Books are still a source of new knowledge and inspiration, although today there are many tools for professional and personal development. We have repeatedly published selections based on the recommendations of Ukrainian experts in various fields. In this article, we’ve gathered for you the books read by employees of well-known Ukrainian IT companies.
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Bini Games
Bini Games is a Ukrainian product company, a leading developer of mobile applications for children. Today, it is a large team of designers, artists, animators, and programmers who are inspired by the idea of making preschool education interesting.
Roman Povzyk, Product Analyst
Roman Povzyk told us about his experience of learning and using English in his work and life. According to him, reading is an important stage of this journey. He advised starting with non-fiction, as fiction is more difficult for non-native speakers.
Recently, Roman has been reading and recommending a collection of short stories by science fiction writer Ted Chiang «Arrival».
Boosta
Boosta is an international IT company that creates and develops IT businesses in digital spheres. Its portfolio includes IT products and performance marketing projects.
Alina Kireeva, HR Business Partner
Alina Kireeva believes that everyone should deepen their knowledge of psychology and develop emotional intelligence. She said that this is a necessity in the modern world.
Therefore, her recommendation is two books that will help you develop this skill:
- «The Emotionally Intelligent Leader» by Daniel Goleman;
- ««Games people play», Eric Berne.
Boosters
Boosters is a product company from the Genesis ecosystem that creates applications and platforms that aim to improve people’s lives. The project has three main mobile and web products: Promova, Avrora, and Manifest.
Mykhailo Galyan, CEO
Mykhailo Halyan recommended David Marke’s book «Turn the ship around» — it will help you to dot the «and» in matters of delegation and leadership.
Brainstack_
Brainstack_ is a Ukrainian multi-product IT company that develops cross-platform applications and services in the niches of Parental Control, Wellness Ecosystem, Lifestyle Apps, Crypto & Blockchain, and AI.
Olga Tarasyuk, Recruitment Lead
Olga Tarasyuk suggests paying attention to four books that may be useful for people involved in recruiting:
- «Who. Solve your problem number 1» Jeff Smart and Randy Street;
- «7 habits of highly effective people» Stephen Covey;
- «Emotional intelligence» Daniel Goleman;
- «The art of winning friends and influencing people, communicating effectively and growingand as a person» Dale Carnegie.
Kateryna Yurchuk, HRD
Kateryna Yurchuk advised «Emotional intelligence» Daniel Goleman. The book will help you to understand emotions and their impact on relationships and communication in the team as it can be useful for each of us.
Another must-read — «Games people play» by Eric Berne. According to Kateryna, it will help to understand human behaviour and game models that arise in relationships. The overall goal of the book is to promote a conscious approach and improve the quality of communication between people.
Ciklum
Ciklum is a global Experience Engineering company that combines next-generation product development, exceptional customer experience, and advanced artificial intelligence.
Sergey Prodanov, Lead Delivery Manager
Serhii Prodanov recommended a selection of books that would help with professional development. He read them himself when he was just about to become a project manager.
- «7 habits of highly effective people», Stephen Covey. According to Sergiy, this book will be useful to all professionals.
- «Getting Things Done: The art of stress-free productivity» by David Allen. Prodanov warns that this is a rather complicated book, but it helps to catch up with a systematic approach to work and learn how to set priorities.
- «Effective leader» by Peter Drucker. Our interlocutor considers this book a classic for successful managers.
- «The art of war» by Sun Tzu. This work deals not only with the issue of war, but also helps to broaden one’s horizons and learn to make decisions rationally, not emotionally.
- «Emotional intelligence» by Daniel Goleman. This work is based mainly on research, so it is not effortless to read. But, Sergiy is sure, it’s worth it.
- «Psychology of influence» by Robert Cialdini. Prodanov recommended this book to managers who want to work effectively with other people.
Tetyana Gyryavets, Global Head of HR Partners
Tetyana Gyryavets recommended resources on communication, which is the basis for building a well-coordinated teamwork.
- «Five flaws in the team’s work» by Patrick Lencioni/ The book will help you deal with common team problems, such as lack of trust, fear of conflict, unwillingness to take responsibility, etc. It offers practical approaches to improving cooperation and performance.
- «Cultural map. Barriers to intercultural communication in business» by Erin Meyer will be useful for professionals working in cross-cultural teams who want to bridge the gaps caused by cultural differences in communication.
Eleks
Eleks is an IT company with Ukrainian roots that provides software development, consulting, and quality control services.
Mykola Markelov, Game Designer
Mykola Markelov advised to pay attention to the book «Blood, sweat, and pixels. By the other side of creating video games» Jason Schreier. It was this book that once drew his attention to game dev and motivated him. In 2023, another book by this author was published — «Press Reset. Burnout and recovery in the video game industry». Mykola advises newcomers to read it. Finally, ««The Art of Game Design. A Book of Lenses» by Jesse Schell will teach you how to analyse games from different angles.
