NADEEN MATTHEWS-BLAIR
Chief Digital and Marketing Officer – NCB CEO – NCB Foundation
The response to Part 1 of SO Readers exceeded our expectations and got many spending Sunday last reading. We share the book list of four more lovers of the written word in this the final section. Cheers to education, the new six-pack!
1 Becoming — Michelle Obama — I absolutely loved Michelle Obama’s inspiring journey of self-discovery, resilience, love, passion for change and ‘Becoming’. Listening to it on Audible, which she personally narrates, was an additional treat. The book provides a behind-the-scenes look at Michelle Obama’s own success story, personal struggles, and the personal and professional impact she has had pre- and during the presidency of Barack Obama. It is a story of optimism, a personal reminder that I must live in the present, while planting seeds for future change (some of which may not happen in my own lifetime, but for my children’s sake). Success and “Becoming” are lifelong journeys. However, happiness and peace of mind must be a daily and deliberate choice along the way.
2 Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms — David S Evans & Richard Schmalensee — Matchmakers such as Google,
Amazon, and Open Table have turned traditional economic and pricing principles on its head. The lessons should be contemplated by any business contemplating launching a multi-sided digital platform, but by non-traditional businesses as well.
3 How Google Works —Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg — A digital transformation requires learning from successful digital natives. This book provided an informative perspective on some of the key business tenets that non-digital incumbents will need to contemplate as they consider transforming their businesses to avoid disruption
4 Great At Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More — Morten T Hansen — Who doesn’t want to do less, work better and achieve more? Reading this is a no-brainer for those who want to become more effective and achieve more without burning out.
5 Monday Morning Motivation — David Cottrell — A quick read with insights that can help all leaders become better, professionally and personally. A great empowerment tool for managers who don’t recognise their role as organisational leaders as well as for senior leaders who are working to become more effective at leading versus doing and becoming more human. This book can be completed in under 2 hours.
6 Change Inc: An Agile Fable of Transformation — Kristin Runyan — A short and innovative overview of Agile, how it works and how it can positively impact companies. It comes in the form of a fable, which is a departure from the information channels executives normally rely on when contemplating agile transformations.
7 Born A Crime — Trevor Noah — A surreal journey through apartheid via the personal experiences of comedian, TV host and political commentator Trevor Noah. The fact that he is a mere 34 years old is a stark reminder that the ramifications of colonialism are not that distant history. The humour that Trevor uses to recount his experiences makes this book an easy read, while not trivialising the very important political and social messages.
8 The Reluctant Fundamentalist — Mohsin Hamid —A fascinating fictional perspective on the personal toll of the September 11, 2001 bombings on non-americans.
9 Big Little Lies — Liane Moriarty — A thrilling and humourous murder mystery that I could not put down. So much so that I stayed up all night in a foreign country on a work trip to finish the book. In addition to being super-entertaining and captivating, it reinforced the need for women to be more supportive of each other as we navigate work-life balance, motherhood, relationships etc.
10 Stay With Me — Ayobami Adebayo — This was a gripping and emotional roller coaster navigating the story of a Nigerian couple with fertility challenges and the devastating impact of a husband’s actions to satisfy societal norms. The story also includes a lot of implicit social commentary on government corruption and family norms.