150+ Game-changing Books Helping Changemakers Grow Their Business For Good
2024 was another huge year for the Impact Boom Podcast. Welcoming more guests than ever before, social impact professionals shared their extensive experiences, wisdom and insights into how they are making the world a better place by leading better businesses.
Celebrating our 500th Podcast Episode, the team at Impact Boom are honoured to continue contributing to the growth and development of the social enterprise ecosystem in Australia and beyond.
As entrepreneurs and changemakers continue to propel the business for good movement forward, books are proving to be a tried and tested resource with limitless potential.
Across all of our interviews in 2024, we have encountered diverse recommendations for books spanning across all genres. Whether you are looking for that next novel to capture your heart and mind or something to help you level up and create social change, this list will have you covered.
With your next read bound to be contained in this list, get ready for 150+ books changemakers recommended this year on our social impact podcast series.
“Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”
- Anne Lamott
one
The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD.
two
The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander
Three
Living Untethered - Beyond the Human Predicament by Michael Singer
four
The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profit and Socializes Costs by Christopher Marquis
five
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
six
Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business by John Mackey & Rajendra Sisodia
Eight
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
Nine
The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World by John Elkington & Pamela Hartigan
Ten
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman
Eleven
Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie
Twelve
House of Kwa by Mimi Kwa
Thirteen
From Vision to Action: Remaking the World Through Social Entrepreneurship by John Marks
Fifteen
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
Sixteen
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson
Seventeen
Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella Meadows
Eighteen
Do Good at Work: How Simple Acts of Social Purpose Drive Success and Wellbeing by Bea Boccalandro
Nineteen
The Good Life: How To Grow A Better World by Hannah Moloney
Twenty
Impact Networks: Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyse Systemic Change by David Ehrlichman
21. The Connected Species: How the Evolution of the Human Brain Can Save the World by Dr. Mark A. Williams
22. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck
23. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
24. Exponential Organisations 2.0: The New Playbook for 10x Growth & Impact by Salim Ismail, Peter H. Diamandis & Michael S. Malone
25. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
26. Uno’s Garden by Graeme Base
27. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
28. Fearless: One woman's transformational journey from a treadmill to running the African Continent by Veronique Bourbeau
29. Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
30. Soil: The incredible story of what keeps the earth, and us, healthy by Matthew Evans
31. Why Warriors Lie Down and Die by Richard Trudgen
32. PurposeFull: How businesses and not-for-profits do better as purpose-driven organisations by Paul Bird
33. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
34. Once Upon a Time in Entrepreneurland by Steve Distante
35. What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
36. Rebranding Branding: Branding for the New Millennium by Darren Taylor & Mark Schreiber
37. Loving What Is: Four Questions that Can Change your Life by Byron Katie & Stephen Mitchell
38. Adventure Finance: How to Create a Funding Journey That Blends Profit and Purpose by Aunnie Patton Power
39. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
40. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
41. Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist by Kate Raworth
42. The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
43. The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World by Roman Krznaric
44. Being Seen: Master Parenting in the Digital Age by Professor Selena Bartlett
45. Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman & Douglas Sanderson
46. Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer by Bren Smith
47. The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society by Joseph Stiglitz
48. See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse by Jess Hill
49. Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella Meadows
50. Peaces of music: understanding the varieties of peace that music-making can foster by Gillian Howell
51. Every Mother's Son is Guilty: Policing the Kimberley Frontier of Western Australia 1882-1905 by Chris Owen
52. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
53. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
54. Dare To Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
55. Power: A User's Guide by Julie Diamond
56. The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
57. Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao by Wayne W. Dyer
58. The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World by John Elkington & Pamela Hartigan
59. Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown
60. Bending Reality: How to Make the Impossible Probable by Victoria Song
61. Big Bets: How Large Scale Change Really Happens by Dr. Rajiv J. Shah
62. Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus
63. Unmasked: The Ultimate Guide to ADHD, Autism and Neurodivergence by Ellie Middleton
64. Comfort Crisis: Embracing Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter
65. You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay
66. Finding Your Element: How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life by Sir Ken Robinson & Lou Aronica
67. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky
68. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek
69. Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney by John Birmingham
70. Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma by Dr. Mariel Buqué
71. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell
72. Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea and Human Life by George Monbiot
