If you haven't started on your reading list yet, here's a suggestion. Since the pile of books you want to go through is tall, and your time might be better spent with friends enjoying discussions, say, about the latest movies, try allowing yourself to read just two chapters a week--from separate books! From the Mental Models book, I recommend Chapter 8. This is the chapter that helps you see how different this type of analysis is. Instead of focusing on facts, you focus on motivators. What makes a person do something this way? Mental models are all about letting you see your customers from a whole new perspective, and this type of analysis is at the heart of it.