If you’re new here, welcome to The Year in (the Agency) Review – 2023 edition, our annual year-end post, which for some reason shows up the first week of the following year. In it we ask smart people from all over the world, three simple questions:
What did you read this year that you loved?
What do you hope to read next year?
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
If you’re not new here, doesn’t it feel like we were just doing this a moment ago? Like literally a moment ago I was trying to figure out what the hell happened in 2022 and was wandering through the internet – oh yeah, Roe v Wade, oh yeah, Brittney Griner, oh yeah, Queen Elizabeth and oh yeah Bill Russell – and now here we are and my finger is poised above the button on the Google machine to remind myself again.
But why?
For while we make an effort to make the actual reviews somewhat evergreen (because who knows when you’re suddenly going to get the itch to read something about Claude C. Hopkins or Mike Doughty), we’ve felt, over the past decade, that these year-end pieces should be a bit more time capsule-y. Evocative of the moment, if for no other reason than to perhaps contextualize the choices the various respondents made.
But maybe we’re wrong.
Because we’ve spent a lot of this year thinking about time, and the more we think about it, the less we understand it. I mean, we know the past doesn’t exist, because we’ve already lived it. And we know the future doesn’t exist, because it hasn’t happened yet. So that leaves the present. Which is… what exactly? The friction between two things that don’t exist? That hardly feels like a reason for me to fill out my timesheets, now does it?
And yet, somehow in that friction of nothingness, Covid ended and Gaza started and Hawaii burned and AI upset just about everyone on some level or another. Oh and eleven lovely people managed to answer our questions for us, and for that we are eternally grateful. As we are every year. So please, buy their books, or patronize their establishments or take their classes or hire them or feed them or just visit their websites and say “thanks”.
You know, when you have the time…
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Istvan Bracsok – CCO/Founding Partner at White Rabbit Budapest/Founding Partner/Member of the Global Creative Council at By The Network
Istvan set up the independent ad agency White Rabbit Budapest with his partners in 2006.
His creative work won him awards like D&AD, Cannes Lions, One Show, ANDY Awards, Clio, LIA, ADC, The Immortal Awards, Eurobest, Webby Awards, ADC Europe, ADC Germany, Shark Awards, New York Festivals, Cresta, Epica, AME Awards, Communication Arts, One Screen, AdAge, AdStars, Golden Drum, White Square, KIAF, Chip Shop and more than 10 Effies – including the first ever Hungarian Effie Grand Prix, a German Effie Grand Prix, gold at Euro Effie and a Global Effie Grand Prix.
He was a member of the jury at the D&AD, One Show, ANDY Awards, Clio, LIA, New York Festivals, Webby Awards, Young Ones, Cresta Awards, Caples Awards, Lovie Awards, AME Awards, Creative Circle, Cannes Young Lions UK, AdStars, Creativepool, Mobius Awards, Golden Award of Montreux, Lisbon International Advertising Festival, Lisbon Health, Effie Awards Pakistan, WINA Festival, White Square, Newstars and jury president of Cannes Young Lions Georgia.
He is member of D&AD, The One Club, Art Directors Club Global, Art Directors Club of Europe and The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
He is a D&AD New Blood Academy Mentor, LIA Coach and MadStars Global Academy Instructor.
He is an examiner at VISART Academy Of Arts.
When he is not making ads, he likes to take care of his exotic houseplants or count clouds. He happily opens a bottle of wine to accompany any of these activities.
What did you read this year that you loved?
Easy. It’s Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb.
There are books (but only a few) that always find you when the moment fits the most.
This book is definitely one of them. At least, for me. I’ve read it 9 or 10 times so far, and every time I felt that Antal Szerb wrote it only and exclusively for me. It’s really strange that he didn’t dedicate it to me.
Raise your hand, in whom it has never occurred to you, that from one moment to the other you will turn your back on your normal everyday life, and live as you always wanted.
We are all fools.
Here’s the story of the novel in a nutshell. (You might be interested. Who knows?)
