Here are some books I’ve read recently that have made an impression:

• The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver. Silver has studied and employed strategies to use data to make better predictions. Sounds boring but he uses politics, baseball and poker to make his points.
• Toughness by Jay Bilas. He is a lawyer and basketball analyst that played for “Coach K” at Duke. He explores the idea of living life with “toughness” and describes the kind of characteristics that cause toughness to be. I hope I’m tough like this. I want teammates who are tough too.
• Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud. He describes how cycles cause things to become obsolete. He explores the necessity of making the hard decisions to end things and to move in a new direction. Sometimes what we won’t release drags us down.
• How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. He describes the importance of “grit” in success. Some people think it’s all about IQ. Tough says the difference between successful and unsuccessful students has more to do with staying on task, working through difficulties and enduring. Not how smart they are.
• Creative Confidence by Tom Kelley and David Kelley. The Kelleys are designers and teachers who work with folks on the development of new products. They demonstrate practical ways in which they teach people to develop confidence in their ability to innovate. That’s what I call “happening to the world.”
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. He deconstructs the process of creating habits, both good and bad. He demonstrates how good habits add up to comprise lean operations. He teaches how individuals and teams can use habits to improve outcomes.

You’ll probably see parts of these books and concepts come your way. Here’s a shot to read ahead.