100 Best Decision Making Books of All Time

Barack Obama

Former USA President

A few months ago, Mr. Obama read “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman, about how people make decisions — quick, instinctive thinking versus slower, contemplative deliberation. For Mr. Obama, a deliberator in an instinctive business, this may be as instructive as any political science text. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012. [source]

Marc Andreessen

Co-Founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Captivating dive into human decision making, marred by inclusion of several/many? psychology studies that fail to replicate. Will stand as a cautionary tale? [source]

Dan Ariely

Author

Nudge is a very important book. One of the reasons Nudge is so important is because it’s taking these ideas and applying them to the policy domain. Here are the mistakes we make. Here are the ways marketers are trying to influence us. Here’s the way we might be able to fight back. If policymakers understood these principles, what could they do? The other important thing about the book is that it describes, in detail, small interventions. It’s basically a book about cheap persuasion. [source]

Eric Ries

Founder/Long-Term Stock Exchange

A pioneer in behavioral economics and just recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, his classic book on how to make better decisions. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

This might feel like a weird book to include, but I think it presents another side of strategy that is too often forgotten. It’s not always about bold actors and strategic thrusts. Sometimes strategy is about subtle influence. Sometimes it is framing and small tweaks that change behavior. We can have big aims, but get there with little moves. This book has excellent examples of that kind of thinking and how it is changing politics, government and business. My favorite example is about the bumblebee that they started putting on urinals–which drastically reduced the amount of spray and spillage because it changed where men aimed when they peed. It’s not exactly the coolest strategy but it solved a problem. So we can learn from it. [source]

Mike Shinoda

I know most of the guys in the band read this book. [source]

Marillyn Hewson

CEO/Lockheed Martin

CEO Marilyn Hewson recommends this book because it helped her to trust her instincts in business. [source]

Antonio Eram

When asked to name some books that had a big impact on him, Antonio mentioned Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. [source]

Max Levchin

Co-founder/PayPal, CEO/Affirm, Investor

Max Levchin recommended this book as an answer to "What business books would you advise young entrepreneurs read?" [source]

Andra Zaharia

'While I was thinking of the best books to add to this short list, I realized that not even half of them are directly related to digital marketing. This is because I believe that the best marketers are people who understand human nature deeply and aim to bring out the best in it. Call me naive, but that’s how I see it. If I were to want to pursue a career in marketing, I’d read … Predictably Irrational. [source]

Chris Goward

Here are some of the books that have been very impactful for me, or taught me a new way of thinking: … Predictably Irrational. [source]

Charles T. Munger

Vice Chairman/Berkshire Hathaway

Robert Cialdini has had a greater impact on my thinking on this topic than any other scientist. [source]

Dan Ariely

Author

It covers a range of ways in which we end up doing things, and how we don’t understand why we’re doing them. [source]

Max Levchin

Co-founder/PayPal, CEO/Affirm, Investor

Max Levchin recommended this book as an answer to "What business books would you advise young entrepreneurs read?" [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

Ray Dalio has provided me with invaluable guidance and insights that are now available to you in Principles. [source]

Mark Cuban

Entrepreneur / Shark Tank

The book I wish I had as a young entrepreneur. [source]

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

I found it to be truly extraordinary. Every page is full of so many principles of distinction and insights—and I love how Ray incorporates his history and his life in such an elegant way. [source]

Cristian-Dragos Baciu

So for business related books, the one that I think had the most impact for me was Decisive: How to make better choices in life and work, by Chip & Dan Heath. … The reason I enjoyed their work so much is because they offer real-life stories and insights that makes it so much easier for the reader to imprint that information in his mind. [source]

Julia Galef

Explains four of the biggest judgment errors … and gives tips for combating them. [source]

Sean Mallon

It looks at what hinders great decision making, and how to improve any decisions you make. Any entrepreneur knows how crucial their decisions in business are (and how devastating indecision can be). Decisive helps the reader to understand how good decisions are made, what key elements to look for, and how to make your choices better and quicker. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012. [source]

Jeff Bezos

Founder/Amazon

From the book "The Everything Store: and the Age of Amazon" “The scholar argues that people are wired to see patterns in chaos while remaining blind to unpredictable events, with massive consequences. Experimentation and empiricism trumps the easy and obvious narrative,” Stone writes. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

And throw in “The Black Swan” and “Fooled by Randomness”. “Fragile” means if you hit something might break. “Resilient” means if you hit something, it will stay the same. On my podcast Nassim discusses “Antifragility” – building a system, even on that works for you on a personal level, where you if you harm your self in some way it becomes stronger. That podcast changed my life He discusses Antifragility throughout history, up to our current economic situation, and even in our personal situations. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

A great read. [source]

David Allen

Author

Atul is really talking about how absolutely powerful checklists are, and I think he makes a very creative point: that checklist are not just some static, boring thing. They actually allow you to do excellent work and free up your brain by not having to keep remembering what you need to do when. That then allows your brain to be a lot more creative about whatever it is you’re doing. [source]

Jack Dorsey

Co-Founder/Twitter

recommends this book because he knows that top notch execution is essential to business. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

