Business, finance and law

Please visit our Book Bulletin 2019 crowdfunding project at CrowdPatch to buy recommendations for our Winter 2019 catalogue and to volunteer your skills, experience and contacts. All funds raised will support not-for-profit Jolabokaflod CIC’s forthcoming programme of events.

When Your Life Depends on It
Brad Borkan and David Hirzel
(UK: Terra Nova Press, @mitpress, 2017; USA: Terra Nova Press, @mitpress, 2017)

Grab a warm blanket. This book puts you right into the action of the life-and-death decisions made by early Antarctic explorers. It is filled with unforgettable stories about the challenges and decisions they faced on the ice.

Whilst we might not be pulling sledges across Antarctica in the early 1900s, this book also reveals valuable lessons in leadership, team work and sheer grit and determination that can help all of us make better decisions in our lives today.

Recommended by:
Jake Shaw, Entrepreneur, Creative Director and Filmmaker | Founder, Lord Shaw; Partner, Citizen Equity; Creative Director, Shaw Shot Media; Co-Founder, Twelve Ronnies; Director of Innovation, 12R Prizes

Jake has a background in making ideas work. His latest venture brings together the experience of the difficulties the creative world faces in obtaining funding and launching their ventures. Making films is exactly the same as launching an idea into the market. Inventors and creators need commercial people around them in order to succeed. Jake’s career spans the UK, US and Middle East across film, music, branding and digital. It is with this global outlook that has led him to embrace blockchain technology to help people start businesses that are born global on the blockchain, have frictionless transactions and the right combination of innovation and commercial experience.

Spotify: Music for Everyone
Charlotte Bouillet
(UK: 50Minutes.com, @50Minutes_com, 2017; USA: 50Minutes.com, @50Minutes_com, 2017)

Spotify is a music-streaming service launched in 2008. Its freemium business model, which allows users to choose between listening to music for free or paying a monthly subscription to access an ad-free version of the site, has attracted 140 million active users to the site (of whom 60 million are paying subscribers), and has generated billions of dollars in revenue, although the site continues operating at a net loss and has drawn heavy criticism from other major players in the music industry.

In this concise and accessible guide, you will find out how Spotify has revolutionised music lovers’ listening habits, and discover how other key players in the music industry are reacting to this change.

Recommended by:
50Minutes.com: at BookExpo America

50Minutes.com publishes books on subjects from business and professional development to art, literature and history. Its titles enhance people’s knowledge of a vast array of topics and are perfect if readers are short of time. Whatever readers’ aims and interests, they are sure to find something for them in our 50Minutes.com’s comprehensive collections.

How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings
Sarah Cooper
(UK: Square Peg, @SquarePegBooks, 2018; USA: Andrews McMeel Publishing, @AndrewsMcMeel, 2018)

The unspoken rules for how women should behave in the workplace are as numerous as they are confusing … Ask for a pay rise? Pushy .., Take credit for an idea? Arrogant … Admit a mistake? Weak … Successfully juggle work and family? Unpromotable.

In How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings, Sarah Cooper, author of the bestselling 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings, illustrates how women can achieve their dreams, succeed in their careers and become leaders, without harming the fragile male ego.

Recommended by:
Square Peg Books: at The Book Marketing Society

Square Peg publish contemporary non-fiction that stands out from the crowd. The imprint selects just 10-12 books each year across a range of genres, including trend-led narrative, humour and entertaining reference. As ‘Square Pegs’ we celebrate the unique, and seek out ideas, stories and styles which put a creative twist on subjects that are relevant today. The imprint is part of the Vintage division at Penguin Random House UK.

Interpreneur
Simon Coulson
(UK: How2Become, @How2become, 2016)

After collapsing with exhaustion, and landing at the bottom of an escalator at Kings Cross station; Simon decided that his life needed to change. Now in his early 30s, he’d worked his way up the corporate ladder, but felt burnt out. In that moment, he decided to take a different path, focus on his passion and start a new life plan.

In this book you will learn how Simon Coulson became a serial internet business success story, and how you too could do the same. You will learn how he:

Recommended by:
How2Become: at The Business Show

How2Become.com is the UK’s leading careers and educational information and development website. From here, people can learn how to write a CV, how to complete an application form, how to pass psychometric tests and also how to pass any job interview. Since 2005, the platform has been helping people to secure their dream job and has won numerous awards.

