Mehdi Kajbaf's Top Book Recommendations

Maria PopovaTim Ferriss: "If you could guarantee that every public official or leader read one book, what would it be?": "The book would be, rather obviously, Plato's The Republic. I'm actually gobsmacked that this isn't required in order to be sworn into office, like the Constitution is required for us American immigrants when it comes time to gain American citizenship." (Source)

Rebecca GoldsteinLiving today in Trump’s America, I am constantly reminded of specific passages in the Republic, most saliently his warnings of how a demagogue might arise in the midst of a democracy by fanning up resentments and fears. (Source)

David Heinemeier HanssonI’m about a third through this and still can’t tell whether Plato is making a mockery of Socrates ideas for the idyllic society or not. So many of the arguments presented as Socrates’ are so tortured and with so disconnected leaps of logic that it’s hard to take it at face value. Yet still, it’s good fun to follow the dialogue. It reads more like a play than a book, and again, immensely... (Source)

Barack ObamaAs a devoted reader, the president has been linked to a lengthy list of novels and poetry collections over the years — he admits he enjoys a thriller. (Source)

Drew McLellanFavorite non-business book that I would argue can teach you a ton about business leadership — The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. (Source)

Adam LawrenceI hate reading. I always have. Except for Harry Potter and To Kill A Mockingbird, which I've read dozens of times. (Source)

Joel GascoigneRicardo Semler took over his father's business, Semco, in 1980 under the condition that he could change it completely. On his first day as CEO, he fired 60% of all top managers. Since then he has introduced a wide range of unconventional practices, such as having no official working hours, employees choosing their own salaries, and having no vision (instead wanting employees to find the way using... (Source)

Mehdi KajbafI think that every career path begins with an understanding of who you are and what matters to you. In that light I will suggest some self discovery books. And of course some great business books. (Source)

David Heinemeier HanssonA fantastic book [...] that was great inspiration to me. (Source)

Joel GascoigneMaverick is Semler's earlier book, which goes into the full details of how he took over Semco from his father, fired over half of the executive team, diversified the business and revolutionized the way an organization could be run. I especially enjoy how Semler challenges some deeply ingrained assumptions and beliefs about how business needs to be run. Things like whether growth is even a good... (Source)

Mehdi KajbafI think that every career path begins with an understanding of who you are and what matters to you. In that light I will suggest some self discovery books. And of course some great business books. (Source)

Mehdi KajbafIt’s difficult for me to separate all the different things I was reading and learning about at that time but I think Socrates Apology is probably the best place to focus. If you aren’t familiar with Socrates, he’s considered by most to be the father of Philosophy (which means love of wisdom). He annoyed a lot of people though because he constantly challenged their world views and encouraged them... (Source)

Mehdi KajbafSeeing Systems takes a thoroughly analytical and rational approach to human systems and comes up with a model that can be used to understand all organizational systems. That’s incredibly powerful and I had not seen that approach before. Barry Oshry describes the patterns that repeat themselves in every business or large group, and helps us understand how to overcome what he calls System... (Source)

Nicolae AndronicIt’s a management/leadership book about “liberated” organizations. Liberated organizations are the ones that no longer rely on the traditional “chain of command”, but instead give empowerment to the employees and rely on their self-judgment. By doing so, they provide meaningfulness and work satisfaction to their employees, which in turn leads to great decisions and business results. I liked it... (Source)

Mehdi KajbafReading Freedom Inc. by Isaac Getz helped me understand more deeply what I always intuitively understood about business and people. The book opens up with a discussion on values, and how we view individuals. Essentially it boils down to, are humans innately motivated to do good work and be productive, or are they lazy and will take advantage of situations to their own selfish interests? (Source)

Roxana Bitoleanu[One of the books that had the biggest impact on ] The power of now, as time is a limited resource and we should spend it as wonderfully as possible. (Source)

Darrah BrusteinOthers include The Power Of Now which is powerful reminder that all we have is the present and helps give you meaningful ways to live in it, not in the past or the future. (Source)

Valeria Mercado@Ye_Ali The best book (Source)

Naval RavikantI 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... (Source)

Blake IrvingYou 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)

Santiago BasultoAnother book with great impact was “The power of habit”. But to be honest, I read only a couple of pages. It’s a good book, with many interesting stories. But to be honest, the idea it tries to communicate is simple and after a couple of pages you’ve pretty much understood all of it. Happens the same thing with those types of books (Getting things done, crossing the chasm, etc.) (Source)

Richard BransonOne example of a book that has helped me to #ReadToLead this year is Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. While the book came out a few years ago now, I got around to it this year, and am very glad I did. I’ve always been fascinated in what makes humans human, and how people are constantly evolving, changing and growing. The genius of Sapiens is that it takes some daunting,... (Source)

Reid HoffmanA grand theory of humanity. (Source)

Barack Obamaeval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'theceolibrary_com-leader-2','ezslot_7',164,'0','1'])); Fact or fiction, the president knows that reading keeps the mind sharp. He also delved into these non-fiction reads. (Source)

Eric Weinstein[Eric Weinstein recommended this book on Twitter.] (Source)

Tim DraperWith this kind of time management and focus on the important things in life, people should be able to get 15 times as much done in a normal work week. (Source)

Marvin LiaoSUCH a hard question to answer because there are so MANY favorite books of mine. For Business, i'd say either 80/20 Principle (Koch) or 4 Hour Work Week (Ferriss) for the principles it teaches on how to optimize work & life. (Source)

Daniel EkIt was fascinating to talk to [the author] about how this book came to be such a hit—he never backed down, and he allowed people to read it for free in order to then boost sales—much like how Spotify’s freemium model was perceived in the early days. (Source)

Eric RipertSpeaks of everyone having an ultimate goal in life, but most of us are too afraid to pursue it. The encouragement to fulfill your dreams is very inspirational! (Source)

Brené BrownThere's a great quote in [this book]: When you're on the right path the universe conspires to help you! (Source)