12 books to read in 2018

If you haven’t picked up a book or read one on your tablet or eReader for some time, it may well be worth returning to the activity.

Reading benefits you in a variety of ways, providing you with vital mental stimulation, reducing stress, increasing your vocabulary, boosting your knowledge and entertaining you for hours on end.

So, here are 12 business books that you must read, one for each month of 2018.

January

Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More by Morten Hansen.

Have you ever wondered why some people achieve more at work than others? Then this book, based on the analysis of a pioneering study, could be for you.

February

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

This brand-new title explores what it takes to create a great workplace culture and sustain it, whilst providing an insight into how some of the world’s biggest organizations build their own cultures.

March

Thinking in Bets: Making Smart Decisions When You Don’t Have the Facts by Annie Duke

In this book, the former World Series of Poker champion Annie Duke takes examples from the worlds of business, poker, politics and sport to help you make better, more informed decisions, helping you to become more confident and successful in the long-term, whilst embracing and making the most of uncertainty.

April

Dying for a Paycheck by Jeffrey Pfeffer

There have been many headlines about the impact of workplace stress over recent years. In Dying for a Paycheck, Jeffrey Pfeffer provides a range of practical solutions designed to improve well-being in the workplace and make work environments happier and healthier.

May

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey

James Comey is a former FBI director who, in his new book, shares a range of hard-hitting stories from his career for the first time. The book is largely focused on determining the nature of positive, ethical leadership and decision-making.

June

Hug Your Haters by Jay Baer

Hug Your Haters is centered upon the principle that ignoring your ‘haters’ is a bigger problem than the haters themselves. The book explains the best way to deal with what Baer calls ‘offstage’ and ‘onstage’ haters; embrace complaints; and optimize the customer experience for the modern age.

July

Superconnector: Stop Networking and Start Building Business Relationships That Matter by Scott Gerber and Ryan Paugh

This book offers a host of solutions for making your networking efforts more effective. Superconnector is focused on stopping you forging lackluster connections for the sake of it in favor managing a robust professional community and deriving as much value from it as possible via techniques and strategies such as Habitual Generosity and The Art of Selectivity.

August

They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

Have you ever felt disappointed about the return-on-investment delivered by TV and radio advertising or print ads? If so, They Ask, You Answer may well be for you. The book instructs you to make the most of the internet by creating a highly-effective content strategy that will increase your audience reach, boost your reputation and work regardless of your industry or sector.

September

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness

Peak Performance takes the stories of leading performers from a range of areas, including the worlds of sport, business and art to uncover the secrets to performing at your peak. The book contains information on balancing work and rest, preparing the mind and body for vastly-improved productivity and is designed to help you raise your game to the next level.

October

Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Everybody Lies uses data from internet searches to uncover a host of secrets about the world we live in. The book uses search data about mental health challenges, racism, sexless marriages and more to provide a vital insight into the minds of people around the world, suggesting ways that the information can be used to change our culture for the better.

November

The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley are Changing the World by Brad Stone

In The Upstarts, Brad Stone explores the way that brands like Uber and Airbnb have changed the way business is regulated and how we travel, rewriting the rules of business and reshaping our way of life substantially. The book also looks at way that such brands appear to have ignored or overcome various ethical and lethal obstacles to achieve global success, resulting in a world that barely resembles the one we lived in a decade ago.

December

What to Do When Machines Do Everything: How to Get Ahead in a World of AI, Algorithms, Bots, and Big Data by by Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig and Ben Pring

This title is centered upon preparing you for the next AI-driven era of the digital economy, enabling your business to continue thriving in a world where the rules are constantly being redefined. The book provides a detailed insight into the world we’re moving increasingly closer to, how the next wave of technology will influence the way we live and work and how you can adopt a new strategy for victory in the new economy.

Keeping yourself completely up to date with the very latest market theories can be the difference between securing future prosperity and being left behind.