Running a digital agency for 25 years teaches you fast that the work changes about every two years. The platforms keep changing. So does the tooling, and so do the questions clients ask. The books on this page are the ones that have helped us stay useful through those shifts, mostly by changing how we think rather than what we do. They cover creative practice, applied innovation, the long view of technology, deep work, and what it actually takes to produce original output inside a working business.

This is a consolidation of the book reviews we have published on these themes over the years. Rather than leave them scattered across the blog, we have pulled the worthwhile ones together so the thinking is easier to find.

How these books shape our thinking

A few ideas turn up again and again. Thinking from first principles. Treating work as small experiments rather than one big bet. Protecting attention so deep work can actually happen. Watching the long arc of technology so the next ten years do not catch you out. The specific tools change every couple of years, but those underlying habits keep holding up.

Books are listed alphabetically by author. Each entry has a short summary, plus the part we still use.

The books

Anatomy of a Breakthrough, Adam Alter

Alter looks at why creative or strategic projects get stuck and what unsticks them. The research pulls from sport, science and the arts, and the central argument is that breakthroughs are more about removing friction than about inspiration striking. We open this one when a client project, or one of our own, has obviously stalled and we cannot put a finger on why.

Loonshots, Safi Bahcall

Bahcall argues that real innovation comes from keeping early-stage “loonshot” teams structurally separate from the operational “franchise” teams that run a business. Most companies mix the two and lose the loonshots in the process. A good frame to read before you try to incubate a new offer inside an existing company.

Creativity, Inc, Ed Catmull

Catmull on building Pixar, including the practices that let it produce hit after hit when most studios produce roughly one. His underlying point is that originality is fragile and has to be defended on purpose, through specific cultural and structural choices. If we had to recommend one book on leading a creative business, it would probably be this one.

Algorithms to Live By, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths

Christian and Griffiths take computer-science algorithms (sorting, scheduling, the secretary problem, optimal stopping) and apply them to everyday decisions. The payoff lands a few weeks after you read it. You start noticing the structural shape of decisions you previously handled by gut feel.

The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle

Coyle’s research on what high-performing teams have in common. Three things: safety, vulnerability, a clear shared purpose. Reads well next to Catmull. What makes this one stand out is how specifically Coyle identifies the small behaviours that produce each of those outcomes.

The Circle, Dave Eggers

Eggers’s dystopian novel about a thinly disguised tech-platform monopoly that ends up running an authoritarian transparency regime. Not a business book. On this list because it is one of the better fictional warnings about where the platform-everything direction leads, and the conversations it triggers about user data and platform power have aged surprisingly well.

Rework, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

The Basecamp founders pushing back against most of the accepted wisdom about how software companies operate. Planning is guessing. ASAP is poison. Meetings are toxic. Some of the contrarianism has aged unevenly, but the underlying case for a calm, profitable, smaller-by-design business is one we have actively used at HyperWeb.

Innovation Thinking Methods for the Modern Entrepreneur, Osama Hashmi

Hashmi runs through the main innovation frameworks an early-stage founder is likely to encounter: design thinking, jobs-to-be-done, lean startup, the business-model canvas. Treat it as an index rather than a deep read. Worth shelving so you can pull the specific framework when you need it.

Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson

Johnson argues that new ideas come from “adjacent possible” combinations of existing components, from slow hunches that compound over years, and from networks designed to allow serendipitous collisions. This one changed how we think about content programs. We now treat a content strategy as a network of ideas rather than a list of posts.

Creative Confidence, Tom Kelley and David Kelley

The IDEO founders make the case that creative ability is built, not innate, and that most adults have lost it through schooling rather than because they never had it. Reads well with Catmull and Coyle for any team trying to rebuild the daily habit of generating ideas.

Inevitable, Kevin Kelly

Kelly’s case that twelve technological forces (becoming, cognifying, flowing, screening, accessing, sharing, filtering, remixing, interacting, tracking, questioning and beginning) will shape the next thirty years more than any specific product or company. Written in 2016 and aging surprisingly well. His “cognifying” chapter described what we now call the AI moment without naming it as AI.

The Art of Impossible, Steven Kotler

Kotler distils peak-performance research from extreme-sport athletes and translates it into principles for ordinary knowledge work. Reads as a companion to Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow over in Hub B. Practical if you are interested in optimising for difficult creative output rather than just steady output.

Tiny Experiments, Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Le Cunff argues for treating life and work as a series of small, time-boxed experiments rather than a single linear plan. Anyone whose business has outgrown its founding plan finds this framing useful, often quickly. The “PACT” framework (purposeful, actionable, continuous, trackable) does the day-to-day work of converting the philosophy into something operational.

Deep Work, Cal Newport

Newport argues that deep work, cognitively demanding work done in long uninterrupted blocks, is the scarcest and most valuable capability in the knowledge economy. The specific examples in the book have dated, since the post-COVID attention economy turned out rougher than Newport modelled. The underlying argument has only become more important.

