Xavier Bertels on tech, design & product

Probably the most transformative book I have read in my life to date. It’s difficult to put into words how much this has changed the way I communicate with others and the way I perceive others’ communication. More important is the fact that trying to apply non-violent communication leads to better thinking. I’ve read a ton of self-help books, and 99,9% of them don’t speak to me at all. But this one was a life changer.

The most important book on politics I have read in the past 20 years. Fukuyama summarises the state of liberal democracies in 150 pages that are easy to read. The last chapter he describes guiding principles for how to move forward from the rut most of the liberal democracies are in today. Invigorating.

I think I read this for the first time in 2009. It has become one of my all-time favourite books. It’s short, it’s full of wisdom. I refer to some principles outlined in The Laws of Simplicity in my daily work. And I practice Sort, Label, Integrate, Prioritise (SLIP) almost every week. This book has had a profound impact on how I see the world and how I tell others about the world.

This was quite possibly my favourite book of 2019. It’s one of those mind-expanding works that changes the way you look at things. Having grown up during the timespan Baricco treats, it makes me look back at that history with even more awe than it was. It’s fun to read, educational, and changes the way you think about things. Novel, business book, history book and opinion piece all in one. I think this will become one for the all-time favorites list.

At the moment of writing, this book is only available in Dutch.
An essay about the environment humans live in. Why we should preserve it. And what we should do now to stop depletion. The only thing I found sad about this book, is that I did not read it until the 2019 edition was published. It is a well-written text that is stylistically easy to digest – which is not always the case with philosophy books. The 2019 edition bundles the original unadapted text from the eighties and extra discourse about that original text. I find the ideas in this work so seminal it should be part of the school curriculum.

Alain de Botton is one of my favourite contemporary philosophers. In this book, he explains with apt examples how our environment can make us feel pleasant, or unhappy. Many principles from this book translate well to other forms of design. One of the most important books I ever read.

Further exploration and explanation of Wabi–Sabi. Specifically the sections about “can Wabi–Sabi exist in digital form” and a comparison between Wabi–Sabi and The Modern Project made me want to go out, walk and enjoy the world. Wonderful book.

Even the form of this book lives and breathes the principles and philosophy described inside. In a digital age, this is necessary, mandatory reading. Changed the way I look at the world. Very powerful.

Visionary essay on media by Marshall McLuhan, made understandable by graphic designer Quentin Fiore. This is mandatory reading for anyone who is interested in communication in the 21st century. Fun fact: the title was a mistake at first. McLuhan’s adagium was “the medium is the message”. However, it is generally accepted he left it as is because it was an apt play of words.

This book could only have been written by an ad man. But that also makes it such an enjoyable read! There are plenty of juicy stories inside. When I read this I definitely needed to hear the simplicity mantra again in building good products (and businesses), and the author did an effective job of reminding me of it.

This book is filled with amazing advice on what really matters in great customer experiences. And it’s not the things you would commonly think. Overall amazing book, with clear use cases, clear implementation tips and clear examples. It helps that I have a user-centered design background to more quickly turn some of the ideas into practice. But I’m sure anyone in Customer Success will be able to transform their organisation for the better with the advice in this book, if they’re willing to do so.

Excellent book on how to manage sales in a B2B tech environment. The processed approach breaks down the science of sales, while leaving plenty of room for the art of sales as well. On top of that, it’s an enjoyable read with plenty of good storytelling.

Amazing book on all things health related. Peter Attia brings together years of wisdom condensed into a single book about how to live, and how to live in such a way that the last decade of your life is still enjoyable. It’s full of practical advice and and the signal to noise ratio is incredibly high.

Invigorating book by Tony Fadell, one of the designers on the iPod project at Apple. Some highlights for me: “The only failure in your 20s is inaction.” and “You can only have one customer. Whether you’re B2B2C, B2C, B2B or any other form.” He also gives the advice to “Have at least one really big launch. And another one to three smaller launches every year.” – all in all I’d like to re-read this multiple times. Contains practical advice, but also fires you up to set the bar high for whatever you build.

Very enjoyable autobiography by the founder of Nike. I didn’t expect it to be this good, honestly. But it’s an entrepreneur’s story that is told in a captivating way from the first paragraph. High entertainment value and very motivational. Makes you want to get off your ass and start something!

Remarkable book by a remarkable man who found a way to find meaning in life when everything around him made that harder. I like that it’s exactly as long as it should be. One of the lines that stuck with me the most was “ I recommend that the Statue of Liberty be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”

The subtitle is a bit lame, but the content is remarkably good. I liked this book because the writer effectively summarises ideas from different other books and bundles them in one smooth to read package. Many of the things in here are not original, however they serve as a good reminder and practical guide for how to stay grounded in life, love and work. I am confident I will re-read this over the next years.

You can be pro Gates or anti Gates, the fact is that he wrote an important book that makes a very compelling case to move to a net zero carbon economy by 2050. It’s full of interesting numbers and facts about climate change, the technological, political and societal advances we’ll need to get there. The writing is clear too. Enjoyed it!

An enjoyable business book written by a good storyteller. The story starts some time before he began as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company. The book is full of explicit, practically applicable lessons. They are summarized in the introduction and the appendix. The meat of the book is full of good stories with behind the scenes details about the Pixar acquisition, the Lucasfilm acquisition, strategic discussions with board members and many more. I loved it. I listened to the Penguin/Randomhouse audiobook.

