Advertising doesn’t live in spreadsheets.
It lives in culture.
The most powerful ideas are born at the intersection of human behavior, creativity, technology, and business. And in a world moving this fast, staying relevant isn’t about knowing more, it’s about thinking better.
This collection of books, newsletters, and podcasts is my personal arsenal for staying sharp. It spans advertising, consumer psychology, strategy, culture, leadership, and emerging technology. Not as theory, but as tools, tools to question assumptions, spot patterns, and challenge comfortable thinking.
Because strategy isn’t static.
Culture isn’t predictable.
And creativity doesn’t come from playing it safe.
If you want to understand why people buy, why ideas spread, and why brands win or fail, you have to study more than marketing. You have to study people. You have to listen to the conversations shaping society. You have to stay curious about what’s next — whether that’s AI, media, or movements.
Ogilvy on Advertising - David Ogilvy
Strategy is Your Words - Mark Pollard
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action - Simon Sinek
The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel
Why Design Matters: Conversations With the World's Most Creative People - Debbie Millman
The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg
Adrift - Scott Galloway
The Infinite Game - Simon Sinek
The Right Call - Sally Jenkins
How Brands Grow – Byron Sharp
Eating the Big Fish – Adam Morgan
The Long and the Short of It – Les Binet & Peter Field
Truth, Lies and Advertising – Jon Steel
Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This – Luke Sullivan
Confessions of an Advertising Man - David Ogilvy
The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - David Epstein
Liquid Intelligence:The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail - Dave Arnold
The Culture Code - Daniel Coyle
Contagious: Why Things Catch On - Jonah Berger
Effortless -Greg Mckeown
Bomber Mafia - Malcom Gladwell
Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits – Debbie Millman
The Brand Gap – Marty Neumeier
Unconscious Branding - Douglas Van Praet
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration - Ed Catmul
Where The Suckers Moon: An Advertising Story - Randall Rothenberg
Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariely
Hooked – Nir Eyal
Drive – Daniel Pink
In This Economy?: How Money & Markets Really Work - Kyla Scanlon
Buyology – Martin Lindstrom
The Art of Seduction – Robert Greene
Stratechery - Ben Thompson
The Saturday Soliloquy - Mark Pollard
For the Interested - Josh Spector
No Mercy / No Malice - Scott Galloway
The Trend Report - The Future Party
Adweek Newsletter
Campaign Daily Briefing
The Drum Daily
Marketing Brew
TrendWatching
Masters in Marketing
Creative Bloq
Mindstream
Little Black Book
Eat Big Fish
Muse by Clios
The Marketing Dive
Not Boring - Packy McCormick
The Prof G Pod - Scott Galloway
Freakanomics Radio - Stephen J Dubner
SmartLess - Jason Batemen, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett
Pivot - Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway
Rewatchables- Bill Simmons
Conan Needs a Friend - Conan O'Brien
Touch of Truth - Jacke Cooper
On Strategy Showcase - Fergus O'Carroll
Marketing Against the Grain - Kipp Bodnar & Kieran Flanagan