
Ask HN: Best books about non-technical skills you have ever read? - wallzz
Hey,<p>I&#x27;m a programmer, I&#x27;m read a wide range of book about technical knowledge, but I also realized that my lack of knowledge in other field are holding me from achieving my goals, skills like communication, social interactions, personal confident, emotional intelligence, ...are essential to succeed in our field.<p>My question is what books you recommend for a programmer to make a balance between his technical skill and other skills and how to use that to improve his position and his life in society and be more productive.
======
atmosx
Hm, _crime and punishment_. Understanding yourself, the deeper cause of every
action or re-action IMHO helps you understand others and understanding others
IMHO can improve our social and financial standing.

The depth which Dostoevsky reaches in his character analysis always scared me.
I've read other books from renowned authors, but I've never seen such a deep
character analysis. It's like making a psycho-graph of his characters and I'm
not talking only about the most famous anti-hero Raskolnikov! I'm talking
about nearly every character in the novel.

This book is master-piece on so many levels that I wouldn't know where to
begin really. IMHO it's a worth a read, if you haven't done it already :-)

------
rayalez
The best thing that I can recommend is "Blueprint" by RSD. It is not a book
but a video course, and you may at first think that it is a bit weird
suggestion, because it is about pickup, but I strongly encourage you to check
it out. It is the best explanation of how social dynamics works, and it is
also the best "personal development" course I've ever encountered.

You can also go on youtube and watch RSDTyler channel. It is fantastic, I
can't recommend this enough, even if you are not interested in learning pickup
- it will be one of the most influential things you've ever watched.

About books - I've heard that Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman is
great.

------
emcarey
LEAN IN- sheryl sandberg. It is not just a book for women- it's a great book
for everyone to learn about creating a more advanced work force, building
confidence, and learning when to question authority. It's so motivational,
especially for programmers who might want to start their own company one day.

------
retrogradeMT
The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg. It helped me understand the importance
of routines and how they shape our daily lives, impact buying decisions, and
become ingrained in workplace culture.

------
michaelbuckbee
How to Win Friends and Influence people is a classic for good reason. While
the title makes it sound like the most horrible, shallow thing, the actual
content is really positive and helpful.

------
gyardley
Roger Dawson's Secrets of Power Negotiating. Cheesy title, great book.

------
Immortalin
Harry Potter and the methods of rationality

Hpmor.com

