Bookshelf
Favourite Quotes
These are some of my favourite quotes (/sentences that I can repeat to others to make myself sound wise) about human behaviour, creativity, innovation, personal development, and writing.
Reading List
These are the non-fiction books that have shaped my perspective on the world, all scoring very highly on the controversial ‘page-corner-folding’ rating scale.
A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young
In 30 minutes this book will tell you everything you need to know about creativity. Don’t read this blog, just buy the book instead.
The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova
Learn about the importance of observation, attention, and self-control, through the Bond-esqe lens of professional poker.
‘Flow’ by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
How to achieve happiness in life and work? Start by reading this psychological bible from the nineties…
Nudgestock 2017 in 10 handy quotes
Another year, another brilliant Nudgestock-by-the-sea. Here’s ten of the best moments…
‘The Great Acceleration’ by Robert Colvile
There are many books written about new technology, and there are many books written about human nature. But this book manages to be one of the few that successfully combines both…
Originals by Adam Grant
It’s always a good sign when, before finishing a book, you’ve already bought a copy for two people and recommend it to several others. Here’s the bits I enjoyed the most…
Nudgestock 2016 in 10 quotes
Another year, another brilliant Nudgestock. Here’s ten of the best moments…
The Happiness Hypothesis – Jonathan Haidt
‘The Happiness Hypothesis’ tackles morality, religion, knowledge, community, and adversity. And it does it brilliantly…
Drive by Daniel H Pink
What really motivates us at work? Competence, Autonomy, and Relatedness, according to Dan Pink…
The Myths We Need to Survive – Yuval Noah Harari
‘Sapiens’ tackles a few small questions about how the ability to create stories has shaped our prejudices, religious beliefs, and capitalist consumption. So perfect for some light weekend reading…
Revealing Preferences at BX2015
This week, the biggest and brightest minds in global Behavioural Insight scurried across Westminster bridge and into the dark depths of the Park Plaza. Here’s some of the things I learnt…
Nudgestock 3 in Thirteen Quotes
Nudgestock returned with a new venue, but the same superb level of behavioural insight…
The School of Life’s Business Wise conference in 16 quotes
On a gloriously sunny Thursday in 2015, I had the pleasure of attending The School of Life’s Business Wise conference.
Stop, Look, and Listen
What happens when you take your headphones out and listen to the world around you? If you’re on a Chiltern Railways train, quite a lot, it seems…
Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan & Eldar Shafir
17 reasons why life is great, remembering a time before Google, and making the most of what we’ve got…
The News: A User’s Manual by Alain De Botton
Are we addicted to the news? How do we really understand what customers value? And where can I find a historical timeline of people mocking new technologies, only to be proved brilliantly wrong?
Deciding How to Decide
Kahneman, Gigeringzer, and Rosling all know how to make better decisions. Here’s my summary of what they say – now you just need to decide to read it…
An Evening of Behavioural Science with the ITC
On Thursday night, I had the pleasure of attending a small event in a delightful Art Gallery, hosted by the Independent Transport Commission – how can we use Behavioural Science to inform transport policy?
Nudgestock2 in Fifteen Handy Quotes
Nudgestock is quite frankly, the best (non) conference I’ve been too.
An introduction to Behaving Irrationally – Dan Ariely
Irrational or not, Dan Ariely has some interesting thoughts on why we behave the way we do…
The Paradox of Choice – Barry Schwartz
We all want more choice, but we all hate making decisions. So what’s the answer? Read on…
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