100+ Inspiring Books For Impact-Driven People

Throughout 2018 we have been immersed in conversation with global change-makers and enthralled by their projects & ideas that create positive impact in the world.

We have discovered their beginnings, identified challenges and unlocked the insights that fuel a common drive to create change. We were also able to access the sources of their inspiration, many of them resting on their bedside tables.

So here’s another year of the most inspiring reads, recommended by world-leading global change makers. A list of the 100+ most recommended books from our 2018 social impact podcast series.

Uncover inspiration and share this list with others to keep turning ideas into maximum positive impact!

The top 100+ recommended books for change-makers

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one

THE POWER OF HABIT: WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO IN LIFE AND BUSINESS BY CHARLES DUHIGG

two

THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO    

Three

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE BY STEPHEN COVEY

four

BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY BY CHAN KIM AND RENÉE MAUBORGNE

five

THE LEAN STARTUP BY ERIC RIES

six

CREATIVITY INC. BY ED CATMULL

Seven

START WITH WHY BY SIMON SINEK

Eight

TO SELL IS HUMAN BY DANIEL PINK

Nine

GOOD TO GREAT BY JIM COLLINS

Ten

REINVENTING ORGANISATIONS BY FREDERIC LALOUX

Eleven

GIVE AND TAKE: WHY HELPING OTHERS DRIVES OUR SUCCESS BY ADAM GRANT

Twelve

ORIGINALS: HOW NON CONFORMISTS MOVE THE WORLD BY ADAM GRANT

Thirteen

THE HARD THING ABOUT HARD THINGS BY BEN HOROWITZ

Fourteen

THANK YOU FOR BEING LATE: AN OPTIMIST'S GUIDE TO THRIVING IN THE AGE OF ACCELERATIONS BY THOMAS FRIEDMAN

Fifteen

BEYOND MINDFULNESS: THE DIRECT APPROACH TO LASTING PEACE, HAPPINESS AND LOVE BY STEPHAN BODIAN

Sixteen

BOLD: HOW TO GO BIG, CREATE WEALTH AND IMPACT THE WORLD BY PETER DIAMANDIS AND STEVEN KOTLER

Seventeen

THE TIPPING POINT BY MALCOLM GLADWELL

Eighteen

DESIGN FOR THE REAL WORLD: HUMAN ECOLOGY AND SOCIAL CHANGE BY VICTOR PAPANEK

Nineteen

CRADLE TO CRADLE: REMAKING THE WAY WE MAKE THINGS BY MICHAEL BRAUNGART AND WILLIAM MCDONOUGH

Twenty

THE METRONOME EFFECT BY SHANNON BYRNE SUSKO

21. ICE CREAM SOCIAL BY BRAD EDMONDSON

22. THE DIAMOND CUTTER BY GESHE ROACH AND LAMA MCNALLY

23. REWORK BY JASON FRIED, DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSOND

24. THE OPEN BOOK OF SOCIAL INNOVATION BY ROBIN MURRAY, JULIE CAULIER-GRICE AND GEOFF MULGAN

25. CONVIVIAL TOOLBOX BY LIZ SANDERS AND PIETER JAN STAPPERS

26. I AM MALALA BY MALALA YOUSAFZAI

27. THE DEEPEST WELL: HEALING THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY BY NADINE BURKE HARRIS

28. LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET BY RAINER MARIA RILKE

29. STEPS TO AN ECOLOGY OF MIND BY GREGORY BATESON

30. FLOURISHING: A FRANK CONVERSATION ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY BY JOHN EHRENFELD AND ANDREW HOFFMAN

