NONE of the books that have changed how I think about work are business books.

None of them taught marketing.
And none of them taught leadership.

They've, instead, been stories like:

→ A journalist who embedded in the art world to understand why people become obsessed with things they can't explain.

→ A memoir about cleaning houses while raising a toddler with no financial safety net.

→ A jazz musician who spent decades arguing that improvisation is the closest thing we have to a real model of how organizations work.

Those lessons have stuck with me way, way longer than most business books.

There are 8 in the carousel below, including the specific lesson that’s stayed with me from each.

What’s your best non-business business book recommendation?

👉 New here? I'm Allison. I post fresh-squeezed takes on marketing, creativity, and how to fix what's broken about work. For the juicier stuff, subscribe to The Creativity of Work. Link in bio.