You ask about success. To be successful you have to avoid being “fragile” – the idea that if something hurts you, you let collapse completely. You also have to avoid simply being resilient. Bouncing back is not enough. Antifragile is when something tries to hurt you and you come back stronger. That is real life business. That is real life success. Nassim focuses on the economy. But when I read the book I kept asking myself, “how can I apply this to the areas of my life where I feel most fragile?” [source]

Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). [source]

Vlad Tenev

The general concept is applicable to many fields beyond biology, for instance finance, economics and monetary policy. [source]

Kevin Rose

Co-founder/Digg

Bunch of really good information in here on how to make ideas go viral. This could be good to apply to any kind of products or ideas you may have. Definitely, check out The Tipping Point, which is one of my favorites. [source]

Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

Malcolm Gladwell's breakthrough insight was to focus on the micro-relationships between individuals, which helped organizations realize that it's not about the big ads and the huge charity balls... it's about setting the stage for the buzz to start. [source]

Andy Stern

I think that when we talk about making change, it is much more about macro change, like in policy. This book reminds you that at times when you're building big movements, or trying to elect significant decision-makers in politics, sometimes it's the little things that make a difference. Ever since the book was written, we've become very used to the idea of things going viral unexpectedly and then having massive impact. The Tipping Point, to me, is really an appreciation that very small things can rearrange thinking in ways – like infectious diseases – that have huge implications. While we're always searching for the big policy changes – and we think we have to do that in very traditional ways of building coalitions against constituencies, movements and the media – sometimes it's the little things that actually tip the situation. Like the story of a person and their unique set of circumstances that really captures an issue about health care or housing. So it's trying to remember, while you're thinking about the grand and the glorious, that thinking about the small things can equally bring about change. [source]

Charles Duhigg

Author

Through wonderful storytelling and sly wit, Annie Duke has crafted the ultimate guide to thinking about risk. We can all learn how to make better decisions by learning from someone who made choices for a living, with millions on the line. [source]

Marc Andreessen

Co-Founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Compact guide to probabilistic domains like poker, or venture capital. Best articulation of "resulting", drawing bad conclusions from confusing process and outcome. Recommend for people operating in the real world. [source]

Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

Brilliant. Buy ten copies and give one to everyone you work with. It's that good. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

On Bill Gates's reading list in 2011. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

Gladwell is not the first person to come up with the 10,000 hour rule. Nor is he the first person to document what it takes to become the best in the world at something. But his stories are so great as he explains these deep concepts. How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March? And so on. [source]

Alex Circei

Question: What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why? Answer: Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life by Richard Branson Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki [source]

Doug McMillon

CEO/Walmart

Here are some of my favorite reads from 2017. Lots of friends and colleagues send me book suggestions and it's impossible to squeeze them all in. I continue to be super curious about how digital and tech are enabling people to transform our lives but I try to read a good mix of books that apply to a variety of areas and stretch my thinking more broadly. [source]

Chris Oliver

This is a great book talking about how you can use computer science to help you make decisions in life. How do you know when to make a decision on the perfect house? Car? etc? It helps you apply algorithms to making those decisions optimally without getting lost. [source]

Emi Gal

When asked what books he would recommend to young people interested in his career path, mentioned Algorithms to Live By. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

And throw in “The Black Swan” and “Fooled by Randomness”. “Fragile” means if you hit something might break. “Resilient” means if you hit something, it will stay the same. On my podcast Nassim discusses “Antifragility” – building a system, even on that works for you on a personal level, where you if you harm your self in some way it becomes stronger. That podcast changed my life He discusses Antifragility throughout history, up to our current economic situation, and even in our personal situations. [source]

Anant Jain

The five-book series, "Incerto", by Nassim Nicholas Taleb has had a profound impact on how I think about the world. There’s some overlap across the books — but you'll likely find the repetition helpful in retaining the content better. [source]

Art De Vany

I used this book is a class I taught on the economics of uncertainty. [source]

Julia Galef

Has some good advice on how to improve your ability to make accurate predictions. [source]

Sheil Kapadia

Read the book Superforecasting, had a great conversation with @bcmassey and came up with seven ideas for how NFL teams can try to find small edges during the draft process. Would love to hear feedback on this one. https://t.co/PdN1fKCagl [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

On Bill Gates's reading list in 2011. [source]

Warren Buffett

CEO/Berkshire Hathaway

From 1733 to 1758, Ben Franklin dispensed useful and timeless advice through Poor Richard's Almanack. Among the virtues extolled were thrift, duty, hard work, and simplicity. Subsequently, two centuries went by during which Ben's thoughts on these subjects were regarded as the last word. Then Charlie Munger stepped forth. [source]

Daniel Ek

I’ve been enjoying Charlie Munger’s speeches online for years; this is the ultimate collection of the best of them. [source]

Dave Ramsey

Author

Dave Ramsey recommended this book on his website. [source]

Dustin Moskovitz

Co-founder/Facebook and Asana

I was surprised at how familiar the topics felt. [source]

Joe Martin

@benmorris @audible_com @Gladwell I enjoy the quiet on the way home, but on the way to work I am listening to the 7 habits book by Stephen Coveru, a fave of mine [source]