Beginners, Tom Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt takes up new skills in middle age: chess, surfing, singing, drawing. He writes about what the experience taught him about learning, identity and the underrated value of being a beginner. Useful for any leader who has not been visibly bad at something in front of other people for a long time.

Think Like a Rocket Scientist, Ozan Varol

The earlier of the two Varol books on this list. His case is that original work in any field tends to follow the same methodological discipline rocket scientists use: question assumptions, run thought experiments, accept uncertainty rather than wishing it away. The title undersells the writing.

Awaken Your Genius, Ozan Varol

Varol’s follow-up. Narrower in scope, more personal. The argument is that genuine originality requires going back and rediscovering the version of yourself that existed before professional shaping, and that most adults have lost that version without noticing. Reads as a companion to Think Like a Rocket Scientist.

The Innovator’s Method, Jeffrey H. Dyer and Nathan Furr

Dyer and Furr argue that design-thinking and lean-startup methods belong inside established companies, not just startups. Read it after The Innovator’s Dilemma if you are working through Christensen and want a practical follow-up.

What we use from these books day-to-day at HyperWeb

Several patterns recur across this list and turn up in our client work.

Treat work as experiments, not bets. Le Cunff, the Kelleys and Edmondson (over in Hub B) all land on this. The clients of ours who run the best content and product programs treat each piece as a small bet whose result feeds the next decision, rather than as a single large investment they need to defend.

Read the long arc, not the news cycle. Kelly is the strongest voice on this. The underlying technological trends that compound over a decade end up mattering more than the announcements that fill any given week. We still use Kelly’s “cognifying” frame when we are talking to clients about AI.

Protect attention deliberately. Newport, Csikszentmihalyi and Eyal (both in Hub B) keep coming back to the same point. The teams that ship original work tend to have a few hours of uninterrupted, cognitively demanding work in their day. The teams that recycle do not.

Build for original output, not for activity. Catmull, Coyle, Bahcall and the Kelleys all keep circling this. Creative cultures that produce work the market notices have specific structural features: separation of loonshot and franchise work, psychological safety, vulnerability, clarity of shared purpose. None of that is accidental.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which book on this list is most useful for thinking about AI and the next decade of digital?

Inevitable by Kevin Kelly. Written in 2016 and still the best long-arc book on the underlying technology forces (cognifying, flowing, accessing, tracking) that have produced the AI search moment, and that will likely produce the next one. We re-read it about every two years.

Which of these books is most useful for an agency or studio owner?

Creativity, Inc by Ed Catmull, every time. Catmull’s account of how Pixar built a culture that could produce original hit work over and over again is about as close to a working manual for a creative business as we have seen in print.

Are there books here for a non-technical reader?

Yes. Beginners by Tom Vanderbilt, Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff and Awaken Your Genius by Ozan Varol are written for general readers and require no technical background.

Which book on this list pairs best with HyperWeb’s GEO content pillar?

Inevitable by Kevin Kelly. The forces Kelly names (cognifying, flowing, filtering, interacting) describe the conditions under which AI search emerged. Reading him gives you the long-arc context the discipline of optimising for AI engines is built on.

Want help putting the thinking from these books into practice?

HyperWeb has worked with Newcastle and Hunter region businesses on website strategy, content programs, digital marketing and AI integration since 2000. If you want to talk through how the thinking on this page applies to your business, get in touch with the team.

If you want to read further around the same themes, our pieces on AEO and GEO, our AI integration work and assessing online competitive position are good places to start.

The post Books that shape how HyperWeb thinks about creativity, technology and innovation appeared first on HyperWeb.

I just finished reading Smart Brevity by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz, the founders of Axios. It’s a sharp, well-argued book that makes a compelling case for saying less. Lead with the most important thing. Cut everything that doesn’t earn its place. Respect the reader’s time as if it’s the scarcest resource in the room, because it is.

I found myself nodding along throughout. The principles translate directly to business communications: pitches, emails, presentations, and social media. Most business writing (particularly when fueled by AI) is considerably longer than it needs to be, and most of it suffers for it.

But partway through, I kept running into the same tension, one that VandeHei and his co-authors don’t really have to deal with because they’re running a news operation, not trying to rank in Google.

The tension is this: the same business that needs to be brief and direct in its communications also needs to publish substantial, comprehensive content to achieve its SEO and GEO objectives. Those two imperatives can pull in opposite directions. How you resolve them matters quite a bit.

Brevity is a virtue in a pitch, an email, and a social post. It can be a liability on a page that needs to demonstrate topical authority to a search engine or an AI system. The skill is knowing which context you’re writing for.

