If you missed out on your end-of-summer reading, I have good news: Fall is here and there are more reading lists awaiting you. Today I’m providing a look at four books that touch on some aspect of improving business life. Each employs a different approach, coming from a different perspective than usual.

“The Human Side of Innovation,” by Mauro Porcini, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2023. “Innovation is an act of love – or at least, it should be. Always.” Those are the opening words of this book which positions itself between two worlds – the historic version of innovation driven by “selfish” economic interests, and the version that places humanity first. From Porcini’s perspective, the transition away from the traditional innovation model is not optional but inevitable.

In describing human-centered innovation, Porcini turns from MBA-touted processes, data and tools and toward the “visionaries and dreamers” who work from the desire to generate real value for others. These are the ones Porcini calls “people in love with people,” who can see needs to fulfill before anyone else.

As a senior vice president and the first chief design officer of PepsiCo (as well as the first with that title for 3M), Porcini approaches his work from a design perspective. Having read dozens of process-driven innovation books over the years, I found his to be a refreshing take on the ongoing challenge of creating new value as an organization.

“Culture is the Way,” by Matt Mayberry, Wiley, 2023. In recent times, the term “corporate culture” has evolved from a buzzword phrase to a mantra to nearly an edict as organizations struggle to retain employees while also staying relevant to the outside world. It’s a gargantuan undertaking in an era of constant, speeded-up change.

In Culture is the Way, author Matt Mayberry takes on this now-perennial topic from an outsider’s perspective: A former NFL linebacker who started his own consulting firm after a career-ending injury, his primary experience with organizational culture comes from the world of sports, not business. After more than a decade consulting with companies of all sizes, Mayberry has amassed a variety of stories about success and failures by those attempting to improve corporate culture. He shares those examples along with experiences from the world of football to support his five-step process for building “world-class culture” in any organization.

“The Performance Paradox: Turning the power of mindset into action,” by Eduardo Briceño, Ballantine Books, 2023. Work harder. Do more. Apply yourself and you’ll be rewarded. Well, maybe. These aphorisms might be true but they could also be causing problems, according to Briceño. In a world that demands we constantly perform more tasks or perform at a higher level, performance may be the problem instead of the solution. Chronic performance, as he calls it, underpins issues ranging from burnout to lack of growth and stagnation.

I was drawn to this book by a publicist who highlighted Briceño’s perspective on praising employees, saying encouragement can sometimes backfire. Having grown up just ahead of the “soccer ribbon for everyone” era – in other words, having never gotten a soccer ribbon – I’ve often wondered whether current management philosophy overdoes it with employee compliments.

It’s not a spoiler alert to say Briceño shares that concern. As he notes, some types of praise can encourage a hamster wheel of employee approval-seeking rather than the growth and self-reliance that would serve workers better. His preference is to encourage a learning culture by asking employees what they’re gaining from their experiences, both successful and unsuccessful.

This book was enjoyable for me on two levels – first for Briceño’s perspective, and second for being well-written. The author has an engaging writing style that made this fun to read.

“The Four Workarounds,” by Paulo Savaget, Flatiron Books, 2023. As a micro-business owner for a number of decades, I had to laugh when I saw this book: This is my life, I thought. Savaget’s premise is based on his research and encounters worldwide with those he calls “lateral thinkers” – people who have to solve problems with what they have, or in unconventional ways, for whatever reason.

Luckily, I didn’t take my “been there, done that” attitude into reading the book, or I would have missed a lot. If you’re wondering, the workarounds Savaget categorizes are the Piggyback, the Loophole, the Roundabout, and the Next Best. Rather than try to summarize those concepts, I’ll compliment the author on creating a framework for a mindset and approach too often dismissed as simply “making do.” In so doing, he celebrates extraordinary feats of problem-solving by ordinary people.

Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.