Larry Page

Co-Founder/Google

Ben's book is a great read - with uncomfortable truths about entrepreneurship and how to lead to a company. It's also an inspiring story of a business rebirth through sheer willpower. [source]

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

Ben's experience and expertise make him one of the most important leaders not just in Silicon Valley but also in the global knowledge economy. For anyone interested in building, growing or leading a great company, this book is an incredibly valuable resource - and a funny and insightful read. [source]

Drew Houston

CEO/Dropbox

One of the great things that the author wrote in this book is the hardest part of being a CEO is managing your psychology. [source]

Robert Cialdini

Author

Dobelli examines our most common decision-making failings with engaging eloquence and describes how to counter them with instructive good sense. [source]

Nigel Warburton

This is an unpretentious book. Dobelli doesn’t claim to be an original thinker himself. He’s a summariser of other people’s thoughts. What he’s done is brought lots of different things together in one place. Each of the 99 entries is pretty short, and it’s the kind of book to dip into. [source]

Barack Obama

Former USA President

As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

This was a breakthrough to me. The framework Hans enunciates is one that took me decades of working in global development to create for myself, and I could have never expressed it in such a clear way. I’m going to try to use this model moving forward. [source]

Aidan Connolly

I would suggest Hans Rosling’s Factfulness on the real world of statistics. [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

… highlights the need for a growth mindset in life. It advocates for changing attitudes towards failure, and understanding that the only way we learn is by trying things and altering our behaviour based on the results. It’s an attitude we found incredibly valuable during my highlight of the year, completing the Virgin Strive Challenge. [source]

Daniel Ek

Since reading this book, I’ve literally incorporated this approach to problem-solving into every day. [source]

Dual Core (C64 + Int Eighty)

@verovaleros @thegrugq You might also enjoy the book 'Black Box Thinking'. Discussion on failing fast, bottom-up testing, etc. Highly recommended :) [source]

Casey Neistat

Founder/368 Creative Space

This is a great book. I've read it, I've bought it for a friend. [source]

Noah Kagan

Founder/Sumo

Noah Kagan recommended this book in the book "Tools of Titans". [source]

Andrew Youderian

Question: What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why? Answer: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Getting the right things done) Entreleadership (Great primer on management) Let My People Go Surfing (How to build a business on your terms, that embraces your values) Essentialism (The Importance of focus) Work the System (A primer on building systems in your business) [source]

Naval Ravikant

CEO & Co-Founder/AngelList

I also recently finished The Power of Habit, or close to finish as I get. That one was interesting, not because of its content necessarily, but because it’s good for me to always keep on top of mind how powerful my habits are. … I think learning how to break habits is a very important meta-skill that can serve you better in life than almost anything else. Although you can read tons of books on it, the reality is you’re never going to learn how to break bad habits until you just break them. [source]

Blake Irving

CEO/GoDaddy

You know, there's a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Simple read book about just how to build positive habits that can be I think I what I'd call you know whether in your personal life or whether in your business life to help you build you know, have a loop that can build your success and that's one I mean there are so many great books out there. [source]

Alden Mills

More recent books that have had a significant impact on me are The Power of Habit and The Diamond Cutter. Both represent different forces for me – the former helps me tactically with making incremental improvements in my life. [source]

Carol Dweck

You would think that the relationship between training and skill would be utterly obvious in sports, but apparently it isn’t. [source]

Daniel Hamermesh

What the book is really about is a guy who is using some econometrics to predict which players will do better in advancing wins, which is a remarkable use of economic thinking. [source]

David Papineau

It’s a parable of the disinclination of people in general to base their practices on evidence, a parable for evidence-based policy in general. [source]

Malcolm Gladwell

Writer & Journalist

I don’t need to say much here. This book invented an entire genre. Economics was never supposed to be this entertaining. [source]

Daymond John

Founder/FUBU

I love newer books like this book. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

James Altucher recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show". [source]

Africa Mentor

6 fine summer reads | London Business School London Business School Review A good book is the best travel companion – wherever you are. By the pool or on your commute, be transported with these titles chos... https://t.co/Wo9NYOrwqG via @theafricamentor #entrepreneur #africabiz [source]

Tudor Mihailescu

First thing first, finance people need to be decent communicators, ideally awesome communicators. There is an art in building a case or in delivering a presentation and we need to treat this step as seriously as we have treated the other steps. I do believe this is a top priority for an aspiring or practicing CFO - There are plenty of books on this topic, I would recommend the works of Chip and Dan Health like Switch and Made to Stick [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

One of the reasons I loved Mindset is because it’s solutions-oriented. In the book’s final chapter, Dweck describes the workshop she and her colleagues have developed to shift students from a fixed to a growth mindset. These workshops demonstrate that ‘just learning about the growth mindset can cause a big shift in the way people think about themselves and their lives. [source]

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

Tony Robbins recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show". [source]

Angela Duckworth

Author

Without exaggeration, I’ve never met a CEO who didn’t have Mindset on their bookshelf. It resonates with people who have become successful because the belief that your abilities can grow is foundational to their achievements. [source]

Tobi Lütke

Founder & CEO/Shopify

Tobi Lütke recommended this book on the podcast "The Knowledge Project". [source]