What Smart Brevity Gets Right

The core argument of the book is that most communications are built around the writer’s need to feel thorough rather than the reader’s need to understand quickly. We front-load with context, bury the point, and add qualifications that serve our own anxiety rather than the reader’s comprehension.

The Axios formula is deliberately structured: lead with what matters most, follow with the essential context, then offer the depth for those who want it. The reader controls how far they go. Nothing is hidden behind a wall of preamble.

Applied to business communications, this is a genuinely valuable discipline. Your homepage headline should not be a paragraph. Your email subject line should not be a sentence. Your LinkedIn post should not require three scrolls before it gets to the point. In all of these contexts, the Smart Brevity framework is excellent guidance, and most business owners would communicate more effectively by internalising it.

The principle that brevity is a form of respect for the reader is one I’ve held for a long time. The Australian business audience in particular has limited tolerance for corporate waffle. Get to the point, demonstrate that you understand the problem, and make it easy to take the next step. That’s it.

Where the Tension with SEO and GEO Begins

Here’s where it gets more complicated for businesses with a digital presence.

Search engines evaluate your website content, in part, as evidence of expertise. A page that covers a topic in a single paragraph signals something very different to Google than a page that covers the same topic with genuine depth: addressing related questions, exploring nuance, providing context, and demonstrating that the author actually knows what they’re talking about. The latter earns authority. The former earns very little.

This is not about gaming word counts. The idea that longer content automatically ranks better is a misreading of how search works. What search engines are actually rewarding is comprehensive coverage of a topic. If you can cover a topic comprehensively in 600 words, that’s fine. If a topic genuinely requires 1,800 words to cover thoroughly, thin content will not compete.

The GEO dimension makes this even more pointed. AI tools like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are synthesising answers to user queries from across the web. The content they draw on is not the content that made the strongest first impression in a headline. It’s the content that most thoroughly and clearly addresses a topic. Brief, punchy content rarely gets cited in AI-generated responses. Substantive, well-structured content does.

So the business that follows Smart Brevity principles on its website service pages and publishes nothing else is likely leaving significant search and GEO visibility on the table.

The Resolution: Different Content, Different Jobs

The good news is that this tension is resolvable. The mistake is treating all content as if it serves the same purpose and needs the same approach. It doesn’t.

Think of your content in two distinct categories, each with its own brief.

Conversion content is where Smart Brevity applies most directly. Your homepage, your service pages, your about page, your contact page. These are pages where a human visitor is making a decision. They need to understand quickly what you do, who you do it for, and why you’re the right choice. Padding and jargon are your enemies here. Lead with the point. Be specific. Make the next step obvious. A homepage that takes three scrolls to get to a value proposition is a homepage that is losing visitors.

Authority content is where depth earns its place. Your blog, your guides, your case studies, your FAQs. These are pages whose primary job is to demonstrate expertise, attract search traffic, and build the body of topical authority that makes your broader website credible. Here, the Smart Brevity discipline applies at the sentence and paragraph level, cut the padding, write efficiently, respect the reader’s time, but the overall piece needs enough substance to genuinely cover the topic. A 200-word blog post is not a blog post. It’s a paragraph that hasn’t earned a URL of its own.

The synthesis is efficient depth. Write as concisely as the topic allows. Cut every sentence that doesn’t add meaning. But don’t cut the meaning itself in the name of brevity. A well-written 1,200-word article that covers a topic thoroughly, structured clearly with headings that let the reader navigate, is not in conflict with Smart Brevity principles. It is Smart Brevity applied at the right scale for the job.

The goal is not short content or long content. It’s the right amount of content, written as efficiently as possible, structured so the reader can take exactly as much as they need.

Applying This to Your Website

If you’re thinking about your own website through this lens, here’s a practical way to approach it.

Audit your conversion pages with Smart Brevity as your filter. Read your homepage headline and ask whether it communicates your value proposition in one clear sentence. Read your service pages and ask whether the first paragraph tells the visitor what they need to know or whether it buries the point in background. Apply the Axios test: if someone reads only the first sentence of this page, do they understand what we do and why it matters to them?

Audit your authority content for depth. Look at your blog posts and ask whether each one covers its topic thoroughly enough to be genuinely useful to someone researching that subject. A post that scratches the surface of a topic contributes very little to your SEO or GEO objectives. Better to publish fewer, more substantive pieces than a high volume of thin content that doesn’t answer the question.

And at every level, apply the sentence-by-sentence discipline that Smart Brevity advocates. Every sentence should earn its place. If you remove a sentence and the meaning doesn’t change, remove it. That principle is compatible with writing at any length.

A Note on Structure

One area where Smart Brevity and content strategy are in perfect alignment is structure. VandeHei’s framework is explicit about leading with the most important point and layering depth below it. This mirrors exactly what good SEO content structure looks like: a clear headline, a strong opening that signals what the piece covers, well-organised subheadings that allow the reader to navigate, and a logical flow from broad to specific.

