Becky Quick

Squawk Box anchor, CNBC

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As if Your Life Depended On It
by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz

Voss is a former FBI kidnapping negotiator who now uses his skills to teach businesses and leaders how to get the best deal possible. Negotiating a deal is so often a mental game. I want to know his tips not just to be better at asking for what I want, but to spot somebody trying to trick me into getting what they want from a mile away.

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
by Daniel H. Pink

I don’t usually like coaching or self-help books. But a lesson from a short summary I read about this book caught my attention. It said if you want to be an effective leader, you should answer emails promptly. Apparently, email-response time is the number-one indicator of employee satisfaction with their bosses, which rings so true. Nothing can make you feel as neglected and ignored as a nonresponse, and bosses who don’t respond are usually either overwhelmed or just jerks.

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McKinsey on Books

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Acknowledgments

It takes a village to curate amazing lists from this rather busy group of leaders from all over the world. We would like to thank Kris Coratti, Chantal De Soto, Rimjhim Dey, Melanie Newman, Joellen Perry, and Jayne Rosefield for their help.

Within McKinsey Global Publishing, Eleni Kostopoulos led the effort to make this year’s list come alive, with collaboration and support from Mike Borruso, Nancy Cohn, Victor Cuevas, Torea Frey, Mary Halpin, Drew Holzfeind, Kathleen O'Leary, LaShon Malone, Philip Mathew, Janet Michaud, Kanika Punwani, Sarah Thuerk, Duane Tomaszewski, Petra Vincent, and Nathan Wilson.

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