Deep Sea and Foreign Going
Rose George
(UK: Portobello Books, @PortobelloBooks, 2014)

There are 100,000 freighters on the seas. Between them they carry nearly everything we eat, wear and work with. In this unique investigation, Rose George joins the crew of a container ship to chart the murky waters of international shipping, with its powerful naval fleets, pirate gangs, and illegal floating factories, to reveal the hidden industry upon which our world turns and our future depends.

Recommended by:
June Norris, Retired (Human Resources Administrator), Middlesex University

As June’s eyesight is failing, she loves accessing literature by listening to audiobooks. Current favourites include the ‘Poldark’ series by Winston Graham and the novels of Mary Stewart. She gave this book to her son, Christopher, as a Christmas gift in 2018.

Flow
Fin Goulding and Haydn Shaughnessy
(UK: Flow Academy, @FlowAgile, 2017; USA: Flow Academy, @FlowAgile, 2017)

Flow is a handbook for change-makers, mavericks, innovation activists and leaders how to be more agile in business. It is a guide to turning yourself into a more productive, creative participant in your teams or a leader who knows how to guide agile transformation successfully. It is a must read for anybody dealing with the issues of digital transformation and looking to build on Devops, Scrum and older forms of project management.

Recommended by:
Emma Hare, Account Director, The Bookseller

Emma has overall responsibility for digital solutions at The Bookseller and works internationally to help publishers promote their books. The trade magazine is passionate about books, the people who sell them, the people who create them and everyone involved in the process. The Bookseller is the publication at the heart of publishing. Emma and her team work hard to ensure campaigns success. From innovative front covers, email campaigns, and sponsorship opportunities, she works with publishers every step of the way to make their books stand out.

Freemium
Mouna Guidiri
(UK: 50Minutes.com, @50Minutes_com, 2017; USA: 50Minutes.com, @50Minutes_com, 2017)

This book is a practical and accessible guide to understanding and implementing the freemium model, providing you with the essential information and saving time.

Recommended by:
50Minutes.com: at BookExpo America

Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy (UK) | Fifty Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy (USA)
Tim Harford
(UK: Abacus, @AbacusBooks, 2018; USA: Riverhead Books, @riverheadbooks, 2018)

Who thought up paper money? How did the contraceptive pill change the face of the legal profession? Why was the horse collar as important for human progress as the steam engine? How did the humble spreadsheet turn the world of finance upside-down?

The world economy defies comprehension. A continuously changing system of immense complexity, it offers over ten billion distinct products and services, doubles in size every fifteen years, and links almost every one of the planet’s seven billion people. It delivers astonishing luxury to hundreds of millions. It also leaves hundreds of millions behind, puts tremendous strains on the ecosystem, and has an alarming habit of stalling. Nobody is in charge of it. Indeed, no individual understands more than a fraction of what’s going on. How can we make sense of this bewildering system on which our lives depend? This book starts to join the dots …

Recommended by:
Dan Calladine, Head of Media Futures, Carat Global Management | Founder, London Pop-ups

Dan Calladine is a media industry maven who tracks online and offline media trends and the effectiveness of media strategy for Carat, a media agency within the Dentsu Aegis Network. He is an expert commentator on media, having been interviewed by BBC Radio 4, the Financial Times, Campaign and The Guardian, among other channels and publications. Dan is an expert on social media, including and social media tracking: he is a keen user, being active on YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest. Dan also heads and runs London Pop-ups, a online listings hub for pop-up events in the capital city.

Ten Types of Innovation
Larry Keeley
(UK: Wiley, @WileyGlobal, 2013; USA: Wiley, @WileyGlobal, 2013)

Innovation principles to bring about meaningful and sustainable growth in your organisation. Using a list of more than 2000 successful innovations – including Cirque du Soleil, early IBM mainframes, the Ford Model-T and many more – the authors applied a proprietary algorithm and determined ten meaningful groupings the Ten Types of Innovation that provided insight into innovation.

The Ten Types of Innovation explores these insights to diagnose patterns of innovation within industries, to identify innovation opportunities, and to evaluate how firms are performing against competitors. The framework has proven to be one of the most enduring and useful ways to start thinking about transformation.

