2025 has seen a lot of good books, many on leadership, many on aspects and challenges of social media. Here is my short list.
1. The lifecycle of a CEO by Claudius Hildebrand and Robert Stark
This book looks at the whole process of a CEO from the time one gets the role to when one relinquishes it and all the challenges in between. The CEO is a coveted job but has lots of twists and turns. There are some hard truths in the book based on data and research. This book challenges the conventional wisdom of how CEOs are selected and groomed.
2. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
Mel Robbins has given millions of people a reason to believe in themselves. This book tells us that we cannot control others’ actions. Some people will always spoil our plans—let them. This book is about seeking happiness ourselves. In essence, we are happy when we let others do what they want and not worry ourselves about it.
3. Say It Well by Terry Szuplat
Terry Szuplat was one of President Obamas longest serving speechwriters. In this book he helps us understand what it means to speak well. Szuplat tells us to avoid cliches, and how to connect with different audiences. How does one have a great opening line, how does one use AI for speeches are good nuggets from the book. He has some great stories on how they came up with memorable lines for President Obama.
4. Serve by BS Nagesh
BS Nagesh is the only Indian professional with a ringside view of the changing Indian retail landscape. Here he gives us many examples of success, of failure and how he and his team built Shoppers Stop. It’s all about consumers, location, and salespeople. Some great stories of changing shopper behaviour here.
5. The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes
The ambulance siren invented by a Scot was the first attention grabbing device for a good social cause. Chris Hayes traces the history of attention and warns us of the attention-seeking society we have become. We suffer in focus and reflection when we crave attention from strangers we don’t know.
6. India’s Finance Ministers by AK Bhattacharya
This is the third volume of the series and covers 1998 to 2014 which is where a lot of the progress happened and the challenge of the global financial crisis. A well-documented and researched book on policies and the challenges in managing different stakeholders. A good book to understand India’s economic planning.
7. One Minute Wisdom by Debashis Chatterjee
Debashis Chatterjee gives us nuggets of wisdom from his experiences in corporate life plus working as a professor and director. He is the longest serving director of any IIT or IIM and has shaped the success of IIM Kozhikode, getting into the top three Indian B-school rankings. An easy read.
8. The Power of Mattering by Zach Mercurio
Do I matter at work? This is a question all of us have asked at some time. Zach Mercurio offers simple, practical ideas on how to involve people, how to build trust. This is a great book for anyone who leads or aspires to lead.
9. Like by Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson
The Like button is the most liked, most watched and most hated button. This button tells us a lot more than like and shapes innovation thinking, technology, product creation, and regulation—and is a great test of anything we want feedback on.
10. On Character by General Stanley McChrystal
General McChrystal lost his job leading the US troops in Afghanistan when he and his team made poor comments on Vice President Biden in an article that appeared in The Rolling Stones. He comes from a family of soldiers. He looks at his successes and failures candidly. He argues that whatever we are, we are who we choose to be and that lies in our character.
More in this series
Last year’s lists by D Shivakumar
My top ten business books of 2024: The best books of 2024 on how the past informs the future, tackling tough situations, and technology
My 6 best business books of summer 2024: On being better, power of rituals, bad leaders, thriving, and being super communicators
FF Live conversations with authors
A conversation with Ramesh Srinivasan, co-author of ‘The Journey of Leadership’
A conversation between John Kay, author of The Corporation in the 21st Century
A conversation with Dr D Subbarao, Dr Dana Sinclair and Harit Nagpal: With 23 takeaways from the conversation
