Bookcase

I like to think of still having a bookcase near my Desk, even if most of these books were read on my Kindle. But I am often asked about what I'm reading, or what have I read that I would recommend to people who are interested to learn more about some of the topics I speak to. So, here I'm trying to capture a snapshot of books and podcasts that have either affected and helped shape my perspective on the world, or which have been sources of knowledge that have helped with skill development (and just general learning).

It is a 'bookcase' because it has different shelves for different types of books and other content. If there is a book or podcast you think I am missing and really should check out, please let me know.

Topics

Read (and sometimes re-read)

These are the books I have read and found valuable enough to include here. They are not meant to be an exhaustive list of everything I've read, but rather a curated selection of the ones that have had a significant impact on my thinking or that I would recommend to others.

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The Mindful High Performer

Chelsea's book is an excellent, honest, authentic and practical read on how to cultivate resilience and mindfulness in high performance.

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The Mindful High Performer

Chelsea Pottenger

Mindstuck

Michael has spent years looking into how we think about change and communication, and 'Mindstuck' is a fantastic distillation of his insights and learnings in this area.

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Mindstuck

Michael McQueen

Thinking About the Future

I found the Houston Foresight Methodology incredibly enlightening when I studied it. This is the book that gives the detail on that for those who can't get to Houston.

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Thinking About the Future

Andy Hines, Peter Bishop

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

A really well-written book that changed my thinking about team dynamics and culture.

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Patrick Lencioni

Careless People

Controversial, confronting and eye-opening. Not an easy read, but well worth it in my opinion.

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Careless People

Sarah Wynn-Williams

What You Do Is Who You Are

Ben's book provides practical insights on leadership and management through real-world examples and stories.

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What You Do Is Who You Are

Ben Horowitz

Essentialism

Changed my perspective on time and attention management, and how to focus on what matters most.

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Essentialism

Greg McKeown

Measure What Matters

John's book is a fantastic introduction to the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework

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Measure What Matters

John Doerr

Radical Candor

Kim's book is important to read - not just for her insights, but also because so many in modern business have read it and it is important to understand the framework and language.

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Radical Candor

Kim Malone Scott

The Phoenix Project

Writing a novel is a novel way to provide insights into DevOps and IT management.

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The Phoenix Project

Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

Hyperfocus

Chris's book provides practical strategies for managing attention and achieving deep focus in a world full of distractions.

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Hyperfocus

Chris Bailey

The Art of Decision Making

This book changed my relationship with decision making and made me understand procrastination on a whole new level.

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The Art of Decision Making

Joseph Bikart

Ten Types of Innovation

One of the most important books I read when it came to figuring out how to encourage and structure innovation practices in an organisation.

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Ten Types of Innovation

Larry Keeley, Helen Walters, Brian Quinn

Future Shock

Toffler's book is rightly considered a classic in the field of futurism and reading it, you can see why.

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Future Shock

Alvin Toffler

Half Time

I was given this book at a critical juncture in my career and it impacted me deeply.

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Half Time

Bob Buford

Orbiting the Giant Hairball

I liked how this book talked to the forces that compete when trying to balance innovation and organisational structure/culture.

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Orbiting the Giant Hairball

Gordon MacKenzie

Who Moved My Cheese?

A simple but effective parable about change and how we react to it.

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Who Moved My Cheese?

Spencer Johnson

Lumen Fidei Personal opinion or project

Pope Francis's encyclical on faith is a profound and inspiring exploration of the nature of belief and its role in our lives.

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Lumen Fidei

Pope Francis

God is Love Personal opinion or project

Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical on love is a profound and moving exploration of the nature of divine love and its implications for human relationships and society.

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God is Love

Pope Benedict XVI

Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage Personal opinion or project

I didn't know much about St Thomas More before reading this book, really, but it showed how much depth there was to the man and why he is such an important figure in history and faith.

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Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage

Gerard B. Wegemer

Up next

Books I am currently reading or have queued up to read. Partly here as a prod to me to do more long-form reading!

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More technical reading

Textbooks and reference materials that I have found useful or which have been recommended to me by experts I trust in different topics relating to architecture and software engineering.

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Podcasts

These are some of the podcasts that are on my current rotation and/or are the ones I would recommend to people when they ask for recommendations.

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Cover art for Daily Tech News Show

I've listened to Tom and the team for years! This is my go-to source for the latest in tech news each day.

Daily Tech News Show
Cover art for The AI Daily Brief

Such a fast-moving space, I find a daily download good to use for staying up-to-date.

The AI Daily Brief
Cover art for The Futures Workshop

An excellent series talking with futurists about their methods and approaches to foresight work.

The Futures Workshop
Cover art for The Vergecast

Sometimes a bit more of a deep dive is what I'm after and the Vergecast is a great option for that, with a good mix of news and analysis.

The Vergecast
Cover art for The NZ Tech Podcast

A great source for keeping up with the latest in New Zealand's tech scene.

The NZ Tech Podcast
Cover art for Moonshots

'Abundant future'-focused podcast with a particularly optimistic take on technology-enabled futures. I know that I will get this particular 'skew' when listening.

Moonshots
Cover art for Happy Families Personal opinion or project

Some very helpful and practical parenting advice that I have found really useful.

Happy Families
Cover art for How I Work

I really like how Amanda takes a practical approach to dealing with common work and productivity challenges.

How I Work
Cover art for Lex Fridman Podcast

I have enjoyed some of the really great long-form conversations on deep tech topics

Lex Fridman Podcast
Cover art for Pray As You Go Personal opinion or project

This is an excellent podcast to wake up to if you want to get in a moment of prayer and reflection at the start of the day.

Pray As You Go
Cover art for The Working Genius Podcast

I'm a big fan of Patrick's work and this podcast is a great extension of that.

The Working Genius Podcast
Cover art for Acquired

Sometimes I want a deep dive on a particular company or innovation story, and these are definitely that!

Acquired