The Laws of Human Nature, by Robert Greene, pries open your eyes so as to better recognize what drives people. Its laws give you a look into the narcissism inherent to all minds, underlined by historic examples driving home the principles' severity. The author considers it his magnum opus, encapsulating many essential lessons found also in his previous works.

Eat That Frog!, by Brian Tracy, is a concise collection of robust time management and productivity techniques. Its a book I warmly recommend to anyone looking to sharpen-up their prioritization skills, and also the only one on the topic I regularly remind myself of. It's a cognitively light read, and for good reason.

Letters from a Stoic, next to the great essays On the Shortness of Life and On the Happy Life, all by Seneca, is a collection of letters by the Roman moral philosopher and bedrock of stoicism that attached itself to me as a steady reference. Its main teaching is as simple as it is preposterous; do not carelessly sacrifice the present for the future. A body of work to be read in perpetuity.

Damn Good Advice, by George Lois, is a book splitting crowds, largely due to what is perceived as the author's overt boasting. It's also (visually) striking in every way, communicating as clearly as humanly possible. It's what I envision the guardian saint of advertising to be, and I have to commend Lois for managing to build a fitting ark.

Skin in the Game, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, has been brought to my attention by a good friend. As a work, it's judged critically by some due to the author's outright refusal to be acceptably polite. At the same time, it's filled with both highly practical advice and wisdom impossible to ignore for anyone whose aim is to effect real, positive change, and who aspires to be more than, to paraphrase Taleb, 'an academic philistine'.

The Culture Map, by Erin Meyer, helped me after one day finding myself in unexpected conflict with international colleagues over shared processes. The experience taught me that clashing office cultures and notions of professionalism can make for quite volatile situations. This resource highlights cultural traits to spot in your business partners so you can be well-prepared for customs and interpretations that may be foreign to you.

Feck Perfuction, by James Victore, is, as it unabashedly proclaims, a dangerous book. The author picks a personal fight with you and, essentially, shames you into being more courageous by making you remember the sensibilities of your younger, much-less-encumbered self. Reading it is a truly refreshing experience worthy of repeat.

Mastery, by Robert Greene, is the book that catapulted me on the fierce and endless, but also perpetually satisfying, mission of putting my nose to the grindstone so that I may be able to give shape to what so far has only seen life in my head.

Ego is the Enemy, by Ryan Holiday, aims at only one thing; to humble you. Borrowing stylistically from his mentor, Robert Greene, the author argues against the temptations of ego, on account of many historic figures, in an attempt to dispel illusions around it. A breath of fresh air in today's quite meritocratically-driven society.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, by Richard P. Feynman, is an absolute must-read for anyone enthralled by the wonders of science, the human spirit, and those who themselves walk on the path of becoming truly curious characters. It's an ode to the scientific method and creativity in the warmest sense.

Beyond Good and Evil and the Genealogy of Morals, by Friedrich Nietzsche, urges you to become a critical and fearless thinker for the sake of timely maturity. It is a difficult text dissecting the concept of 'value' in a process of establishing the groundwork for our future moral landscapes. Views best culminated, as brought forward by the author, in an individual's instance of reality; one painted by life's force itself.

Manage Your Day-to-Day, by the 99U initiative, helps creatives build more sustainable lives. As anyone who's ever attempted to create something will attest; coming up with great ideas is not necessarily difficult. Executing on them, however, is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. Pragmatic and beautifully typeset, this book draws on the insights of masters to support you on your journey.

The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman, is an industry classic I received as a gift from a colleague before I could buy it. In a good way, it takes the style out of design and focuses on its strictly utilitarian substance. It covers the bases everyone expects to be clean and free of sharp edges.

Inspired, by Marty Cagan, was recommended to me by a mentor, and I've since adopted it as a semi-religious text for the practice of product management. With a no-nonsense attitude, the author gives a detailed account of golden principles, piling up into modern software industry best practices, for moving product organisations and thought forward, aiming at both innovation and execution.

Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss, was hailed by an icon of mine in the product world as, to paraphrase, the most useful business book ever to have been written. I must concur. What it invites you to understand are the underpinnings of empathetic, effective communication; to pave the way for a negotiation to be able to conclude favourably. Concise as the techniques are, mastery is a life-long pursuit."

Testing Business Ideas, by David J. Bland and Alex Osterwalder, is an excellent field guide for conducting experiments to get opportunities validated quickly and relatively painlessly. It is particularly helpful when dealing with product discovery as part of agile development, and it contains just about every tool you will realistically get to use in a company with some amount of organizational maturity.

Die Verwandlung der Welt ins Herrliche, by Rainer Maria Rilke, is an essay that has been monumental to me. It's an almost cathartic introspection of the poet on the nature of work itself and the deep satisfaction that can only be born out of it. Unfortunately, I can't find it translated into English language, which is not uncommon for Rilke's work.

German Philosophers, by Roger Scruton, Peter Singer, Christopher Janaway, and Michael Tanner, elegantly introduces you to Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche's marvelous feats of reasoning without leading you down an unintelligible, academic rabbit hole of tiresome hypotheticals; something in particular the two former gentlemen are known for.