knew I wanted to be a writer and come up with such marvelous flights of fancy.

See, Solve, Scale provides a proven three-part framework for entrepreneurial success called the “See, Solve, Scale Entrepreneurial Process.” Author Danny Warshay has been a Professor of Entrepreneurship at Brown University for 15+ years. Previously, after earning his Harvard MBA, Warshay spent time in brand management at Procter & Gamble, followed by several years launching, growing, and exiting startups in software, advanced materials, consumer products, and media. 

See, Solve, Scale unpacks key concepts from Warshay’s Brown University course on entrepreneurship. Warshay has also taught these concepts internationally to entrepreneurship organizations, private companies, non-profits, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations. His teachings have broad applicability to solving all types of problems and improving the functioning and results of almost any kind of organization, not just startups. 

Key lessons in the book include the importance of bottom-up research, being anthropological and empathetic and finding and validating an unmet need or problem to solve, recognizing… show more.

The authors maintain that everybody experiences flashes of insight: those moments when an "aha!" reaction leaves us feeling enlightened and empowered. I have felt this and you probably have too. Insights are the bits of knowledge in different parts of ourselves and they can be harnessed into a more integrated and effective whole.

Learning To Use What You Already Know explains how you can encourage insight. Consider that each of us knows more than we think we do. Thus we can employ a reflective process, described in the book, that integrates our conscious and unconscious resources, and prompts our perceptions of everything from getting along with coworkers, to being a visionary leader, to coping with technological change.  

Here are what I consider to be some of the book’s amazing takeaways: Life repeats itself until we learn. Lack of fit is not failure. If you get it right the first time,… show more.