Recommended by:
Emma Hare, Account Director, The Bookseller

Patents for Technology Transfer
Ingrid Kelly
(UK: CreateSpace, @CreateSpace, 2016; USA: CreateSpace, @CreateSpace, 2016)

Patent protection is an important first step in safeguarding new inventions and technologies prior to further development and commercialisation. It can be difficult for the non-expert to judge what is potentially patentable, and to understand the process and timelines of securing protection globally. This book provides guidance to those seeking to improve their understanding of the patent system and work constructively with patent attorneys to optimise a patent portfolio. The book is aimed in particular at patent managers in the technology transfer offices of universities and research institutions, but will be useful also to those in industry IP departments looking for practical advice and instruction on patent issues.

Recommended by:
Simon Krystman, Entrepreneur | Social Entrepreneur, 12R Prizes; Founder, The Smart Startup Company; Founder, IdeasPatch; Director, Brain Mind Forum; CEO, CrowdPatch CIC

Simon is a passionate entrepreneur who has successfully set up and exited a number of businesses in the digital and innovation space over the past 20 years; most recently launching a suite of products for start-ups and early-stage companies (accessed via Start-up Tools 101). These revolve around ideas, people and funding. He is also in the process of co-authoring a book about the Ideas Economy. Simon’s philanthropic activities involve crowdfunding for communities where he runs a crowdfunding platform to raise small amounts of funding for social causes, often working with MPs and other community leaders.

Time to Think
Nancy Kline
(UK: Cassell, @Octopus_Books, 2002; USA: Cassell, @Octopus_Books, 2015)

The power of effective listening is recognised as the essential tool of good management. In this book, Nancy Kline describes how we can achieve this, and presents a step-by-step guide that can be used in any situation. Whether you want to have more productive meetings, solve business problems or build stronger relationships, this book offers you a new world of possibilities.

Recommended by:
Cassell: at BookExpo America

Cassell publishes illustrated non-fiction specialising in popular culture, entertainment, sport and reference titles, and non-illustrated narrative non-fiction, including popular science, business narrative, popular psychology and current affairs. Cassell is an imprint of the Octopus Publishing Group.

The Profit of Kindness
Jill Lublin
(USA: New Page Books, @NewPageBooks, 2017)

When kindness becomes your primary goal, everything changes: how you look at life, what you get from it, and how others interact with and relate to you. This will help you master the art of building trusting, long-lasting relationships through open, non-adversarial interchanges that result in mutually beneficial outcomes. A basic adjustment in attitude and approach can substantially improve virtually every facet of your life. Each chapter provides specific examples for improving skills such as communication, building integrity, team work, influencing others, and more. The Profit of Kindness is a practical guide that teaches you how to connect with others using the global asset known as kindness.

Recommended by:
Avital Miller, Author, Practitioner: Yoga, Healing and Dance | Practitioner website: Avital Miller; Author website: Healing Happens

Avital Miller, best-selling author of the book Healing Happens: Stories of Healing Against All Odds (2018: Amazon UK | USA), inspires people to experience boundless energy, absolute happiness, and true success in order to live the best life possible. For over 15 years Avital has served thousands of people worldwide as an award-winning international keynote speaker, healing breakthrough facilitator, and global dancer. Avital also founded the Healing Happens For You platform and the Healing Happens podcast. These programs share the research from health and healing experts, and how your physical health is connected to your emotions, mind, and spirit.

Disrupted
Dan Lyons
(UK: Atlantic Books, @AtlanticBooks, 2017; USA: Hachette Books, @HachetteUS, 2017)

Dan Lyons was Technology Editor at Newsweek magazine for years, a journalist at the top of his profession. One Friday morning he received a phone call: his job no longer existed: 50 years old with a wife and two young kids, Dan was unemployed and facing financial oblivion. Then an idea hit. Dan had long reported on Silicon Valley and the tech explosion. Why not join it? HubSpot, a Boston start-up, was flush with $100 million in venture capital. They offered Dan a pile of stock options for the nebulous role of ‘marketing fellow’. What could possibly go wrong?

Recommended by:

Dan Calladine, Head of Media Futures, Carat Global Management | Founder, London Pop-ups
Dan says: ‘What happens when a smart and world-weary tech writer joins one of America’s marketing technology start-ups. A great description of office culture that ruffled lots of feathers when it was published.’

Outside Insight
Jorn Lyseggen
(UK: Penguin Business, @PenguinRHUK, 2017; USA: IdeaPress Publishing, @IdeaPressPub, 2017)

The world today is drowning in data. There is a treasure trove of valuable and underutilised insights that can be gleaned from information companies and people leave behind on the internet – our ‘digital breadcrumbs’ – from job postings, to online news, social media, online ad spend, patent applications and more.

