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The Best Business Books of 2018By Jess Kibler|July 10, 2018We all need a pick-me-up every once in a while, whether it comes in the form of a compelling novel, a heartwarming self-help book, or a business book with an electric jolt of inspiration. We collected some of the best business books 2018 has brought us so far to give you that extra pep you need to follow-through with your career goals. Check out our list of the best business books of 2018 below, complete with publishers’ descriptions!The Book of Mistakes by Skip PrichardThe Book of Mistakes will take you on an inspiring journey, following an ancient manuscript with powerful lessons that will transform your life. You’ll meet David, a young man who with each passing day is more disheartened and stressed. Despite a decent job, apartment, and friends, he just feels hollow… until one day he meets a mysterious young woman and everything starts to change.In this self-help tale wrapped in fiction, you’ll learn the nine mistakes that prevent many from achieving their goals. You’ll learn how to overcome these hurdles and reinvent your life.This success parable is packed with wisdom that will help you discover and follow your personal purpose, push beyond your perceived capabilities, and achieve more than you ever dreamed possible. You’ll find yourself returning again and again to a deceptively simple story that teaches actionable insights and enduring truths.When by Daniel H. PinkEveryone knows that timing is everything. But we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of “when” decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork.Timing, it’s often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science.Drawing on a rich trove of research from psychology, biology, and economics, Pink reveals how best to live, work, and succeed. How can we use the hidden patterns of the day to build the ideal schedule? Why do certain breaks dramatically improve student test scores? How can we turn a stumbling beginning into a fresh start? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? Why is singing in time with other people as good for you as exercise? And what is the ideal time to quit a job, switch careers, or get married?In When, Pink distills cutting-edge research and data on timing and synthesizes them into a fascinating, readable narrative packed with irresistible stories and practical takeaways that give readers compelling insights into how we can live richer, more engaged lives.When to Jump by Mike LewisWhen Mike Lewis was 24 and working in a prestigious corporate job, he eagerly wanted to leave and pursue his dream of becoming a professional squash player. But he had questions: When is the right time to move from work that is comfortable to a career you have only dared to dream of? How have other people made such a jump? What did they feel when making that jump ― and afterward?Mike sought guidance from others who had “jumped,” and the responses he got ― from a banker who started a brewery, a publicist who became a Bishop, a garbage collector who became a furniture designer, and on and on ― were so clear-eyed and inspiring that Mike wanted to share what he had learned with others who might be helped by those stories. First, though, he started playing squash professionally.The right book at the right time, When to Jump offers more than 40 heartening stories (from the founder of Bonobos, the author of The Big Short, the designer of the Lyft logo, the Humans of New York creator, and many more) and takeaways that will inspire, instruct, and reassure, including the ingenious four-phase Jump Curve.Extraordinary Influenceby Dr. Tim IrwinThe age-old question for every leader — how do we bring out the best in those we lead? Anyone who has run a company, raised a family, lead an army, or coached a team struggles to find the key to help others excel and realize their potential. It is surprising how often we resort to criticism vs. an approach that actually results in a better worker and a better person.What if we could speak Words of Life that transform those under our influence and ignite fires of intrinsic motivation? What if those we lead found great purpose in what they do and worked at their jobs with all their heart? Isn’t that what leaders, parents, and teachers really want? Ultimately, don’t we hope to foster intrinsic motivation so that the individuals we lead become better employees, better students, or better athletes? Recent discoveries of brain science and the wisdom of top CEOs that Dr. Tim Irwin interviewed for this book give us the answers we’ve long sought.In most organizations, the methods used to provide feedback to employees such as performance appraisal or multi-rater feedback systems, in fact, accomplish the exact opposite of what we intend. We inadvertently speak Words of Death. Brain science tells us that these methods tend to engage a natural “negativity bias” that is hardwired in us all.Science in recent years discovered that affirmation sets in motion huge positive changes in the brain. It releases certain neurochemicals associated with well-being and higher performance. Amazingly, criticism creates just the opposite neural reaction. The most primitive part of the brain goes into hyper defense mode, compromising our performance, torpedoing our motivation, and limiting access to our higher-order strengths.How do we redirect employees who are out-of-line without engaging our natural “negativity bias”? Leaders must forever ban the term “constructive criticism.” Brain science tells us that we can establish a connection between the employee’s work and his or her aspirations. This book calls for a new approach to align workers with an organization’s mission, strategy, and goals, called Alliance Feedback.The Myth of the Nice Girlby Fran HauserIn The Myth of the Nice Girl, Fran Hauser deconstructs the negative perception of “niceness” that many women struggle with in the business world. If women are nice, they are seen as weak and ineffective, but if they are tough, they are labeled a bitch.Hauser proves that women don’t have to sacrifice their values or hide their authentic personalities to be successful. Sharing a wealth of personal anecdotes and time-tested strategies, she shows women how to reclaim “nice” and sidestep regressive stereotypes about what a strong leader looks like. Her accessible advice and hard-won wisdom detail how to balance being empathetic with being decisive, how to rise above the double standards that can box you in, how to cultivate authentic confidence that projects throughout a room, and much more.The Myth of the Nice Girl is a refreshing dose of forward-looking feminism that will resonate with smart, professional women who know what they want and are looking for real advice to take their career to the next level without losing themselves in the process.The Right and Wrong Stuffby Carter CastThe Right — and Wrong — Stuff is a candid, unvarnished guide to the bumpy road to success. The shocking truth is that 98 percent of us have at least one career-derailment risk factor, and half to two-thirds actually go off the rails. And the reason why people get fired, demoted, or plateau is because they let the wrong stuff act out, not because they lack talent, energy, experience, or credentials.Carter Cast himself had all the right stuff for a brilliant career, when he was called into his boss’s office and berated for being obstinate, resistant, and insubordinate. That defining moment led to a years-long effort to understand why he came so close to getting fired, and what it takes to build a successful career.His wide range of experiences as a rising, falling, and then rising star again at PepsiCo, an entrepreneur, the CEO of http://Walmart.com, and now a professor and venture capitalist enables him to identify the five archetypes found in every workplace. You’ll recognize people you work with (maybe even yourself) in Captain Fantastic, the Solo Flyer, Version 1.0, the One-Trick Pony, and the Whirling Dervish, and, thanks to Cast’s insights, they won’t be able to trip up your future.The Million-Dollar, One-Person Businessby Elaine PofeldtThe rise of one-million-dollar, one-person businesses in the past five years is the biggest trend in employment today, offering the widest range of people the most ways to earn a living while having the lifestyles they want. In The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, Elaine Pofeldt outlines the pathways to joining this entrepreneurial movement, synthesizing advice from hundreds of business owners who’ve done it. She explains how to identify, launch, grow, and reinvent the business, showing how a single individual can generate $1 million in revenue — something only larger small companies have done in the past. Both inspirational and practical, this book will appeal to all who seek a great worklife and a great lifestyle.The CEO Next Doorby Elena L. Botelho, Kim R. Powell, and Tahl RazBased on an in-depth analysis of over 2,600 leaders drawn from a database of more than 17,000 CEOs and C-suite executives, as well as 13,000 hours of interviews and two decades of experience advising CEOs and executive boards, Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell overturn the myths about what it takes to get to the top and succeed.Their groundbreaking research was the featured cover story in the May-June 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. It reveals the common attributes and counterintuitive choices that set apart successful CEOs — lessons that we can apply to our own careers.Much of what we hear about who gets to the top, and how, is wrong. Those who become chief executives set their sights on the C-suite at an early age. In fact, over 70 percent of the CEOs didn’t have designs on the corner office until later in their careers. You must graduate from an elite college. In fact, only 7 percent of CEOs in the dataset are Ivy League graduates — and 8 percent didn’t graduate from college at all. To become a CEO you need a flawless résumé. The reality: 45 percent of CEO candidates had at least one major career blowup.What those who reach the top do share are four key behaviors that anyone can master: they are decisive; they are reliable, delivering what they promised when they promise it, without exception; they adapt boldly; and they engage with stakeholders without shying away from conflict.Based on this breakthrough study of the most successful people in business, Botelho and Powell offer career advice for everyone who aspires to get ahead. Based on research insights illustrated by real life stories from CEOs and boardrooms, they tell us how to:Fast-track our career by deploying the career catapults used by those who get to the top quickly.Overcome the hidden handicaps to getting the job we want.Avoid the five hazards that most commonly derail those promoted into a new role.For everyone who aspires to rise up through the organization and achieve their full potential, The CEO Next Door is an essential guide.Fusion by Denise Lee YohnInternal culture + External brand = FUSIONFor years, leaders at companies like Southwest, Starbucks, and Google have done something differently that’s put their organizations at the top of “the most admired companies,” “best brands,” and “great workplaces” lists. They don’t often talk about that “something” specifically in terms of brand-culture fusion, but, as author Denise Lee Yohn reveals, aligning and integrating their brands and cultures is precisely how they’ve achieved their successes.Independently, brand and culture are powerful, unsung business drivers. But Denise shows that when you fuse the two together to create an interdependent and mutually-reinforcing relationship between them, you create organizational power that isn’t possible by simply cultivating one or the other alone. Through detailed case studies from some of the world’s greatest companies (including Amazon, Airbnb, Adobe, Nike, and Salesforce), exclusive interviews with company executives, and insights from Denise’s 25+ years working with world class brands, Fusion provides readers with a roadmap for increasing competitiveness, creating measurable value for customers and employees, and future-proofing their business.For readers interested in workplace culture, brand management, strategy, leadership, employee experience, employee engagement, integration, branding, and organization development.The 1% Ruleby Tommy BakerIn a highlight reel, microwave world — we’re led to believe success is right around the corner.It’s not working.Not only is it not working with our ability to achieve our goals, we’ve never been more frustrated, stuck, and unfulfilled.But what if there was a way to shut out the noise, fall in love with the process, and take one step forward every single day — leading to an undeniable confidence as we paint our life’s masterpiece?Enter The 1% Rule — a daily system designed to help you close the gap without the crushing pressure that leads most people less inspired, and more stuck.The 1% Rule was designed to answer three core questions:Why do some people seem to achieve massive success in everything they do, while others can’t even get out of their own way?What separates those who get excited and inspired for a season, a quarter, a month, or a week — and those who are consistently on fire?What are the core principles, mindsets, habits, and rituals of those who execute ruthlessly, and those who sit on the sidelines pondering?Through exploring these answers over the last decade, the core principles, strategies, and proven framework of The 1% Rule were born and are now yours today.If you’re ready to ditch the highlight reel illusion…If you’re tired of sitting on the sidelines waiting…If you’re frustrated with the 24/7 noise…You’ve come to the right place.Willpower Doesn’t Workby Benjamin HardyWe rely on willpower to create change in our lives… but what if we’re thinking about it all wrong? In Willpower Doesn’t Work, Benjamin Hardy explains that willpower is nothing more than a dangerous fad — one that is bound to lead to failure. Instead of “white-knuckling” your way to change, you need to instead alter your surroundings to support your goals. This book shows you how.The world around us is fast-paced, confusing, and full of distractions. It’s easy to lose focus on what you want to achieve, and your willpower won’t last long if your environment is in conflict with your goals — eventually, the environment will win out. Willpower Doesn’t Work is the needed guided for today’s over-stimulating and addicting environment. Willpower Doesn’t Work will specifically teach you:How to make the biggest decisions of your life — and why those decisions must be made in specific settingsHow to create a daily “sacred” environment to live your life with intention, and not get sucked into cultural addictionsHow to invest big in yourself to upgrade your environment and mindsetHow to put “forcing functions” in your life — so your default behaviors are precisely what you want them to beHow to quickly put yourself in proximity to the most successful people in the world — and how to adapt their knowledge and skills to yourself even quickerHow to create an environment where endless creativity and boundless productivity is the normBenjamin Hardy will show you that nurture is far more powerful than your nature, and teach you how to create and control your environment so your environment will not create and control you.The Motivation Mythby Jeff HadenIt’s comforting to imagine that superstars in their fields were just born better equipped than the rest of us. When a coworker loses 20 pounds, or a friend runs a marathon while completing a huge project at work, we assume they have more grit, more willpower, more innate talent, and above all, more motivation to see their goals through.But that’s not actually true, as popular Small Business Ideas and Resources for Entrepreneurs columnist Jeff Haden proves. “Motivation” as we know it is a myth. Motivation isn’t the special sauce that we require at the beginning of any major change. In fact, motivation is a result of process, not a cause. Understanding this will change the way you approach any obstacle or big goal.Haden shows us how to reframe our thinking about the relationship of motivation to success. He meets us at our level — at the beginning of any big goal we have for our lives, a little anxious and unsure about our way forward, a little burned by self help books and strategies that have failed us in the past — and offers practical advice that anyone can use to stop stalling and start working on those dreams.Haden takes the mystery out of accomplishment, proving that success isn’t about spiritual awakening or a lightning bolt of inspiration — as Tony Robbins and adherents of The Secret believe — but instead, about clear and repeatable processes. Using his own advice, Haden has consistently drawn 2 million readers a month to his posts, completed a 107-mile long mountain bike race, and lost 10 pounds in a month.Success isn’t for the uniquely qualified; it’s possible for any person who understands the true nature of motivation. Jeff Haden can help you transcend average and make lasting positive change in your life.Subscribed by Tien Tzuo and Gabe WeisertSubscription companies are growing nine times faster than the S&P 500. Why? Because unlike product companies, subscription companies know their customers. A happy subscriber base is the ultimate economic moat.Today’s consumers prefer the advantages of access over the hassles of maintenance, from transportation (Uber, Surf Air), to clothing (Stitch Fix, Eleven James), to razor blades and makeup (Dollar Shave Club, Birchbox). Companies are similarly demanding easier, long-term solutions, trading their server rooms for cloud storage solutions like Box. Simply put, the world is shifting from products to services.But how do you turn customers into subscribers? As the CEO of the world’s largest subscription management platform, Tien Tzuo has helped hundreds of companies transition from relying on individual sales to building customer-centric, recurring-revenue businesses. His core message in Subscribed is simple: Ready or not, excited or terrified, you need to adapt to the Subscription Economy — or risk being left behind.Tzuo shows how to use subscriptions to build lucrative, ongoing one-on-one relationships with your customers. This may require reinventing substantial parts of your company, from your accounting practices to your entire IT architecture, but the payoff can be enormous. Just look at the case studies:-Adobe transitions from selling enterprise software licenses to offering cloud-based solutions for a flat monthly fee, and quadruples its valuation.-Fender evolves from selling guitars one at a time to creating lifelong musicians by teaching beginners to play, and keeping them inspired for life.-Caterpillar uses subscriptions to help solve problems — it’s not about how many tractors you can rent, but how much dirt you need to move.In Subscribed, you’ll learn how these companies made the shift, and how you can transform your own product into a valuable service with a practical, step-by-step framework. Find out how how you can prepare and prosper now, rather than trying to catch up later.The Culture Code by Daniel CoyleWhere does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing?In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations — including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs — and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind. Drawing on examples that range from Internet retailer Zappos to the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade to a daring gang of jewel thieves, Coyle offers specific strategies that trigger learning, spark collaboration, build trust, and drive positive change. Coyle unearths helpful stories of failure that illustrate what not to do, troubleshoots common pitfalls, and shares advice about reforming a toxic culture. Combining leading-edge science, on-the-ground insights from world-class leaders, and practical ideas for action, The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded.Culture is not something you are — it’s something you do. The Culture Code puts the power in your hands. No matter the size of your group or your goal, this book can teach you the principles of cultural chemistry that transform individuals into teams that can accomplish amazing things together.Crushing It!by Gary VaynerchukFour-time New York Times bestselling author Gary Vaynerchuk offers new lessons and inspiration drawn from the experiences of dozens of influencers and entrepreneurs who rejected the predictable corporate path in favor of pursuing their dreams by building thriving businesses and extraordinary personal brands.In his 2009 international bestseller Crush It, Gary insisted that a vibrant personal brand was crucial to entrepreneurial success. In Crushing It!, Gary explains why that’s even more true today, offering his unique perspective on what has changed and what principles remain timeless. He also shares stories from other entrepreneurs who have grown wealthier — and not just financially — than they ever imagined possible by following Crush It principles. The secret to their success (and Gary’s) has everything to do with their understanding of social media platforms, and their willingness to do whatever it took to make these tools work to their utmost potential. That’s what Crushing It! teaches readers to do.In this lively, practical, and inspiring book, Gary dissects every current major social media platform so that anyone, from a plumber to a professional ice skater, will know exactly how to amplify his or her personal brand on each. He offers both theoretical and tactical advice on how to become the biggest thing on old standbys like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat; podcast platforms like Spotify, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and iTunes; and other emerging platforms such as TikTok - Real. Short. Videos.. For those with more experience, Crushing It! illuminates some little-known nuances and provides innovative tips and clever tweaks proven to enhance more common tried-and-true strategies.Crushing It! is a state-of-the-art guide to building your own path to professional and financial success, but it’s not about getting rich. It’s a blueprint to living life on your own terms.Measure What Matters by John DoerrIn the fall of 1999, John Doerr met with the founders of a start-up whom he’d just given $12.5 million, the biggest investment of his career. Larry Page and Sergey Brin had amazing technology, entrepreneurial energy, and sky-high ambitions, but no real business plan. For Google to change the world (or even to survive), Page and Brin had to learn how to make tough choices on priorities while keeping their team on track. They’d have to know when to pull the plug on losing propositions, to fail fast. And they needed timely, relevant data to track their progress — to measure what mattered.Doerr taught them about a proven approach to operating excellence: Objectives and Key Results. He had first discovered OKRs in the 1970s as an engineer at Intel, where the legendary Andy Grove (“the greatest manager of his or any era”) drove the best-run company Doerr had ever seen. Later, as a venture capitalist, Doerr shared Grove’s brainchild with more than 50 companies. Wherever the process was faithfully practiced, it worked.In this goal-setting system, objectives define what we seek to achieve; key results are how those top-priority goals will be attained with specific, measurable actions within a set time frame. Everyone’s goals, from entry level to CEO, are transparent to the entire organization.The benefits are profound. OKRs surface an organization’s most important work. They focus effort and foster coordination. They keep employees on track. They link objectives across silos to unify and strengthen the entire company. Along the way, OKRs enhance workplace satisfaction and boost retention.In Measure What Matters, Doerr shares a broad range of first-person, behind-the-scenes case studies, with narrators including Bono and Bill Gates, to demonstrate the focus, agility, and explosive growth that OKRs have spurred at so many great organizations. This book will help a new generation of leaders capture the same magic.Ask A Manager by Alison GreenThere’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does — and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when:-coworkers push their work on you — then take credit for it-you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all”-you’re being micromanaged — or not being managed at all-you catch a colleague in a lie-your boss seems unhappy with your work-your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal-you got drunk at the holiday partyLost and Founder by Rand FishkinEveryone knows how a startup story is supposed to go: a young, brilliant entrepreneur has a cool idea, drops out of college, defies the doubters, overcomes all odds, makes billions, and becomes the envy of the technology world.This is not that story.It’s not that things went badly for Rand Fishkin; they just weren’t quite so Zuckerberg-esque. His company, Moz, maker of marketing software, is now a $45 million per year business, and he’s one of the world’s leading experts on SEO. But his business and reputation took 15 years to grow, and his startup began not in a Harvard dorm room but as a mother-and-son family business that fell deeply into debt.Now Fishkin pulls back the curtain on tech startup mythology, exposing the ups and downs of startup life that most CEOs would rather keep secret. For instance: A minimally viable product can be destructive if you launch at the wrong moment. Growth hacking may be the buzzword du jour, but initiatives can fizzle quickly. Revenue and growth won’t protect you from layoffs. And venture capital always comes with strings attached.Fishkin’s hard-won lessons are applicable to any kind of business environment. Up or down the chain of command, at both early stage startups and mature companies, whether your trajectory is riding high or down in the dumps: this book can help solve your problems, and make you feel less alone for having them.Brotopia by Emily ChangFor women in tech, Silicon Valley is not a fantasyland of unicorns, virtual reality rainbows, and 3D-printed lollipops, where millions of dollars grow on trees. It’s a “Brotopia,” where men hold all the cards and make all the rules. Vastly outnumbered, women face toxic workplaces rife with discrimination and sexual harassment, where investors take meetings in hot tubs and network at sex parties.In this powerful exposé, Bloomberg TV journalist Emily Chang reveals how Silicon Valley got so sexist despite its utopian ideals, why bro culture endures despite decades of companies claiming the moral high ground (Don’t Be Evil! Connect the World!) — and how women are finally starting to speak out and fight back.Drawing on her deep network of Silicon Valley insiders, Chang opens the boardroom doors of male-dominated venture capital firms like Kleiner Perkins, the subject of Ellen Pao’s high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit, and Sequoia, where a partner once famously said they “won’t lower their standards” just to hire women. Interviews with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, and former Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer — who got their start at Google, where just one in five engineers is a woman — reveal just how hard it is to crack the Silicon Ceiling. And Chang shows how women such as former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, entrepreneur Niniane Wang, and game developer Brianna Wu have risked their careers and sometimes their lives to pave a way for other women.Silicon Valley’s aggressive, misogynistic, work-at-all costs culture has shut women out of the greatest wealth creation in the history of the world. It’s time to break up the boys’ club. Emily Chang shows us how to fix this toxic culture — to bring down Brotopia, once and for all.Thinking In Bets by Annie DukeIn Super Bowl XLIX, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made one of the most controversial calls in football history: with 26 seconds remaining, and trailing by four at the Patriots’ one-yard line, he called for a pass instead of a hand off to his star running back. The pass was intercepted and the Seahawks lost. Critics called it the dumbest play in history. But was the call really that bad? Or did Carroll actually make a great move that was ruined by bad luck?Even the best decision doesn’t yield the best outcome every time. There’s always an element of luck that you can’t control, and there is always information that is hidden from view. So the key to long-term success (and avoiding worrying yourself to death) is to think in bets: How sure am I? What