Kate Raworth

It was a real revelation for me to discover such a different approach to thinking and analysing challenges. [source]

Mira Kirshenbaum

A nice overview of how initial conditions lead to patterns that determine what the relationship feels like to the people in it [source]

Arvind Narayanan

@conorgil My all-time favorite example of research communication is The Selfish Gene. Astonishingly effective at explaining deep research ideas/findings to a lay reader. A book with great advice: https://t.co/QD1sM2o0z6 (It isn't specific to research but still super valuable.) [source]

Bill Liao

The Book "Made to Stick" combined with "The Poetics" by Aristotle really helped me to see the power of telling great stories with surprises in them and every time I meet a start-up I can always make a contribution to their pitch. [source]

Cristian-Dragos Baciu

I highly recommend all the books written by the Heath brothers, especially Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die. This one's a must-read for marketers. The reason I enjoyed their work so much is because they offer real-life stories and insights that makes it so much easier for the reader to imprint that information in his mind [source]

Doug McMillon

CEO/Walmart

Here are some of my favorite reads from 2017. Lots of friends and colleagues send me book suggestions and it's impossible to squeeze them all in. I continue to be super curious about how digital and tech are enabling people to transform our lives but I try to read a good mix of books that apply to a variety of areas and stretch my thinking more broadly. [source]

David Heinemeier Hansson

Michael Lewis is just a great storyteller, and tell a story in this he does. It’s about two Israeli psychologists, their collaboration on the irrationality of the human mind, and the milestones they set with concepts like loss-aversion, endowment effect, and other common quirks that the assumption of rationality doesn’t account for. It’s a bit long-winded, but if you like Lewis’ style, you probably won’t mind it. The scientific recaps could have happened in a book 1/10th the length, but then you’d miss out on the character portrayals of these two fascinating scientists. [source]

Francisco Perez Mackenna

This summer, Mackenna is learning more about the birth of behavioral economics, the psychology of white collar crime, and the restoration of American cities as locations of economic growth. [source]

Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how.” - Elon Mus [source]

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world. [source]

Ben Horowitz

Co-founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Zero To One is a great book. I learned a lot reading it. [source]

A.J. Jacobs

All about trying to figure out the gap between the red and blue states – Republican and Democrat – and it’s really interesting. [source]

Akin Oyebode

@eggheader @OnemuVictor1 @JonHaidt Abeg order two. I read Righteous Mind which he also wrote, and that was a very fascinating book. [source]

Andrew M. Mwenda

The best work on this is a book by Jonathan Haidt “The Righteous Mind: Why good People are Divided by Religion and Politics.” He argues that human beings have deeply entrenched moral intuitions which guide their assessment of reality. Facts matter very little if at all. [source]

Tobi Lütke

Founder & CEO/Shopify

Tobi Lütke recommended this book in an interview in "The Globe and Mail." [source]

Bogdan Lucaciu

Spoiler: it’s autonomy, mastery, and purpose. [source]

David Brudo

One of the books that had an impact on . [source]

Peter Attia

Founder/Attia Medical

A book about cognitive dissonance that looks at common weaknesses and biases in human thinking. Peter wants to ensure he goes through life without being too sure of himeself, and this book helps him to recalibrate. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

Cognitive Dissonance is one of the most powerful and delusionary forces in the world. [source]

David Kramaley

When asked what books he would recommend to youngsters interested in his professional path, David mentioned Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me). [source]

Jonathan Haidt

He’s one of the funniest people, certainly in psychology – he’s just endlessly witty, and reading it is like strapping yourself into a roller coaster. [source]

Chelsea Frank

I read everything with an open mind, often challenging myself by choosing books with an odd perspective or religious/spiritual views. These books do not reflect my personal feelings but are books that helped shape my perspective on life, love, and happiness. [source]

Derek Sivers

My recommendation is to do little tests. Try a few months of living the life you think you want, but leave yourself an exit plan, being open to the big chance that you might not like it after actually trying it... The best book about this subject is Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. His recommendation is to talk to a few people wo are currently where you think you want to be and ask them for the pros and cons. Then trust their opinion since they're right in it, not just remembering or imagining. [source]

Dustin Moskovitz

Co-founder/Facebook and Asana

Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter. [source]

Daniel Pink

Author

Emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence without sacrificing deal-making power. From the pen of a former hostage negotiator—someone who couldn’t take no for an answer—which makes it fascinating reading. But it’s also eminently practical. In these pages, you will find the techniques for getting the deal you want. [source]

Adam Grant

This book blew my mind. It’s a riveting read, full of instantly actionable advice—not just for high-stakes negotiations, but also for handling everyday conflicts at work and at home. [source]

Dustin Moskovitz

Co-founder/Facebook and Asana

Put first things first. [source]

Tony Hsieh

CEO/Zappos.com

Getting Things Done by David Allen. He recently spoke at our Zappos all-hands meeting and gave me a signed copy of his book. [source]

Eric Rose

Chairman/Columbia University Department of Surgery

When I'm flat-out stressed about the volume and complexity of my work, I open this book and find immediate ways to gain a sense of control. That's really a critical need for decision making. David made me what I am today: headstrong and proud of it. [source]

