Cogs 2019 Summer Reading List

Though productivity and morale appear low at work, the business doesn’t come to a complete halt. Don’t let your mind idle, Here are some books to …

Summer is here and whether it is the season of productivity or not, the Cogs team will get your mind busy with our list of summer book reads for you.

A study found that productivity drops as low as 20% during the summer.

While it is debatable if vacations enhance productivity or not we admit that July and August are the famed Summer Slum months among employees.

Work desks take turns being left vacant as colleagues go on their breaks and the remaining ones at work are left with a sense of longing and wondering about their next vacation.

So we’ve decided to bring some inspiration back into the workplace by going around our Cogs offices worldwide to find out what’s on our fellow colleague’s summer reading list.

Having a good read can get you by the toughest moments in life, so we hope the books here would pique your curiosity and you’ll learn a couple of things just like our colleagues did.

Book of Choice: Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke

Picked by: Jan Pautsch, Director, Berlin

Jan said: The book is a nice mix of business reader and fiction. Fast and easy to read – at the same time fantastic insights on how to manage business success through joint goals/metrics and team success. Useful, actionable, fun to read!

Get Radical Focus here

Book of Choice: Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently by Bea Lotto 

Picked by: Monica Cristea, Associate Consultant, Berlin

Monica said: I’ve been reading a weird mix of things lately. Deviate is my current book. It’s a fantastic non-fiction book written by a neuroscientist. It teaches you what perception really is and how easily our brain can modify our day-to-day reality. In a nutshell, we never actually see reality and everything we experience is produced in our brain and that can easily be manipulated by a lot of external stimuli. I’m all about hacking my brain these days!

Get Deviate here

Book of Choice: The Choice by Edith Eger

Picked by: Charlotte Crook, EU Marketing Manager, London

Charlotte said: It’s one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Edith’s account of her search for a life of meaning beyond the horrendous ordeal at Auschwitz is (surprisingly) an uplifting and inspiring read about how all of us have the power to change our perceptions in life and have a positive outlook.

Get The Choice here

Book of Choice: The Autobiography of Gucci Mane by Gucci Mane

Picked by: Neil Byrne, Consultant, London

Neil said: Even if you’re not into rap or know much about Gucci Mane this is a brilliant autobiography. Follows his entire life up to the moment of him getting out of jail and turning himself around. Some great anecdotes about various superstars in the music industry too. Worth the read.

Get The Autobiography of Gucci Mane here

Book of Choice: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
 
Picked by:
Carol Lynn Cheng, Consultant, Hong Kong

Carol said: I’m reading it because it has to do with the rise and fall of an entrepreneur, Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos. She was doing so well- many people in the US were looking up to her but her business failed – because it was built on hype and lies. There’s also a documentary for this too if anyone likes documentaries.

Get Bad Blood here

Book of Choice: Sadhguru: More than a Life by Arundhathi Subramaniam
 
Picked by:
 Amreen Rahman, Senior Consultant, Singapore

Amreen said: I’m a practioner of Yoga and I’ve been attending classes by the Isha Foundation (Sadghuru’s organisation). I’ve picked up this book as it was highly recommended by the community. It’s about the spiritual life journey of Sadghuru from his agnostic origins. It shares upon how he combines rationality with mysticism and ancient wisdom which I feel is rare/challenging in our present time.

Get Sadhguru here

Book of Choice: The Art of Creative Thinking by John Adair
 
Picked by:
 Vanessa Quek, APAC Marketing Manager, Singapore

Vanessa said:  I haven’t found the time to finish a book in one sitting lately so I try to read books that allow me to jump back in without being lost. This book confirms my belief that creativity transcends boundaries (it isn’t restricted to the creative industries). My favourite bit about the book was the chapter ‘Chance Favours Only the Prepared Mind’ – it initially seemed like the innovations/inventions mentioned in this chapter were discovered by sheer luck but John Adair holds, ‘In the field of observation, chance only favours the prepared mind‘. A prepared mind is one that is purposeful in seeking an answer/solution to a problem. A lot of fruitless work happens in experimentation so be prepared for it and be sensitive and observant enough to find the opportunity (or clues to).

Get The Art of Creative Thinking here

 

Well, that was a couple of books to add on to your reading list for the summer, isn’t it?

We hope you will enjoy these titles as much as our fellow Cogs colleagues had.

 

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