"What I'm Reading" is a BostInno series built to remind you that reading for pleasure and boosting your startup know-how are not mutually exclusive. Each Sunday, we'll be spotlighting a literary suggestion from a Boston thought leader to keep your bookshelf and your brain fresh.
Who: Ben Einstein, founder of hardware accelerator Bolt
Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
About: In the pages of his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Diamond draws an argument of the environmental and geographic factors that shape the world in which we live. Guns, Germs, and Steel provides a critical look into the habits and lifestyles of the people in the world's earliest societies, unearthing the fact that those which had a early start in food production advanced far beyond the basic hunting and gathering stage to develop religion as well as life-threatening germs and powerful weapons of war.
"You'd have to be pretty crazy to consider this one a business book, but sometimes a non-traditional business book is the best thing an entrepreneur can read," said Einstein.
Not only does the non-fiction work explore the impact of innovations on a global and historical scale, but it also serves as a prime example of critical analysis on the part of the author, according to Bolt's founder. Shared Einstein:
Jared Diamond's style of inquisition is obsessively thorough: each time he raises a question, he systematically drills deeper and deeper down until a succinct, crisp and often poignant answer reveals itself. Startups can learn a lot from this style of thinking. But these are no small revelations; we're talking the origins of modern civilization, fundamental technology and primitive biology.
Aspiring entrepreneurs stand to learn much from Diamond's process of framing and explaining ideas, along with painting their significance. From creating a value proposition to pitching a company, founders should be able to build the importance and relevance of their product or service.
Said Einstein, "I find myself in continual amazement and appreciation of this modern world we live in and the perspective in Guns, Germs, and Steel only deepens my appreciation for how good we have it."