Sam Harris

I highly recommend. It really is the most accessible discussion of brain science you will find. [source]

Vinod Khosla

Co-Founder/Sun Microsystem

Among the best insights into our brain and behavior. A top of the charts for me for this year, along with Scale. [source]

Bryan Johnson

Bryan Johnson recommended this book on Twitter. [source]

Charles T. Munger

Vice Chairman/Berkshire Hathaway

recommends this title in the book "Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger". [source]

Drew Houston

CEO/Dropbox

About principled negotiation, and I still think about and apply a lot of those concepts today. [source]

Dustin Moskovitz

Co-founder/Facebook and Asana

Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter. [source]

Ben Horowitz

Co-founder/Andreessen Horowitz

A book about the dynamics of how large-scale, highly random systems behave. [source]

Daniel Kahneman

Nobel Prize Winner, Author

Changed my view of how the world works. [source]

Marc Andreessen

Co-Founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Skin in the game as conflict of interest, or as attaching one's livelihood to one's speech? Who to listen to, and why. Ideal counterpart to Philip Tetlock's Expert Political Judgment. [source]

Charles Poliquin

Charles Poliquin recommended this book in the book "Tools of Titans". [source]

Erik Rostad

For career books, I'll focus on more overarching themes. You can get books on particular skills you need for a given job, but these books will help having the right mindset for a career and how work should fit into the greater story of your life. For focus: The One Thing by Gary Keller. [source]

Gennady Batrakov

Reading improved my self-discipline and consistency. It helped me to focus on the right things. This book, in particular, opened my eyes to how extraordinary results can be achieved – The ONE Thing by Gary Keller. [source]

Cat Williams-Treloar

The books that I've talked the most about with friends and colleagues over the years are the Malcolm Gladwell series of novels. Glorious stories that mix science, behaviours and insight. You can't go wrong with the "The Tipping Point", "Outliers", "Blink" or "David & Goliath". [source]

Catalina Penciu

Business-wise, my goal for this year is to improve my collection and my mindset, but my favorite so far has been David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. [source]

Robert Katai

Buy Malcolm Gladwell’s book “David and Goliath” and read the interesting stories about how the Davids of that moments have defeated the Goliaths. [source]

Drew Houston

CEO/Dropbox

I think one of the most valuable concepts from this book is measuring your time. [source]

Timothy Ferriss

Author & Entrepreneur

I think it's much more valuable than 99% of the so-called time management books out there. [source]

Matt Mullenweg

Founder & CEO/Automattic

We're both big fans of Peter Drucker and his book The Effective Executive, as well as Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change your Life. [source]

John Kay

It’s very well written and I see I am quoted on the back cover saying, ‘This is the only book about business strategy which I didn’t want to put down.' [source]

Louis Grenier

If you want to think about strategy, the proper strategy, how to understand what to do, what not to do, read: “Good Strategy, Bad Strategy”, “Good to Great” and “Blue Ocean Strategy”. [source]

Patricia Reed

I loved Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, by Richard Rumelt. It had many stories and examples about how strategy is often misconstrued, and what leaders can do to ensure they have a proper strategy. [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

The basis of this book is so important to anyone looking to increase their influence, profits or impact. People won't truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. When you start with the why, everything else falls into place. This book is so impactful, I consider it required reading. [source]

Tony Hsieh

CEO/Zappos.com

Over the years he’s recommended well over 20 business books — including his own, the 2010 bestseller Delivering Happiness and you can always find what he’s currently reading atop his cluttered desk. Start with Why is amogst those titles. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

What better way to learn about success then the minute paths taken by 100s or 1000s of successful people.It feels like Robert takes everyone in history and dissects the exact moments and decisions that led to their great success. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

There is no living writer (or person) who has been more influential to me than Robert Greene. I met him when I was 19 years old and he’s shaped me as a person, as a writer, as a thinker. You MUST read his books. His work on power and strategy are critical for anyone trying to accomplish anything. In life, power is force we are constantly bumping up against. People have power of over us, we seek power ourselves that we might be free enough and influential enough to accomplish our goals—so we must understand where power comes from, how it works and how to get it. But pure power is meaningless. It must be joined to mastery and purpose. So read his book Mastery so that you can figure your life’s task and how to dedicate yourself to it. [source]

Boban Dedovic

Question: What books had the biggest impact on you? Perhaps changed the way you see things or dramatically changed your career path. Answer: Here are some others books that are important to me. Zero to One by Peter Thiel (on startups) Mastery by Robert Greene (life and career path study) Good to Great by Jim Collins (on growing a great company) Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher (negotiation) [source]

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

This book is written by the founder of Pixar and is about his experience building a culture that fosters creativity. His theory is that people are fundamentally creative, but many forces stand in the way of people being able to do their best work. I love reading first-hand accounts about how people build great companies like Pixar and nurture innovation and creativity. This should be inspiring to anyone looking to do the same, and hopefully there will be lessons we can apply to connecting the world! [source]

Timothy Ferriss

Author & Entrepreneur

No matter your circumstances, storytelling and creativity are two 'meta-skills' that can take your business and life to the next level. Ed is a master. [source]

Ezra Klein

An amazing, amazing book. [source]

