Books to Watch: October 2014

Fall is in full swing, and the list of excellent books is a mile high. Whether you're in need of something on big-picture strategy or personal improvement, the options are many. Here are a few that are on our radar for October. How to Kill a Unicorn by Mark Payne October 7 / Crown Business / ISBN-13 9780804138734 Fahrenheit 212's Mark Payne shares some long-coveted insights into what makes his organization so unique. Fahrenheit 212 is viewed by many as a high-performance innovation SWAT team, able to solve the most complex, mission-critical challenges, so it will be no surprise that How to Kill a Unicorn is flush with informative case studies. Kill the unicorn—turn fantasy into real innovation! Leading Digital by George Westerman, Didier Bonnet, Andrew McAfee October 14 / Harvard Business Review Press / ISBN-13 9781625272478 Two researchers from the MIT Sloan Center and Capgemini Consulting's Vice president team up to tackle the monetization of digital technologies. What sets this guide apart is its application. This is not simply a book for digital-only companies, but rather a book for all companies who want to learn to amplify revenue figures via digital channels. Leading Digital is a pan-industry guide to mastering the digital world and creating profit from that mastery. The Innovators by Walter Isaacson October 7 / Simon & Schuster / ISBN-13 9781476708690 If Steven Johnson's How We Got to Now caught your eye last month, then The Innovators will definitely be one for your reading list. The same man who expertly brought us the life and times of Steve Jobs steps back and looks at the history of innovation as it relates to computers and the digital technology we now find ubiquitous today. A project started before Steve Jobs, Isaacson's The Innovators is certain to be one of the biggest books of the year. Rethinking Positive Thinking by Gabriele Oettingen October 16 / Current / ISBN-13 9781591846871 Gabriele Oettingen is a professor of psychology at NYU, and she makes an impressive trade hardcover debut with this book. In Rethinking Positive Thinking, Oettengin introduces a new way to visualize the future—mental contrasting. She uses mental contrasting to offer insights into improving personal health, relationships, and personal performance.