73. The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
74. Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism by Christopher Marquis
75. Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz
76. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
77. The Exceptional Speaker: How to Deliver Sensational Speeches by Alan Stevens & Paul Du Toit
78. The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World by Suzie Sheehy
80. The Sunken Road by Garry Disher
81. The Road Less Stupid - Advice from the Chairman of the Board by Keith Cunningham
82. Running: Everything You Need To Know About Running From Beginner To Expert by James Sinclair
83. Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
84. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson
85. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
86. Who Would You Be Without Your Story?: Dialogues with Byron Katie
87. The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner
88. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant
89. The Life You Can Save: How to do your part to end world by Peter Singer
90. What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Oprah Winfrey & Bruce D. Perry
91. Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky
92. Biting the Clouds: A Badtjala perspective on the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act, 1897 by Dr. Fiona Foley
93. How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now by Stanislas Dehaene
94. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
95. Uncharitable: How Restraints On Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential by Dan Pallotta
96. Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference by Will MacAskill
97. Give While You Live by Peter Winneke
98. Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good by Ann Mei Chang
99. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski (PhD) & Amelia Nagoski (DMA)
100. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra
101. He Died With A Felafel In His Hand by John Birmingham
102. New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—and How to Make It Work for You by Jeremy Heimans & Henry Timms
103. Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
104. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by Jim Collins
105. The Lucky Country by Donald Horne
106. Celebrating Silence by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
107. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist
108. Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf
109. The School of Life: An Emotional Education by Alain de Botton
110. How to Win Friends and Influence People: The Only Book You Need to Lead You to Success by Dale Carnegie
111. How the Mighty Fall: A Primer on the Warning Signs by Jim Collins
112. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer
113. Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy by Daniel Fleming & Shaun Chamberlin
114. Breaking the Gender Code: How women can use what they already have to get what they actually want by Danielle Dobson
115. Philosophy and Life: Exploring the Great Questions of How to Live by A. C. Grayling
116. Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow
117. So Monstrous a Travesty: Chris Watson and the World's First National Labor Government by Ross McMullin
118. The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profit and Socializes Costs by Christopher Marquis
119. Centennials: The 12 Habits of Great, Enduring Organisations by Alex Hill
120. How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Dr. Nicole LaPera
121. Forever by Pete Hamill
122. When Blood and Bones Cry Out: Journeys through the Soundscape of Healing and Reconciliation by John Paul Lederach & Angela Jill Lederach
123. Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn by Larry Colton
124. Winter Swimming: The Nordic Way Towards a Healthier and Happier Life by Susanna Søberg
125. Values: Building a Better World for All by Mark Carney
126. Lessons for Living: What Only Adversity Can Teach You by Phil Stutz
127. The Infiltrator: The True Story of One Man Against the Biggest Drug Cartel in History by Robert Mazur
128. Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Dr. Anna Lembke
129. The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace by John Paul Lederach
130. Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
131. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by Dalai Lama XIV & Howard C. Cutler
132. Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon by Dr. Joe Dispenza
133. Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant
134. You Can Present With Confidence: How to Speak Like a Pro, Dazzle Your Audience, and Get the Results You Want Every Time by Paul Du Toit
135. The Systems Work of Social Change: How to Harness Connection, Context, and Power to Cultivate Deep and Enduring Change by Cynthia Rayner & François Bonnici
136. Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise by Christopher Marquis & Kunyuan Qiao
137. Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One by Dr. Joe Dispenza
138. Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
139. The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity by Nadine Burke Harris
140. A Restless Art: How participation won, and why it matters by François Matarasso
141. Rūmī translated by Coleman Barks
142. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
143. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
144. Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to thrive in complexity by Jennifer Garvey Berger
145. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
146. Duty over comfort: It’s time HRDs developed role awareness by Julie Diamond
147. Radical Business: The Root of Your Work and How It Can Change the World by David Gaines
148. The Brand Gap: How to bridge the distance between business strategy and design by Marty Neumeier
149. The Surrender Experiment: My Journey Into Life's Perfection by Michael A. Singer
150. Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives by George Lakoff, Howard Dean & Don Hazen
151. Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman
152. The Social Entrepreneur: Making Communities Work by Lord Andrew Mawson
153. Call of the Reed Warbler: A New Agriculture, A New Earth by Charles Massy
154. Milk: The truth, the lies and the unbelievable story of the original superfood by Matthew Evans
155. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