As a result, we’re at the cusp of a major shift in the way businesses are managed and governed – moving from a focus solely on lagging, internal data, toward analyses that also encompass industry-wide, external data to paint a more complete picture of a brand’s opportunities and threats and uncover forward-looking insights, in real time. Tomorrow’s most successful brands are already embracing Outside Insight, benefitting from an information advantage while their competition is left behind.

Drawing on practical examples of transformative, data-led decisions made by brands like Apple, Facebook, Barack Obama and many more, in this book Meltwater CEO, Jorn Lyseggen, illustrates the future of corporate decision-making and offers a detailed plan for business leaders to implement ‘outside insight’ thinking into their company mindset and processes.

Recommended by:
Cara Riseborough, Talent & Training Director, Meltwater UK & Ireland

Cara works for Meltwater, the global leading media intelligence platform. The company’s software combines the power of AI with the largest news and social media database in the industry, to bring our clients advanced media monitoring, social media listening, social media management, PR Analytics and influencer engagement tools.

Key Person of Influence (revised edition)
Daniel Priestley
(UK: Rethink Press, @RethinkPress, 2014)

Every industry revolves around ‘Key People of Influence’. Their names come up in conversation. They attract opportunities. They earn more money. Many people think it takes decades of hard work, academic qualifications and a generous measure of good luck to become a Key Person of Influence. This book shows you that there is a five-step strategy for fast-tracking your way to the inner circle of the industry you love. Your ability to succeed depends on your ability to influence. Start now by reading this book.

Recommended by:
Simon Krystman, Entrepreneur | Social Entrepreneur, 12R Prizes; Founder, The Smart Startup Company; Founder, IdeasPatch; Director, Brain Mind Forum; CEO, CrowdPatch CIC

StoryBranding 2.0 (2nd edition)
Jim Signorelli
(USA: Story-Lab Publishing, @jimsignorelli, 2017)

Advertising executive Jim Signorelli was tired of the traditional approach to his craft, which he felt resulted in soulless hyperbole and mindless drivel. When preparing for a client meeting, he had an epiphany. Rather than doing a traditional brief for the client, identifying its brand’s unique selling proposition, he wrote a story: a first-person narrative told from the prospective customer’s point of view. Customers have problems they want to be solved, and their stories provide clues to understanding how the brand can solve them. The author compares the ‘StoryBranding’ process, which helps brands understand themselves, to the way stories teach us about the people in them.

Recommended by:
Story-Lab Publishing: at BookExpo America

The choice for leaders is not whether to use storytelling; it is about using it skilfully with purpose. Story-Lab helps leaders, sales people and change agents give facts and data the heartbeat they need in order to influence, inspire and motivate audiences. It achieves these goals via workshops, consulting and public speaking.

Zero to One
Peter Thiel
(UK: Virgin Books, @virginbooks, 2015; USA: Currency, @CrownPublishing, 2014)

What valuable company is nobody building? … The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them. It’s easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. Every new creation goes from 0 to 1. This book is about how to get there.

Recommended by:

Dan Calladine, Head of Media Futures, Carat Global Management | Founder, London Pop-ups
Dan says: ‘Thiel was the first external investor in Facebook, and this book, which is adapted from a series of lectures, sets out why he thinks some companies are successful and others aren’t.’

The Successful Mistake
Matthew Turner
(UK: CreateSpace, @CreateSpace, 2016; USA: CreateSpace, @CreateSpace, 2016)

You Must Fail. Surprised? … Don’t be. Only the weak get discouraged from failures. The greatest turn adversity into equal or greater success. They transform even the biggest mistake into a huge success story. And you how can too. This is how … Learn how 163 of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs transformed failure into success.

Recommended by:
CreateSpace: at The Business Show

Self-published authors can now manage their CreateSpace content on Amazon’s improved publishing services. The platform now offers specialised options for every different publishing need: Kindle Direct Publishing; Amazon Media on Demand; and Amazon Print on Demand for Enterprise Publishers.

	Christopher Norris on Secret Santa 2022
	Bronwyn on Secret Santa 2022
	Richard on Let’s get the Icelanders…

Please visit our Book Bulletin 2019 crowdfunding project at CrowdPatch to buy recommendations for our Winter 2019 catalogue and to volunteer your skills, experience and contacts. All funds raised will support not-for-profit Jolabokaflod CIC’s forthcoming programme of events.

Share this:

Like this: