What makes reading so important?
As a species, I believe that our ability to store and share knowledge in our "collective brain" is "mankind real superpower", as J. Henrich underlined in "The secret of our specie". Each generation can build upon the discoveries of thousands before them. This is our critical difference with other animals, including great apes with whom we share so many features.
Individually, reading allows us to see the world through the eyes of great thinkers. The famous saying tells it all: Nanos gigantum umeris insidentes. We are "dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants". To stand on the shoulders of these giants, we need to read! Especially when you're running a company, competing in the olympic games of the professional world. Reading gives you a serious edge.
So, what are the critical books any entrepreneur should read? Here is my take on the topic. I focused on books that help you develop the right mindset and attitude rather than methodologies. Why you might ask? I believe that each startup has its own challenges and there is no step by step recipe to succeed.
Please note that I strongly encourage you to actually read them and not go for the easy options. Reading is effortful, I know. But digests and key takeaways make you miss the most important part of the process. The value comes from reflecting on your own situation with regard to what is described in books, in a state of deep concentration. Digests cannot convey that. As always, there is no shortcut to success.
Ben Horowitz is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor. I like his book because it's brutally honest regarding the nature of entrepreneurship. Building a company is an emotional rollercoaster. After reading it, you get a good sense of the challenges you will encounter as a startup founder (hiring, managing, firing..) and how to handle them. Also, the book is filled with humour and rap quotes that makes it easy to read and remember.
“Hard things are hard because there are no easy answers or recipes. They are hard because your emotions are at odds with your logic. They are hard because you don’t know the answer and you cannot ask for help without showing weakness.” B. Horowitz
Running a successful venture requires inspiring and convincing others. Either it is to join your team, to buy your product or to invest in your company. At the core of this ability, you will find charisma and its fuel: self-confidence. Building self-confidence is the challenge of a lifetime. It's never something you can take for granted as life will punch you in face. Fox Cabane's book lists the common roots of low self-confidence and concrete methodologies to overcome them. It's evidence-based and I personally found it very helpful.
“The most effective thing you can do for your career is to get comfortable being uncomfortable.” O. Fox Cabane
Yes, a philosophy book. But why? Entrepreneurs put their professional life at the centre of their life. As a result, when things go wrong (as they inevitably do at some point), we tend to be devastated. First, Seneca's book help us to take some perspective. It's all a game we're playing, and the success of the venture is not the main point. I believe that the main point is to be a decent human being, find a purpose in what you're doing, and act generously. In my opinion, this book is critical to the personal success of the entrepreneurial experience.
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.”
Nobel prize winner Kahneman dedicated his life to understanding and improving decision making. And what do you have to do all the time as an entrepreneur? Make difficult decisions. With Sibony and Sunstein, he summarises the key takeaways of the research on this topic. For instance, did you know that you could improve the accuracy of any prediction by simply averaging the guesses of several people? It's called "wisdom of crowds". This book takes time to read and digest, but it makes such a difference in the way you address challenges and decisions.
“In general we jump to conclusions, then stick to them. We think we base our opinions on evidence, but the evidence we consider and our interpretation of it are likely to be distorted, at least to some extent, to fit our initial snap judgement.”
Tell me what you thought about my list and feel free to send me suggestions!