Reid Hoffman

CEO/LinkedIn

Reid read Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu as a boy, which informed his strategic thinking. [source]

Evan Spiegel

After meeting Mark Zuckerberg, Evan Spiegel immediately bought every Snapchat employee a copy of 'The Art Of War'. [source]

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Astrophysicist, Author & Science Communicator

Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on planet? … The Art of War (Sun Tsu) to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art. If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world. [source]

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Author

A wonderful book on wisdom and decision-making written by a wise decision-maker. This is the kind of book you read first, then leave by your bedside and re-read a bit every day, so you can slowly soak up the wisdom. It is sort of Montaigne but applied to business, with a great investigation of the psychological dimension of decision-making. I like the book for many reasons --the main one is that it was written by a practitioner who knows what he wants, not by an academic. Enjoy it. [source]

Jason Fried

Co-Founder/Basecamp

Finally got to re-reading one of my favorite books: Seeking Wisdom, from Darwin to Munger. Highly recommended. [source]

Derek Sivers

A great overview of the lessons of Charlie Munger (partner of Warren Buffett) - and his approach to checklists of multi-disciplinary models to guide clear thinking. [source]

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

Andy’s book played a big role in shaping my management style. [source]

Ben Horowitz

Co-founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Andy Grove, who built himself from nothing to run Intel, stopped what he was doing to teach us his magic. And not through some ghostwriter either — Andy wrote this book himself. What an incredible gift. [source]

Brian Chesky

Co-Founder & CEO/AirBnb

For Chesky, a source may come in the form of a biography of a business hero such as Steve Jobs or Walt Disney. His primary book source on management technique is Andy Grove’s High Output Management. [source]

Dmitry Dragilev

How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen is a wonderful book in terms of figuring out what is you’re doing with life in general. [source]

Dragos Novac

Clay’s Innovator’s Dilemma was important. Also, about 10 years later, he had another which really had a profound impact on me and on my belief systems – How will you measure your life. [source]

Iulia Ghita

Christensen’s writings are so powerful that they make you rethink your life and your business strategies. How Will You Measure Your Life taught me that it’s easier to hold on to my principles 100% of the time than it is to hold on to them 98% of the time. Made me realize there is no “just this once” in life. [source]

Fabrice Grinda

I have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend. [source]

Rand Fishkin

Another excellent book from Ariely, with a lot of new research and a personal take that helps keep the text moving. [source]

Ben Shapiro

It's very good. [source]

David Ndii

@Mbiginji If you like that type you might enjoy The Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki and Homo Deus by Yuval Harari. Recommend also Winners Takes All by Anand Giridharadas. Different kind of book but important read. [source]

Nadia Al Sheikh

Although we tend to elect leaders that we believe know better and follow them hoping for a better future, better life & a safer life. Surprisingly in many cases the wisdom of the crowd has proven to be more accurate than most of our smartest leaders. The message for me is to learn to listen to the people and to learn from them assuming you know nothing with that you will learn a lot! [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Elon Musk is a man after my own heart: a risk taker undaunted by setbacks and ever driven to ensure a bright future for humanity. Ashlee Vance's stellar biography captures Musk's remarkable life story and irrepressible spirit. [source]

Casey Neistat

Founder/368 Creative Space

I'm fascinated by Elon Musk, I own a Tesla, I read Ashlee Vance's biography on Elon Musk. I think he's a very interesting charachter. [source]

Andrea Loubier

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future as this was still in the first couple of years of me starting my own company, Mailbird and it was inspiring and visionary. It helps you go from a small voice in a big corporate company, to thinking big and voicing your wild opinions and creating plan to work towards it. [source]

Max Levchin

Co-founder/PayPal, CEO/Affirm, Investor

A now-venerable guide to having tough conversations in a way that engages the debaters. [source]

Deke Bridges

Picked up this great book @Powells to read. Better conversation and listening enables you to get deeper into subjects at hand. When talking with people, this makes your communication skills a very powerful tool. Always be learning. #growth #education #leadership https://t.co/r0ujX9IPqh [source]

Julia Galef

Has some good advice on how to improve your ability to make accurate predictions. [source]

Nick Ganju

About being outcome-based and getting these measurable outcomes. [source]

Matt Mullenweg

Founder & CEO/Automattic

Hooked gives you the blueprint for the next generation of products. Read Hooked or the company that replaces you will. [source]

Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten

The book everyone in Silicon Valley is talking about. [source]

Chandini Jain

One of the five books Chandini would you recommend to young people interested in her career path. [source]

Bill Gross

Founder/Idealab

"I believe in the discipline of mastering the best of what other people have figured out.." great Charlie Munger quote to open the awesome new book on thinking concepts by Shane Parrish of Farnam Street https://t.co/wivKj3mLmb [source]

Matt Mullenweg

Founder & CEO/Automattic

I'm really glad this exists in the world and I can see that I will be recommending it often. [source]

Preston Pysh

I’m super pumped to listen to @farnamstreet new audio book: The Great Mental Models! Congrats on the new book Shane. @stig_brodersen [source]

Bradley Voytek

I can’t imagine one day waking up and not knowing who my wife is, or seeing my wife and thinking that she was replaced by some sort of clone or robot. But that could happen to any of us. [source]