When should a man realize that he cannot give up the ideals of his youth and throw his head “just like that” into the yoke of marriage, if not on his honeymoon? Antal Szerb’s passenger in the novel escapes from his young wife in a moonlit trance in order to complete and live on that youth, which was irretrievably lost. The runaway husband searches for the answer to the question of whether it is possible to go back to the past on the time machine of the soul, whether the present can be completed with distorted life episodes, and whether one can ever be freed from the prison of the self or thought to be a liar from the shackles of “adulthood”. “Journey by Moonlight” is a self-analyzing novel of a man in search of himself. Although Mihály, the novel’s hero, first wants to live a conformist bourgeois life through his marriage, and despite the fact that he escapes from this in life, at the end of the novel he is where he was at the beginning: he still has to break into everything he doesn’t want to do.
What do you hope to read next year?
Our Enemies Will Vanish by Yaroslav Trofimov
Maybe, it is because the Ukrainian war is just a few hundred miles away from here. And this book is a revelatory eyewitness account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heroism of the Ukrainian people in their resistance by Yaroslav Trofimov, the Ukrainian chief foreign-affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. It is the story of ordinary people fighting not just for their homes and their families but for justice and democracy itself.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
I would really like to read Yukio Mishima‘s new book. I would like to know how he sees the world that surrounds us at this moment – with all its beauty and ugliness. Of course, I know this book will never be published. But it was good to play with the idea for a few minutes.
Raymond Chin – CCO Asia at VMLY&R
Ray is currently one of the first creative leaders applying creativity and innovation into digital transformation for clients. In his current capacity at VMLY&R, he is exploring how brands can become more purposeful, existing beyond comms and manifesting itself in experiences, products and services.
In his previous tenures, he has won creative and effectiveness awards, transformed an agency to a “Great Place To Work” and Campaign’s Agency of the Year Best New Biz Team to boot. And is recognized for his efforts as one of Campaign Asia’s 40 under 40 this year and its Digital A-list 50.
He has cut his teeth in some of the best agencies and consultancies in the world, such as Accenture, Wieden + Kennedy, Wunderman Thompson, TBWA and Fallon, for clients such as Nike, Ikea, Volkswagen, LVMH, Unilever and Huawei, always exploring new ways of storytelling and making experiences feel like magic.
Ray is also an award jury member and speaker at SXSW, Cannes, Spikes Asia, New York Festival, Busan Adstars, China Advertising Festival, and also guest lectures to students in HK Baptist University, HKPU and University of Gloucestershire and run design thinking workshops for climate change youth leaders in the region.
What did you read this year that you loved?
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
If you are into a sci-fi this is the one to read, if you haven’t already.
As a sci-fi geek, its world-building vision is at the same level as Dune and Hyperion.
Very imaginative in its use of the latest scientific theories and emerging technology to ask the question of “Is there anyone out there?”
It’s a great inspiration for me, because it stimulates you to think more expansively about the brand worlds you are trying to build for clients. For example a new brand is almost like an alien trying to show up as surprising mind-bending experiences in our consumers’ world. Nothing is impossible, you just have to dream it and make it feel like magic.
What do you hope to read next year?
I’ve had this book for years, often dipping in and out of it. And I just want to finish reading it once and for all.
This is a series of interviews with some of the most creative minds in the world, that Rolling Stone Magazine have conducted.
You will find everyone from Lennon, Dylan, Eminem and Cobain talking about the secrets behind their creative minds, and not just musicians, there are famous directors, writers and political figures too, 40 year’s worth of them. If you want to see your creative heroes bare their souls, and show you how their mind works, this is the book to read.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
I wish someone will create an AI dialogue between Lords Jesus, Buddha and Krishna,
To give insights on how we can navigate the modern world and find meaning and purpose.
Let’s machine-learn all of their teachings, quotes and behaviours and watch them debate, create, and maybe even come up with new philosophies to help us find sanity in this craziest iteration of the world.
Sumanta Ganguly – Chief Strategy Officer at Ogilvy Africa
A technology enthusiast at heart, Sumanta has spent over two decades driving digital transformation for businesses in developing markets. Experience of working in twelve countries (India with remote projects in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Namibia, DRC, Congo, Rwanda) across 2 continents. Starting with early day internet start-ups, where he went to work with business plans and securing VC funding; to finally settling in Strategic Brand Planning role. Sumanta is a firm believer in ‘Customer Experience’ as the starting point for any transformation strategy and that linking experiences to business outcomes is key to success in today’s digitised world.
What did you read this year that you loved?
This year for me has been a year of managing brands and businesses in constraints and in a vastly different world. Conflicts, economic depression, rising unemployment, geopolitical realignments have suddenly opened up larger questions about our dominant economic model in capitalism. So, this year I found better understanding of how we reached here through David Graeber & David Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything. The book explores the origin and evolution of society from ancient civilizations to present times. It challenges traditional assumptions about human history and offers a new perspective on how societies have been formed and organized. Early societies were a lot more complex – and interesting – than we’re taught to believe.
What do you hope to read next year?
I wish to read a bit more of David Graeber’s work in Bullshit Jobs, but also hope to pick up a few women perspective of societal development. Like Trevor Noah famously said “talk to Black women because, unlike everybody else, Black women can’t afford to f— around and find out.” Women in many Africana and South Asian societies were treasure troves of oral history in development. I wish to embark on understanding their lived historical context to better understand culture.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
I always believe culture is defined by the fringe and not mainstream, if someone were to write a book on how to decode fringe context on culture in African countries I would pick it up in a heartbeat.
Chris Jacobs – Co-founder/CD at Strange Animal
Chris Jacobs is Co-Founder/Creative Director of Strange Animal, a virtual creative agency with partners on the East Coast and Midwest. Over his career, Chris has been a creative leader at some of the top agencies in the country, including The Martin Agency and Cramer Krasselt. He’s won gold medals at Cannes, The One Show, ADC, Webby’s, ANDY’s and the Effies. He’s also served twice as a judge at The One Show.
What was the book you loved this year?
I’m a fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s books. I’ve read The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. This past year, I ran into his new book, Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know in the Nashville airport. I remember seeing the cover of this book and there was one small quote at the bottom from Oprah – “Reading this book changed me.” That quote really stopped me. I mean what kind of book changes Oprah?
I love Gladwell’s books because they use math and interesting research studies to show the reader that the world is not always what we think it is. This book proves over and over that our human judgements are wrong a lot more often than we’d like to think.
If you are in advertising or consumer research, this book is packed full of interesting studies you might be able to use. There is an idea called “coupling” which feels very applicable to anyone creating consumer journeys. If you are not a fan of focus groups, this book is packed with little studies to shoot holes in them.
What is the book you’re looking forward to reading next year?
I want to read the new book by Michael Lewis, Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon. This is supposed to be an insider view of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX collapse. It sounds like it’s going to be a lot of smart people doing stupid things because they have stupid money. Maybe a modern Gatsby?
What is the book you wish someone would write because you would read it in a heartbeat?
In 2006, I read Thomas Friedman’s, The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century. This book was basically a prediction of how Globalization 2.0 was going to flatten the world, democratize technology and change entire industries, including the ad industry. This book explained the importance of supply chains long before most people had heard the term.
I wish Friedman would write The World is Flat, Part II. I’d love to hear his predictions for the next 10 years.
Brian MacDonald – CCO, Co-Founder at Zillion
Brian has had a very improbable life. Schooled in mathematics, he worked for the accounting/consulting firm of Coopers & Lybrand before finding his true calling and heading to art school. After which we worked for some of the best agencies around: Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett, and Deutsch, to name only a few, and freelanced or permalanced at lots of others. Currently, he’s a co-founder and creative director of Zillion, a strategic branding and design firm with a primary focus on higher education. He has built successful higher ed brands for schools including Johns Hopkins, New York University, Cornell, University of Wisconsin, and Emory, with the goal of elevating universities to the heights of awareness enjoyed by consumer brands.
What did you read this year that you loved?