31. BRAVE NEW WORLD BY ALDOUS HUXLEY

32. SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL BY E. F. SCHUMACHER

33. UTOPIA FOR REALISTS BY RUTGER BREGMAN

34. ICE COLD ALICE BY C. P. WILSON

35. SOCIAL PROCUREMENT AND NEW PUBLIC GOVERNANCE BY JO BARRAKET, ROBYN KEAST AND CRAIG FURNEAUX

36. THE INNOVATOR'S DILEMMA BY CLAYTON ANN CHRISTENSEN

37. ART OF HAPPINESS BY THE DALAI LAMA

38. LEADING BY SIR ALEX FERGUSON

39. SMALL GIANTS BY BO BURLINGHAM

40. HIGH PERFORMANCE HABITS BY BRENDON BURCHARD

41. WHO GETS WHAT — AND WHY: THE NEW ECONOMICS OF MATCHMAKING AND MARKET DESIGN BY ALVIN E ROTH

42. THE POWER OF UNREASONABLE PEOPLE BY JOHN ELKINGTON AND PAMELA HARTIGAN

43. THE TRIBE OF MENTORS BY TIM FERRISS

44. HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLEBY DALE CARNEGIE

45. ARRIVAL CITY - HOW THE LARGEST MIGRATION IN HISTORY IS RESHAPING OUR WORLD BY DOUG SAUNDERS

46. THE ECONOMICS OF CULTURAL POLICY BY DAVID THROSBY

47. THE 100-YEAR LIFE: LIVING AND WORKING IN AN AGE OF LONGEVITY BY ANDREW SCOTT & LYNDA GRATTON

48. PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP IN ACTION BY HELEN LEWIS

49. GOVERNOMICS: CAN WE AFFORD SMALL GOVERNMENT? BY MIRIAM LYONS & IAN MCAULEY

50. THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME BY JACK COVERT AND TODD SATTERSTEN

51. A WHOLE NEW MIND: WHY RIGHT-BRAINERS WILL RULE THE FUTURE BY DANIEL PINK

52. THE ART OF POSSIBILITY BY ROSAMUND STONE ZANDER AND BENJAMIN ZANDER

53. A BEAUTIFUL CONSTRAINT BY ADAM MORGAN & MARK BARDEN

54. THE BOY WHO WAS RAISED AS A DOG BY BRUCE PERRY AND MAIA SZALAVITZ

55. THE BUM BOOK BY KATE MAYES

56. THE VILLAGE EFFECT BY SUSAN PINKER

57. WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR BY DAN MILLMAN

58. TO MAN IN TRUTH BY BARRY LONG

59. 'A WORLD WITHOUT POVERTY' BY PROFESSOR MUHAMMAD YUNUS.

60. DO THE KIND THING' BY DANIEL LUBETZKY

61. A WORLD OF THREE ZEROES BY MUHAMMAD YUNUS

62. THE STORY OF STUFF BY ANNIE LEONARD

63. "SUSTAINABILITY"  BY JEREMY CARADONNA

64. THE TAO OF PHYSICS BY FRITJOF CAPRA.

65. AN ARMY OF PROBLEM SOLVERS BY SHAUN LONEY.

66. HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD BY DAVID BORNSTEIN

67. DOING GOOD BETTER BY WILLIAM MACASKILL

68. THE WALMART EFFECT BY CHARLES FISHMAN

69. POOR ECONOMICS BY ABHIJIT VINAYAK BANERJEE AND ESTHER DUFLO

70. THE GIFT OF ANGER BY ARUN GANDHI

71. SYSTEMS THINKING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE BY DAVID PETER STROh

72. THINKING IN SYSTEMS BY DONELLA MEADOWS

73. A BOOK ABOUT INNOCENT BY INNOCENT SMOOTHIES

74. LOSING MY VIRGINITY BY RICHARD BRANSON

75. RADICAL CANDOR BY KIM SCOTT

76. MEASURE WHAT MATTERS BY JOHN DOERR

77. BRAVING THE WILDERNESS BY BRENE BROWN

78. THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI BY ROBIN SHARMA

79. RULES FOR BEING AMAZING BY ROBIN SHARMA

80. HOW FINDING YOUR PASSION CHANGES EVERYTHING BY KEN ROBINSON

81. THE SEVEN SPIRITUAL LAWS OF SUPERHEROES BY DEEPAK CHOPRA

82. THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD BY OG MANDINO

83. NEW POWER BY JEREMY HEIMANS AND HENRY TIMMS

84. LANGUAGE AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS BY CHALMERS BROTHERS. 

85. CONSCIOUS BUSINESS BY FRED KOFMAN.

86. DOING SENSORY ETHNOGRAPHY BY SARAH PINK

87. THE MYTHS OF INNOVATION BY SCOTT BERKUN

88. #GIVEWORK BY LEILA JANAH

89. STRENGTHS BASED LEADERSHIP BY TOM RATH AND BARRY CONCHIE

90. BOARDS THAT DELIVER BY RAM SHARAN

91. TESLA, SPACEX AND THE QUEST FOR A FANTASTIC FUTURE BY ELON MUSK

92. JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL BY RICHARD BACH

93. DRAW DOWN BY PAUL HAWKINS

94. REAL IMPACT BY MORGAN SIMON

95. THE INNOVATION BLIND SPOT BY ROSS BAIRD

96. THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD BY WATTY PIPER

97. E-MYTH BY MICHAEL GERBER

98. DOUGHNUT ECONOMICS BY KATE RAWORTH

99. THE BLUE SWEATER BY JACQUELINE NOVOGRATZ

100. PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED BY PAULO FREIRE

101. EXPERIENCE IN EDUCATION BY JOHN DEWEY

102. DARE THE SCHOOL BUILD A NEW SOCIAL ORDER? BY GEORGE S. COUNTS

103. MAVERICK BY RICARDO SEMLER

104. BORN A CRIME BY TREVOR NOAH

105. PROSPERITY WITHOUT GROWTH - ECONOMICS FOR A FINITE PLANET BY TIM JACKSON

106. NO LOGO BY NAOMI KLEIN

107. THE VALUE OF NOTHING BY RAJ PATEL

108. THE THIRD INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BY JEREMY RIFKIN

109. HOLONOMICS - BUSINESS WHERE PEOPLE AND PLANET MATTER BY SIMON ROBINSON AND MARIA MORAES ROBINSON 

110. THE FOOTBALL SOLUTION BY GEORGE MEGALOGENIS

111. THE EGGSHELL SKULL BY BRI LEE

112. BECOMING BY MICHELLE OBAMA

113. KILLING COMMENDATORE BY HARUKI MURAKAMI

114. ABUNDANCE BY PETER DIAMANDIS

115. 21 LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY BY YUVAL NOAH HARARI

116. EVERYBODY LIES BY SETH STEPHENS-DAVIDOWITZ

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