That structure serves human readers, search engine crawlers, and AI systems simultaneously. It’s not a compromise between brevity and depth. It’s a writing discipline that makes both possible at once.

If you haven’t read Smart Brevity, it’s worth your time, particularly if you write a lot of internal communications, proposals, or social content. Just don’t let it talk you out of the substantive website content your business needs to compete in search. The two can coexist. In fact, applied correctly, they make each other better.

If you’d like help thinking through your content strategy, including where to invest in depth and where to sharpen your messaging for conversion, get in touch with the HyperWeb team.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should website content be for SEO?

There is no universal ideal length. The right length for any piece of content is whatever it takes to thoroughly answer the question or topic it addresses, without padding. For core service pages, 500 to 1,000 words is typically sufficient. For blog posts targeting competitive search terms or covering complex topics, 1,000 to 2,000 words is more appropriate. The key principle is depth and relevance, not word count for its own sake.

What is Smart Brevity?

Smart Brevity is a communication framework developed by the founders of Axios, outlined in their book of the same name. It advocates for leading with the most important information, using plain language, and respecting the reader’s time by removing everything that doesn’t earn its place. The core principle is that brevity is a form of respect, and that most business communications are significantly longer than they need to be.

Does brevity hurt SEO?

Brevity as a writing discipline, cutting padding, jargon, and redundancy while keeping substantive depth, is entirely compatible with strong SEO. Brevity that results in thin content lacking genuine depth is a different matter. The goal is efficient depth: content that covers a topic thoroughly without wasting the reader’s time.

How does content length affect GEO and AI search visibility?

AI search tools favour content that comprehensively covers a topic with clarity and structure. Thin content is unlikely to be cited in AI-generated responses. However, length alone does not guarantee visibility. The combination of genuine depth, clear structure, and efficient writing is what earns visibility in both traditional and AI-powered search.

The post Smart Brevity vs SEO: The Content Length Tension Every Business Needs to Resolve appeared first on HyperWeb.

So, I offer my top ten from what I read this year. Five Fiction Favourites that I recommend for escaping into another world during the summer break. Five Non-Fiction Must-Reads for those looking to level up in 2025.

Top Five Fiction

Don Quixote – Cervantes

This is truly a masterpiece of literature – both brilliantly written and genuinely funny. The characterisation is brilliant, and I couldn’t find a single fault. It’s an achievement not only in its writing but also in the undertaking of reading such a big book. I’m so grateful to have experienced this book. The relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza evolves into one of literature’s most memorable friendships, with their dialogues perfectly balancing philosophical depth and comic relief.

Cloudstreet – Tim Winton

It took me a while to get to this Australian classic, but I am glad I got there. One of the best Australian books I have read. It’s weird, but I found it quite Kerouac-like in a few parts, but also very Australian. Is this Australia’s On The Road, where the road is family? I think this is Australia’s and the World’s Cloudstreet. Set in post-war Perth, the Pickle and Lamb families find themselves sharing a sprawling, chaotic house and their lives entangled in a story that captures the spirit of the time against the backdrop of working-class struggles and dreams.

Butter – Asako Yuzuki

There was a lot going on, and upon finishing, I learned it was based on a true story! I have a thing for Japanese literature and a thing for food, so this was a great read. There was a tension that held but didn’t resolve for me, and the ending was possibly not a fit with the rest of the book. An enjoyable and thought-provoking book when it comes to gender and gender perception. It enhances one’s appetite, and just like I like my food, the book has lashings of butter.

Horse – Geraldine Brooks

It’s a brilliant piece of work. It is a work about love, a horse, horse racing, historical fiction and not-so-historical truth. It left me speechless. Brooks masterfully weaves together multiple timelines, connecting the antebellum South with contemporary America through the extraordinary story of the legendary racehorse Lexington. The way she highlights the persistent echoes of racism while celebrating the deep bonds between humans and horses creates a powerful story that lingers long after the end.

The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

It is another Australian classic that I have only just finished reading. The story of a girl forced into adoption by the ravages that World War II Nazi Germany wrought upon itself. A story of survival and love seen through the unique narrative perspective of death. The narration is innovative and evocative at telling this story of survival, love as well as the senseless loss of war.

Top 5 Non-Fiction

Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss

As I mentioned in my full review, this is not a typical negotiation or influence guide. It doesn’t contain any “scientific” rules or rigid formulas because Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator, and his exploration of emotional intelligence, empathy, and their impact on achieving successful outcomes is very bloody interesting! The book is a combination of fascinating examples, practical scenarios, and insightful psychological principles. It is a powerful framework for achieving success in any negotiation.

Anatomy of a Breakthrough – Adam Alter

A very good addition to performance psychology, this looks at getting out of ruts and breaking through self-imposed or even externally imposed barriers toward goal achievement. Alter combines real-world case studies and scientific research to reveal the hidden forces behind creative thinking, debunking myths about the “genius” mindset and showing that breakthroughs often stem from unexpected sources influenced by the environment, social interactions, and cognitive biases.