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage was the seventh book I have read by Haruki Murakami, and it fit seamlessly into the fabric of a not-quite-post-pandemic year. It’s a treatise on relationships and loneliness, and speaks to common themes in a socially distanced world: why we choose and unchoose our friends, how and why relationships survive difficulties or not, and what we need to be in order to bring something meaningful to them. As in many of Murakami’s novels, magical realism plays a significant role, revealing to the reader secrets that even the characters themselves do not understand. As such, his books often feel like looking at humanity from the outside, which I can relate to as a neuro-atypical person.
What do you hope to read next year?
Well, a new Murakami novel, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, but only if it gets translated from Japanese. Or anything from a long list of talented authors who don’t publish enough to keep ahead of my hunger for them: Donna Tartt, Caleb Carr, Tama Janowitz, Erik Larson, Arnaldur Indriðason, André Aciman, and lots of others.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
Why the World Suddenly Got Smarter and Decided We Should All Get Along, a collection of essays by people from all walks of life. It will uncover the enormity of the profit motive of doing good. I’m tired of the inertia that, despite our supposed intelligence, keeps us doing really stupid things. Things that divide people into separate camps are bad societal strategies. And the narrative that good things for us and the Earth are too expensive is utterly false. The world, as it stands, needs more hope.
Lisl MacDonald – Founder/Director at Spring and Atlas
Lis is an independent consultant, investor, mentor, and writer. After a career in London including BT, Virgin and Ogilvy, she has spent the last few decades running her own business across Asia. She is passionate about the mixing of art and science in business, advocates for inclusion of all kinds because it makes sense on every possible metric, and spends her time and money traveling, learning languages, reading, cooking, sailing and insisting that elephants in rooms are recognized and handled.
What did you read this year that you loved?
My reading takes turns, has phases, encompasses as much as I can. In 2023, I found great satisfaction in some sci-fi and fantasy trilogies. World building is an art, and there are some immense talents out there. Yes, the great English/American/French novels are wonderful. But it’s incredibly inspiring to supplement this fare by tapping into the weird and fantastical possible futures that well-written, impeccably researched, assiduously constructed sci-fi gifts the reader. Possible futures should be of interest to all of us involved in strategy, forecasting, creating, inspiring, and just plain living on this planet in these times.
Recommended:
Cixin Liu‘s Three Body Problem series
R.F. Kuang‘s The Poppy War trilogy.
Adrian Tchaikovsky‘s The Children of Time trilogy.
For pure, delicious fiction, I adored Jenni Fagan‘s Hex. She’s an incredible creative polymath: a poet, writer, musician and visual artist.
The usual slew of books on business, technology, marketing and so on were mildly interesting but little stood out. Perhaps I’m becoming jaded. The one that will stay with me is the parody of the year, How Brands Blow by Ryan Wallman and Giles Edwards. Read it. Recognize the ridiculousness of much of the advertising industry. Recoil in horror as you recognize a little of yourself. Roar with laughter and delight at just how well these guys wield their Wit.
What do you hope to read next year?
The wonderful Mark Earls will be publishing a new book next year on the subject of time. His lens is always very focused but he brings a wonderfully wide frame of reference to whatever he examines, so I’m really looking forward to reading this.
Jenni Fagan is publishing the first volume of her autobiography, Ootlin. The reading she gave at one of Damian Barr’s Literary Salons blew the audience away. Excited for it!
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
I wish someone would commission and edit a compendium of pieces by genuine outsiders, eccentrics, trouble-makers and freaks. Industry stages, associations and magazines are full of the same mostly dull and safe people, with a few notable exceptions. What’s the view like from off-stage?
Let’s hear more from Cindy Gallop, Derek Walker, Heather Crank, Phillip Clayton and more.
And also people from Asia and the rest of the world
His father was an art director, graphic designer, and writer. His mother a painter, fashion designer, and decorator. So it’s no wonder Chet chose a creative life. His multi-decade industry experience spans the consumer TV, pharmaceutical, and dotcom worlds. He’s a writer, art director, branding designer, and has been a Chief Creative Officer for several agencies, currently at QBFox Healthcomm (qbfox.com), an agency he helped start with colleagues from ICC Lowe in 2018.
