The world Rita Gunther McGrath paints is one in which the ubiquity of cost leadership and differentiation among industry leaders is waning and the future for leaders of industries is one in which organizational identity and agility triumph. The End of Competitive Advantage shows us case after case of leading companies and their failures to adapt to changing markets. Floods of new technologies and market trends bring a challenge to companies: grab hold and start building something quickly or else watch your brand wash away into obsolescence. Sustained success is no longer about what you sell and at what price, but rather how far you can forecast and how quickly you can adapt to the coming trends.

This book relays the strategic approach P&G used over the 10-year period Lafley (with Martin as advisor) led the company to increase its market value to $100 billion. But this isn’t an industry book as much as it is a “story about choices, including the choice to create a discipline of strategic thinking and strategic practice within an organization.” And that’s truly what makes this book so good. It is, indeed, a story, and its two authors are invested in communicating the impressive work done at P&G and teaching this approach to others.

We all want a healthy and happy atmosphere at work. This book shows how the company Menlo Innovations built that for their employees, and how the rest of us can do the same. Beyond simple management tactics, the book gets into the core intricacies of emotion, personality, and skills, revealing qualities of a shared belief system that everyone could work from—to the point that some even joked they no longer needed to be paid.

It is very rare to read an entire business book from cover to cover, or find a story that is so interesting and captivating that it immediately puts perspective on how you channel your own creativity. Unlabel is that book. It is a success story, but it's one that shares the bruises, scars, and painful mistakes that every entrepreneur and business owner must overcome to succeed. Unlabel is a great mix of personal anecdotes from Marc Ecko’s own life, and helpful action tips that other small business owners and entrepreneurs can use to further their business and their lives outside of business. In a time where the majority of the world is forced to hustle, and fight in a competitive world, Unlabel is the perfect story of a man who clawed his way out of a garage, creating a multi-million dollar company in the process. 

Alexis Ohanian’s deliberations on the infancy of the Internet provide ample fuel for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Ohanian explains how the Internet supplants the old boundaries and obstacles of entrepreneurship in a purely physical world with digital tools, platforms, and ideas. The story of Reddit and Ohanian’s subsequent adventures bolster his argument for the power of the Internet and the importance of it remaining free and accessible to all. Without Their Permission is an entrepreneur’s guide for the young. It is a reminder that the Internet hasn’t always been as it is now, and it is up to those young entrepreneurs to determine what it will be in the future.

Success is an oft-tackled subject in business literature, so it’s easy to be cynical about there being any new angle to take on the matter. But G. Richard Shell, author of the classic Bargaining for Advantage and the terrific The Art of Woo, achieves it in Springboard: Launching Your Personal Search for Success by presenting us with a book that doesn’t define success as much as it provides readers with the tools to define it accurately and authentically for themselves. Why is this so important? In Shell’s words: “It is your life story you are writing, after all.” Shell opens his book with a retelling of his own circuitous path to success, written with great humility and insight, and the entire book is shared in a voice that is both instructive and generous. “What is Success?” and “How Will I Achieve It?” are questions you will be able to answer for yourself once you close the covers of this book.

When we were young, we didn’t think much about creativity, we just used it all the time. As adults, we often wonder how to get that sense of wonder back. We fear the ridiculous and are burdened by how we’re “supposed” to think, yet we hold a bounty of adventure, ideas, and inspiration within each of us. Looking to harness creativity and innovation? Unthink is our guide

The Alchemists not only provides those on the macroeconomic scene today with a better understanding of the history and role of central banks and bankers, it gives the general public insight into a world that is extremely powerful and very (and possibly necessarily) opaque, and leaves for future scholars a first draft history of the unprecedented, ad hoc institutional reaction to one of the biggest financial meltdowns the world has ever seen. And, in spite of its white-collar content and buttoned-up policy wonkishness, it is also an interesting history lesson and a uniquely human drama that unfolds. Overall, it’s simply an important and entertaining read from Neil Irwin and The Penguin Press.