David Allen's Top Book Recommendations

Susan CainAs brilliant as it is wise, this is not just a book—it’s a new and shining worldview. (Source)

Tony HsiehDefines a road to success marked by new ways of relating to colleagues and customers as well as new ways of growing a business. (Source)

Arianna Huffington“I love [this book], which shows that givers get ahead and nice guys don’t finish last. (Source)

Dustin MoskovitzPut first things first. (Source)

Tony HsiehGetting Things Done by David Allen. He recently spoke at our Zappos all-hands meeting and gave me a signed copy of his book. (Source)

Eric RoseWhen I'm flat-out stressed about the volume and complexity of my work, I open this book and find immediate ways to gain a sense of control. That's really a critical need for decision making. David made me what I am today: headstrong and proud of it. (Source)

David AllenJust finished a book I couldn't put down. Met Steven doing TedX together in Curacao. Simple, brilliant, & critically relevant now. https://t.co/PIBMj09y8j (Source)

Andrew LiverisDow Chemical Company chairman and CEO Liveris will take this time to get away from heavier reading and enjoy some of the most highly acclaimed novels of the past year. (Source)

Andra ZahariaWhile I was thinking of the best books to add to this short list, I realized that not even half of them are directly related to digital marketing. This is because I believe that the best marketers are people who understand human nature deeply and aim to bring out the best in it. Call me naive, but that’s how I see it. If I were to want to pursue a career in marketing, I’d read [...] Thrive. (Source)

Todd HenryMy book about unleashing your best work every day. (Source)

Bill Gates[On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012.] (Source)

Tudor TeodorescuI can say that my area, or my background involves a lot of practical work, traveling, learning and performing a big variety of sports, meeting new people and making contacts. But taking into account that being a young entrepreneur I wish I had known a lot of things before starting everything. Therefore, what I would suggest people to do is invest a lot in themselves professionally and personally,... (Source)

David AllenFab book releasing today by friends James and Deborah Fallows - chronicle of their experiences of middle-American community success stories. Must read, if you care about how people who care can really make a difference! https://t.co/7oMJ6LnE7L (Source)

Ali WyneThere has always been this contrived boundary between domestic policy and foreign policy. They have always been intimately intertwined, but with the populist and nationalist stirrings we’re seeing, I think that looking at the relationship between the two and recognizing the artificiality of the boundary between the two of them is becoming more important. (Source)

Bill GatesA great read. (Source)

David AllenAtul is really talking about how absolutely powerful checklists are, and I think he makes a very creative point: that checklist are not just some static, boring thing. They actually allow you to do excellent work and free up your brain by not having to keep remembering what you need to do when. That then allows your brain to be a lot more creative about whatever it is you’re doing. (Source)

Timothy FerrissRamit and I are both obsessed with checklists and love a book by Atul Gawande titled The Checklist Manifesto. I have this book on a shelf in my living room, cover out, as a constant reminder. (Source)

David AllenYour head is not designed to remember, remind, prioritize, or manage relationships with more than four things. I’ve known this experientially for the last 35 years—that your head is for having ideas, but it’s a terrible place to hang onto them. Levitin validated that in a very rigorously researched book. (Source)

David AllenHe describes Stoicism, the philosophy of accepting current reality so that you can move past it. That is such a key, key element. It’s a real key element of getting things done, in a way, because a lot of people resist what I teach because they don’t want to look at all the commitments that they’ve made, face up to it. (Source)

Dan ArielyWillpower affects almost every aspect of our lives. From procrastination, to saving for retirement to exercising, Tierney and Baumeister have given us a wonderful book in which they not only share fascinating research on the subject but also provide simple tricks to help us tap into this important quality. (Source)

Steven PinkerThe psychologist Roy F. Baumeister has shown that the force metaphor has a kernel of neurobiological reality. In Willpower, he has teamed up with the irreverent New York Timesscience columnist John Tierney to explain this ingenious research and show how it can enhance our lives. . . . Willpower is an immensely rewarding book, filled with ingenious research, wise advice and insightful reflections... (Source)

David AllenWho knew that a book about such a daunting topic could be as wonderfully entertaining as it is enlightening! Tierney and Baumeister have produced a highly intelligent work full of fascinating information (and great advice) about a core element of modern living. Bravo. (Source)

David AllenKevin said: We’re at a time right now, an apex in our culture, that is more significant than the Industrial Revolution, in terms of how much it’s going to change the world. I love his first chapter. He said, ‘You’re never going to get really good at anything, because everything keeps being updated. (Source)

Marc AndreessenAutomatic must read. (Source)

Chris AndersonThis boook offers profound insight into what happens (soon!) when intelligence flows as easily into objects as electricity. (Source)

David AllenTheo points out that there’s a third part of the brain, a very important thing that most people I don’t think are aware of, called the archiving brain. The archiving brain is the part of you that takes all the multitudinous inputs that we get 24/7, and starts to knit it together. It works beyond your conscious mind, and it’s absolutely necessary. (Source)

David AllenI have a little bit of that in me. (Source)

David AllenI had no idea how critical it is to do nasal breathing instead of mouth breathing. It is amazing stuff. (Source)