One book that fundamentally shaped my approach to people-centered HR is *Drive* by Daniel H. Pink. When I first read it, I was in the early stages of building out our team at Nerdigital, and we were wrestling with how to create an environment that didn't just attract talent—but truly motivated and retained it. What struck me most about *Drive* is Pink's breakdown of what truly fuels people: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. It challenged a lot of traditional HR thinking around rewards and performance management. Instead of focusing solely on extrinsic motivators—like bonuses or rigid KPIs—we started asking better questions. What gives our team members a sense of ownership? How can we support their growth in a meaningful way? Are we connecting their work to a clear, inspiring mission? That thinking led us to redesign several internal practices. We implemented flexible work structures where people have more control over their schedules and goals. We began conducting "growth mapping" sessions instead of annual reviews—focused less on evaluation and more on development. And perhaps most importantly, we worked harder to consistently communicate the *why* behind what we're building. The result has been more engaged people and a stronger culture rooted in trust and shared purpose. *Drive* reminded me that HR isn't just about compliance or operations—it's about unlocking potential. And when you build systems that reflect that, it doesn't just benefit the individual—it lifts the entire organization. If you're serious about creating people-first workplaces, *Drive* is the kind of book that doesn't just give you theories—it helps you rethink how your team works at a foundational level.
People-First Isn't Soft. It's Smart. One book that deeply shaped how I approach HR is Firms of Endearment by David B Wolfe, Rajendra Sisodia, and Jagdish Sheth. It flips the traditional idea of shareholder primacy on its head—and makes a solid business case for leading with humanity. What stuck with me wasn't just the stories, but the data. Companies that put people first (employees and stakeholders) consistently outperform those that don't. That insight helped fuel how we built The New Workforce. We don't see people-centered practices as perks. They're core to the model. When you treat talent like partners instead of line items, you don't just get a better culture, you get better results.
Book: Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. This one hit me hard. As someone running an addiction treatment center, I don't have the luxury of just thinking in spreadsheets and productivity. I work with people who carry heavy stories—both the clients and the staff. Leaders Eat Last reminded me that leadership is about protecting your people, not managing them. Before reading it, I thought being a strong leader meant keeping everything moving at all costs. But that mindset burns people out, especially in behavioral health. This book made it clear: if your team doesn't feel safe—emotionally, mentally, and professionally—they won't perform. Worse, they won't stay. We changed a lot after that. We removed the "clock-in, clock-out" mentality. Instead of top-down HR policies, we focused on trust and transparency. I sat down with staff, listened more, dictated less. We built an environment where people felt seen and supported, not just hired to fill roles. It reshaped how I look at HR entirely. HR isn't a department—it's your culture. If your people don't feel cared for, they won't care for others. In our field, that's a disaster. Recovery depends on real human connection. And that starts from the top. Leaders Eat Last gave me the backbone to run this place like a team, not a machine. We're not perfect, but the loyalty, energy, and passion I see from my staff now—that's proof it works.
One book that has had a big impact on my people centric HR approach is "Work Rules!" by Laszlo Bock, the former SVP of People Operations at Google. What I love about this book is how it challenges the idea that people need to be tightly controlled by rules and policies to perform well. Instead it says trust employees, give them autonomy and focus on meaningful work and you'll get higher engagement and better business outcomes. One of the key takeaways that has shaped my work is Bock's concept of data driven empathy. He argues that we should use people analytics not to micromanage but to understand what matters most to employees—whether it's flexibility, recognition or growth opportunities—and then design HR practices around those insights. After reading Work Rules! I started rethinking everything from recruitment to employee development. For example we changed our onboarding process to focus less on compliance checklists and more on helping new hires feel connected and purposeful from day one. We also introduced more transparent feedback systems and encouraged managers to act more as coaches than gatekeepers. This book reminded me that great HR is about creating environments where people can do their best work and feel good doing it. It's not about perks—it's about culture, trust and treating employees like capable, thoughtful adults. Work Rules! gave me the mindset and practical tools to make HR more human and it continues to guide my decisions today.
Michael Bungay Stanier's "The Coaching Habit" completely transformed my understanding of people-centered leadership. One line jumped out at me: "Say less, ask more." I immediately put it into practice in my team members' 1:1s—particularly in high-pressure environments like fintech—while never looking back. Instead of offering up advice or making decisions, I had learned to ask a series of simple, open-ended questions, through which I could give people the space to think, take ownership of their answers, and feel understood. It was not about being soft—it was about being effective. At Pagoralia, and in previous start-ups like ElegirSeguro or Kikoya, seems to improve trust at a much faster rate, coached more effectively, and also prevented me from micromanaging the fast scaling of people. It also transferred easily to the ontological coaching training I received, which focuses on not only what people do, but also, who they believe they are and how they see the world. HR can become a conversation, structural change can enable culture shift, stop managing roles and start managing identities.