03Books
READ FEWERBOOKS.STEALBETTER IDEAS.
I read a lot. Most books have one or two ideas worth carrying around for the next ten years. These are mine.
01 / Career + PowerPATHSTO POWERJeffrey PfefferPerformance is the entry ticket. Power comes from visibility, relationships and the willingness to ask.02 / Career + LeadershipCRUCIALCONVER-SATIONSPatterson, Grenny, McMillan, SwitzlerThe conversation gets easier when you separate the facts from the story you told yourself about them.03 / Entrepreneurship + LeadershipTHE HARDTHING ABOUTHARD THINGSBen HorowitzThere is no formula for the hard decisions. There is only the discipline to make them, explain them and keep going.04 / LifeDIE WITHZEROBill PerkinsExperiences have an expiry date. Some things you can only enjoy at a specific age, no matter how much money you have later.05 / Life + PerformanceATOMICHABITSJames ClearYou do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.06 / LeadershipGOOD TOGREATJim CollinsSustained results come from disciplined focus on the few things you can be genuinely best at, not from a dramatic turnaround.
Affiliate note
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend books I would recommend anyway.
- 01Career + PowerPATHSTO POWERJeffrey Pfeffer
Paths to Power
Jeffrey Pfeffer
- Read this if
- You are excellent at your job but underestimate how influence actually works.
- The one idea worth stealing
- Performance is the entry ticket. Power comes from visibility, relationships and the willingness to ask.
- My take
- This is the least comfortable book on the list and the most useful. It treats power as a skill you can practice rather than a personality trait you either have or don't.
- How I use it
- Before any big project I ask two questions: who needs to know this happened, and what does this build for the person deciding my next role.
- Themes
- PowerVisibilityNetworksReputationPolitical skill
Buy link coming soon
- 02Career + LeadershipCRUCIALCONVER-SATIONSPatterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler
Crucial Conversations
Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler
- Read this if
- The conversations that matter most are the ones you keep avoiding.
- The one idea worth stealing
- The conversation gets easier when you separate the facts from the story you told yourself about them.
- My take
- Most career damage I have seen came from a conversation someone postponed for six months. This book gives you a repeatable structure so you stop postponing.
- How I use it
- I write out the facts, then my interpretation, then what I actually want from the conversation. Usually the interpretation is doing most of the damage.
- Themes
- High-stakes communicationConflictPsychological safetyDirectness
Buy link coming soon
- 03Entrepreneurship + LeadershipTHE HARDTHING ABOUTHARD THINGSBen Horowitz
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz
- Read this if
- You are responsible for making decisions where every available option is bad.
- The one idea worth stealing
- There is no formula for the hard decisions. There is only the discipline to make them, explain them and keep going.
- My take
- The honest counterweight to leadership books that make it sound clean. Useful whether you run a company or a team of four.
- How I use it
- When every option looks bad, I stop looking for the good option and start choosing the one I can defend in six months.
- Themes
- CEO psychologyHard decisionsLeadershipCompany building
Buy link coming soon
- 04LifeDIE WITHZEROBill Perkins
Die With Zero
Bill Perkins
- Read this if
- You are optimizing so hard for the future that you may be underinvesting in your actual life.
- The one idea worth stealing
- Experiences have an expiry date. Some things you can only enjoy at a specific age, no matter how much money you have later.
- My take
- This one reframed ambition for me. Earning more is only interesting if you actually convert it into a life.
- How I use it
- I plan the year around a small number of things that cannot wait, then fit work around them rather than the other way around.
- Themes
- TimeMoneyExperiencesLife optimization
Buy link coming soon
- 05Life + PerformanceATOMICHABITSJames Clear
Atomic Habits
James Clear
- Read this if
- You know what to do but your environment keeps winning.
- The one idea worth stealing
- You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
- My take
- The ideas are simple and the execution is where people fail. Read it as a design manual for your environment, not as motivation.
- How I use it
- Every system I build for work starts with the same question: what would make the right behavior the easiest one.
- Themes
- SystemsIdentityBehavior designCompounding
Buy link coming soon
- 06LeadershipGOOD TOGREATJim Collins
Good to Great
Jim Collins
- Read this if
- You are busy and successful and quietly suspicious that focus, not effort, is your real constraint.
- The one idea worth stealing
- Sustained results come from disciplined focus on the few things you can be genuinely best at, not from a dramatic turnaround.
- My take
- Read it for the discipline, not the case studies. Companies rise and fall, but the argument about focus holds up.
- How I use it
- I use it as a filter on my own calendar: which of these activities would survive if I only kept the ones I am best at.
- Themes
- LeadershipDisciplineFocusCompany building
Buy link coming soon
The 10 books
I'd read again
from scratch.
Ten books.
Ten ideas.
No 300-page summaries.