High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove 

“Ah, the importance of the one-on-one meeting. Truly the most essential tool in the manager’s arsenal. We’re big on them at Genius—they’re also just good for life. You should check in regularly, face to face, with the people in your life to discuss goals, challenges, aspirations, how to get from point A to point B. As a manager, you should seek ways to help remove obstacles from your team’s path. As a report, you should always know where you stand with your manager and ask for constructive feedback constantly.”

Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession by Janet Malcolm

“I’m a big fan of Janet Malcolm—The Journalist and The Murderer is another good one. You don’t necessarily have to be a super scholar on Freudian analysis to enjoy this. She’s skilled at translating a really reclusive, mysterious industry and cataloging the many unsatisfying things about a particular profession.”

The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

“This book is really about acknowledging that we’re composed of two selves, the thinking self and the doing self. In life and in work, it’s important to allow yourself to learn and experiment without judgment. You have to release yourself from staring hard at something and obsessively thinking, scrutinizing, and critiquing, or you’ll risk missing the point of anything altogether—basically, it’s about not overthinking it to the point of paralysis. I know that sounds like detrimental advice when applied to work or a career, but the truth is that the biggest wins happen when you lean into discomfort, take calculated risks, and run into the spike.”

Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

“The book that drilled into me that your output isn’t necessarily the external works you create, but your internal progress as an artist. If you’re judging someone else’s work, you have to remember that the external product is barely half of the story. Be careful about hating on anything—especially the stuff you create.”