At Learnit, our very first core value is Lifelong Learning. Our employees and work demonstrate this in many ways, including taking training courses from our own library and beyond, sharing relevant industry news and updates in our Teams channels, and allowing team members to take on new tasks and responsibilities to expand their skill sets. One of the biggest ways our team members embrace lifelong learning is through reading.
Learnit CEO Damon Lembi is a voracious reader, particularly of books about business, human behavior, and how to succeed professionally and personally. At the beginning of each new year, we share an article about Damon’s favorite books from the last year. This year however, since this love for continuous learning through reading spreads deeply across our entire organization, including a new Book Club, we want to share top books from 2022 from more of our employees.
We hope this list inspires you, and please feel free to share your favorite books with us. Email your list to marketing@learnit.com; you may even be featured on our social channels!
Damon Lembi – CEO
I recently reread Obstacle is the Way for the third time for the Learnit internal book club. This selection is especially important heading into 2023 with all the economic uncertainty. Obstacle is the Way is about turning challenges into successes, working within your constraints, focusing on what you control, and taking action. This book has helped me professionally, and I've also referred to its framework with personal challenges. It's a very easy read; I couldn't recommend it enough!
Want to learn more about thinking critically? Explore Learnit’s course, Critical Thinking.
Red Notice is a true story about Bill Browder's incredible account of being Russia's largest foreign investor and the shocking circumstances leading to the Magnitsky Act he spearheaded. I love John Grisham-like thrillers, and this book is as good or better than any fiction book I have ever read, and it's true. I've recommended this book at least 100 times and can't begin to tell you how many people thanked me for the recommendation. Also, with everything going on with Russia in the Ukrainian war, it gives an inside look at Vladimir Putin's Russia. Finally, when you finish this page-turner, Browder recently released his follow-up, The Freezing Order.
I loved this book. I am a big fan of learning about human behavior. It is fascinating to understand why we act irrationally, the decisions we make, and the learning frameworks to improve upon. The Art of Thinking Clearly is divided into 100 short chapters that divulge human “thinking errors," how to minimize them, and how to improve your decision-making and judgment.
See Learnit courses about Decision Making & Problem Solving here.
Ben Bomberry – Digital Media Producer
Baldwin’s essays on race in America from the 1955s are just as relevant today as they were at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement.
Matt Murawski – Vice President of Sales
Bob Rotella is a famous sports psychologist well known for his work with athletes, coaches, and business leaders. This book came to me as a recommendation, and I'm happy I did not overlook the recommendation. Reading through the stories to illustrate Bob's core teaching was entertaining and powerful. Simplicity is often the mark of genius, and Bob Rotella boils his philosophy down masterfully. His teachings were a helpful reminder to me, and I leveraged them to reinforce for my son's little league team how their thoughts, attitudes, and actions made them Champions all season.
Reading a book by or about John Wooden has been on my to-do list for quite some time. There are several options, which is one of the reasons I give for putting it off. Therefore, when I came across this book recommendation by an author I respect, I jumped at the opportunity to buy it. This book did not disappoint. John Wooden is known as one of, if not the best, college basketball coaches of all time. In a relatively small book, John Wooden packs an enormous amount of maxims and advice relevant today in both your personal and business life.
Think Like a Rocket Scientist was a Learnit Book club pick. During this process, I became a big fan of Ozan Varol. He has a point of view and way of sharing information that motivates you to reach for the stars. With a New Year upon us, you may have a hidden Moon shot rolling around; therefore, I recommend picking up this book to help you go for it! This book packs both inspiration and practical tools for Moonshot thinking. Enjoy.
Interested in learning more about Strategic Thinking? Check out our course from Learnit!
Faz Karim – Lead Desktop Instructor
The Richest Man in Babylon is an excellent book on personal finance and wealth-building. Not much of this is taught in school, and everyone should deeply understand how financial systems work. I loved the book's format, telling stories from Babylon and how wealth was acquired and kept.
Matt Murawski, Learnit's VP of Sales, recommended this book to me. It gives excellent tools to ensure you have successful meetings. I quote from this book regularly in my Teams for Meetings course; my favorite: "No agenda, no meeting."
Check out our MS Teams courses here!
This book had a huge impact on how I deal with technology. I started using DND a lot after reading this book. More technology = more distractions. It reaches a point where tech used to help you controls your daily routine… scary.
Interested in Learnit courses about time management? Check out three great workshops below:
Time Management: Avoid Distractions
Time Management: Strategize Your Day
Time Management: Strategize Your Day with Outlook
This book goes into building habits. I consider myself a creature of habits and rituals, and this book reinforced great tips for building healthy habits. My favorite tip I use regularly is habit stacking. Atomic Habits is a great book to re-read at the start of a new year!
Interested in learning more about good work habits? Check out a great Learnit course here!
This book discusses tips and strategies to gain power and maintain power. Easy read with a simple format. I’ve yet to finish this; I usually read a passage or two when I have time.
Mickey Fitch-Collins – Professional Development Instructor
Brianna Wiest is known by many as a frequent contributor to Forbes. These essays are good, short, to-the-point primers on various concepts from routines to cognitive biases to being uncomfortable. The book should be “consumed” in short bits as the essays can sometimes sound repetitive to one another, but there are still a lot of good gems.
This is the collection of Oprah’s column by the same title. It is organized into different themes like joy, gratitude, resilience, etc. Very real, uplifting, and humbling. Highly recommend the audio version as it is her narration and audio clips from interviews.
Interested in learning more about resilience? Check out our Resiliency and Grit course here.
Loved this book—I am an early bird, as is my family. I love the idea of creating and recreating morning routines to help maximize my day, and this book not only gave me tips on how to do that but exposed me to new people to learn more about!
Check out Learnit’s courses related to time management and habit building here.
Tayler Marcacci – Senior Learning Strategist
A great reminder that slow changes, over a period of time, lead to exponential growth. A must read!
A fantastic read for sales professionals who are looking to make big changes in their organization in the new year.
David Casuto – Instructor
Saskia Webb – Marketing Manager
Nick Silverthorn – Manager, Enterprise Development
We hope this list inspires you, and please feel free to share your favorite books with us. Email your list to marketing@learnit.com, you may even be featured on our social channels!
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