What is the name of the book?

Paul Nulty (PN): Be More Pirate.

Who is the author?

PN: Sam Conniff Allende.

What is the genre?

PN: Non-fiction – health and lifestyle / careers.

Why this book - could you please highlight its most notable aspects

PN: I have been meaning to read this book for a while but it felt particularly right to pick it up now - we are living in such a stressful time where we all need a little bit of escapism, but also time to take stock of where we are and how we move forward, once this pandemic is over. This book is perfect because it’s lighthearted but thought provoking. It applies the golden age of pirates to the current business landscape, and looks at what we can learn from their history and code of behaviour. It completely dispels the myths that we carry and love about pirates, and instead, shines a light on their ground-breaking principles, such as compensation for injuries and fair pay and votes for all, regardless of demographic. 

Did you get any significant insights? Did you gain knowledge or did it help you unwind?

PN: By putting the pirate culture under the microscope, the author shows us how businesses can learn from their ‘good trouble’ mindset, as this became a catalyst for change and allowed them to be disruptive. We have always adopted this approach at Nulty, to do things differently and make waves in our industry in a positive way.

Is there any one thing that you would take home from the read?

PN: The important messages that I took away from this book are having the confidence to do things differently, the significance of teamwork, the need to embrace new technology, and finally the importance of the millennial mindset as we move into a new world order. 

What is your favourite quote from the book? Why?

PN: It has to be this one - "Being unconstrained by the way things should be, allowed the pirates to experiment with the way things could be.’

When do you read?

PN: I read a lot, particularly management books and anything that describes how to adopt a mindset of growth. In our busy lives we don’t place enough emphasis on reading, but it is essential. We need time to stop and think, learn from others and find ways to challenge notions of normality, to encourage innovation.

What is your take on the book and one reason why you would recommend it?

PN: I would recommend this book as a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek read that explores evolving business practices in an engaging way. It demonstrates how the traditional way of doing business is dying, and shows us that there is a lot we can learn from the past.

Look up more such interesting reads from the series ‘What Am I Reading’ and watch out for more.