If you have a long train ride home, you can finish this book. The writer tries to summarise human stupidity with a semi-scientific approach. Considering the topic, I think Cipolla does a great job of avoiding any cynicism. I found it hilarious and educational at the same time. Even though there is obviously no scientific basis for the claims, it taught me something about myself and the world around me nonetheless. I read the Dutch translation of this book.

At the moment of writing, this book is only available in Dutch.
If, 500 years from now, someone wants to grasp today’s zeitgeist, they would only have to read this book. I found it one of the rare books that deals with technology, that is neither dystopian nor utopian. Neither technical nor technically wrong. And if there is one line that sums up the hope of an entire generation, it must be this: “. . . the entire digital economy is based on naive trust.”

I read this book at a time when the company I founded is slowly growing. I want to create a workplace where people enjoy working together. Simon Sinek is a guiding light and answers the most important question: why does a team pull together, get the work done, and feel fulfilled to boot?

The life story of Marjane Satrapi, told and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi. A graphic novel that holds the perfect balance between the grim realities of a war-torn youth and a type of subtle humour I find hard to describe. I found it at the same time entertaining, intellectually challenging and light enough to read on a Sunday afternoon. I read the Dutch translation.

Hands down the best graphic novel I have read to date. Very entertaining and witty with incredible intertextual and cultural references. The drawing style is loose and perfectly fits the story. One of a kind.

A book that dives deep into why we make certain choices. Provides clear examples and interesting studies, some of which I still contemplate when I design. Shows how to influence people’s choices. If you use this to do good, it can be very powerful. One of my favourites.

Such an important book. Shows the path to lead a fulfilling life through the concept of mental flow. Written with a ton of scientific background references, mixed with own studies and clear examples. Told in an understandable manner.

A good friend of mine recommended Alessandro Baricco. The first book I read was “Silk”. I read this on the plane to New-Zealand. Silk is a tiny book and very pleasant to read. I really like the way Baricco plays with conventional ways of storytelling. Somehow, he manages to transport me to France and Japan with just a few sentences.

A classic. I read The Psychology of Everyday Things as part of my graphic design curriculum at the Media & Design Academie. It profoundly changed the way I look at things. The title of the book has since been updated to The Design of Everyday Things, but the message and content are still the same. Pleasant to read and full of wisdom. Don Norman at his best!

Lovely book by Umberto Eco. I read this on the plane to Japan and I burst out into laughter more than once. Eco’s writing style is unparalleled. Great entertainment.

One of those books that are on many must-read lists. I found the mix of world-view, manifesto-like opinions, experience sharing and prescriptive tips a bit jarring. Some of the advice is definitely valuable, but in general it’s not something that will stick with me for a long time.

Interesting read from a field that I rarely read about. That said, many of the things in the book seem part fabricated, part copied from other fields. I’m not entirely sure how genuine it is and that was a bit off-putting. Could be because many of these things are supposed to stay under wraps. But that made me hungry for more concrete examples and advice.

Enjoyable to read, but really didn’t take that much away from it. It’s mostly a summary of ideas from other great books. So, entertainment value very high but transformative? Not so much.

This (audio)book from (contested and admired) scientist David Sinclair succeeded in making me enthusiastic about the field of longevity. I can’t speak to the science that backs of some of the claims here. And specifically with regards to food supplementation, there seems to be some serious counter-evidence to some of the claims made around Resveratrol, NMN and other compounds. However, for me the big takeaway here is that this field of study really deserves more attention. Not so we can endlessly prolong life per se, but so we can live it in a dignified way up until the end.

Decent book by the late Clayton Christensen and his co-authors. He makes some interesting points about career and life choices, ethics and others. However, the overtly religious approach to some topics bothered me. They don’t make it a bad book per se, but they do make some points a bit one-sided.

What makes Israel so innovative and entrepreneurial? The answer lies in a classic cluster of the type Harvard professor Michael Porter has championed, Silicon Valley embodies, and Dubai has tried to create. This is a nice business book that looks at things from a unique perspective. It’s more of a nice story than something you can practically apply. It brought me some inspiration and a different way to look at innovation, business, and life.

No big ideas, but a very practical guide. If you’re starting a business in the creative industry, this is a book you need to read and re-read every three months. Actually, that goes for anyone in the services industry.

Dale Carnegie is the Tim Ferris of his time. Excellent book that is both entertaining and useful—however you like to take it. Gave me insight and some neat tricks to stop worrying—a wake up call so to speak.

Some advice is religiously-tinted and may therefore sound a bit dated. There is also a lot of show-by-telling of things that were relevant in the early 1940s. But if you translate it to today’s society and read the book in its context, you will find principles that you can apply in your life right now anyway.

Title says it all. Solid book, but nothing very memorable. Do yourself a pleasure and read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion first.

I’m still not entirely sure what this book tries to be. I’m surprised I made it to the end (it took me months). Perhaps, it can best be summarized in this last line from the last chapter “…it demands seeing individual freedom as nothing more than a way for all of us to be oppressed.” The book reads like a depressing personal account of someone who tries to sell their pessimistic world view as objective truth based on cherry-picked research references. I did like some entertaining chapters of the more neutral-observation type.

Graphic novel that provides background to the events leading up to the economic and political earthquakes of the beginning of the 21st century. The author succeeds in making otherwise somewhat dry material appealing for a wider audience. The story mainly revolves around poking holes in objectivist philosophy developed by Ayn Rand. Interesting read if you want to understand the events of the early 2000’s better. The graphic style and story are a bit too apocalyptic for my taste, and I thought some story lines were a bit simplistic or lacked nuance. I guess there’s only so much you can put in a graphic novel.