The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life – Steven Bartlett

I do like a book that offers a list, I find the simple structure appeals to me. I found it quite a solid book with a lot of energy without being over the top. I think that is because it is British, so it lacks the American aggressiveness for me. While Bartlett’s entrepreneurial insights draw from his personal journey, his measured approach to success principles feels refreshingly grounded in real-world experience rather than motivational hyperbole.

Pre-suasion – Robert Cialdini

Logical following to the famous Influence, though the famous Influence is hard to beat for importance. It offers a compelling exploration of the subtle techniques that can shape decisions before a pitch begins. The book provides actionable strategies that marketers can readily apply, making it an essential addition to their toolkit. Taken together, it is a powerful duo of knowledge and resources for understanding and leveraging human behaviour. Read my full review here.

Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything – Julia Baird

I listened to this recently and found it a very heartfelt and emotional study of grace. I think grace can have a slightly different meaning for many people, and this book does come at the concept from a few different angles. The most powerful are the personal. I am going to take this opportunity to recommend a sixth book, Faith, Hope, and Carnage, by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan, as they are similar in talking about how to deal with grief and loss, particularly in others. I think as we head into more uncertain times geo-politically in 2025, having a handle on grace and a desire to practice it, will hold us in good stead as we negotiate the impacts on business and the economy next year.

As always, I hope you find something of value from my top 10 list this year and enjoy some down time to recharge into a successful 2025.

Previous year’s lists:

• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018

The post Brendan’s 2024 Top Reads – New & Old Classics Fiction and Non-Fiction appeared first on HyperWeb.

Top Five Fiction

Lola in the Mirror – Trent Dalton

Set in Brisbane, Lola in the Mirror tells the story of a budding artist who is houseless but not homeless. A coming of age living on Brisbane streets with the strength of love and survival instinct. The city itself is one of the vivid characters written by Trent Dalton, another great read.

Mrs Dalloway – Virginia Woolf

I read two Virginia Woolf classics this year, but this one really proved her greatness to me. A shorter read, set in post-WWI London, it is the stream-of-consciousness style that first appealed, then a unique narrative of a day in the life that intertwines characters. The book touches on themes such as mental illness, relationships, society, and the complexity of our thoughts and beliefs.

Grimmish – Michael Winkler

Another Australian book was published by HyperWeb client Puncher & Wattmann. Grimmish is the telling of Joe Grimm, a boxer who can take an extraordinary beating and remain standing. It is an amazing, entertaining book written in an innovative style with a narrative “punch” and occasional commentary “jab”. It leaves you wondering what is real and what is fiction.

Breath – Tim Winton

My first Tim Winton did not disappoint. This book was right in my alley as it is focussed on local (to the setting) surf culture. It is the story of a teen as he grows into himself as he challenges the large surf of the south coast of WA. Through the main character, the book navigates the coming of age of friendship, sex, family, and forging an identity through testing one’s limits.

Klara & the Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro

A work of science fiction, it is about Klara, and “artificial friend (AF), who is sentient and observes the complexity of her human, her relationships, and love. There are a few dramatic turns but plenty of light and food for thought in these days o the rapid development of AI.

Non Fiction

Magic Words – Jonah Berger

Another Jonah Berger, the book identifies six types of words that when used well and the right rime and place can increase your effectiveness in relationships, creativity, influence, and for me, marketing content. Psychology backed useful tools to help you leverage the power of words.

Awaken Your Genius – Ozan Varol

Another book that inspired me to take immediate action, this was helped by useful resources provided as accompanying exercises. It is the guide to sifting through what no longer serves you, discovering your first principles, escaping your limiting beliefs, and create. It offers a different and welcome challenges to traditional thinking and encourages embracing you for yourself and the things that make you different.

Radical Candor – Kim Malone Scott

An essential read for managers and leaders. This book offers a framework to being a better boss, building better relationships, and creating a business culture of effective cohesion and results. The framework is caring personally intersected with challenging directly and how, when, and to what extend to do both.

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You will have heard of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson; it’s a very recognisable title and cover. It was a very popular book, so you may have had someone you know recommending it. The book offers an impactful delivery of tools to prioritise what really matters in life and business. This perspective shift can help us deal with the stresses and pressures of business life. The book has a message that is simple but powerful: embrace the inevitability of adversity and use it to your advantage.

Embrace your limitations

One of the core messages in the book is to embrace our limitations and imperfections. It is tempting in business life to camouflage the areas of our practice where we feel that we fall a little short, however, Manson suggests this is counterproductive. Instead, we should embrace our limitations and use them to our advantage. By owning our imperfections, we can learn from our mistakes and where we can improve and invest in our development.

