Books Recommended by Todd Henry

Frankl was in a concentration camp in WWII, and lost many family members and friends at the hands of Nazi tyranny. In reading his story, and learning how he managed to survive, I was struck by how he reframed the question about life purpose. He argues that instead of asking “what do I want out of life?”, we should instead ask “what does life want from me?” Approaching daily activity with a mindset of contribution and adding value re-frames many of the trivial stresses and frustrations and helps me to instead focus on the bigger picture of what I’m adding to the world.

It’s difficult to say what business book is my favorite, as they all appeal to me in different ways. I’d say that the most influential book on my early career was Orbiting The Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie. It was an insider look at creative leadership from the former creative director at Hallmark, and helped me open up to the effects of bureaucracy on creativity and how to surmount them.