If you know where business is headed in the future, you can make smarter decisions in the present. You can implement forward-thinking policies at work, for example, or you can pursue a job at a new company or in an entirely new industry.
The question, of course, is how to see the future of business. And fortunately, the nine excellent books below combine grounded realism with imaginative possibility to paint a surprising and deeply compelling portrait of tomorrow.
The Future Normal: How We Will Live, Work and Thrive in the Next Decade
By Rohit Bhargava and Henry Coutinho-Mason
Across thirty fast-moving chapters, The Future Normal spotlights dozens of ideas and instigators who are changing the world. From biophilic skyscrapers to generative AI, these stories offer an optimistic yet deeply human view of the next decade. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Rohit Bhargava, 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
Beyond Disruption: Innovate and Achieve Growth without Displacing Industries, Companies, or Jobs
By W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
A practical guide for driving innovation and growth, the rich research behind Beyond Disruption, coupled with its frame-breaking message, make it a must-read book for the next generation of innovators. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Renée Mauborgne, in the Next Big Idea App
Turnaround Time: Uniting an Airline and Its Employees in the Friendly Skies
By Oscar Munoz
With candor, humor, and heartfelt wisdom, a former United Airlines CEO reveals how he rose from humble immigrant origins to lead United through one of modern business’s greatest corporate turnarounds. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Oscar Munoz, in the Next Big Idea App
Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World
By Ginni Rometty
A former IBM CEO delivers a powerful combination of memoir, leadership lessons, and big ideas on how we can all drive meaningful change. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ginni Rometty, in the Next Big Idea App
The Empathy Advantage: Leading the Empowered Workforce
By Heather McGowan and Chris Shipley
Whether you are a seasoned executive or an emerging leader, The Empathy Advantage speaks to those who are ready to embrace a more influential and engaging form of leadership, especially those with responsibility for recruiting, engaging, and retaining talent. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Heather McGowan, in the Next Big Idea App
Culture Is the Way: How Leaders at Every Level Build an Organization for Speed, Impact, and Excellence
By Matt Mayberry
An essential roadmap to organizational transformation, Culture Is the Way will earn a place on the bookshelves of managers, executives, and other business leaders seeking to improve the performance of their team members. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Matt Mayberry, in the Next Big Idea App
Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work
By Uri Gneezy
An informative and entertaining account of how actions send signals that shape behaviors—and how to design better incentives for better results in our life, our work, and our world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Uri Gneezy, in the Next Big Idea App
Tomorrow’s Capitalist: My Search for the Soul of Business
By Alan Murray
Tomorrow’s Capitalist reveals how corporate CEOs—the ultimate pragmatists—realized that they could lose their “operating license” unless they tackle the fundamental issues of our time: climate, diversity and inclusion, and inequality and workforce opportunity. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Alan Murray, 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!