Take Responsibility

Following on from embracing our limitations, Manson tells us we need to take responsibility for our life. This calls on the Growth Mindset concept of Dr Carol Dweck. In business life, it is convenient to blame the external environment and even other people for our problems. If we take responsibility for our own situation rather than blaming the economy, competitors, or other factors, we can make the changes required to grow personally and professionally. As a business owner or manager, this means being accountable for the success of our business and taking action to make it happen.

Values

Our values are the key to not giving a f*ck. Manson calls on us to think about our core personal values to guide our decisions and action. This also applies to our company values and making sure that every decision aligns with these values. This leads us and our employees towards a purpose that we can embrace and that can buffer us in turbulent times. Manson emphasizes that we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to it. By focusing on our vision, mission, and goals, and making decisions based on what aligns with these values. We have help in avoiding distractions, prioritising our time and resources, and staying true to our purpose.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is a punchy and valuable read for business owners and managers who are looking to succeed. By embracing our imperfections, focusing on our own values and the values of our company, and taking responsibility, we can create a sense of purpose and control that can help protect us from the rigours of entrepreneurial life. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with the pressure to succeed, however, the principles outlined in this book can help us find the balance and happiness we deserve.

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The audiobook was clear and concise demonstrating her ability to break down complex concepts into digestible insights. Through a wealth of research and personal anecdotes, she offers key takeaways from well-known cases of successful quitters. Duke’s storytelling abilities and her decision-making and risk management background, provide convincing stories and hard evidence to support her claims.

Annie Duke was a successful professional poker player, and an example used in the book that stood out for me was that professional poker players quit far more than amateurs at the start of the hand. Pros play a mere 15–25% of the two-card starting combinations they are dealt in Texas Hold’em. Compare that to an amateur who will stick with their starting cards over half the time.

For business readers, Quit offers valuable insights to readers at any professional stage, whether they are looking to reassess their career direction or refine their decision-making and prioritisation skills. With interesting stories from high achievers in various fields, Duke reveals what hinders our ability to quit effectively, such as escalation of commitment, desire for certainty, and status quo bias. She offers practical tools, such as “quitting contracts” and “premortems and backcasts,” to combat these biases and make better professional and personal decisions.

Duke highlights the importance of embracing flexibility in goal-setting and being open to pivoting when circumstances change. The book challenges us to adopt an experimentation mindset, maximising options while learning from mistakes. It also challenges us to tackle the hard parts of a challenge first, so we can learn something new while having a set of “kill criteria”. The kill criteria is a checklist that informs the decision to quit if the list is all ticked off.

Compared to other business self-help books that promote relentless hustling and perseverance, Quit sets itself apart by advocating for a more nuanced understanding of goal achievement. Duke’s message of knowing when to fold is refreshing and, arguably, more relevant than ever in our current high-pressure environment.

Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away is a thought-provoking and well-researched exploration of the important skill of knowing when to walk away. Annie Duke delivers wisdom and practical advice to benefit many business professionals and anyone seeking personal growth. I highly recommend the book to those looking for an alternative view on success and decision-making, and as a valuable counterpoint to the dominant “never quit” mindset.

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Five to Tune Out with

1. Love Stories by Trent Dalton captures the raw and honest stories of heartache and joy in everyday life. Following a collection of characters from different backgrounds, this book paints a vivid picture of relationships in a way never before seen.
2. Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams tells the story of Esme’s journey to bring forgotten words from the margins into the mainstream dictionary. The novel cunningly uses words to illustrate symbols of gender inequality, as well as issues associated with loss and belonging.
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway is a deserved classic. The gripping story follows an American protagonist, Robert Jordan, as he joins forces with local guerilla fighters to set up an explosive mission behind enemy lines. With vivid descriptions of a war-torn country, fascinating characters, and wonderfully written dialogue, this novel will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
4. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a hoot of a book. It follows the adventures of four elderly sleuths in a small English village retirement home who, determined not to be slowed down in their golden years, set out to solve murders.
5. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole – I have only just finished this. Another classic, but this one is comedic, though occasionally jolting. The main character is a lumbering old-minded misanthrope who is on a mission to align his world to his worldview and creates a hilarious, but also sad cycle of issues behind him.

