15 Years, 15 Books and a New Chapter: Beyond the Book's Special Edition.
Fifteen years is a long time in Learning & Development. The landscape has shifted, organisations have evolved and the conversations we’re having about people, performance and potential look very different from the ones we were having back in 2011. And yet, some ideas endure.
To mark this milestone, we planned something a little different for our Beyond the Book series, a special 15th anniversary edition that looked back at the books that have shaped who we are, before turning the page to what’s next.
The books behind the approach.
Over the last 15 years, a handful of books have quietly and consistently influenced the way we think at People Untapped and have genuinely changed the way we approach learning, leadership, coaching and organisational performance.
From Daniel Pink’s exploration of what truly drives human motivation in Drive, to Carol Dweck’s foundational work on the growth mindset in Mindset – these ideas have found their way into programmes, conversations and coaching sessions more times than we could count!
Simon Sinek’s Start with Why has shaped how we think about purpose-led leadership. David Rock’s Your Brain at Work has influenced how we design learning environments. Patrick Lencioni’s Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team sits behind countless team development conversations. And James Clear’s Atomic Habits reminds us that sustainable change is almost always built from the smallest of steps.
We’ve put together a full list of all 15 books along with a short summary of each and what it’s contributed to our thinking in a downloadable PDF. It’s a reflection of 15 years of ideas that matter to us, and we hope a few of them resonate with you too.
📄Download the full list of books here.
Our special guest: Chris Lovett.
We were also delighted to welcome Chris Lovett bestselling author, TEDx speaker and executive coach to introduce his brand-new book:
Relentless: The Power of Doing Less in a Workplace that Demands More
In a world that celebrates busyness and rewards those who push hardest, Chris’s work asks a genuinely provocative question: what if doing less is actually the most powerful thing you can do?
It’s a timely message. Many of the people and organisations we work with are caught in a cycle of relentless pressure – more output, more responsiveness, more everything. Chris brought a thoughtful, evidence-informed perspective that challenged this head-on, drawing on his experience as both a coach and a speaker and it sparked exactly the kind of conversation we love.
Over to You.
These are the conversations that energise us at People Untapped, exploring ideas that challenge conventional wisdom and offer practical pathways to more human-centred, effective L&D.
What resources are currently informing your practice? What books, research, or frameworks are shaping how you think about learning, development and human thriving at work?
We’d love to continue the conversation. Connect with us: info@peopleuntapped.com