CEO reading list: 4 books to download now

by Liz Warren
June 6, 2018
books
image via shutterstock

Want to get inside the mind of a CEO? Just take a look at their reading list. We asked a few local CEOs to name their favorite book of all time, and while some cited business-oriented titles, others suggested Pulitzer Prize-winning bestsellers. Here’s what the executives recommend you read for both business and pleasure.

 

Ajay Yadav
CEO and founder • Roomi

“The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz is my favorite business book. I really like how he revealed real challenges he went through when he built his business and how he fixed them. Not everyone knows how hard it is to run a company — a business owner has to work very hard every day to solve real world problems.

 

Drew Conway
CEO and founder • Alluvium

I am not much for business-oriented books, but the book that has by far the greatest impact on my career — and life — is “Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid,” often referred to as GEB, by Douglas Hofstadter. The book is many things: a philosophical tome, a collection of fables and a deeply interwoven set of puzzles. The core value that GEB gave me is perspective. The "golden braid" of mathematics, art and music — presented through the work of the titular artists — widened my perspective on how to work with different kinds of people, how to build things and how to organize teams. I often find myself returning to GEB every few years, and my reading of it has always evolved to meet the context of my work and life.

 

Philip Lang
Co-founder • Triplemint

My favorite book is “Principles” by Ray Dalio — specifically the part when he writes "Evolution is the single greatest force in the universe; it is the only thing that is permanent and it drives everything...It is simply the process by which things either adapt and improve or die." Dalio encourages people to look toward nature to understand how reality works, where both in the natural world and in business you must fail, learn and improve quickly in order to evolve.

 

Josh Hix
Co-founder and CEO • Plated

I love “The Hard Thing about Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz. He has an amazing talent for translating business theory into practical, actionable advice that makes you realize the journey will likely be harder than you ever thought, but that you're not alone in it. This book is the perfect complement to more theoretical literature, and should be mandatory reading for all founders and early stage company employees.

 

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