Reading List: Upgrade

For this book, Rana Florida, CEO of the Creative Class Group and a columnist for The Huffington Post, interviewed impressive friends, acquaintances and colleagues, including Daniel Pink, author of To Sell Is Human; Zaha Hadid, an architect and one of Forbes magazine’s World’s 100 Most Powerful Women; John Noseworthy, M.D., CEO of the Mayo Clinic; chef Mario Batali; and singer Nelly Furtado. She asked them how they managed to “make things work so well.” From their answers, Florida gleaned seven key principles to leading fulfilled, successful lives: Envision your future, realize that your passion and creativity are keys to everything, protect your time, collaborate, take risks and embrace failure as a part of success. While much of the advice will take you down a familiar path, Florida presents the collective insights in an engaging way. “Whether you realize it or not, the majority of us are still riding through life in coach class,” she writes. This book will motivate you to get an Upgrade.

by Rana Florida

September, McGraw Hill Professional; $27