Chet is a magna cum laude graduate of The University of Pennsylvania, majoring in History with a focus on Russian Studies (the perfect prelude to advertising).
“I look for an idea anywhere. In a museum, on Prime, ESPN, my night table. And I’m usually looking. Sometimes even at 4:45am, my eyes dancing about hopefully in REM sleep.”
What did you read this year that you loved?
Speaking of my nightstand: it’s an ever-ascending and descending stack of books and there was a lot of motion in ’23. From Robert Caro’s brilliant self-reflection on his career and subjects, Working, to the Genius of Place, Justin Martin’s biography of Frederick Law Olmsted (with his partner, Calvert Vaux, Olmsted designed Central Park and Prospect Park, both of which make New York a great place to just park yourself).
But my fave? My recent discovery of David Sedaris with Happy-Go-Lucky. Yes, I know: I’m a little late to the Sedaris party (I am on book #4 now) but what a celebration of the rawest emotions imaginable. I grew up in a family of comics and entertainers so NOTHING BEATS FUNNY. I’ll laugh so hard that I can barely repeat a chosen paragraph to my wife though she’s a captive audience in bed. But it’s far more than funny. It’s a mirror of observations about childhood and extinction, and everything those things bookend. It’s the things you’re silently thinking but he types them up and gets them published. Good for him. And now, me.
What do you hope to read next year?
Grant by Ron Chernow
It’s 1,074 pages (including the Index) of all things Ulysses S. Grant and, as a history buff, I’ll frequently look at the index, too. Sometimes just to see how long the book is. The book also weighs almost 4 lbs. which makes it hard to prop on your chest at night. The fact is I’m a Civil War buff and man cannot live by Ken Burns’ documentary alone. Ergo, Grant. Failed businessman, a strategic/military savant, a challenging Reconstruction + scandal-plagued 2-term Presidency. And… the admiration of Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman… what’s not to hoist up and read next year?
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
Frankly, it’s a book I’ve toyed with writing myself for about 20 years now. Toby Moss, aka my father, was a talented, young graphic designer who suddenly found himself called up by the US Government to become the Chief of the Graphic Art Section, Bureau of Overseas Publications for the Office of War Information in WWII. Translation: my father headed up an extraordinary staff of art directors, graphic designers, typographers, and layout artists who produced propaganda in dozens of print media and in 22 different languages. The intent was to bolster the Allies and countries still under the thumb of the Axis powers in keeping up the good fight while weakening the will of the enemy to go on. And so off to New York, London, and liberated Paris (et al), Toby Moss went with a cadre of creatives to develop the “white bombs” (posters, magazines, leaflets, etc.) that supported a massive war effort.
And if I don’t make it happen, yes, I would surrender to this book the second someone else wrote it.
Emeka Obia – Integrated Strategy Director, CWAR at Publicis Groupe Nigeria
Once described as a “human-swiss pocket knife” Emeka is an award-winning integrated strategist with extensive experience working across agencies – solving complex business problems and developing purpose driven campaigns, platforms and experiences that place brands in culture – from established category leaders to bold challengers to innovative upstarts. Emeka has worked across industries including FMCG, Banking, Insurance, Tobacco, Healthcare and Non-profit, VOD and for brands such as – MTN, Stanbic Bank, Prime Video, Spotify, Heineken, Nivea, Philip Morris, Amstel Malta, Lipton and others. Just like yin-yang, he believes the role of a strategist lies in the interchange of two components – analysis and creativity. He brings together the worlds of brand strategy and storytelling, digital and content planning; and human-centered experience design. In 2018, Trendwatching, a leading global consumer trend firm, named him the number 1 African trend spotter.
What did you read this year that you loved?
How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks
It’s not just a deep exploration of what it means to be human; it’s also full of practical tips for improving yourself and connecting with others. Some parts make you think, while others give you clear ideas you can use right away, without being preachy. It’s all about strengthening your relationships and learning to be more empathetic and compassionate, which could lead to a better, more connected world.
What do you hope to read next year?