Five for Tune Up with

1. The Eye Test by Chris Jones – The Eye Test is a must-read for any business owner looking to stay competitive in today’s market. It provides valuable insight into how analytics can be used alongside intuition and creativity to make smart decisions that will propel your business forward in today’s ever-changing landscape. With its engaging writing style, thought-provoking ideas, and actionable advice, this book is sure to help you take your business strategy—and your success—to the next level!
2. Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi provides invaluable insights into the concept of “flow” and how it can help people reach peak performance in any field – including business. This book offers clear advice on how one can enter into a state of flow as well as the benefits such an experience can offer both individuals and businesses alike. Full review here.
3. Stolen Focus by Johan Hari is probably one of the most important books I have read in recent times. The book sets out 12 causes contributing to the demise of our ability to focus, or pay attention. It is becoming a chronic issue, and his study is broad. There were many lessons for me as a parent and a business owner working in technology and marketing, it is quite a wake-up call.
4. Happier Hour by Cassie Holmes – I obsess a little over routine and for some time have been thinking about what is the perfect routine for productivity, how does it all fit in the time we have, and what is the perfect week? So I’m glad that I came across this book as it shows us how.
5. The Catalyst – This book explores barriers to change and how to overcome them not only in business but sociologically and personally. Berger explores the science of persuasion and reveals how we can overcome the barriers to change. It offers many other useful insights and tips throughout the book, including how to use social proof, authority, and scarcity to influence people, and how to make your message more persuasive. Full review here.

As always, I hope you find something from this list to relax with, exercise your mind, develop some strategies for achievement and learn something new over the Christmas break. Happy reading.

The post Brendan’s 2022 Top 10 Summer Reads – Tune Out, then Tune Up appeared first on HyperWeb.

Reports have shown that audio is one of the fastest growing segments of publishing.

1. The Infinite Games by Simon Sinek

This one will have you questioning whether as a business owner or leader you’re living in an infinite or finite mindset. It helps you consider your own business leadership, and put what works for you into play.

2. Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

Have you been searching for guidance and a set of principles that can be applied to business and personal life? ⠀
Dalio gives away his principles that every business owner can use.

3. Good to Great by Jim Collins

This book looks at how great companies get great and stay great. The book is for good companies because it answers the question: how did the great companies go from good to great and maintain it.

4. Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol

Think Like a Rocket Scientist presents problem-solving & task achievement strategies that are counter-intuitive. Written by a rocket scientist it is a compelling, engaging, & practical read.

5. Mindset by Carol Dweck

This book is an important book for anyone who manages a work place, parents a child, coaches a team, or plays any role in the learning and development of others.

Check out all our latest book reviews.

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Five for a Feet-up Read

1. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss – I listened to the audiobook to hear an indigenous narrator and appreciate the pronunciation of the Wiradjuri language. I am glad I did, it felt like sessions of storytelling, really appreciating the opportunity. Thoroughly recommend reading this story of a clash of beliefs and understanding, racism, and the challenge of the land of the late 1800s.
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – A book that makes you think and wonder about yourself, what could have been, and what could be. You are left feeling hopeful and motivated, just what we will need heading into 2022. The Midnight Library is the zone between life and death and each book is an alternative life. Seems a simple and easy device, but it is done beautifully in this book.
3. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – Stunning in natural beauty, you get a real visual of the landscape in which this is set on the North Carolina coast. A child is left to fend for herself and we see her grow, learn about nature and humanity, and overcome extreme diversity. I loved it, most of it, it hooked me in, though I struggled in it a few times, but let go and felt its warmth and intent.
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin – A rightful classic, story of the challenges of class and station. A criticism of the patriarchal society of 1800s England presented in a satirical way. I really enjoyed it.
5. Blessed: The Breakout Year of Rampaging Roy Slaven by John Doyle – Bloody wonderful. I listened to the Audiobook and bought the paperback. John Doyle narrates the story of the year that established the young uber-talented Roy Slaven and in doing so, tells the story of his own childhood, the 1960s Lithgow and Catholic school experience.

Five for Business, Inspiration, and Fascination

1. The Art of the Impossible by Steven Kotler – Decodes how the very successful make things that seem impossible, possible. I found this an excellent book. It ticks all my boxes. It contains biochemistry, physiology, philosophy, and brings in some other research in performance I was already a fan of such as Grit, Flow, and Mindset. I will be re-reading this and can’t wait to do so. Very practicable.
2. Effortless by Greg McKeown – One I reviewed earlier in the year, looks at how we can make it easier to get things done and achieve our goals. I found this book quite easy to consume and it makes a lot of sense, which is rare in overly convoluted business and performance books.
3. Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning by Tom Vanderbilt – I had a couple of long sessions with this listening to the audiobook (author narrates). It is telling that I was glued to it for some solid lengths at a time. This is kind of the point of the book in a way. To get good at something, you need to spend time and regular effort. The book probably spoke to me as I try to make lifelong learning a habit. I highly recommend this book as I highly recommend doing something each day to learn something new or to improve at a skill, any skill, to keep your mind active.
4. Think Again by Adam Grant – Another one I reviewed earlier in the year. Highly recommended, and timely. Never be satisfied with what you think you know. Contains tools to challenge your thinking in ways that can move you forward. It looks at how to break out of confirmation bias, desirability bias, and I’m not biased bias. Recommends thinking like a scientist, not a politician or preacher. Great stuff. Really got me thinking practically about how self-challenging and putting myself open to challenges from others can help with business ideas and ideals.
5. Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change by Christian Jarrett – Very useful resource not only in managing oneself but understanding and managing others. Some might say it gives the tools to improve oneself or another for the better. A resource for the management and psychology bookshelf.