are the possible ways things could turn out? What decision has the highest odds of success? Did I land in the unlucky 10% on the strategy that works 90% of the time? Or is my success attributable to dumb luck rather than great decision making?Annie Duke, a former World Series of Poker champion turned business consultant, draws on examples from business, sports, politics, and (of course) poker to share tools anyone can use to embrace uncertainty and make better decisions. For most people, it’s difficult to say “I’m not sure” in a world that values and even rewards the appearance of certainty. But professional poker players are comfortable with the fact that great decisions don’t always lead to great outcomes and bad decisions don’t always lead to bad outcomes.By shifting your thinking from a need for certainty to a goal of accurately assessing what you know and what you don’t, you’ll be less vulnerable to reactive emotions, knee-jerk biases, and destructive habits in your decision making. You’ll become more confident, calm, compassionate, and successful in the long run.Skin in The Game by Nassim Nicholas TalebIn his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one’s own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.As always both accessible and iconoclastic, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who spearhead military interventions, make financial investments, and propagate religious faiths. Among his insights:-For social justice, focus on symmetry and risk sharing. You cannot make profits and transfer the risks to others, as bankers and large corporations do. You cannot get rich without owning your own risk and paying for your own losses. Forcing skin in the game corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations.-Ethical rules aren’t universal. You’re part of a group larger than you, but it’s still smaller than humanity in general.-Minorities, not majorities, run the world. The world is not run by consensus but by stubborn minorities imposing their tastes and ethics on others.-You can be an intellectual yet still be an idiot. “Educated philistines” have been wrong on everything from Stalinism to Iraq to low-carb diets.-Beware of complicated solutions (that someone was paid to find). A simple barbell can build muscle better than expensive new machines.-True religion is commitment, not just faith. How much you believe in something is manifested only by what you’re willing to risk for it.The phrase “skin in the game” is one we have often heard but rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it’s also an astonishingly rich worldview that, as Taleb shows in this book, applies to all aspects of our lives. As Taleb says, “The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that’s necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster,” and “Never trust anyone who doesn’t have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them.”Great At Work by Morten T. HansenFrom the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Great by Choice comes an authoritative, practical guide to individual performance — based on analysis from an exhaustive, groundbreaking study.Why do some people perform better at work than others? This deceptively simple question continues to confound professionals in all sectors of the workforce. Now, after a unique, five-year study of more than 5,000 managers and employees, Morten Hansen reveals the answers in his “Seven Work Smarter Practices” that can be applied by anyone looking to maximize their time and performance.Each of Hansen’s seven practices is highlighted by inspiring stories from individuals in his comprehensive study. You’ll meet a high school principal who engineered a dramatic turnaround of his failing high school; a rural Indian farmer determined to establish a better way of life for women in his village; and a sushi chef, whose simple preparation has led to his restaurant (tucked away under a Tokyo subway station underpass) being awarded the maximum of three Michelin stars. Hansen also explains how the way Alfred Hitchcock filmed Psycho and the 1911 race to become the first explorer to reach the South Pole both illustrate the use of his seven practices (even before they were identified).Each chapter contains questions and key insights to allow you to assess your own performance and figure out your work strengths, as well as your weaknesses. Once you understand your individual style, there are mini-quizzes, questionnaires, and clear tips to assist you focus on a strategy to become a more productive worker. Extensive, accessible, and friendly, Great at Work will help you achieve more by working less, backed by unprecedented statistical analysis.Rise and Grind by Daymond John and Daniel PaisnerDaymond John knows what it means to push yourself hard — and he also knows how spectacularly a killer work ethic can pay off. As a young man, he founded a modest line of clothing on a $40 budget by hand-sewing hats between his shifts at Red Lobster. Today, his brand FUBU has over $6 billion in sales.Convenient though it might be to believe that you can shortcut your way to the top, says John, the truth is that if you want to get and stay ahead, you need to put in the work. You need to out-think, out-hustle, and out-perform everyone around you. You’ve got to rise and grind every day.In the anticipated follow-up to the bestselling The Power of Broke, Daymond takes an up close look at the hard-charging routines and winning secrets of individuals who have risen to the challenges in their lives and grinded their way to the very tops of their fields. Along the way, he also reveals how grit and persistence both helped him overcome the obstacles he has faced in life and ultimately fueled his success.Source link: The Best Business Books of 2018Business