GlobalLogic
GlobalLogic is a digital product developer that combines design expertise with complex engineering. The company’s goal is to help clients realize the potential and accelerate the transition to the digital business of the future.
Yulia Mazur, Project Manager
Yulia Mazur advised to read «Cultural map. Barriers to intercultural communication in business» by Erin Meyer. This is a book for anyone who wants to understand the main business communication problems that arise from cultural differences and learn the most effective ways to solve them.
Jooble
Jooble is a job aggregator operating in 67 countries. The project was founded in 2006 by two Ukrainian students, Roman Prokofiev and Yevhen Sobakaryov. They wanted to create a «search engine that would find jobs as easily and quickly as Google finds information».
Oksana Nosenko, Head of Analytics Team
Oksana Nosenko recommended a book that inspires the country to develop towards Scandinavian values. It is «Bildung. The Nordic secret beauty and freedom» by Lene Rachel Andersen and Tomas Björkman. According to Oksana, it shows a difficult path, but a possible and rewarding one.
She also recommends reading «Principles. Life and work» by Ray Dalio.
Promova
Promova is a language learning platform that combines various tools for personalized learning. In 2023, the company opened a free premium access to all language courses for 3 years.
Anastasia Stelmakh, Project Manager
Anastasia Stelmakh advised to pay special attention to books «Scrum. Learn to do twice as much in less time» by Jeff Sutherland, «Kanban guide» by David Anderson and «Deadline» by Tom DeMarco.
Anastasia Dramaretska, Creative Growth Marketing Specialist
Anastasia Dramaretska once shared her advice and experience of learning English with us. Back then, she recommended that you choose books in the original language that you have read in translation for many times.
Victoria Khutorna, Communications Specialist
Viktoriia Khutorna also told us what books to choose when learning English. She recommended adapted works by English and American authors. Her personal recommendation is «Jane Eyre» by Charlotte Bronte and «Three letters from Egypt» by Victoria Hansen which can be found in the Promova app.
SKELAR
SKELAR is a venture builder that builds international product IT companies according to the rules of the venture capital world.
Olesya Dzioba, Recruitment Lead
Olesia Dzioba recommends «How to Hire A-Players» by Eric Herrenkohl. According to her, this is her favourite work about the concept of topperformers, which has become a tabletop book.
Irina Mordovets, HR Business Partner at AlphaNovel
Iryna Mordovets also advised «The Five Dysfunctions of a Team» by Patrick Lencioni. According to her, the author provides practical tools for developing an effective team and avoiding problems that can hinder the achievement of a common goal.
Iryna Kozyaryk, HR Lead
Iryna Kozyaryk advised to read «Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great» by Carmine Gallo. This is a book about how ideas don’t sell themselves. That’s why mastering the ancient art of persuasion is the key to standing out, getting ahead, and achieving greatness in today’s world. Communication is no longer a «soft» skill — it is a human advantage.
SoftServe
SoftServe is a leading IT consulting and digital services company.
Artur Dmytryshyn, Project Manager, founder of the blog Keep Going
Artur Dmytryshyn said that he liked the book conceptually «Leaders Eat Last» by Simon Sinek. He also recommended «Scrum. Learn to do twice as much in less time» by Jeff Sutherland.
Oleksandra Atamanchuk, Recruitment Team Lead
Oleksandra Atamanchuk recommended books that will help in both professional and personal development:
- «The Art of Speaking. Secrets of effective communication» by James Borg will reveal new details about interpersonal communication;
- «Don’t be afraid to ask. 10 steps to successful negotiations» by Alex Carter is a step-by-step guide to negotiating;
- «Focused on results. What really motivates people» by Susan Fowler — this book is mostly about motivation and quality interaction;
- «Winston Churchill, CEO. 25 leadership lessons for business» by Alan Axelrod is a book about a great man, a speaker, a strategist, and a leader who influenced and changed events through his actions;
- «Scrum. Learn to do twice as much in less time» by Jeff Sutherland is a kind of textbook on improving personal effectiveness.
Welltech
Welltech is a product IT company that specializes in developing mobile applications that help people stay active and healthy.
Andriy Zhulidin, Product Design Team Lead
Andriy Zhulidin said that he has recently been looking for inspiration outside professional literature and advised him to pay attention to Rick Rubin’s book «Creative act: a way of being». According to him, Rubin answers the question of how an artist moves from conception to creation, and also successfully uses a mix of encouragement, inspiration, and practical advice.
Earlier, we made for you tips selection from the leaders of Glovo, Kormotech, Rozmova and 33 other companies that participated in our special project «Lessons from those who care»
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