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Whether you’re laying on a sun lounger on the beach, or doing the morning commute to work, there’s no better time than summer to get into reading.
That book that’s been sat on the side of your desk for months? Pick it up and have a read. That title that everyone’s told you to read? Get online and order it.
For those eyeing up the first MBA application round in the fall, what you have or haven’t read might make the difference.
So, before you begin that GMAT test prep, or start filling out your MBA application, take a look at our 10 must-read books for the summer, recommended by industry experts and faculty from some of the world’s best business schools.
Check out the book we chose as the BusinessBecause recommended book for 2019.
10. The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI by Marcu du Sautoy
Recommended by Hal Gregerson, executive director of the MIT Sloan School of Management Leadership Center
Hal says—“This great new book really opened my eyes to the creativity required at the top of this discipline (du Sautoy is a mathematics professor at Oxford). In fact, a compelling conjecture is truly a catalytic question – opening up a new path for the field’s energies to rush down.
Du Sautoy also describes how—especially in the age of AI—his mission as a teacher is to cultivate this questioning skill in the next generation of mathematicians.
He lays the foundation by first having students retrace the discovery journeys of past geniuses: “Rehearsing how others came to their breakthroughs builds the capacity to achieve one’s own creative feats.”
9. Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You by Geoffrey Parker, Marshall Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Choudary
Recommended by Professor Jochen Wirtz, vice dean of graduate studies at the National University of Singapore
Jochen says—“Platforms come in many shapes and forms—including search, communications, social media, matching, content & review, booking, retail, payment, crowdsourcing, development, sharing/P2P economy, and B2B platforms—and their combinations.
“In my view, platform business models are the future for many industries and are disrupting the more traditional pipeline businesses. This book provides an excellent discussion of the key areas to focus on if one is interested in understanding and building platform businesses.”
8. Beyond the Content: Mindfulness As A Test Prep Advantage by Logan Thompson
Recommended by test prep expert
If you ask any test prepper, or read any test prep guide, the emphasis will be on content and strategy—essentially making sure you know exactly what is going to come up, and how to deal with it.
Where Thompson’s approach differs is through his focus on mindfulness and mentality, the “fleeting...
7. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Recommended by Alex Lawrence, assistant dean and MBA admissions director at UCLA Anderson School of Management
Despite having been written over 80 years ago, Carnegie’s advice remains as practical and useful as ever, offering key advice on honing your soft skills to make your way in business.
Alex says—“A classic from the past, especially for those interested in entrepreneurship. I love the messages on how to handle demanding customers/clients and eventually win them over. It is a great guide to help you learn about communication skills.”
6. On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt
Recommended by Andreas Rasche, MBA associate dean at Copenhagen Business School
This long essay, originally published in 1986, has never felt truer in era dominated by fake news and disbelief in politics and business.
As Frankfurt writes in the book, “The liar cares about the truth and attempts to hide it; the bullshitter doesn’t care if what they say is true or false, but rather only cares whether the listener is persuaded.”
Andreas says— “Princeton Professor Harry Frankfurt discusses the differences between telling the truth, lying and bullshitting. Given that the latter has proliferated in the world of business, it is a must-read for MBAs.”
5. Reputation 360: Creating Power Through Personal Branding by Lida Citroen
Recommended by Professor Seen-Meng Chew, associate MBA director at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School
Seen-Meng says—“This book is about how to market the most important product in the world: yourself.
Through many examples, Citroen explains how to develop your personal brand and create a strong professional reputation that will help you succeed in your career and other situations.
She also shows us some simple approach and common sense that many of us often overlook when creating our own identities.
4. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
Recommended by Pascal Michels, MBA admissions director at IESE Business School
Pascal says—“If doing a full-time MBA is a path towards heightened self-awareness, and self-awareness a path towards being a better leader, then Haidt’s easy-to-read yet comprehensive overview of what the world’s great civilizations and greatest thinkers had to say about how our inner lives work, is of great relevance to anybody embarking on an MBA journey.
“Understanding your emotions and how they struggle with your rational self is essential in harnessing them, which in turn makes you better at reading and understanding others’ emotions and managing those. This in turn is one of the fundamental traits required of any great leader.”
3. BusinessBecause Recommended:
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
When Daniel Kahneman first met Amos Tversky at the Hebrew University, nobody could have foreseen what would happen next.
What followed was a partnership that formed the foundation of what is now known as behavioral economics, which would go on to influence economists, psychologists, and just about every other academic profession.
Lewis, however, tells the story of their friendship, an intimate rivalry based on their completely opposing personalities which combined to approach human thinking in a way that was unprecedented.
Drawing upon accessible visual metaphors, and a uniquely illustrative way of storytelling, Lewis explains Kahneman and Tversky’s science in a way that is not only digestible, but also deeply amusing and emotional.
It is an essential read for any MBA applicant seeking to understand why humans make the decisions, and mistakes, that we always do.
2. The Sex Factor: How Women Made the West Rich by Victoria Bateman
Recommended by Michael Kitson, senior lecturer in international macroeconomics at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
Michael says—“Understanding how economies work is fundamental to modern business. Yet modern economics largely neglects gender.
In this thought-provoking book, Victoria Bateman addresses this failure and argues that, “women’s freedom is vital for economic prosperity…it boosts wages, skills, saving and entrepreneurial spirit.”
1. The Hard Thing About The Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Recommended by Katy Montgomery, associate dean at INSEAD
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ben Horowitz discloses his essential advice about challenges of building and running a business—including that which you can’t learn at business school.
Drawing upon everything from rap lyrics to his real life encounters, Horowitz’s book is equal parts hilarious and honest.
Katy says—“I highly recommend this book to any business student who is interested in start-ups, venture capital, or tech (particularly product management). Horowitz really understands business and does not sugar coat the hard work involved in making a company successful.
While reading this book I was constantly thinking about good versus bad management, the right kind of ambition, and being a courageous and not a cowardly leader.”
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