Thinking

A systems-based approach to high performance that applies equally well to sport, military, and business. Connolly breaks down the interconnected elements of preparation (technical, tactical, physical, and psychological) and shows how they fit together to create adaptable, resilient teams and individuals. Recommended to us by Brad Scott, an excellent coach currently at the Atlanta Braves.

This book explains how our memory and recall systems function and why humans consistently make cognitive errors and have certain biases. When combined with the other books in this section, you’ll have a relatively robust understanding of how people learn (or don’t) and the predictable traps they tend to fall into. 

An examination of how learning from failure drives success. Syed contrasts industries and organizations that hide mistakes with those that study them relentlessly. Provides good examples of how openness, feedback loops, and iterative improvement lead to innovation and resilience. A valuable read for anyone serious about growth in high-stakes or high-performance fields.

It provides many applicable mental models for objective decision-making. Unsurprisingly, it lacks any deep exploration of decision-making's moral or emotional components, but it’s still a helpful text when combined with the other books on this list.

This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the principles that govern the interactions of complex systems. It is one of the foundational reference texts for the first half of our book.

An in-depth exploration of non-linear relationships and how to leverage them and avoid the traps they create in various aspects of our lives. The book's best parts focus on general principles and provide examples of real-world scenarios when they play out. Taleb’s writing style is petty and self-absorbed (and it’s worth noting that “antifragile” is really just a way to describe the behavior of a complex adaptive system), but the book’s main points are still applicable and helpful in daily life.

This book explores the impact and reaction to extreme outlier events called ‘black swans.’ It has many interesting takeaways on how to deal with life's volatility and plan for and deal with these kinds of extreme events. Even when you disagree with the author (which you probably will), it will get you thinking.

A deep exploration of how complex systems fail, not through one catastrophic error, but through small, incremental steps that go unnoticed until it’s too late. Dekker uses examples from aviation, medicine, and engineering to show how human factors, organizational culture, and system design interact. Essential reading for anyone responsible for safety, performance, or decision-making in complex environments.  

The most comprehensive, profound, and immediately applicable book on neuroscience I’ve ever read (not just a scientific explanation of philosophical or behavioral insights). Clark's work provides an intellectual framework for understanding why some philosophical schools of thought seemingly work so well in the real world (see books from the previous section). It also provides a flexible model for how our minds work in various scenarios, from learning new skills to managing our emotional lives. Clark’s research was the foundational framework for how we combined the disparate topics of human performance explored in our book.

It is a time management book that explores the dilemmas of the modern world and how to slow down and do more of what truly matters. While there are some useful strategies, the best part is his exploration of how we think about time and energy and the contradictions and limitations of modern thinking on these topics.

An excellent overview of how to break bad habits and form new ones. While there are many books on habit formation, this one is the most comprehensive and immediately applicable.

The definitive text on how to develop expertise from the world’s foremost researcher, this book explores the nuance of skill development from beginner to master. It is another book that heavily influenced our coaching model.

A witty and engaging look at why we’re so bad at predicting what will make us happy. Gilbert blends psychology, neuroscience, and humor to show how our brains misremember the past and misjudge the future, and why those errors matter. You’ll finish with a clearer sense of how to make better choices for your future self.

A tome on the value of learning how to fully engage to create high-quality work or learn complex skills rapidly. The book offers numerous ideas and perspectives that complement the other books on expertise in this list.

An in-depth exploration of the role of emotions in our lives from the foremost researcher on the topic. This book dispels many common misconceptions about the role of emotions in our personal, social, and professional lives, including decision-making, interpersonal relationships, and rational thinking.

Part personal philosophy, part autobiography, this book explores the attitude and mindset of Josh Waitzkin, who has turned himself into a chess prodigy and world-champion martial artist. It's been influential for us, and contains a lot of insightful ideas and analogies like the concept of "investing in loss" that we've referred to often in our mental skills curricula. 

The foundational text on growth mindset, or how you think about challenges and setbacks. The framework in this book is immediately applicable. It has a massive impact on performance in any context, especially in high-stress situations where learning from mistakes and setbacks is essential. 

