Sign up for a Founding Fuel Live conversation on Friday, December 6, at 6.30 pm IST, with authors John Kay, Ramesh Srinivasan and D Shivakumar. In the run-up to December 6, you will also receive specially curated posts, with book extracts, insights, and recorded conversations with some of the authors
This year’s list is a collection of three very important themes:
- Looking back at the last 100-200 years to think about the future as illustrated by William Dalrymple, Fareed Zakaria, Daniel Susskind and John Kay
- The role of the individual in tough situations and the role of communication, explained by Dr D Subbarao, Charles Duhigg, Dana Sinclair and David Novak
- A great book on AI and its impact on HR and the workplace
1. The Corporation in the 21st Century by John Kay
This book traces the history of corporations and where they stand today. Prof. John Kay argues that pursuit of shareholder value has destroyed many companies. He says that in the modern knowledge era, “Consumers love the new age brands and services but hate the companies who deliver them.”
2. The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out by McKinsey partners, Ramesh Srinivasan, Dana Maor, Hans-Werner Kaas and Kurt Strovink
This book is a distilled wisdom for CEOs in today’s complex world, where they have one strike. How should CEOs reinvent themselves? This book draws on the lessons from the McKinsey Bower program and shares how leaders hone their psychological, emotional and the human side to deliver in a demanding job.
3. How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World's Most Successful People by David Novak
How and where do leaders learn from is a million-dollar question. David Novak recommends putting learning at the core of what you do. Learning helps you grow your career and gives you joy at work. Even if you are naturally talented, curious and ask great questions, you still need to turn learning into action via insight and thorough practice.
4. Just a Mercenary? Notes from My Life and Career by Duvvuri Subbarao
This book is a great account of the journey of an IAS officer from a small district in Andhra Pradesh to the World Bank and as the Governor of the Reserve bank. D Subbarao is honest in his assessment and gives us a view of the pulls and challenges any RBI governor faces.
5. The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple
This is a fascinating story of India of the past and how it worked in developing trade and commerce in a global world. The fascination for gold and how all early victories were settled in gold coins. India produced great thinkers, astronomers, mathematicians, technologists. This is a recapture of India’s past glory.
6. Dialed In: Do Your Best When It Matters Most by Dana Sinclair
Dana Sinclair is a psychologist and a great coach. This book is about performing or doing your best when it matters most. Sinclair has worked with elite athletes, surgeons and business leaders around the world. She talks about red flags in a team and how we could handle them.
7. The AI-Savvy Leader by David De Cremer
AI has been in the news for the last 18 months. David De Cremer, an academic, talks of how human beings should add to AI and not be dictated by it. AI lacks morals and context in cases and hence cannot decide for you. Leaders need to work on questions on the AI data set and not accept it blindly. AI implementation should be done by HR and not the IT department.
8. The Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zakaria
This is a super book that traces the lessons of the revolutions from the Dutch, the French, the Russian, the British and the American revolution. Fareed Zakaria spent ten years in researching this book. He comes to a simple yet profound point—tariffs don’t work. The more you protect something, the more you become uncompetitive.
9. Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg
Supercommunicators are people who can steer a conversation to a successful conclusion. Communication is a superpower in a content-rich world where everyone is a creator. The book has many examples from daily life to the CIA and spies and helps us connect with others irrespective of the difficulties of the topic.
10. Growth: A Reckoning by Daniel Susskind
David Susskind traces the one holy grail number we respect—GDP and how it’s taken off, took people out of poverty but also created inequality. He argues that we cannot have “infinite growth on a finite planet” and we can reorient our thinking for maybe lower growth with better society results.
Founding Fuel Live | The Best Business Books of 2024
Sign up for a live conversation with John Kay, Ramesh Srinivasan and D Shivakumar
In the run-up to December 6, you will also receive specially curated posts, with book extracts, insights, and recorded conversations with some of the authors