I hope you find something from this list to relax with, exercise your mind, develop some strategies for achievement and learn something new over the Christmas break. Happy reading.

The post Brendan’s 2021 Top 10 Summer Reads – Feet Up, Fascination, and Inspiration appeared first on HyperWeb.

The fiction books I have chosen on the basis of them not being too dramatic, as we all have had enough drama this year. The non-fiction books I recommend are ones that should inspire, interest, and entertain.

Five for a Feet-up Read

A mixture of classics of all sizes, and some more recent releases, here are my 5 recommendations for fiction to read over your summer break.

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez – An amazing piece of work with a mix of realism and surrealism. Entertaining for the most part as it gets a bit long. An interesting analogy of Latin America, the arrival of colonialism with commentary on capitalism.
2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson – For something more light-hearted but a little challenging, this one is a wild ride. It is a righteous classic that amuses, surprises, and excites. It is also quite short so if you only get a few days off, this will do the trick.
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – A bit of technological science fiction which doesn’t seem too far into our future. It is insightful, cleverly done, fun and exciting. The only downside for me is I hadn’t seen many of the 80s movies that are referenced and form some of the more suspenseful moments. The sequel is also now out, you might want to give this a read before entering a second token into the machine.
4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville – A quintessential classic. If you only read one book this summer, it could be this one as it will take all summer to read. It is quite big. Given it is such a landmark book I was surprised how unconventional it was. There are passages that are a bit Shakespearian and even Joycean. A really interesting historical piece as well.
5. The Morbids by Ewa Ramsey – This book is really insightful into the experience of mental health sufferers, particularly those with an anxiety disorder. It offers paintings of panic attacks but also clear messages of hope and the beauty of friendships and relationships. Some of that beauty is mixed with the memorable (for some) ugliness of share house living and hospitality work in Sydney, but this is what makes it very relatable. An amazing first novel with enough narrative quirks to set it apart from the run of the mill.

Five for Business, Inspiration, and Fascination

Looking at the five I have chosen this year, there isn’t the usual concentration on business books. So, these are great for non-fiction general interest, important understanding of our history and past masters as well as some tools to think about how you will know what success looks like for 2021.

1. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer – From memory, I got this off a list of books recommended by Bill Gates. A very interesting read that not only tells the story of the author’s journey to memory athleticism but on the way, it teaches you the techniques used. The techniques are ancient because, until recent technological advances since the written word, humans had only memory to rely upon for knowledge and cultural development. The same techniques are used by Memory Athletes today, and you can learn them too.
2. Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life by Ozan Varol – I have reviewed this book already this year. In short, though, this book takes methods used by actual rocket scientists to apply in the business and life decision making and problem-solving that everyone can use.
3. Measure What Matters by John E. Doerr – I will be spending a lot of time with this book in the new year. Written by one of the big guns with experience in some of the biggest tech companies you know, this book offers the fundamentals of OKRs (objectives & key results). These have driven the success of both Google and Intel to mention two, so that is good enough for me. The tools are relatively simple and that is why I’m keen to pull them out and see how I can apply them to our business. A unique opportunity to learn from a unique perspective
4. Phosphorescence by Dr Julia Baird – You might know Julia Baird from ABC News “The Drum” and other more journalistic appearances. This book, however, comes from her heart and mind. It talks from her perspective as a cancer survivor and how in times of darkness we can find the light – the kind of phosphoresce light that is generated by nature. This book I recommend because it truly is inspiring and what is needed at the end of 2020 to look forward to 2021 with eyes wide to wonder and awe.
5. Humankind by Rutger Bregman – I recommend this book as it debunks the portrayal of human nature that is driven by the media and politicians. The negative construct of a society and cultures that are combative and prone toward evil is designed to attract clicks and votes but it is not the natural state of our species. I feel there are some valuable lessons in this book that awaken us to the manipulation we are exposed to and highlighting with evidence that humans are inherently kind. It is extremely interesting from an anthropological point of view as well. Interesting and inspiring at the same time.

Bonus Read: Anything by Bill Bryson – Ok a bonus audiobook for your long summer holiday drive. This year I listened to three Bill Bryson books and each was great. Funny, incredibly interesting, and engaging style which he narrates himself. I listened to “The Body”, “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, and “At Home”. In each, you will laugh, learn something interesting, and be left wanting more.

I hope you find something from this list to relax with, exercise your mind, develop some strategies for achievement and learn something new over the Christmas break. Happy reading.

The post Brendan’s Top 10 Summer Reads – Feet Up, Fascination, and Inspiration appeared first on HyperWeb.