Suzanne O'Sullivan

I didn’t choose neurology because of it but the way Oliver Sacks writes about neurology is very compelling. [source]

Tanya Byron

This is a seminal book that anyone who wants to work in mental health should read. It is a charming and gentle and also an honest exposé of what can happen to us when our mental health is compromised for whatever reason. [source]

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

Tim is a brilliant thinker. The way he approaches mastery is inspiring in many ways. His latest book is no exception. What I loved about Tools of Titans is that it distills key tactics, routines and habits of the ultra-successful in actionable ways that anyone can take advantage of. Highly recommended. Every chapter is a valuable lesson. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

It only came out recently. I had so many questions about it that I flew to California and interviewed him about it for my podcast.It’s the collection of all the knowledge and wisdom he gained from the 100s of people he interviewed.I leave it out on my floor and read a page or two whenever I pass it.It’s already filled with 100s of my notes (see below). It’s maybe the one physical book I keep around. The rest, including my own books, I keep on my Kindle. [source]

Kamal Ravikant

Entrepreneur & Author

I’m reading Tools of Titans which is just amazing. [source]

Adam Robinson

This study should be taught at every business school in the country. [source]

Adam Robinson

This study should be taught at every business school in the country. [source]

Jonah Lehrer

This is one of the most influential books in modern economics. [source]

Emma Wedekind

@sarah_edo @jennyshen I love this topic so much! Sarah you might love The Culture Map. BEST book of 2019 so far and taught me how to work on internationally diverse teams! [source]

Katharina Borchert

Welcoming the brilliant @ErinMeyerINSEAD to #brrrlin - her book #culturemap should be required reading for anyone communicating with anyone outside their own native #culture. It will save you so much pain. https://t.co/KLUyc2uOqH [source]

Mark Hertling

BTW, a great book on the subject: The Culture Map, by Erin Meyer (especially good for those working in multinational organizations...or the govt/military) [source]

Jeff Bezos

Founder/Amazon

Brad Stone's new book, The Everything Store, describes how Bezos developed this strategy after reading another book called The Innovator's Dilemma by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen. [source]

Steve Jobs

Founder/Apple

It's important that we make this transformation, because of what Clayton Christensen calls "the innovator's dilemma," where people who invent something are usually the last ones to see past it, and we certainly don't want to be left behind. [source]

Drew Houston

CEO/Dropbox

About how businesses get disrupted, and a lot of those themes are why startups can succeed and thrive even when there are big competitors who you would think would just wipe ’em out. [source]

Peter Attia

Founder/Attia Medical

One of the books that considers to be an important read for people interested in his career path. [source]

Fabrice Grinda

I have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend. [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

A fascinating, eye-opening read that will help you not just recognize your own unique gifts, but find the strength to challenge conventional wisdom to bring them to life. [source]

Tony Hsieh

CEO/Zappos.com

It's always interesting just to learn different perspectives, but to be careful of not trying to just say, 'Oh this book is the Bible, and we should copy that,' … Instead, I want us t0 take the parts that make sense for Zappos and try to incorporate them." [source]

Warren Buffett

CEO/Berkshire Hathaway

This is that rarity, a useful book. [source]

Henry Medine

Whenever I am assessing an investment decision I refer to Howard Marks (Oaktree Capital Management) The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor. He lays out explicit techniques for reaching second level thinking and outlines particular questions any investor should ask themselves before making an investment decision. I paraphrased the lessons I found most useful and refer to them whenever I am looking at an investment opportunity. [source]

Dave Ramsey

Author

Dave Ramsey recommended this book on his website. [source]

Timothy Ferriss

Author & Entrepreneur

After reading The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber and The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch, I decided that extreme questions were the forcing function I needed. [source]

Brian Scudamore

Founder & CEO/1-800-GOT-JUNK?

The book that’s had the biggest impact on me is The E-Myth by Michael Gerber (I even wrote about it in my own book). I read it front to back, then reread it right away. Gerber takes you through every step of a running a business from start to finish, and shows you what you need to make it successful. I read it when I was looking to take 1-800-GOT-JUNK? to the next level, and I had an epiphany: people don’t fail, systems do. Reading his book got me to take a good, hard look at my business and focus on developing our systems and hiring happy people. His book is one of the reasons we were able to sell out of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchises and scale that success into three other home-service companies, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, You Move Me, and Shack Shine under the O2E Brands banner. [source]

Paula Boddington

How the use of algorithms has affected people’s lives and occasionally ruined them. [source]

Ramesh Srinivasan

This book is a really fantastic analysis of how quantification, the collection of data, the modelling around data, the predictions made by using data, the algorithmic and quantifiable ways of predicting behaviour based on data, are all built by elites for elites and end up, quite frankly, screwing over everybody else. [source]

Benjamin Spall

Question: What five books would you recommend to youngsters interested in your professional path? … Grit by Angela Duckworth [source]

Bogdan Lucaciu

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - it was frustrating to read: “Where was this book 20 years ago!?” [source]

Stephen Lew

When asked what books he would recommend to youngsters interested in his professional path, Stephen mentioned Grit. [source]

