Virgin Books

Tiny Habits: Why Starting Small Makes Lasting Change Easy

Improving your life is much easier than you think. Whether it’s losing weight, sleeping more, or restoring your work/life balance – the secret is to start small.

For years, we’ve been told that being more healthy and productive is a matter of willpower: that we should follow the latest fad and make constant changes to our lifestyles. But whether in our diets, fitness plans or jobs, radical overhauls never work. Instead we should start with quick wins ― and embed new, tiny habits into our everyday routines.

The world expert on this is Silicon Valley legend BJ Fogg, pioneering research psychologist and founder of the iconic Behaviour Design Lab at Stanford. Now anyone can use his science-based approach to make changes that are simple to achieve and sticky enough to last.

In the hugely anticipated Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg shows us how to change our lives for the better, one tiny habit at a time. Based on twenty years research and his experience coaching over 40,000 people, it cracks the code of habit formation. Focus on what is easy to change, not what is hard; focus on what you want to do, not what you should do. At the heart of this is a startling truth ― that creating happier, healthier lives can be easy, and surprisingly fun.

The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You

No idea what you're doing? No problem. Good managers are made, not born.

Top tech executive Julie Zhuo remembers the moment when she was asked to lead a team. She felt like she’d won the golden ticket, until reality came crashing in. She was just 25 and had barely any experience being managed, let alone managing others.

Her co-workers became her employees overnight, and she faced a series of anxiety-inducing firsts, including agonising over whether to hire an interviewee; seeking the respect of reports who were cleverer than her; and having to fire someone she liked. Like most first-time managers, she wasn’t given any formal training, and had no resources to turn to for help. It took her years to find her way, but now she’s offering you the short-cut to success.

This is the book she wishes she had on day one. Here, she offers practical, accessible advice like:

Whether you're new to the job, a veteran leader, or looking to be promoted, this is the handbook you need to be the kind of manager you've always wanted.

Samsung Rising: Inside The Secretive Company Conquering Tech

*** Longlisted for the 2020 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year ***

'Shines an incisive and entertaining light into the secretive world of the South Korean technology giant shaping our digital lives in ways we probably can't imagine' -- Brad Stone

Can the Asian giant beat Apple?

Based on years of reporting on Samsung for the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and Time from his base in South Korea, and his countless sources inside and outside the company, Geoffrey Cain offers the first deep look behind the curtains of the biggest company nobody knows.

How has this happened? Forty years ago, Samsung was a rickety Korean agricultural conglomerate that produced sugar, paper, and fertilizer. But with the rise of the PC revolution, Chairman Lee Byung-chul came up with an incredibly risky multimillion dollar plan to make Samsung a major supplier of computer chips. Lee had been wowed by a young Steve Jobs who sat down with the chairman to offer his advice, and Lee quickly became obsessed with creating a tech empire.

Today, Samsung employs over 350,000 people - over four times as many as Apple - and their revenues have grown 40 times their 1987 level. Samsung alone now make up more than 20% of South Korea's exports and sells more smartphones than any other company in the world. And furthermore, they don't just make their own phones, but are one of Apple's chief supplier on technology critical to the iPhone. Yet their disastrous recall of the Galaxy Note 7, with numerous reports of phones spontaneously bursting into flames, reveals the dangers of the company's headlong attempt to overtake Apple at any cost.

A sweeping, insider account of the Korean's company's ongoing war against the likes of Google and Apple, Samsung Rising shows how a determined and fearless Asian competitor is poised to take on the giants of the tech world.

How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars: The Snapchat Story

'A fast-paced, highly readable history of one of the defining companies of our time. If you're interested in Snapchat, or just plain mystified by it, you must read this book' -- Brad Stone

Would you turn down three billion dollars from Mark Zuckerberg?

When he was just twenty-three years old, Evan Spiegel, the brash CEO of the social network Snapchat, stunned the world when he and his co-founders walked away from a three-billion-dollar offer from Facebook: how could an app teenagers use to text dirty photos dream of a higher valuation? Was this hubris, or genius?

In How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars, Billy Gallagher takes us inside the rise of one of Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups. Snapchat began as a late-night dorm room revelation before Spiegel went on to make a name for himself as a visionary CEO worth billions, linked to celebrities like Taylor Swift and his fiancée, Miranda Kerr.

A fellow Stanford undergrad and fraternity brother of the company’s founding trio, Billy Gallagher has covered Snapchat from the start. His inside account offers an entertaining trip through the excess and drama of the hazy early days with a professional insight into the challenges Snapchat faces as it transitions from a playful app to one of the tech industry’s preeminent public companies. In the tradition of great business narratives, How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars offers the definitive account of a company whose goal is no less than to remake the future of entertainment.

Do What You Love, Love What You Do: The Empowering Secrets to Turn Your Passion into Profit

You don't need an MBA to start your business. You just need a mentor to guide the way.

Holly Tucker – co-founder of Not on the High Street, and creator of Holly & Co – is on a mission to change business forever. Having overseen 5,000 entrepreneurs and identified the keys to their success, in Do What You Love, Love What You Do, she now wants to help anyone build a business doing what they love, leading to a happier and more fulfilled life.

Demystifying the grey world of business, whether you've yet to take your first steps, or find yourself stuck in a rut, this beautiful and vibrant book will allow your dreams to take flight. Holly shares her own story – along with those of acclaimed founders like Sir Richard Branson and Jo Malone CBE – revealing their biggest lessons and proven advice on creating and growing a business. From side hustle to full-time, from defeating your confidence gremlins to creating an empowered community, Holly reveals both the skills and the mindset any founder needs to help their business thrive.

A book like no other, Do What You Love, Love What You Do also shines a light on the creative community, showcasing the brilliant and unique output of small businesses, inspiring you to join them in their success.

There are now over 5 million small businesses in the UK – join the revolution with this indispensable small business bible.