To celebrate National Read Across America Day, we asked members of the Thomas team to share some of their favorite professional development, productivity, and business strategy books. Here are a few of their recommendations to add to your reading list:
Robert Mullen – Business Development Team Leader
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland
“My top book right now is Scrum — it’s been a game changer for me. Sutherland has very strong data to back up his claims, the methods are being implemented in many of the most efficient modern companies today, and anecdotally, I have already seen positive results with my own team in just the past few months since beginning to implement new SCRUM based methods.”
Will Solomon – Web Designer
Principles by Ray Dalio
“When I was thinking about memorable professional books I’ve read lately, one really amazing book came to mind — it was written by Ray Dalio, the head of one of the largest hedge funds in the world. It’s about principles for working with a team, and focusing on both personal and professional development.”
Arthur Brodskiy – SEO Analyst
Ensemble Theater Making by Rose Bonczek
“This book applies much more globally than just theater. It’s about how to build ensembles…teams that work together towards a common goal. Written both for leaders and members of a team, it discusses how to inspire each other to take initiative and deal with common challenges. It also includes an interesting section on archetypes we all fall into (the class clown, the nurturer, the trailblazer), and how to make the best use of each archetype within your team. It was written by Rose Burnett Bonczek, the head of my acting program at Brooklyn College — she built and nurtured many teams over her years.”
Julian Gaviria – Director, User Experience
How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert
“This book covers the often-overlooked fundamentals of organizing information on the web. A must read for anyone that either owns a website or builds them for a living.”
Karina Rutigliano – SEO Analyst
Amplify: How to Grow Your Reputation and the Kickass Career You Love by Holly Chessman
“This is a great guide about how to effectively grow your career. It also talks about gender bias in work environments, which is a particularly hot topic right now.”
Richard Young – Account Executive, National Sales
Blockchain and the Law: The Rule of Code by Primavera de Filippi and Aaron Wright
“Blockchain and the Law’ is a book that provides a unique technical and legal perspective on a topic that many are talking about, but few may fully understand.”
Interested in more book recommendations from Team Thomas? Starting next week, we’ll be featuring a reading suggestion from a different member of the team each month; check back for our first on Friday, March 8.