Dave Child

Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith was eye-opening for me. I was going through a period of greater introspection, and trying to improve my ability to identify when I was being productive, and then to develop an understanding of what led me to have famines and gluts of productivity. Triggers helped me spot more connections and as a result I'm better at spotting when I'm struggling and when I'm in a good place to push myself. [source]

The Editor

@StevieSunshine1 What a man you are for opening up and explaining why you struggle. I can recommend a great book called “Triggers” by Marshall Goldsmith, it will help you greatly as it has many people (from CEOs to janitors). [source]

Grey Baker

I mainly read to decompress and change my state of mind, so it’s hard to point to an insight I read that helped me. Reading fiction has pulled me out of a bad mood more times than I can count, though, and always reenergises me to attack problems that had stumped me again. That said, I read and loved Norman Norman’s “The Design of Everyday Things”, and it’s helped me think through design problems ever since. [source]

Julia Enthoven

For people interested in designing or building software products: The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman and The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen. Both books have informed my product sense and helped me make decisions about great UX. [source]

Kaci Lambe

These three books are about how people actually use design in their lives. They helped me understand this very basic idea: There are no dumb users, only bad designers. Take the time to create based on how your design will be interacted with. Test it. Iterate. That's how you become a good designer. [source]

Eric Ries

Founder/Long-Term Stock Exchange

A fantastic, proven formula for moving from idea to prototyping to decision making within five days, based on a process he developed while working at Google and later GV. [source]

Cat Williams-Treloar

Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz "Sprint" - the go-to guide on how to sprint. You may not follow everything to the tee, but it's simple, clean and full of great examples of how to move fast with structure. [source]

Javed Khatri

This book details the "sprint" process used at Google Ventures. We follow a similar process at Kustard to validate business ideas and to solve problems without wasting much time, money and energy. If you want to quickly validate an idea, this is a proven model and a must read. [source]

Christina Reynolds

Interesting book on medicine with broader applications for all of us. https://t.co/KUeHOPWMom [source]

Elad Yom-Tov

He has a way of explaining the medical world in a manner that is both compassionate but also very much data driven. [source]

Jana Eggers

My entrepreneurial and leadership inspiration came from a long line of amazing women in my family that always acted independently and gave me the fire and confidence to chose my path, and some fantastic and inspiring men who always expected me to do more. What I love about 5th Discipline is that it focuses on learning, specifically teaching and inspiring your organization to be a learning org. It is more critical than now than ever before that we be able to learn from customers and the current context of our business for adapting to new challenges. One of my favorite parts of the book is how it teaches teams to work across boundaries -- systems thinking. I've found this builds amazingly cohesive and respectful teams. So this is a business book, but it is really about organizations and how to get them learning and working together for a common purpose. [source]

Josh Brewer

After working at many startups and now running my own company, the one difference I have observed between good and great companies (and products) is how oriented the org is toward learning, The more people in an organization learn, the more value they create for the whole company. [source]

Jeffrey Snover

Great thread. I know of a number of devops people that haven't read this book. Ya'll should fix that. https://t.co/Yri4JJ0jBZ [source]

Louis Nyffenegger

I don't think I have a specific book that I can call my favourite. Some books have had a big impact on my view of how to build a product/company ("Rework"), some were very enjoyable to read ("The Phoenix Project"), some helped me improve the way I think ("The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out") and some the way I live ("Essentialism") or work ("Deep Work"). [source]

Jeff Bezos

Founder/Amazon

recommends this book because it shows how to create a long lasting company. [source]

Tim O'Reilly

Founder/O'Reilly Media

Built to Last, by James Collins and Jerry Porras. The idea here is that great companies aren't afraid to have strong values. In fact, their cult-like values are what make them stand out from the norm. [source]

Alden Mills

Built to Last focused my daydreaming mind into what it takes to build truly great companies. [source]

AnneMarie Schindler

I suggest these books because they really open up 'how' you think about life and in turn work, success/challenges/setbacks, and in general, yourself. I believe that the more you can understand yourself and broaden your approach to work, the easier it will be to find work that energizes you. Finally, I'm a team player at heart, and love working with others to achieve a huge goal so a portion of these deal with team composition and performance too. [source]

Holger Seim

Lencioni’s books helped me to shift my focus from individual performance to team performance, and what it takes to make a team perform well. It helped me to realize and take seriously the fact that great team performance doesn’t happen magically but needs conscious effort. When I discovered The Five Dysfunctions of a Team for the first time, we had a dysfunctional team at Blinkist and the book opened my eyes to see the problem clearly and showed clear steps for how they should be tackled. Beforehand I was aware that we had a problem, but I couldn’t pinpoint it specifically and hence, couldn’t solve it easily. This book helped a lot. [source]

Jennifer Rock

In Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the executive asks her senior leaders "Who is your first team?" And they each answer incorrectly that it's the team that reports to him or her. The point is that you need to shift your perspective to understanding your senior leadership peers are your first team. We read that book as a leadership team in a corporation where I worked -- and the environment was very competitive between us. When we agreed that our cross-functional leadership team was our first team, we became more cooperative, innovative and productive. And we vastly boosted our results. [source]