Top 15 Books that Support the Human Side of Digital

In an increasingly digital world where automation and artificial intelligence prevail, it is important to consider the trends and topics that will aid and augment digital transformation, as a paradigm shift nudges ever closer. This list sets out a broad range of reading that will aid those creating game changing ways of designing and making buildings.

1 Alchemy, by Rory Sutherland. This book considers how, in a world of economists and businesses, behavioural science and irrationality deliver the best outcomes, providing many case studies to underline the points being made. Groundbreaking thinking.

2 Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends on It, by Ian Leslie. It sometimes feels like our passion to learn new things has been lost. This book explores research from psychology, sociology and business, making a passionate case for us all to cultivate our desire to learn more: a crucial trait in a transformation environment.

3 The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves, by W. Brian Arthur. There is no such thing as a new idea. This book builds on this mantra setting out fascinating examples of how previous inventions have evolved into the technology that we see today.

4 The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, by Atul Gawande. The world is becoming more complex and the knowledge that resides in our minds needs to shift into data-led expert systems. This book reminds us that knowledge management initiatives can start in straightforward ways, by harnessing the checklists used by pilots and, more recently, surgeons.

5 Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey A Moore. Delivering disruptive ideas and innovation saps your energy. This book outlines what can be done to scale innovation beyond the early adopters, into the mainstream, emphasising the importance of case studies in the shift to new paradigms.

6 Thinking in Systems: A Primer, by Diana Weight and Donella H. Meadows. The systems in building are becoming more complex in response to whole life approaches and new concepts including the circular economy, digital twins and smart buildings. This book sets out how system thinking can bring clarity to this increased complexity.

7 The Paradox of Choice Why More Is Less, by Barry Schwartz. Designing for construction involves billions and billions of permutations. As we shift towards manufacturing-led design and making, choice must be managed differently using configurators and other digital tools. This book considers why limiting choice has substantial benefits for everyone when instinct would suggest the reverse.

8 Pirates in the Navy: How Innovators Lead Transformation, by Tendayi Viki. Innovating within a large organisation can be tough. This book lays out the steps required to power up continual innovation in a corporate environment. The strategies examined are equally applicable to transforming industry or professional organisations.

9 Anthro-Vision: How Anthropology Can Explain Business and Life, by Gillian Tett. Anthropology is not a specialism that seems immediately important to the transformation of the built environment industry. This book looks at how anthropologists unlock transformation challenges and how they can help solve complex problems.

10 Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein. The shift towards net zero requires many more tasks to be undertaken to deliver a building, requiring many new experts to deliver specialist knowledge. This book builds on the premise that in this specialist world the generalist is crucial, but also acts as a reminder that the lead designer role (the chief generalist) is essential yet needs to adapt in response to the new complexity.

11 The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts, by Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind. Technology is radically transforming how we work. This book underlines that no profession will be exempt and underlines the need for every profession to act, providing the roadmap to a digital enabled future.

12 A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, by Daniel H Pink. The world is dominated by "left brain" specialists including lawyers and engineers. This book explores a future belonging to "right-brain" thinkers, underlining the human abilities essential in a world of data.

13 The Number Bias: How numbers dominate our world and why that's a problem we need to fix, by Sanne Blauw. Data and numbers increasingly drive more of our live. This book, by a data scientist, acts as a timely reminder to be careful of numbers, dashboards and the use of statistics, underlining the importance of storytelling in the world of data.

14 Gut Feelings: Short Cuts to Better Decision, by Gerd Gigerenzer. The shift to digital requires us to move to new data-centric systems. This book reminds us of the importance of balancing such systems with human instinct and where gut feelings can create short cuts to better decision making.

15 Sensemaking, by Christian Madsbjerg. With all the bluster around AI, it is essential to point out the importance of human intelligence. This book looks at how some of the biggest and best problem-solving solutions have been driven by "sensemaking" and a deep nuanced engagement with the arts and humanities.