BOOK SPECIAL .....READING THE ART OF BUSINESS

BOOK SPECIAL READING THE ART OF BUSINESS

These seven books will help you sharpen your boardroom skills, one page at a time

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

The medical device startup Theranos was once the world’s hottest startup and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, youngest selfmade female billionaire, deemed a revolutionary. But after some digging into the company, it all unravelled. Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou has the definitive account of what happened at Theranos, and how it was revealed to have been built on lies, secrecy, and an oppressive culture.

Dream Teams by Shane Snow

Snow, who is a journalist and an entrepreneur, takes a look at what makes great teams so effective. He draws on neuroscience, psychology, and business, and brings in historical examples like the Wright brothers and the Wu-Tang Clean to illustrate his arguments — all of which are applicable to the modern workplace.

Principles by Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio is as well known for leading the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates, as he is for the highly unusual (and controversial) philosophy of “radical truth” and “radical transparency” that he’s instilled into the firm. In this book, you’ll learn why Dalio has all of his 1,500 employees constantly rate each other’s performance in meetings and why all of these meetings are recorded and archived.

Brotopia by Emily Chang

Bloomberg Technology host Emily Chang has conducted multiple interviews with the most powerful people in tech, and in Brotopia, she’s taking a look at how the promise and glories of Silicon Valley can be real – but only for men. Chang drew from interviews with tech’s foremost women, including Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, to illustrate how women risked their careers to pave the way for others, and sheds light on how the Valley has a long way to go in terms of treating women as equals.

The Third Door by Alex Banayan

At age 18, Banayan became the youngest venture capitalist ever, working at Alsop Louie Partners. In The Third Door, Banayan takes readers along with him as he tracks down people like Bill Gates and Lady Gaga to ask them exactly how they set foot on the path to success. According to Banayan’s research, what all these successful people have in common is that they took the third door: finding a path even when it seemed like there was none.

The Geometry of Wealth by Brian Portnoy

Portnoy is a behavioural finance expert — he holds both a doctorate and a CFA degree. He explores what it means to be truly wealthy, i.e. to fund a fulfilling life. The “geometry” in the title refers to Portnoy’s use of a circle, a triangle, and a square to explain how we adapt to circumstances, prioritise, and simplify. It’s all about being intentional and self-aware.

Black Edge by Sheelah Kolhatkar

In 2014, the eighth employee of legendary investor Steve Cohen’s hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors was convicted of insider trading. Cohen himself was not found guilty but was barred from managing outside capital until 2018. Black Edge is the story of the Justice Department’s investigation into SAC Capital, and New Yorker staff writer Sheelah Kolhatkar has made it as gripping as a thriller.

Own It by Sallie Krawcheck

Krawcheck has taken everything she learned as “the most powerful woman on Wall Street”— with all of its ups and downs — and used that to create Ellevest, an investing platform designed for women. This is a career guide for women that includes anecdotes from her life, Krawcheck argues that we need to abandon the phrase “empowering women” and recognise that women can together leverage power they already have.

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