Y’all, how is January over? I need my money back! Seriously, the month flew by! I got back from Christmas holiday and was home in Kinshasa for a couple of days and I’m now in Harare with my sister. Where did the month go? Well, one thing I know I did and diligently carried through was reading. I shared my 2021 reading list in this post here and I have been avidly reading. Here are the books that I read in January (in order of reading). I have used a regular letter grading scheme to share some additional insight into my thoughts on the book. OK here we go:
- The Insider’s Guide To Culture Change by Siobhan McHale (B). This was a solid book about how to identify where organizations fail with regards to creating and/or cultivating culture and how this impacts how businesses thrive or fail. I didn’t feel as though there was much that I didn’t know about but it is a solid read if you are interested in this area.
Get the book here
2. Atomic Habits by James Clear (A+). I highly recommend reading this at the beginning of the year. There are so many gems on how to make small changes that eventually lead to better systems, which in turn influence how and why you do what you do (more on this later!).
Get the book here
3. Zero to One by Peter Thiel (A). This is a solid read on how to think about differentiating your business. Practical steps and advice is shared on why organizations fail and the author addresses the myth of ‘innovation’ and why some initiatives fail (think green energy).
Get the book here
4. Switch by Chip and Dan Health (A+). LOVED reading this book! Like Atomic Habits this book address why some ideas and behaviours stick while others don’t. They offer practical exercises on how to resolve organizational to individual change.
Get the book here
5. Leading Change by John P Kotter (A+). I legit recommend this to anyone looking to restructure, re-engineer or generally bring about change to an organization. This book and its practical lessons apply to a small firm or a multi-national firm. I have worked in consulting going on 8 years and the keys that the author shares on how these huge changes impact why projects fail or succeed are keys that I’m bringing with me into work.
Get the book here
January had so many great reads! I love learning and growing through reading and I was certainly able to accomplish this by reading these 5 books. Have you read any of these books? What are you reading in February? Lemme know by dropping your book recommendations in the comments section below or by tagging me @Africancocktail on Instagram or Twitter.
