Hi Shaper ✌️

Welcome to a Summer Edition of INFUZED.

Summer is here and with a majority of people taking some time off during the summer, things become less hectic. The ideal time to turn to a book once in a while for an infusion of ideas!

"3 Books for your Summer 2022"

There are millions of books to choose from, but these 3 are definitely worth your time, if you're interested in building products, companies, and relationships with people. 

Book #1: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Unfortunately, I read this classic only this year after forgoing it for far too long.

In order to build relationships with people, you need to first become effective yourself. The progression Covey lays out is from dependent to independent person to then realize one's potential in leveraging interdependence.

This book should be a must-read for every person, that's how profoundly it can impact people.

Book #2: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight or Titan by Ron Chernow

I'm cheating here on company building by recommending two, but it really is about your taste.

Every company is different and has different needs. So I don't like to recommend handbooks, on how to build a specific kind of company. What all have in common though, they are founded & shaped by people and I believe we can learn a lot by looking at the biographies of successful founders. 

Shoe Dog -> Nike

Titan -> John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil

Both are amazingly detailed, especially on the difficult times and they both do a great job at transporting how long it took to actually become successful. This is super valuable to realize when building a company. In hindsight, it always looks so simple for others because they are already where you want to get to one day.

Take a look at the long roads they took and learn from so many valuable lessons, they've learned.

Book #3: Hooked by Nir Eyal

Finally, I think everyone should read this book when building or even just using products.

And here's why I think it's so valuable: A product always needs to cater to the human psychology, because ultimately that's the part of the brain that makes the buy, use, keep decision.

Nir does a fantastic job at explaining the mechanisms that are at play in digital products that get users hooked and not get enough. 

He bases those mechanisms on psychological fundamentals which makes this book valuable for anyone building and using any kind of product. It's just how our brains work.

CHALLENGE

Read one of them this summer and let me know what you took away.  

Have an amazing summer!

David