THIS QUARTER’S PAGE-TURNERS ON BUSINESS AND BEYOND

Can’t think of new ways to boost employee morale? Drawing a blank on the tagline for that next campaign? When you’re stuck in a cycle of sameness at work, it can be hard to spark fresh thinking. But that’s often the first sign that it’s time to shift gears: Innovation begins with a mindset change.

In this edition of Readers & Leaders, explore how innovation can shape tech, leadership, personal development, and learning.

Discover how young entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are using technology to create new business opportunities and how Microsoft’s out-of-the-box thinking paved the way for breakthrough wins. You’ll also get fresh takes on leading through uncertainty, conquering your fear of public speaking, and proactively staving off aging and cognitive decline. Finally, learn why lived experience can be the greatest teacher—from a family that turned the world into their classroom to a reflection on how Black history shapes health and identity today.

Read on for more insights and look out for our next edition of Readers & Leaders in summer 2025.

IT BEARS REPEATING

“So much of innovation is about persistence, drive, and believing in your vision and being able to go back, time and time again, until you convince the people who need to be bought in to go for it.”

— Dean Carignan, Microsoft AI Innovation Lead, in an April edition of Author Talks

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

TURN BACK THE PAGE

You may need to venture off the beaten path to come up with your next great idea. Read these interviews for more insights on how to incorporate innovation into your daily routine.

1. The simple way to get more great ideas
2. Get in the race
3. Cass Sunstein on the perils of habituation
4. Why breaking the rules could help you defy the odds

BOOKMARK THIS

BUSINESS BESTSELLERS TOP

8

Catch up on the latest and greatest reads for the month. Explore business bestsellers, prepared exclusively for McKinsey by Circana; the full selection is available on McKinsey on Books.

business overall

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Penguin Group USA)

BUSINESS hardcover

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Penguin Group USA)

economics

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy by Thomas Sowell (Hachette Book Group)

decision-making

Click: How to Make People Want by Jake Knapp, with John Zeratsky
(Simon & Schuster)

organizational behavior

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Penguin Group USA)

workplace culture

Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements by Tom Rath and Jim Harter (Simon & Schuster)

COMPUTERS AND AI

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari (Random House)

sustainability

Encounters with the Archdruid: Narratives About a Conservationist and Three of His Natural Enemies by John McPhee (Macmillan Publishers)

If you’d like to propose a book or author for #McKAuthorTalks, please email us at Author_Talks@Mckinsey.com. Due to the high volume of requests, we will respond only to those being considered.

—Edited by Emily Adeyanju, editor, Carolinas

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