Seven books on innovation and business growth that you can't miss this summer 

Don't know where to start? MAPFRE's corporate innovation experts give you some recommendations. 

Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight

Autobiography written by Nike's founder. In the book, Knight discusses the story of how he founded the company in 1964 under the name Blue Ribbon Sports and how, over time, it became one of the most iconic sporting brands in the world.

Recommended by Carlos Cendra, Scouting & Investment Lead of Corporate Innovation at MAPFRE.

"The book includes the financial, legal, and personal obstacles that the author faced while building the company, highlighting the team culture as key and sharing fears, mistakes, and lessons learned. Highly recommended for those interested in entrepreneurship and in the real stories behind major brands."

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahnemann

This book offers a deep and approachable view of the mechanisms of thought, and reveals how our decisions are influenced by automatic and intuitive processes (System 1) and by slower and more deliberate reasoning (System 2). It combines decades of research in psychology and behavioral economics to explain why we often make irrational decisions, how biases affect our judgment, and what we can do to think more critically and consciously.

Recommended by Bárbara Fernández, Deputy Director of Corporate Innovation at MAPFRE.

"It is an ideal book for people interested in psychology, economics, business, or decision-making. The language of the book is clear and uses everyday examples, so it is full of practical applications for personal and professional life."

Disrupt Yourself, by Jay Samit

In Disrupt Yourself, Jai Samit reveals how the specific strategies that help companies prosper can be applied at the entrepreneur and individual level so that anyone can achieve success and prosperity, without the need to raise funds from external investors.

Recommended by Esther González, an innovation expert in the Corporate Innovation area at MAPFRE.

“With this book you can learn how to identify weak links in your value chain, disrupt them, and change them to evolve your professional profile, learning how to channel your energy better, how to present yourself professionally, or improve the quality and content of your work, among other lessons learned.”

Open: An Autobiography, by Andre Agassi

In this autobiography co-written by J.R. Moehringer, Andre Agassi recounts his life as a tennis player from the very first day they put a racket in his hand. The book explains his story: “a life defined by the contradiction between an imposed destiny and the yearning to please those who have sacrificed everything for him.”

Recommended by Alessio Beninati, Innovation Manager in the Corporate Innovation area at MAPFRE.

"I recommend it to all lovers of challenges who want to be inspired by a story of success in sports and apply its lessons to the business or professional world. I recommend it because achieving great success requires not only being hard workers or having great ideas, but also being highly resilient and determined human beings."

The Art of Innovation, by Tom Kelley

This book describes the history and operation of IDEO, a reputable North American design company known for innovations such as the Apple mouse or certain Polaroid cameras. Tom Kelly is an executive at the company and the brother of its founder.

Recommended by José María Cancer, General Manager of CESVIMAP.

“It’s a highly recommended read for anyone wanting to dive into how a company that strongly embraces ‘design thinking’ operates and fosters a highly innovative culture. Personally, I found some of the anecdotes really entertaining.”

Creative Construction: the DNA of Sustained Innovation, by Gary P. Pisano

The book is based on the premise that every company wants to grow, and a proven way that offers better long-term results is through innovation.

Conventional thinking suggests that only agile startups can innovate, and once a business becomes larger and more complex, corporate arteriosclerosis appears. The book is based on the premise that every company wants to grow, and a proven way that offers better long-term results is through innovation.

Conventional thinking suggests that only agile startups can innovate, and once a business becomes larger and more complex, corporate arteriosclerosis appears. The research conducted by Gary P. Pisano in the field with large corporations and fast-growing companies that have moved beyond the startup phase offers a new perspective on how the scale of big companies can be leveraged to gain advantages through innovation processes.

Recommended by Daniel Almodóvar, Innovation Delivery Manager in the Corporate Innovation area at MAPFRE.

“Large companies are different from startups. Asking them to ‘be like Uber’ is no more realistic than ordering a dog to speak French. These organizations need to maintain revenue flows from preexisting business and meet market demands, so they require a different set of management practices and approaches.”   

How to Tell If Someone is Lying, by Paul Ekman

In this book, the renowned psychologist analyzes how facial micro-expressions, subtle movements of the body, and changes in speech can reveal hidden emotions and, potentially, the truth or falsehood in what is said.

Recommended by Ángel Martínez, an innovation expert in the Corporate Innovation area at MAPFRE.

"The book teaches you—in a simple way and with examples—how to detect the liar that everyone carries within. Would you like to know when your partner, friends, or coworkers are lying to you? With this read, you can learn to better read people and truly understand what they’re trying to communicate."

Bonus track: The Social Network, a film by David Fincher

This movie tells the story of the founders of the social network Facebook, focusing especially on the story of the best-known, Mark Zuckerberg.

Recommended by Paloma Casero, member of the Corporate Innovation team at MAPFRE

“Beyond being a chronicle about the rise of social networks, it is a lesson about the complexities of business relationships and the importance of legal agreements from the start of any project. It also shows how vision and execution can overcome adversity, but often at a high personal and ethical cost.”

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