1. The SPRINT method / available in ENGLISH

The first book I’d like to recommend is “Sprint – how to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days” by Jake Knapp. The author makes use of his experience in Google’s start-up creative intellectual space, invites the biggest brains at Google to contribute and has tested the original SPRINT concept – a five-day design thinking program. In just five days, with the right team construction and going carefully from one step to another, we are able to get from the idea generating stage, through prototype building and testing etc., to a practical solution of any business idea.
It’s a good read and a practical guidebook through the consecutive steps of the SPRINT method. I immediately started to wonder: “where can I use it?” Short chapters make it easy to divide the book into parts, so you can read it conveniently between one swim in the pool and another.:)

2. Fierce talking / available in ENGLISH AND POLISH

“Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott discusses the problem of building a corporate culture founded in conversations and not just ‘corporate communication’. This is the title that had been on my “required reading” list since I took part in a brave communication training. Now the time had come to read it. I do think vacation is the good time to read more about the concepts we had been trained in recently…
The book has this “American” touch to it, with lots of exemples, questions to think about and golden thoughts such as: “Anyone can play the notes. The magic is in the intervals, in the phrasing.”

3. Creative painting / DRAWING BOOK

Summer is the time to get creative, so I borrow pastels from my daughter and start to draw. The short visual thinking in business exercises from Karolina Jóźwik and Szymon Zwoliński’s book are fun. This is not a book to read, but to draw.
It’s a great book for vacation because you don’t need to focus on reading a lot of text, instead – you just need to draw, and this can be very inspirational. Beware: when you start to think visually you may not be able to ignore well-designed seaside restaurant menus anymore!

Enjoy your reading!