Business of Software Conference USA 2019 Speaker Reading List
What do the smartest people have in common? It is pretty well established that a thirst for learning is a common trait. Here are the books that this year’s Business of Software Conference USA 2019 speakers say have had the biggest influence on their business lives, and what they are reading now.
Not anything like as good as being at the conference but if you want to pick up some pearls of wisdom, start here…
Business of Software Conference USA 2019 Speaker Reading List
Andy Ellis, CSO, Akamai
Most influential book?
“Hard call. I might go with Godel Escher Bach (Hofstadter), because it has such lovely essays on so many ways of engaging with the world, some of which are self-referential. Or I might go with Football Scouting Methods (Belichick), because you can see how this seminal work around how to do one job is the basis for disruptive changes to the business of football.”
What are you reading now?
“I’m currently rereading, ‘Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries‘. It’s lovely, written from the point of view of several generations of space mercenaries, with important guidance like “what’s easy for you can still be hard on your clients,” which might refer to bad user experiences, or creative billing practices.”
Patrick Campbell, CEO, Profitwell
“‘High Output Management‘ from Andy Grove is a book that I’ve been reading once per quarter for the past two years.”
Brian Dosal, Founder, Strety
Most influential book?
“‘Anything you want” by Derek Sivers. Just an eye opening book to reinforce that if you start a company, you have the control to make it whatever you want. To make it a professional utopia. So whenever I think the way I want to run my team feels unique, I realize that’s totally ok!”
What are you reading now?
“‘The Making of a Manager‘. I always love reading tech related (or at the very least modern) management books. They have a practical and digital slant to them that the legacy books never had not been in this time period.”
Eric Dosal, Founder, Strety
Most influential book?
“‘The Big Leap‘ by Gay Hendricks. It stuck with me because it shares about how you have to find your “genius” and that when you can really make an impact. And also how you can break through any limiting beliefs.”
What are you reading now?
“Just finished reading ‘Stress Less, Accomplish More‘ by Emily Fletcher about meditation and have been enjoying my twice a day meditation practice for the past month. Its a game changer for me.”
Whitney O’Banner, Software Engineering Manager, Braintree
Most influential book?
“‘Focus In Action Is Great Leadership‘ by Belinda Johnson White provided me with the most practical framework for developing as a leader in business.”
What are you reading now?
“‘Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness‘ by Frederic Laloux is quickly becoming a favorite. Highly recommended!”
Rita McGrath, Columbia Business School
Most influential book?
“I have to say it was during my first semester in my Ph.D. program when a professor gave us the assignment of reading the entire work of an esteemed scholar (a book a week). My choice was Peter Drucker, so his books were hugely influential – if I had to pick just one, it would be ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship‘ which came out in the mid-80’s before entrepreneurship was cool.”
Matt Wensing, CEO, SimSaaS
Most influential book?
“‘Crossing the Chasm‘. It provided me with an enduring POV for industry trends and what it takes to succeed, especially in enterprise software.”
What are you reading now?
“‘Art Thinking: How to Carve Out Creative Space‘ in a World of Schedules, Budgets, and Bosses’ by Amy Whitaker. Yes – a lovely slow read.”
April Dunford, Founder, Ambient Strategy
Most influential book?
“‘Crossing the Chasm‘ by Geoffrey Moore – I first read it 20 years ago and I’m still coming back to bowling pin strategy. A close second would be ‘4 Steps to the Epiphany‘ by Steve Blank – another oldie that I keep coming back to. The stuff around customer discovery really changed my thinking about how to get useful feedback from customers. Third place would be ‘The Challenger Sale‘ – this is essential reading for folks doing B2B enterprise selling imo.”
What are you reading now?
“For business books I just started ‘Atomic Habits’ – pretty good so far. On the not business side my kids made me read this manga called ‘Death Note‘ and it was surprisingly great.”
Claire Lew, CEO, Know Your Team
Most influential book?
“‘The Fifth Discipline‘, by Peter Senge. I read it over 10 years ago and I still go back, re-read it, and draw lessons from it today. It distilled for me the importance of shared vision in a team, personal mastery, and systems thinking as a leader.”
What are you reading now?
“I recently finished ‘Moonwalking with Einstein‘, which was one of the best books I’ve read all year. Currently, I’m reading ‘Seeking Wisdom‘.”
Sunish Gupta, EasyAlliance
Most influential book?
“‘Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick‘ – very practical without the fluff.”
What are you reading now?
“Think Like Amazon‘ – excellent.”
Dan Martell
Most influential book?
“‘Love is The Killer App‘ by Tim Sanders – it set the foundation for how I created the habits that have contributed to my success in life.”
What are you reading now?
“‘Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier‘ – Incredible, and a must for anyone who wants to swim more efficiently.”
Thomson Aderinkomi, CEO, Nice Healthcare
Most influential book?
What are you reading now?
Teresa Torres, ProductTalk
Most influential book?
“‘How We Think‘ by John Dewey – a dense philosophical read, but the best primer on critical thinking. ‘Decisive‘ by Chip and Dan Heath – a great summary of what we know about good decision making”
What are you reading now?
Cesar Kuriyama, 1SecondEveryday
Most influential book?
“‘The Art of Non Conformity‘ by Chris Guillebeau – I went to art school and had never considered an entrepreneurial path until I read this book. It showed me that I could design a life that I didn’t realize was possible.”
What are you reading now?
“‘How to Change Your Mind‘. Michael Pollan. So far so good! He’s one of my favorite authors and so far it’s making a compelling case for the power and science of Psychedelics.”
And a bonus, non-smart, contribution from your host…
Mark Littlewood, Business of Software
Most influential book?
“‘The Chimp Paradox‘ by Steve Peters – Incredible book from a super smart academic and sport psychologist that was the first book I read about the brain that really clicked. I read it with my daughter as a bed time story (it is accessible) when she was six and prone to throwing tantrums like most children. It really helped us both understand what was going on and how to deal with it. It sparked an interest in psychology for her which she is now considering studying at university. Very applicable to life and business.”
What are you reading now?
“I’m proof reading the Business of Software Conference USA 2019 attendee guide. That’s the way I roll. The best book I have read this year is April Dunford’s ‘Obviously Awesome‘. By far the best written and most actionable book I have read this year. We are super excited she will be speaking and giving a workshop in Boston.”
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