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Business Books » Careers

Browse book recommendations:

Business Books

  • Books for Entrepreneurs
  • Business Books About Companies
  • Business Books About Industries
  • Careers
  • How to Invest
  • Leadership
  • Marketing

The world of work has never been more competitive or anxiety-inducing as it is now.  The rewards of success can be great, but the costs hard work, in terms of physical or mental exhaustion can be serious.  Here we have a range of interviews recommending books to help you manage the highs and lows of your career.

Cynthia Johnson, a US-based marketing professional and author, chooses her best books on personal branding as an aid to career development.  She explains that we all have a personal brand; what we need to do is focus on building a good one.  Meanwhile David Allen, author of Getting things done: the art of stress-free productivity, chooses his best books on personal productivity.  Michael Gervais chooses his best books on high performance psychology, arguing that, to reach your full potential you must put as much effort into building mental resilience as you do into work or training.  Josh Cohen chooses his best books on burnout, its symptoms and its causes and why relentless activity is at its core.

Elsewhere Jessica Pryce-Jones chooses her best books on happiness at work and Emma Gannon talks about creating a career you love.  Carol Dweck looks at mindset and success.

    The best books on Personal Branding, recommended by Cynthia Johnson

  • Read
    The best books on Personal Branding - Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan

    1

    Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man
    by Marshall McLuhan

  • Read
    The best books on Personal Branding - How Google Works by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg

    2

    How Google Works
    by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg

  • Read
    The best books on Personal Branding - Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat. by Sarah Robb O'Hagan

    3

    Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat.
    by Sarah Robb O'Hagan

  • Read
    The best books on Personal Branding - Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World by Kevin Kelly

    4

    Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World
    by Kevin Kelly

  • Read
    The best books on Personal Branding - Propaganda by Edward Bernays

    5

    Propaganda
    by Edward Bernays

  • The best books on Personal Branding - Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan
  • The best books on Personal Branding - How Google Works by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg
  • The best books on Personal Branding - Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat. by Sarah Robb O'Hagan
  • The best books on Personal Branding - Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World by Kevin Kelly
  • The best books on Personal Branding - Propaganda by Edward Bernays

The best books on Personal Branding, recommended by Cynthia Johnson

We all have a brand, whether we want to or not, says Cynthia Johnson—the digital marketing expert and author of Platform: The Art and Science of Personal Branding. Here she selects five of the best books to help you build a better personal brand, and thereby boost your career.

The best books on Personal Branding, recommended by Cynthia Johnson

    The best books on Productivity, recommended by David Allen

  • Read
    The best books on Productivity - The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J Levitin

    1

    The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
    by Daniel J Levitin

  • Read
    The best books on Productivity - BrainChains: Your Thinking Brain Explained in Simple Terms by Theo Compernolle

    2

    BrainChains: Your Thinking Brain Explained in Simple Terms
    by Theo Compernolle

  • Read
    The best books on Productivity - The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

    3

    The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
    by Atul Gawande

  • Read
    The best books on Productivity - The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly

    4

    The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
    by Kevin Kelly

  • Read
    The best books on Productivity - The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman

    5

    The Antidote
    by Oliver Burkeman

  • The best books on Productivity - The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J Levitin
  • The best books on Productivity - BrainChains: Your Thinking Brain Explained in Simple Terms by Theo Compernolle
  • The best books on Productivity - The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
  • The best books on Productivity - The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly
  • The best books on Productivity - The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman

The best books on Productivity, recommended by David Allen

If you feel like you lose whole days to procrastination or indecision—or simply have too much to do!—you probably want advice on how improve your productivity. We spoke to David Allen, creator of the perennial bestseller Getting Things Done, about the best books on the subject: why we waste time, and what we can change to be more productive.

The best books on Productivity, recommended by David Allen

    The best books on High Performance Psychology, recommended by Michael Gervais

  • Read
    The best books on High Performance Psychology - The Daodejing by Laozi

    1

    The Daodejing
    by Laozi

  • Read
    The best books on High Performance Psychology - Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

    2

    Leonardo da Vinci
    by Walter Isaacson

  • Read
    The best books on High Performance Psychology - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

    3

    Man's Search for Meaning
    by Viktor Frankl

  • Read
    The best books on High Performance Psychology - Artist of Life by Bruce Lee

    4

    Artist of Life
    by Bruce Lee

  • Read
    The best books on High Performance Psychology - Mind Gym : An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence by David Casstevens & Gary Mack

    5

    Mind Gym : An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence
    by David Casstevens & Gary Mack

  • The best books on High Performance Psychology - The Daodejing by Laozi
  • The best books on High Performance Psychology - Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
  • The best books on High Performance Psychology - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
  • The best books on High Performance Psychology - Artist of Life by Bruce Lee
  • The best books on High Performance Psychology - Mind Gym : An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence by David Casstevens & Gary Mack

The best books on High Performance Psychology, recommended by Michael Gervais

To reach your full potential you must put as much effort into building mental resilience as you do into work or training, advises high-performance psychologist Dr Michael Gervais. Here, he selects five titles to help you find the right mindset—whether you dream of sporting stardom, artistic achievement or business success.

