Chosen from John Doerr and Ryan Panchadsaram’s recommendations, these books are especially helpful for CEO’s and founders.


Yes, And

By Kelly Leonard, Tom Yorton
You may know Second City theater in Chicago as the launch pad of comedians like Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Steve Carell, and Tina Fey. But it also provides one-of-a-kind leadership training programs to companies, nonprofits, and public sector organizations. Those lessons show leaders how to leverage improv skills to become more flexible and adaptable. In the words of one Second City alum—Late Show host, Stephen Colbert—” Yes, And is for anyone looking to be more creative in their work and in their life.”

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The Man Who Broke Capitalism

By David Gelles
Consider this a “What Not to Do” guide. In 1981, Jack Welch took over General Electric and grew GE into the most valuable company in the world. His focus on lifting GE’s stock price ever higher was based on cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs, hollowing out U.S. manufacturing, pursuing endless mergers and acquisitions, and his strategy was adapted by Welch-trained execs who went on to lead Fortune 500 companies, including Home Depot, Kraft Heinz, and Boeing (recent headlines attest to the legacy of that type of cost-cutting). The author also covers companies that have stepped away from this strategy, finding profit and success. A cautionary tale for any leader.

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Connecting the Dots

By John Chambers
On the flip side, we have this memoir by John Chambers, who recalls the lessons that took him from West Virginia to becoming the CEO of Cisco. Over 24 years, Chambers grew Cisco from 400 employees to over 70,000—adding $46+ billion in revenue, making 10,000 plus employees millionaires, while leading the world in cybersecurity and data centers. Recognized as one of the world’s best CEOs, Chambers outlines his strategies for scaling and succeeding, and disrupting without destroying. .

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Smart Brevity

Axios journalists and co-founders Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz teach readers how to say more with less in virtually any format. Also, they love bullet points, so following their lead…

“Brevity is confidence. Length is fear.” This is the guiding principle of Axios and the book: prioritize essential news and information, explain its impact and deliver it in a concise and visual format.

“Why it matters…” The authors say this is the most common and effective advice they’d give: “People are busy, their minds cloudy. They yearn for context even if they don’t know it or express it.”

“Every word is a battle for additional time and attention.” True today—and likely truer tomorrow.

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