Books

A fresh look at the how new technologies like artificial intelligence are creating an entreprenuerial revolution.

Does it feel like everyone you know is thinking about starting a business? That's because they are. In the last few years new businesses have been launched in record numbers, with more of us than ever deciding to go it alone or become entrepreneurs.

Fuelled by new technologies like artificial intelligence and automation, this trend is only just beginning, with traditional firms due to be automated in the same way that farms and factories were in the last few decades.

Start-Up Century explains why this shift is happening, and what it will mean to live in a world where most of us are self-employed, or work in small entrepreneurial endeavours. It details the entrepreneurial frontiers ahead of us, the opportunities to be seized and products to be built in fields as diverse as robotics to healthcare, energy and construction. And it covers the many challenges that this new way of working presents, setting out ideas and policies to help us close the digital divide, make education relevant again, make our public services more innovative and inspire a new generation to build the solutions the world needs.

In the face of rapid changes to the way we work and the technologies available to us, Start-Up Century sets out an overwhelmingly positive view of how individuals and start-ups, not corporates, will solve the challenges of the 21st Century.

Written by a recognized trainer for both LinkedIn and Meta, Smart Social Media is grounded in the insights gained from hands-on consultancy work, plus hours of personal research, observations, and in-depth reviews of the platforms themselves. Both practical and informative, Smart Social Media is full of actionable insights and valuable guidance that will emphasize the importance of using social media strategically, to enhance brand awareness, boost engagement, build relationships with your customers, and keep up with ever-changing consumer behaviour.

'An excellent book' VINCE CABLE | 'A must read' JO JOHNSON | 'A fascinating read' BILL DUDLEY

A timely manifesto on how digital currencies will win the New Cold War and the struggle for geopolitical supremacy in the twenty-first century.

A New Cold War is underway. Whereas the first Cold War was dominated by the threat of nuclear conflict, the new front line is economic and financial, but still dominated by technology. Who controls its future will help decide the outcome of the geopolitical struggle between China and the US.

Since the end of the Second World War, the US dollar has been the global reserve currency, which has ensured American dominance of the world economy. But no longer. More than a hundred countries are developing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), digital equivalents to cash that will utterly transform how we do business at home and abroad.

China was the first country to recognise the potential of this new money. The West's media focused on the new currency's role in China's surveillance state, creating widespread concern about all CBDCs. But they have largely overlooked a more important aspect of its existence: as a tool through which to 'de-dollarise' the developing world at the speed of light. When China's President Xi Jinping officially launched the digital yuan in February 2022, he also agreed a pact of 'limitless co-operation' with Russia. Within days, Russia launched its war on Ukraine, secure in the knowledge it could bypass US sanctions.

Urgent, clear-eyed and groundbreaking, Smart Money shows us how CBDCs are going to impact all of our futures in ways that most of us have failed to even consider. If the West is to compete, it needs to act fast to develop its own global digital currencies that reflect the values of liberal democracies.

The ultimate guide to digital marketing and advertising - from one of the most influential digital marketers in the world, Alex Schultz, CMO of Meta.

Growth is good. But how do you achieve growth for your business in the digital age?

Now, more than ever, there are countless ways to achieve growth by marketing your business, large or small, using the many different channels, platforms and mechanisms available on the internet. How do you decide which is the best for your product or service?

The answers are right here, thanks to Alex Schultz, the chief marketing officer of META. Alex's unparalleled expertise and experience is crystallized in this essential bible for digital marketing. He guides readers through the key principles for maximising the impact of your marketing budget - whether you are working for a global corporation or running your own start-up.

From understanding channels, to testing creative, to measuring incremental gains - Click Here is the book you need to read if you want to grow your business.

'Alex is one of a small handful of people that I can say without his work, our community would not have connected more than 2 billion people around the world.'

