Books Recommended by Adam Grant

Makes a compelling case for cultivating intense focus, and offers immediately actionable steps.

Success and happiness belong to people who can control their attention. Nir Eyal is on a mission to protect you from distraction—and his lively book is full of actionable ideas.

Highlights how we can earn confidence by pursuing something bigger than our own success.

This book is full of wisdom about how to thrive in a bureaucracy—and then transform it into an innovation machine. Beth Comstock is one of the most effective and admired executives of our time, and she tells the engrossing inside story of how she rose to the upper echelons of GE and spearheaded a sea of change.

This is a transfixing book on how to sustain peak performance and avoid burnout. Stulberg and Magness have worked with (and been) elite achievers, and they combine that rich experience with the science of success to share actionable insights.

A physicist and award-winning biotechnology entrepreneur specializing in cancer drugs reveals how creativity is not just about culture—it’s heavily driven by structure. Applying the physics of phase transitions to a stunning array of entertaining examples, Safi Bahcall shows how entrepreneurs and innovators can set the stage for ideas to flow and breakthroughs to emerge.

This book blew my mind. It’s a riveting read, full of instantly actionable advice—not just for high-stakes negotiations, but also for handling everyday conflicts at work and at home.

This is the best book I’ve ever read on how to grow a company rapidly — and when that’s even worth trying in the first place. With a rare combination of fresh insights, vivid cases, and actionable advice, it’s a must-read for entrepreneurs and executives.

In a world that’s increasingly obsessed with specialization, star science writer David Epstein is here to convince you that the future may belong to generalists. It’s a captivating read that will leave you questioning the next steps in your career—and the way you raise your children.

It’s rare for a physician to become a prominent social scientist. It’s even rarer for that person to write a book that opens your eyes to a fresh way of understanding the world. Blueprint is a contrarian exploration of how good societies may be shaped less by historical forces and more by natural selection.

A captivating narrative about art and science, curiosity and discipline.

The most interesting, immediately actionable book I’ve read in quite a while. I walked away with new ideas for motivating employees, delighting customers, engaging students, and even planning family vacations. If life is a series of moments, the Heath brothers have transformed how I plan to spend mine.

This book does for the soul what water does for a parched throat. Scott Harrison shares his extraordinary transformation from party animal into the visionary leader of one of the world’s most creative and crucial charities. His story will inspire you to think bigger, feel deeper, and give more.

The definitive analysis of the biggest stock market crash of the century, from the greatest business journalist of our time.

An inspiring book by an inspiring leader. Jean Case has been in the arena as a technology pioneer and philanthropist, and this book is full of stories and advice to embolden you to take bolder risks and have bigger impact.

Imagine a world of work that enhances our dignity and freedom instead of degrading and constraining us. That’s what Aaron Dignan helps organizations create, and his book on how to do it is a breath of fresh air.

Bob Glazer is an unusually forward-thinking leader, and in this book he highlights some of his most inspiring lessons about how to bring out the best in yourself and others.

An unusually raw and revealing exploration of how our leadership journeys are shaped by the defining moments of our childhood...

It’s rare to read a book that makes you laugh and learn, but Eric Weiner has done it again. This witty, wise explorer offers fascinating insights on how culture has inspired creativity across the ages—ripe for chats at water coolers and cocktail parties—and offers a practical map for how we can all become a bit more inventive.

If you want to get more done, don't worry about willpower--focus on motivation. Challenging the dominant view of self-control as a muscle. Benjamin Hardy reveals that productivity is really about clarity and commitment.

Conscious offers the clearest, most compelling explanation that I’ve seen of consciousness. If you’ve ever wondered how you have the capacity to wonder, some fascinating insights await you in these pages.

Before becoming the CEO who grew Starbucks into an international powerhouse, Howard Schultz grew up in the Brooklyn housing projects and became the first person in his family to go to college. He intersperses his personal journey with his vision for building socially responsible companies and communities.

Following your passion is easy. Finding it is hard. This book is full of examples to help—people who have found their way around roadblocks or just plowed right through them.

If you’ve ever thought it’s best to check your emotions at the office door, this book will change your mind. It’s full of lively illustrations and practical examples to show how you can harness emotions to become more creative, collaborative, and productive.

If you want to understand risk better, you have to go into some unconventional settings. In the tradition of Freakonomics, that’s what Allison Schrager does as an economist, and her book is not just informative—it’s an entertaining read too

In a connected world, companies live and die on their ability to create great customer experiences. In this book, two leading experts on strategy and innovation team up to explore how to create those experiences in a rapidly changing world. Their lively, practical book offers rich cases, evidence, and frameworks for gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage.

Reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits.

Will your business be disrupted? Definitely. Do the disruptors have to be a small band of hackers in a garage? Definitely not. This book is full of practical tips for big companies to get a leg up on scrappy startups.

How smart limits can unblock insight, unlock creativity, and unleash potential.

This is one of the most provocative, lucidly written books I’ve read on work, by a renowned thought leader and an influential talent executive. Be prepared to throw your strategic plan out the window and become well-lopsided instead of well-rounded.

In workplaces around the world, meetings are where productivity and creativity go to die. Steven Rogelberg is the world's leading expert on how to fix them, and here he shares the best evidence on how we can stop wasting time and falling victim to groupthink.

A linguist explores how the internet is redefining our vocabulary. No cap—this bruh slaps and slays.

A leading sociologist unpacks the surprising sources and far-reaching consequences of social standing.

A powerful analysis of how to prevent chatbots from hijacking our attachments.

The perfect is not just the enemy of the good; the pressure to be perfect is the enemy of girls around the world. Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, examines how to free girls—and women—from the shackles of social expectations.

A timely guide to using AI without losing human judgment in the process.

With humor and heart, the Nobel laureate who risked her life fighting for girls’ rights to education takes us on a soul-searching journey into adulthood.

Why certain people, projects, and places make us feel alive.

By carefully observing the animal kingdom, this writer-illustrator brilliantly illuminates how we can get in closer touch with our humanity.

A guide to embracing uncertainty in a time of foolish conviction.

How to protect our children—and our humanity—in the age of AI.

A road map to preventing people and organizations from making unethical decisions.

How to decide whether to stay or leave your job—and other relationships too.

Where to find light even when the world seems dark.

Fun ways to protect the environment and fight climate change.

Where we should look for purpose and contribution.

A bold reimagination of what makes us sentient.

A spellbinding read on our extinction crisis—and how we can stop it.

A remarkable story of going from refugee to child star, and then from hitting a wall to building a door.

I want to live in a world with more free play, and this designer knows how to build it.

How to recognize, avoid, and neutralize narcissists, psychopaths, and Machiavellians.

What if citizens ran the government?

Come backstage as the mind-boggling mentalist reveals some of his secrets for the first time—and shows how to apply them to understand the people around you.

The science and practice of healthy vulnerability.

A captivating look at why willpower is overrated, and how to change your circumstances.

An openhearted manual for having better arguments and forging tighter bonds.

Walking the tightrope between setting boundaries and staying open.

Brian Gunia is an expert on negotiating, and he does something unusual here: he offers insights about bargaining that are both novel and useful.

Let Abigail Marsh guide you on a riveting ride through your own brain. With lively writing and an impressive command of science, she shows how sensitivity to fear can be both a weapon of evil and a force for good.

A provocative take on the problems we create when we put brainpower on a pedestal, from a journalist who pulls no punches.

In my view, this is Simon Sinek’s biggest idea yet. If you think success is about winning and losing, you’ve already lost. It works in sports because you're playing a finite game, but business is an infinite one. He argues that the companies that last aren't the ones that play to win. They're the ones that play to keep playing.

A tour de force on the genesis and benefits of unpleasant emotions.

Finding purpose after adversity and possibility under uncertainty.

Passion is a roller coaster ride that can send us on a sudden, precipitating plunge from the heights of happiness to the depths of despair. This thoughtful, immediately readable book shows how to manage passion so it brings out the best in us—rather than the worst in us.

This is a sparkling biography—not just of a pair of remarkable women, but of a popular personality tool. Merve Emre deftly exposes the hidden origins of the MBTI and the seductive appeal and fatal flaws of personality types. Ultimately, she reveals that a sense of self is less something we discover, and more something we create and revise.

A deep dive into the cold water craze—one of the most controversial health, fitness, and athletic obsessions of our time.

The mindsets that can transform our trajectories and propel us to new heights.

A journey through the hidden past and potential future of narratives.

The present and future of geopolitics, from Finland’s president and former prime minister.

The forgotten history of the heroines who shaped America.

A warm, wise recipe for building cultures that bring out the best in people.

An evidence-based antidote to insecurity and low self-esteem.

Never thought I’d recommend reading about “poophoria,” but this adventure through joyful bowel movements and the gut-brain connection is too good to miss.

Ways to eliminate pointless gatherings—and make the most of our time together.