How To Fly A Horse:
The Secret History of Creation, Invention and Discovery
by Kevin Ashton
This remarkable book mines the mysterious process of creativity. It’s one of the best books I’ve read on the subject and I would recommend it as a perfect bookend to Creativity, Inc by Ed Catmull. Ashton’s basic premise is this: There is no magical shortcut to creativity. No get-creative-quick schemes. Creators spend almost all of […]
The Gift of Fear
by Gavin de Becker
This month’s book recommendation is something a little different. Anyone who listens to our show or podcast knows I am endlessly curious about human behaviour. And I firmly believe that kind of learning can come from any discipline. Gavin de Becker is widely regarded as the foremost expert on the protection of public figures. He […]
You Can Negotiate Anything
by Herb Cohen
For this month’s selection, I’m going to recommend an book I read many years ago. It was written in 1982 and spent nine months on the New York Times Best-Seller List. It’s still easy to find online. Author Herb Cohen was one of the world’s top negotiators. He was brought in when corporations needed to […]
Creativity, Inc.
by Ed Catmull
Managing a creative business is never easy. I did it for 25 years and I can say firsthand that a creative company is all about culture. And that creative ideas are as fragile as soap bubbles. But what if you could spend a few hours extracting the wisdom from the CEO of one of the […]
The Man Who Sold America: The Amazing (But True!) Story of Albert D. Lasker and the Creation of the Advertising Century
By Jeffrey Cruikshank & Arthur W. Schultz
A few seasons ago, we did an episode on Albert D. Lasker, possibly the most fascinating adman of the 20th century. It was our most listened-to episode of the year. Lasker changed advertising for all time. He brought the concept of “salesmanship” to advertising, which up until then had only been used to deliver news. […]
The Mockingbird Next Door
By Marja Mills
My favourite movie is To Kill A Mockingbird. The movie was based on a book written by the reclusive Harper Lee. Published in 1960, it still sells close to one million copies per year. Astounding. But here’s the enduring mystery: It was the only book Harper Lee ever wrote. As a matter of fact, she […]
Thanks A Lot Mr. Kibblewhite
By Roger Daltrey
This is a gem of a book. It’s not a long read – just 246 pages – perfect for airplane trips and vacations. First there’s the title. Mr. Kibblewhite was the headmaster who expelled Daltrey from school. As Daltrey was leaving his office, Kibblewhite yelled “You’ll never make anything of your life, Daltrey.” I often […]