Next on my reading list is For the Culture by Marcus Collins. I’ve heard him talk about it, and I can’t wait to read it myself.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
If there’s one book I wish someone would write, it’s a collection of insights from business leaders worldwide. Imagine all the practical advice on business and building strong brands in one place – it would be a must-read for me!
Howard Rambsy – Distinguished Research Professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Howard Rambsy II, Distinguished Research Professor of Literature at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is the author of Bad Men: Creative Touchstones of Black Writers, the creator of the Cultural Front blog, and the creator and co-editor of Remarkable Receptions, a podcast about responses to African American novels and more.
What did you read this year that you loved?
There’s this irony with those of us into Black literature, as we end up loving books that showcase bad things. Like, we love Frederick Douglass’s and Toni Morrison’s books about slavery? We love Richard Wright’s autobiography about the brutality of southern racism? We love Amiri Baraka’s amusing critiques? (Can you tell I’m stalling for time to think on your question?) Ok, so my 2023 pick would be Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto. That’s right, I loved this novel featuring a reluctant criminal and a rogue gallery of bad men set in a city filled with trouble.
I thought Harlem Shuffle (2021), the first book in Whitehead’s developing trilogy was just ok, and that perhaps lowered my expectations for the sequel. But hey, I found so much to enjoy about Crook Manifesto — the playfulness with ideas, the keen, inventive writing, the attention to corruption, and the detailed treatments of New York City. In other words, Colson Whitehead being Colson Whitehead.
And speaking of New York City as a setting, my favorite scholarly book this year was Courtney Thorsson‘s The Sisterhood: How a Network of Black Women Writers Changed American Culture. She offers excellent Black artistic and social history, but she also captures an invaluable snapshot of a vital place at a moment in history.
What do you hope to read next year?
One possibility is that the folks at Doubleday might read this response and generously decide that I shouldn’t have to wait until 2025 to read the final installment in the aforementioned trilogy. Some publishing executive, who’s in a giving mood, might instruct his staff to “send this guy an Advance reader copy of the Whitehead book.”
If it sounds ambitious and forward-thinking of me, at the end of 2023, to envision reading a 2025 title in 2024, don’t be fooled. You can rest assured that I’ll most likely spend my time over the next twelve months trying and failing to catch up on good books that I didn’t get a chance to read in previous years.
Having said all of that, after the briefest review of upcoming 2024 titles, I was most intrigued by the description of Percival Everett’s next novel James that reconsiders The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
I hope someone writes a book about the power of Black storytelling in the 21st century. I want to read and learn more about how various creators – writers, voice actors, animators, comic book artists, filmmakers, podcasters, and computer coders – produce compelling narratives that captivate audiences. So yes, someone publishes a book that assists us in understanding the significance and mysteries of contemporary Black stories and storytelling in some of its varied modalities, and I’ll read it for sure.
Anne Van Itallie – Director of Business Development at Whipsaw
A natural and empathetic connector and innovative leader, Anne works to drive partnerships through solution sales, world-class design, and the overlap between people, processes, and technology. She has a diverse background spanning strategy, growth, marketing, and communications. She is fascinated with humans and the psychology of relationship building and organic growth. She has an MBA from Penn State and studied piano and literature at Lebanon Valley College. She loves the team at Whipsaw, a design consultancy with a legacy of award-winning products.
What did you read this year that you loved?
With apologies for not following the directions, I would like to recommend two impactful books: The Almanak of Naval Ravikant, by Eric Jorgenson and Building A Second Brain by Tiago Forte.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant was most filled with marginalia and has become a go-to morning reflection text. The Navalmanack is based on the wisdom of Naval Ravikant, an entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor who “has captivated the world with his principles for building wealth and creating long-term happiness.” (Note that wealth isn’t the same as money or status).
I’ve been obsessed with what constitutes a good life so that when the time comes to die, I can look back with satisfaction. (“When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.” – Chief Tecumseh). Naval Ravikant joins Rilke and Chödrön and Aurelius and di Mello in the stack I keep close at hand for inspiration.