From leading global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the minds behind the New York Times bestseller CEO Excellence comes a compact, insight-packed guide to navigating the distinct phases of leadership that every CEO must pass through on their way to mastery. In the high-stakes world of corporate leadership, becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is an Everest-like ascent—with only the savviest managing to avoid falling off the mountain. In A CEO for All Seasons you’ll find an essential climbing route that will take you through every stage. Featured in this tip-dense guide is wisdom from some of the world’s most iconic leaders, including Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman, Chevron’s Mike Wirth, Merck’s Ken Frazier, NASDAQ’s Adena Friedman, ASML’s Peter Wennink, and Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman. Unique in applying a number of sophisticated metrics to isolate the world’s top 200 CEOs, reduce them to a representative sample, and then reap their wisdom, the McKinsey team, in A CEO for All Seasons, spotlights the specific stage-based hurdles that CEOs face. From preparing for the role (stepping up) to leading with impact (starting strong) to sustaining momentum (staying ahead) to fortifying a lasting legacy (sending it forward), the book leaves no segment of the journey unmapped. Along the way, it offers proven strategies for maintaining forward progress and, crucially, alerts readers to common blind spots, as revealed by a detailed survey of thousands of executives. Whether you’re an aspiring leader or a new-to-the-job CEO—or even a board member wanting to better steward your company’s performance—this is the compact, hands-on guide you’ve needed. Its compendium of pressure-tested tips is a must-have game changer for leaders at all levels.

Aspiring leaders are hungry to learn all that they can about how to be a more effective leader. And certainly there are tools and best practices young leaders should know and add to their toolkit. But - as Steve Mostyn, one of the world's leading innovators in executive leadership, has learned over the past decades of teaching this cohort - two equally useful activities for the aspiring leader are reflection and experimentation. In his new book WHY GREAT LEADERS ASK GREAT QUESTIONS, Mostyn has crafted an elegant collection of the seven provocative questions aspiring leaders should ask themselves in order to spur that reflection and experimentation. These are some of the most important questions Mostyn poses to each cohort of the Oxford Executive Leadership program's students, honed by the past answers and engagement of thousands of students. The book is simple in conception, profound in execution. In seven accessible chapters, with exercises, research, and examples, the reader will engage with these questions: How do I reflect? How do I spend my time? Where does my power come from? How do I grow my network? How do I make change happen around here? How do I manage my energy? How do I grow more leaders? Inspired in part by Mostyn's work on the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme - an accelerated international leadership development program with over 5,000 alumni around the world - and in part by his numerous workshop sessions where he challenges and supports leaders through his unique questions, the premise of the book is well-tested with aspiring and practicing leaders and is proven to spark both reflection and growth. These seven questions are drawn from the author's deep experience with the needs of rising young executives. Readers will engage with provocative exercises, highly accessible overviews of applicable research, and examples from fellow mid-career executives.

How do labor markets work? Is it better to aim for inflation or full employment? How can developing countries escape the poverty trap? In this accessible and entertaining guide, readers can explore the key questions and theories that top economists have sought to answer, and gain valuable insights into the complex world of economics. Ranging from demand and supply to globalization and international trade to game theory, and featuring ideas from such esteemed economists as Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman, this essential guide will bring you up to speed on the core themes and theories of this great subject and understand how world economies function.

While it doesn't always make headlines, there is a growing recognition that kindness is vital to strong performance at work. In the broad range of leadership skills, kindness is inherently quieter, more personal and harder to see – and yes, less interesting or cinematic than controversial tweets and 'bullying boss' behaviour. But kindness builds empathy and trust, which ultimately creates a sense of psychological safety – and that safety leads to more creativity; a better quality of decision-making; safer critical thinking; higher levels of staff loyalty, flexibility and retention; a heightened sense of engagement; and, ultimately, higher productivity and profitability

Remember when talking about money was taboo? Times have changed and in our times, with so many radical and disruptive changes to the economy, the role of the entrepreneur now embedded at the centre of so much societal and technological change, and digital currencies changing the way we think about exchange, money has become a vital, insistent of conversation for everyone. All of us acknowledge it matters desperately; yet so few of us really understand it. The press and social media are awash with rags to riches stories, stories of kitchen table businesses that become multi-million-pound enterprises. Stories of teenagers and young adults investing in digital currencies from their bedrooms. On the flip side of these aspirational stories there is the reality of the everyday person who simply wants to understand what to and what not to do with their money. Should they save or invest, if they invest - what in, if they save - what for? Should they buy a home or rent, should they live for the moment or live for retirement. How does having credit provide more credit and would insurance be the best bet if all falls around you and what the hell is APR anyway? Finance and money are topics we all wish we learnt at school but instead we find ourselves having to 'learn on the job', having to do deep investigations and 'trust' the advice from online experts. There must be a better way and a better place to go to for this insight and here we have it, courtesy of two authors who have known hardship and huge success - "What they should have taught you about money, finance and investment at school' to fill that void.