Six books about innovation and sustainability that will help you grow as a person and professionally

If you could only read 100 books in your lifetime, which ones would you choose? It’s a tricky question, which is why there are so many lists along the lines of ‘1001 books to read before you die’. In reality, depending on how often and how fast you read, you’ll get through fewer or more than that. For example, in Spain the average reader reads 10.9 books per year and life expectancy is currently 82.4 years. Do the sums – we learn to read at around six years old, so an average reader will be able to read between 700 and 800 books in their lifetime. The average in other countries such as Mexico drops to 3.8 books per year.

The reader may not yet have found their perfect title, because there’s such a wide spectrum – in 2010, in their thirst to digitise existing literature, Google estimated that there were 129,864,880 published books in the world. According to UNESCO, 2.2 million books are published every year, so today we should have more than 150 million titles to choose between.

To help you out, and on the occasion of Book Day 2021, which is celebrated in Spain on 23rd April, six BBVA experts recommend the latest reading materials that have most inspired them on the subjects of open innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, sustainability, human rights and personal growth. May the reading begin.

A book to apply open innovation

‘Open innovation results: Going beyond the hype and getting down to business’, Henry Chesbrough (Deusto, 2020)

Open innovation is already a common ‘leitmotif’ for the strategy of most large companies, but if you go back to its origins, the name that appears is Henry Chesbrough. This organisational theorist coined the term in 2003 and published ‘Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology’.

Since then, he has advanced the concept and published new titles such as ‘Open innovation results: Going beyond the hype and getting down to business’, the book recommended by Ainhoa Campo, Global Head of BBVA Open Innovation.

“It brings theory down to reality and makes it more tangible. It uses clear examples to illustrate several models of open innovation, allowing me to drill down into the detail of some of them to really consider whether they could be applied in our organisation,” says Campo. For the expert, this book is important because it reminds us that “open innovation is something continuous, you can’t stop in the race to innovate”.

A book to understand what it means to be an entrepreneur

‘The great journey of entrepreneurship: Innovation, technology and startups in tomorrow’s world’ (La gran travesía del emprendimiento: Innovación, tecnología y startups en el mundo mañana), Francisco Estevan Vítores. (Gestión 2000. Grupo Planeta, 2020)

Every second or third video you try to watch on YouTube an advert appears in which a supposed expert flaunts their bible on how to succeed as an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur sometimes looks to be a 21st century panacea, but you have to have your feet on the ground and listen to the advice of those who really do know about it.

For this reason, Pedro Muñoz, Head of Open Innovation Spain at BBVA, recommends this book by Francisco Estevan Vítores, CEO and co-founder of Innsomnia, one of the main startup accelerators in Spain and recognised by the European Union as a Digital Innovation Hub. “It’s written by an entrepreneur with a long history and experience in this field, who can write from both worlds – from the entrepreneur’s side and from the perspective of the external ecosystem, that world inhabited by numerous players that support startups”, explains Muñoz.

For the expert, this is a “realistic” book that accompanies the reader through all the challenges and obstacles an entrepreneur can face, drawing “a very clear map of the ecosystem and helping to identify opportunities, tools and mechanisms to support you”. Reading this book will help remind us that “there’s no magic wand to wave and become a successful entrepreneur”.

A book that examines the future of technological evolution

‘The future is faster than you think. How converging technologies are transforming business, industries and our lives’, Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler (Deusto, 2020)

Artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, drones, blockchain, 3D printing, 5G, virtual reality, quantum computing, and so it goes on. The list of tech trends is increasingly established in different industries and the speed at which they are developing is vertiginous. At the same time, experts point to a future in which all these technologies will converge. How will that affect society, the economy and the planet?

The book put forward by Julio Pérez, Head of Platforms at BBVA Open Innovation, gives us a positive answer to this question. “It offers a broad and optimistic view of the technological development we will experience in the coming years and how these technologies will impact our lives”, notes the expert. To try to explain these changes, the authors discuss how “accelerating and converging across diverse exponential technologies will impact and transform all industries and aspects of our lives.”

In uncertain times, this reading will help to remind us that technology in the right hands is useful and promising. Pérez underlines how “the optimistic message that the authors convey makes us see that the technological advances we are beginning to see today will help us solve the great challenges that humanity is facing”.

A book to deepen respect for human rights and nature

‘A tribute to the Earth’ (Un tributo a la Tierra), Joe Sacco (Reservoir Books, 2021)

In an increasingly globalised and digital world there is a risk of forgetting where we come from, of disregarding the role of human beings as one more species on the planet. Also, our role in society: to move forward, the past must be understood and respected.

Through the history of the indigenous peoples of North America, the graphic novel of investigative journalism that inspired BBVA Open Innovation team member Daria Trucci reaffirms the importance of sustainability, of being careful about our exploitation of natural resources and, above all, of remembering to respect human rights.

“The book tells the story of the Dene tribe, who lived in harmony with nature for centuries, in isolated communities in remote areas of northern Canada, until the wealth of the subsoil attracted economic interests,” Trucci explains. This led to social disintegration, cultural genocide and overexploitation of the land, a crude reality that is better communicated through illustrations, notes the expert: “Using drawings and direct testimonies from the people involved makes everything much more real and brings it closer”.

The story is an example of how to find solutions even in the worst circumstances, under the banner of integrity and the common good. Trucci sums it up: “It conveys the hope that the tricky balance between the past and the future can be found, respecting nature and using resources for social improvement and economic well-being”.

A book to (really) act against climate change

‘How to avoid a climate disaster: The solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need’, Bill Gates (Plaza & Janes, 2021)

We are well aware that climate change will have disastrous consequences and we know that action must be taken to curb it. It’s a recurring conversation, but in practical terms, how much do we really know? Where does change need to begin?

Bill Gates needs no introduction. His latest book has inspired Arturo Fraile, Head of Financial Regulation at BBVA: “I’ve learned that, to reach zero from the 51 billion greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere every year, profound change is needed in our production system, and many of our daily behaviour patterns must also change”.

This means that we need to work from all areas and “try to involve all the players needed to achieve a sustainable economy“, explains Fraile. The book offers an on-the-ground guide to what we can do: “What I liked most was that it invites deep reflection while offering concrete solutions. Also, it explains how we must combine and improve the tools we have today with the creation of new innovative technologies”.

A book for pursuing what you love

‘The Ikigai method: Awaken your true passion and fulfil your vital purposes’ (El método Ikigai: Despierta tu verdadera pasión y cumple tus propósitos vitales’, Héctor García and Francesc Miralles (Aguilar, 2017)

2020 made us all stop, think and spend more time with ourselves. The pandemic became a switch that we could not flick to “off”, but it has also been an opportunity. Experiencing a real and enforced pause for the first time has made many people ask themselves if they were happy with their lives, whether they should pursue new personal and professional goals.

This is why Ana Malagón, agile coach at BBVA, recommends ‘The Ikigai method: Awaken your true passion and fulfil your vital purposes’, by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles. “It’s a book that’s full of practical exercises that lead you to change your point of view, to do things differently and to reflect on what you want and what you already have”, says Malagón. In fact, the meaning of Ikigai in Japanese is “reason for being” or “life passion”.

The agile methodology expert notes that it is perfect “for those times when you want to start something different but you don’t know where to begin”. To achieve this, the authors have compiled a series of techniques and exercises, so that you can create your “roadmap in the form of a journey to the future, past and present”, and search for your Ikigai.