So, you or a woman you know is ready to take on the world. It’s exciting, but also a little daunting. How do you begin? Where can you look for guidance and inspiration? Fortunately, the ten excellent books below will help you hit the ground running.
The Power Code: More Joy. Less Ego. Maximum Impact for Women (and Everyone)
By Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
Both a prescription for societal change and a professional guidebook for individual women, The Power Code shows you how to leverage the power you already have, find new sources of power in yourself and your community, and remodel your workplace and your home life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Claire Shipman, in the Next Big Idea App
Building a New Leadership Ladder: Transforming Male-Dominated Organizations to Support Women on the Rise
By Carol J. Geffner
More than a how-to guide on how women can ascend to the top, Building a New Leadership Ladder is a bold call to action for organizations and their leaders to proactively foster the conditions under which women’s efforts to rise up are consistently recognized and rewarded. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Carol J. Geffner, in the Next Big Idea App
Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Claim Our Power
By Rose Hackman
An acclaimed journalist shares the stories of hundreds of women, tracing the history of emotional labor and exposing its common manifestations. She also empowers us to combat this insidious force and forge pathways for radical evolution, justice, and change. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Rose Hackman, in the Next Big Idea App
Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America’s Revolutions
By Mattie Kahn
From the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement to nuclear disarmament protests and the women’s liberation movement, an award-winning writer uncovers how girls have leveraged their unique strengths to lay political groundwork for movements that often sidelined them. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Mattie Kahn, in the Next Big Idea App
Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs
By Jamie Fiore Higgins
Both a revealing, extraordinary look at the industry and a top Wall Streeter’s explosive personal story, Bully Market is an essential account of one woman’s experience in a flawed system that speaks to the challenge and urgency for change. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jamie Fiore Higgins, in the Next Big Idea App
Arrive and Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership
By Susan MacKenty Brady, Janet Foutty, and Lynn Perry Wooten
Powered by the latest research, boots-on-the-ground experience, and advice from 24 of the world’s most successful leaders, this book captures seven practices that help you understand and leverage your unique personal powers so you can thrive in leadership. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Susan MacKenty Brady, in the Next Big Idea App
The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America
By Deepa Purushothaman
A deeply personal call to action for women of color to find power from within and to join together in community, advocating for a new corporate environment where we all belong—and are accepted—on our own terms. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Deepa Purushothaman, in the Next Big Idea App
Closing the Confidence Gap: Boost Your Peace, Your Potential, and Your Paycheck
By Kelli Thompson
Closing the Confidence Gap will show you how to advance with confidence, despite the systemic issues that women face every day at work. You’ll hear deeply personal stories and walk away with practical tools to show you how to claim your role as a confident leader. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kelli Thompson, in the Next Big Idea App
There’s Nothing Micro About a Billion Women: Making Finance Work for Women
By Mary Ellen Iskenderian
Microfinance has been hailed as an economic lifeline for women in developing countries—but, as the CEO of Women’s World Banking shows, it takes more than microloans to empower women and promote sustainable, inclusive economic growth. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Mary Ellen Iskenderian, in the Next Big Idea App
When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them
By Julia Boorstin
A groundbreaking, deeply reported work from a CNBC correspondent that reveals the key commonalities and characteristics that help top female leaders thrive as they innovate, grow businesses, and navigate crises. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Julia Boorstin, in the Next Big Idea App
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium video e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
