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This book has 7 recommendations

Bogdana Butnar (Head of Strategy/Poke)

On a more functional level, I am reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain, mostly because I'm finding that as I get older my inner introvert is becoming more prevalent. I've been quite good at faking extroversion but I now need how to best leverage my true nature. :)

Joel Gascoigne (Co-founder/Buffer)

I read Quiet recently and it gave me an instant feeling of comfort in myself, how I'm wired and my personality. It made me feel confident about aspects of how I approach things which I previously saw as a weakness. It helped me discover some of my true strengths. I'm an introvert. This book helped me realize that the core difference between introverts and extroverts is the way that they recharge. It helped me to make sure that I get my solitude so that I feel sharp and alert, and so that I have the time to reflect.

James Altucher (Founder/StockPickr)

Probably half the world is introverts.

Maybe more. It’s not an easy life to live.

I sometimes have that feeling in a room full of people, “uh-oh. I just shut down. I can’t talk anymore and there’s a lock on my mouth and this crowd threw away the key.”

Do you ever get that feeling? Please? I hope you do. Let’s try to lock eyes at the party.

“Quiet” shows the reader how to unlock the secret powers that probably half the world needs to unlock.

Simon Sinek (Best-selling Author)

Leaders needn’t be the loudest. Leadership is not about theater. It’s not about dominance. It is about putting the lives of others before any other priority. In Quiet, Cain affirms to a good many of us who are introverts by nature that we needn’t try to be extroverts if we want to lead. Simply being ourselves is more important — and more effective.

Sonia Micu (Founder/NALU)

There hasn’t been one single book that changed my career, nor my life in general. But, if I were to name a book that made me question things in my professional life, it would have to be Quiet by Susan Cain. It is in this book that I first read a criticism to a practice that has been used and abused throughout my corporate life: teamwork. It was refreshing to read about the power of working alone and to be reminded that most of the ideas that shaped our world did not come out of a brainstorming session.

Gilles Bernhard (Co-Founder/SCPlanner)

I will be honest and say that the book in itself was only the final step in a process that took me years. This helped me understand a lot of things about myself and others, why I am acting the way I am when alone or in social events. So, the book in itself hadn't had the biggest impact on me nor my career, but was part of the journey to dive into myself and understand how my brain works. This helped me gain confidence in myself and yielded great results.

Jason Fried (Co-Founder/Basecamp)

A good book I’d recommend is “Quiet” by Susan Cain.

Amazon description

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.

Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School, from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, Susan Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. She questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation, and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And she draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts.

Perhaps most inspiring, she introduces us to successful introverts--from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Finally, she offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships to how to empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a "pretend extrovert."

This extraordinary book has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.

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See more books recommended by

Bogdana Butnar, Joel Gascoigne, James Altucher, Simon Sinek, Sonia Micu, Gilles Bernhard, Jason Fried

See more books written by

Susan Cain

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