Building A Second Brain is a concept introduced by Tiago Forte, aimed at helping individuals capture, organize, and benefit from the vast amount of information they encounter. It involves creating a personal knowledge management system, often digital, to store and retrieve valuable information.
The Second Brain acts as a digital commonplace book, study notebook, and idea laboratory, allowing users to manage their knowledge in a structured and actionable way. The Second Brain is not just about finding and using the best tools; it’s about freeing the brain to connect, innovate, learn, grow, and orchestrate life. The ultimate goal is to spend less time looking for things and more time doing the best, most creative work possible, while consistently moving projects and goals to completion by organizing and accessing knowledge in a results-oriented way.
If I want to live a gorgeous, fulfilled life, I want my mind to be free to roam and I want the time to pursue things that are interesting to me. I want to give myself time and space to create and serve others. These two books are how-to guides.
What do you hope to read next year?
I already know what I’m reading next year (or at least 1/10th of it!). I run a book club – both virtually and in-person in Baltimore – you are officially invited to join – and we read Pulitzer Prize winners. Here’s our reading list for 2024. If you’re interested in reading any of these books and joining the discussion, just let me know!
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- The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
- Trust by Hernan Diaz
- Vera: Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov by Stacy Schiff
- The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America by Louis Menand
- Stay True by Hua Hsu
- The Overstory by Richard Powers
- Less by Andrew Sean Greer
- The Nickel Boys & The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
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We’d love to have more remote members in the Pulitzer Book Club, so feel free to reach out.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
I’m eager for more books that depict interesting female leaders in design, science, and technology. There’s a lot of complexity to navigating a career in technology as a woman and there are far too few women on boards or in executive leadership to whom others can look for inspiration. Often women in leadership face a backlash so strong and swift that the simplest solution is to duck back out of the onslaught. I want more stories about what the world would be like if this wasn’t the case. I want to be one of those stories about what the world would be like if this wasn’t the case.
Roy Yeo – CCO at Grey Group Shanghai
Roy is a senior creative originally from Singapore, but with years of award-winning experience in Cape Town and Shanghai. He has worked across a broad range of international brands and categories, collaborating with some of the sharpest minds in the industry from King James and The Jupiter Drawing Room, to JWT and Ogilvy. His work on Nike won JWT Shanghai’s first Cannes Lion and went on to become the second-most awarded campaign in the world at the time.
His global experience has been vital to building strong relationships with clients and creating meaningful, innovative and relevant work that resonate both locally and internationally. As CCO of Grey China, he led the agency to gold as Campaign’s Content Marketing Agency of the Year within a year of joining them.
What did you read this year that you loved?
It’s a controversial autobiography of former DEVGRU (Seal Team Six) Chief, Matt Bissonnette—Mark was his pen name—chronicling his journey and career through Navy SEALs selection, training and missions, including Operation Neptune Spear, the op that killed Osama bin Laden. I read a fairly broad range of categories and tend not to focus solely on advertising and marketing books, but what was surprising to me was how relevant so many of his experiences were in relation to what we do, not just as leaders but also as team players.
Within a DEVGRU unit, everyone has an equal voice regardless of rank and is encouraged to speak up, whether it is to voice concerns about a plan or to build on an existing idea. That’s how camaraderie, respect and team cohesion are built within any group. Amidst the inspiring tales of hardships, self-deprecating humour and nail-biting action, were lessons that can be applied to everyone. It’s a better read than I’d expected it to be.
What do you hope to read next year?
Stephen is one of my favourite personalities, known for his gentle nature, intelligence and humour. In Mythos, he gives a fun and personal spin to the ridiculously huge cast and intricate storylines of Greek mythology to make it enjoyable and accessible to brains like mine, which Homer’s Iliad turned to useless mush by the time I was only halfway through.
What do you wish someone would write because you’d read it in a second?
A take on how almost everything man has ever invented in the name of progress has, somehow, always found a way to come bite us in the arse eventually. Preferably in the style of Douglas Adams or Bill Bryson.
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Header illustration by the exceptionally artful Jason Roeder. See more of his fine work here.
The Agency Review 