The best books on High Performance Psychology, recommended by Michael Gervais

    The best books on Burnout, recommended by Josh Cohen

  • Read
    The best books on Burnout - The Weariness of the Self by Alain Ehrenberg

    1

    The Weariness of the Self
    by Alain Ehrenberg

  • Read
    The best books on Burnout - Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End by Saito Tamaki

    2

    Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End
    by Saito Tamaki

  • Read
    The best books on Burnout - Exhaustion: A History by Anna K Schaffner

    3

    Exhaustion: A History
    by Anna K Schaffner

  • Read
    The best books on Burnout - Non-Stop Inertia by Ivor Southwood

    4

    Non-Stop Inertia
    by Ivor Southwood

  • Read
    The best books on Burnout - Against Nature (À rebours) by J K Huysmans

    5

    Against Nature (À rebours)
    by J K Huysmans

  • The best books on Burnout - The Weariness of the Self by Alain Ehrenberg
  • The best books on Burnout - Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End by Saito Tamaki
  • The best books on Burnout - Exhaustion: A History by Anna K Schaffner
  • The best books on Burnout - Non-Stop Inertia by Ivor Southwood
  • The best books on Burnout - Against Nature (À rebours) by J K Huysmans

The best books on Burnout, recommended by Josh Cohen

Overwhelmed, exhausted, yet unable to relax when you have the chance? You are not alone. Josh Cohen, psychoanalyst and author of Not Working: Why We Have to Stop, discusses the symptoms and causes of burnout—and why relentless activity is at the source.

The best books on Burnout, recommended by Josh Cohen

    The best books on Creating a Career You Love, recommended by Emma Gannon

  • Read
    The best books on Creating a Career You Love - Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin

    1

    Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
    by Seth Godin

  • Read
    The best books on Creating a Career You Love - The Artist's Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self by Julia Cameron

    2

    The Artist's Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self
    by Julia Cameron

  • Read
    The best books on Creating a Career You Love - The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking by Mikael Krogerus & Roman Tschäppeler

    3

    The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
    by Mikael Krogerus & Roman Tschäppeler

  • Read
    The best books on Creating a Career You Love - How to Not Always Be Working: A Toolkit for Creativity and Radical Self-Care by Marlee Grace

    4

    How to Not Always Be Working: A Toolkit for Creativity and Radical Self-Care
    by Marlee Grace

  • Read
    The best books on Creating a Career You Love - My Creative (Side) Business: Turning your Side Projects into a Full-Time Creative Business by Monika Kanokova

    5

    My Creative (Side) Business: Turning your Side Projects into a Full-Time Creative Business
    by Monika Kanokova

  • The best books on Creating a Career You Love - Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
  • The best books on Creating a Career You Love - The Artist's Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self by Julia Cameron
  • The best books on Creating a Career You Love - The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking by Mikael Krogerus & Roman Tschäppeler
  • The best books on Creating a Career You Love - How to Not Always Be Working: A Toolkit for Creativity and Radical Self-Care by Marlee Grace
  • The best books on Creating a Career You Love - My Creative (Side) Business: Turning your Side Projects into a Full-Time Creative Business by Monika Kanokova

The best books on Creating a Career You Love, recommended by Emma Gannon

If you are fed up and burnt out, it’s time to take concrete steps towards building a better life, based on a job you love. Bestselling business author Emma Gannon tells Five Books about the career advice books that have inspired her most.

The best books on Creating a Career You Love, recommended by Emma Gannon

    The best books on Mindset and Success, recommended by Carol Dweck

  • Read
    The best books on Mindset and Success - How Children Fail by John Holt

    1

    How Children Fail
    by John Holt

  • Read
    The best books on Mindset and Success - The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould

    2

    The Mismeasure of Man
    by Stephen Jay Gould

  • Read
    The best books on Mindset and Success - Developing Talent in Young People by Benjamin Bloom

    3

    Developing Talent in Young People
    by Benjamin Bloom

  • Read
    The best books on Mindset and Success - Moneyball by Michael Lewis

    4

    Moneyball
    by Michael Lewis

  • Read
    The best books on Mindset and Success - The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

    5

    The Brain That Changes Itself
    by Norman Doidge

  • The best books on Mindset and Success - How Children Fail by John Holt
  • The best books on Mindset and Success - The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould
  • The best books on Mindset and Success - Developing Talent in Young People by Benjamin Bloom
  • The best books on Mindset and Success - Moneyball by Michael Lewis
  • The best books on Mindset and Success - The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

The best books on Mindset and Success, recommended by Carol Dweck

If you’ve stepped inside a school recently, you’ve probably heard teachers talking about the importance of  a ‘growth mindset.’ Here psychologist Carol Dweck, who pioneered research into this key concept, explains what it’s all about and recommends books—other than her own—that shed light on it.

The best books on Mindset and Success, recommended by Carol Dweck

    The best books on Happiness at Work, recommended by Jessica Pryce-Jones

  • Read
    The best books on Happiness at Work - First, Break All the Rules by Jessica Pryce-Jones

    1

    First, Break All the Rules
    by Jessica Pryce-Jones

  • Read
    The best books on Happiness at Work - Authentic Happiness by Martin E P Seligman

    2

    Authentic Happiness
    by Martin E P Seligman

  • Read
    The best books on Happiness at Work - Happiness: Lessons from a New Science by Richard Layard

    3

    Happiness: Lessons from a New Science
    by Richard Layard

  • Read
    The best books on Happiness at Work - Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

    4

    Stumbling on Happiness
    by Daniel Gilbert

  • Read
    The best books on Happiness at Work - The No Asshole Rule by Robert I Sutton

    5

    The No Asshole Rule
    by Robert I Sutton

  • The best books on Happiness at Work - First, Break All the Rules by Jessica Pryce-Jones
  • The best books on Happiness at Work - Authentic Happiness by Martin E P Seligman
  • The best books on Happiness at Work - Happiness: Lessons from a New Science by Richard Layard
  • The best books on Happiness at Work - Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
  • The best books on Happiness at Work - The No Asshole Rule by Robert I Sutton

The best books on Happiness at Work, recommended by Jessica Pryce-Jones

The CEO of iOpener, a human asset management consultancy, explains how you can increase happiness and thus productivity in the workplace. She picks five essential reads for bosses and employees.

The best books on Happiness at Work, recommended by Jessica Pryce-Jones

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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