Adam Grant’s 2019 Reading List

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.