An easy-to-read but essential book on the role of attention in human performance. We spend a disproportionate amount of time at BTE helping clients improve their attentional regulation skills because it disproportionately affects all the other mental and physical skills and capacities we help clients develop. 

Provides an in-depth explanation of how effective decision-making requires emotions, feelings, and rational thought.

A deep overview of the power of learning to regulate your attention and stress response to find the sweet spot in both to enter the ideal mental state for performance, which he terms ‘flow.’ Again, it pairs well with the other books covered in this section. 

A compelling argument that the most valuable goals in life and business are often best achieved indirectly. Kay uses examples from history, economics, and science to show why complex objectives can’t be reached through simple, linear planning. A unique and critical perspective that should influence how we think about many different fields.

In this landmark study of decision-making, psychologist Dietrich Dörner explores why intelligent people and well-designed plans so often go wrong when dealing with complex systems. Using computer simulations, he shows how individuals repeatedly fall into predictable traps: focusing on short-term fixes, ignoring long-term feedback loops, clinging to simple cause-and-effect thinking, and overlooking the unintended consequences of their actions. Dörner demonstrates that our cognitive limitations, not just ignorance or incompetence, make failure in complex environments almost inevitable unless we deliberately train ourselves to think systemically.

An in-depth overview of the pitfalls of emotional empathy and the benefits of utilizing cognitive empathy (aka social intelligence) in most situations.

A fascinating overview of the power of self-reflection and the relationship between attention, philosophy, and introspection for living a meaningful life. You might disagree with parts of this book, but you’ll be better off for having read it. 

A fascinating book for anyone interested in how knowledge is accumulated and organized to create functional systems. If you ever think about how we know what we know and how information changes as it moves through a complex system, this book is for you. It's not light reading, but very interesting.

A sharp, accessible look at why intelligent people double down on bad decisions. Tavris explains how cognitive dissonance and self-justification blind us to our own errors, damage relationships, and stall progress. Read it to better understand others, and more importantly, to see your own blind spots more clearly.

A quick, practical guide to overcoming the predictable flaws in human decision-making. Outlines a four-step process for widening your options, testing assumptions, and reducing bias, illustrated with real-world examples.

This is one of those books that you’ll find yourself thinking about years after you’ve read it. It’s a critique of our obsession with “being authentic.” The central premise is that chasing authenticity often leads to conformity, status-seeking, and self-absorption rather than freedom or truth.

Perrow’s classic in organizational sociology examines why complex, tightly coupled systems, like nuclear plants, chemical facilities, and space missions, are inevitably prone to catastrophic failure. His central thesis is that in systems of sufficient complexity, accidents are not outliers but normal: the unpredictable product of interacting subsystems that cannot all be anticipated or controlled. Drawing on case studies from nuclear meltdowns to industrial disasters, Perrow shows how design, human error, and organizational pressures combine to make large-scale accidents inevitable. Perrow’s themes tie together with other works on this list that grapple with complexity and failure. Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed takes a more solutions-oriented angle, arguing for a culture of openness to failure as a way to learn and improve. The Logic of Failure by Dietrich Dörner digs into the cognitive traps and biases that cause people to mismanage complex systems. Read together, they provide a layered view: the system-level inevitabilities (Perrow), the human biases that amplify them (Dörner), and the cultural practices that can mitigate them (Syed).

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the most successful hedge funds in history, distills decades of experience into a set of clear, actionable principles for decision-making, leadership, and personal growth. Part memoir and part operating manual, the book reveals how he built one of the most successful hedge funds in history by fostering a culture of radical transparency, rigorous truth-seeking, and systematic thinking.

MSG (Ret.) Paul Howe, a former Delta Force operator, shares hard-earned lessons in leadership and training forged in combat. Drawing from over 20 years of military experience, including the Battle of Mogadishu. Howe delivers a clear-eyed guide for building resilient teams, designing effective training, and leading under extreme conditions.

Examines how well-intentioned ideas about safety and protection in schools, parenting, and culture have created fragile thinking, anxiety, and division. Drawing on psychology, history, and current events, the authors argue that resilience, open debate, and exposure to challenge are essential for individual growth and a healthy society.