Carson Design Associates

Our Reading List for 2018

It’s our annual goal to take on reading that galvanizes us in our designs. As we settle into 2018, we’re focusing in on two titles. We believe they can motivate your team and inspire your work as well – feel free to read along with us!

Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done

In this book, Jon Acuff — New York Times-bestselling author of Start, Quitter, and Do Over — tackles of the topic of unfinished work. Why do we start so many things and then walk away before we complete them? To Acuff, the culprit is perfectionism, and the remedies are counterintuitive. We hope to both start and finish reading this book. And we look forward to seeing how it guides our work.

Wait, What?: And Life’s Other Essential Questions

Based on his popular commencement address, James E. Ryan — dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education — offers insights on the art of posing the best questions. He identifies five essential inquiries we all should be asking:

1. How can I help?

2. What truly matters?

3. I wonder…?

4. Couldn’t we at least…?

5. Wait, what?

He also shares how these specific questions can awaken, inspire, and propel us forward in obtaining what we want in life.

While our team is constantly learning by researching, reading articles and discussing trends, we find that taking the time to commit to a book gives us permission to dive deep into subjects that will help us become better designers and leaders.

What’s on your reading list for 2018? We’d love your recommendations!