We are currently working on a book! In the meantime, here are some books we love and recommend.
Susan heard James's story at a conference and was blown away by the mix of academic behavior science with real world application. This book may be the most useful book on behavior change that you will ever read.
Clear also has a weekly email that's interesting and easy to read.
This book will make you think about eating and food in an entirely new way. Kingsolver and her family challenge themselves to eat locally for a year (with each getting one item allowed that wasn't grown locally, ie coffee!). It's a love story to Virginia, seasonally eating, and the trials and tribulations of gardening mixed with the horrifying realities of the negative impacts of our modern food system. After reading this, Susan signed up for a CSA and started a garden but no, did not give up coffee or avocados.
Susan recommends this book to more people looking for advice on work life integration than any other. She read it at a time that was particularly challenging in a two CEO + 2 teenager household plus scaling a startup and orthopedic issues requiring lots of time at PT.
Keller's methodology is still helpful today in prioritizing THE ONE THING that is most important for health, business, family, finances, and friends.
Andrew Winston was one of WeSpire's advisors and has become one of Susan's favorite work colleagues. His first book, From Green to Gold, was one that encouraged Susan taking the leap into climate entrepreneurship. But The Big Pivot is the one she saw influence many corporations to go big on climate. If you want to understand how and why to make the business case for embracing sustainability as a core strategy, this is the book to read.
Unilever was a WeSpire client when Paul Polman was CEO. Susan attended a number of US Advisory board annual meetings for The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. They shared, with some of the most influential people in the space, what was working, what wasn't and solicited advice. It was inspiring and sobering but she watched extraordinary progress in action. After leaving Unilever, Paul teamed up with Andrew to write a book to inspire others to take this leap. What Susan noted, and agreed with, was the need for the word courage. This transition isn't easy, but those companies that focus on it will thrive so much more in the future than those that don't.
Startups are hard. But sometimes as a founder, you can look at all these companies that seem wildly successful and think "what am I doing wrong." The best part about Ben's book is understanding that it's always hard - just for various different reasons.
If you are a founder, read this book now. If you are an investor, read this book. Then, be kind to your founders and get in the boat and row with them, particularly when the chips are down. Barring issues of "for cause", they are doing everything they can to succeed.
