What are the books every manager should read?
Every year we announce 10 more classic titles to create the ultimate management library, books which have stood the test of time and remain powerfully relevant today.
‘The classic management books are the ones that have had and continue to have a long-term impact on the way people think about and practice management,’ explains Thinkers50 co-founder Stuart Crainer. ‘They are the coping stones for modern management and remain essential reading for managers everywhere.’
As part of the selection process, Thinkers50 canvasses opinions from within the Thinkers50 community, garnering nominations from many of today’s most eminent business thinkers. Nominations are invited for books that influenced the way we think about and practice management, and which have left a lasting legacy that is still relevant today. The only rule was that participants are not allowed to nominate their own books.
‘The Best New Management Books are the ones that have the potential to change the way people think about and practice management,’ explains Thinkers50 co-founder Stuart Crainer. ‘They offer a fresh perspective on how organizations are managed.’
As part of the selection process, Thinkers50 seeks opinions from within the Thinkers50 community, gathering nominations from eminent business thinkers and practising managers.
Nominations are invited for books that excel in the 3Rs:
is it accessible, insightful, and inspiring?
The only rules for the 2024 Best New Management Booklist is that books have to have been published after January 2023 and participants are not allowed to nominate their own books.
The Management Classics Booklist is our curated collection of books which have stood the test of time and remain powerfully relevant today.
Carol Dweck
“The psychologist Carol Dweck has had a profound influence on our understanding of motivation, learning, intelligence, and self-belief. She can be largely credited with introducing the word mindset into the management lexicon. Our understanding of the power of mindsets is largely down to her work.”
Andy Grove
“High Output Management is a bible that every entrepreneur and every manager in the country should look at, read and understand.”
— Bill Campbell, Former Apple board member
Margaret Heffernan
“Wilful Blindness is an engaging read, packed with cautionary tales ripped from today’s headlines as well as a trove of research on why we often stick our head in the sand. With deft prose and page after page of keen insights, Heffernan shows why we close our eyes to facts that threaten our families, our livelihood, and our self-image — and, even better, she points the way out of the darkness.”
— Dan Pink, Thinkers50 Ranked, author of Drive
Herminia Ibarra
“Whether you’re mid-career or just starting out, Herminia Ibarra’s masterpiece provides wise advice and compelling stories to help you find and change your path for greater fulfilment in work and in life. Well ahead of its time when first published, Working Identity now finds its sweet spot of ultra-relevance in our tumultuous era of career searching and pivoting.”
– Amy C. Edmondson, Thinkers50 #1 Ranked, HBS Professor
Alex Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur
“This book has literally changed the way we think about business models, and innovation. It is now 14 years old, and has such wide-influence that it deserves the appellation ‘classic’.”
— Bill Fischer, Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, IMD Professor
Michael Porter
“Michael Porter’s Five Forces model is still being used throughout the world. That is all you need to know!”
— Shane Cragun, Author of The Employee Engagement Mindset
Ricardo Semler
“It transformed Happy from micromanaging to a company based on trust and freedom where everybody can make their own decisions.”
— Henry Stewart, CEO, Happy
Fons Trompenaars & Charles Hampden-Turner
“Managing across different cultures was a new thing for many people when this book first appeared. Now it is reality for hundreds of millions of people working in global organizations. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner laid out the practical issues faced in managing globally with humanity and insight.”
— Stuart Crainer & Des Dearlove, Co-founders, Thinkers50
Michael Watkins
“It has become the classic reference for leaders in transition. First published in 2003, it outlines basic principles to help leaders transition quickly and efficiently to new professional roles and identifies the most common traps and provides the tools and strategies to avoid them. It is practical and inspiring.”
— Stuart Crainer & Des Dearlove, Co-founders, Thinkers50
Liz Wiseman
“It’s a fantastic concept, and it really seems like the sort of book that, when it comes up in conversation, everyone agrees that it’s a must-read.”
– Kate O’Neill, Thinkers50 Radar, author of Tech Humanist
The Best New Management Booklist is a curated collection of notable and promising new releases — books that have the potential to change the way people think about and practice management.
Brian Evergreen
“In an age of anxiety about AI, Brian Evergreen asks the big questions about the changes we need to make to our political, economic, and management systems to ensure that this new technology does not rob us of our humanity. Whether you want to radically rethink capitalism or uphold it, this is a must-read!”
– Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor
Adam Grant
“This brilliant book will shatter your assumptions about what it takes to improve and succeed. I wish I could go back in time and gift it to my younger self. It would’ve helped me find a more joyful path to progress.”
— Serena Williams, tennis champion, entrepreneur
Frances Frei and Anne Morriss
“This hands-on playbook shows readers how to accelerate change and transform organisations while also nurturing a culture of trust, inclusivity, and collaborative problem-solving.”
— Kathleen Hogan, EVP and CHR, Microsoft
Amy Edmondson
“Amy Edmondson’s intelligent, warm and funny Right Kind of Wrong will take you through the landscape of failure – the good ones that we learn from, the stupid ones we wish we could roll back, and the catastrophic ones we would all benefit from collaborating to avoid. It’s packed with examples and stories and lands with some meaningful ideas about how you can cultivate awareness to, indeed, fail well.”
– Rita McGrath, Thinkers50 Ranking, author of Seeing Around Corners
Marga Hoek
“Marga Hoek illustrates the deep relationship between good leaders and Tech for Good. Rather than simply urge us to take responsibility for new innovations, she shows us how to leverage those technologies for a better future.”
— Paul Polman, Thinkers50 Ranking, co-author of Net Positive
Morra Aarons-Mele
“If you are a high achiever and you know – you just know – that you could achieve even more and be happier if you could wrestle your anxiety to the ground, this is your playbook. Aarons-Mele’s book is well-researched, highly practical, searingly candid, and deeply empathic. Riveting.”
— Whitney Johnson, Thinkers50 Ranking, author of Smart Growth
Martin Gonzalez and Josh Yellin
“If you’ve ever wondered, Why is it so hard to get things done around here?! Martin and Josh not only offer a structured teardown of why, but also a practical guide on what to do about it. For anyone aspiring to leadership – startup or otherwise – The Bonfire Moment will leave you with examples, frameworks and language you can’t unsee.”
— Gorick Ng, Thinkers50 Radar, author of The Unspoken Rules
Ludmila Praslova
“Give everyone in your organisation a copy of this, read it together, and then open your eyes to the magic of the multiple layers of diverse people with whom you’ve been gifted. Embrace them, welcome them, and ultimately, learn to include them. None of us are included until we’re all included.”
— Ron Carucci, author of Rising to Power
Zeynep Ton
“No matter what you thought you knew about the inevitability of lousy, low-wage jobs, this book will change your mind. Whether you’re a CEO, a policy maker, or a cold-hearted economist like me, The Case for Good Jobs will show you how people are underrated, and how their demoralising, low-productivity jobs are not only avoidable but downright wasteful – for the workers themselves, for their firms, and for their firms’ customers.”
— David H. Autor, professor at MIT, co-director of MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative
Dan Pontefract
“Dan Pontefract’s Work-Life Bloom turns the conventional wisdom about work and life on its head. If you truly want your teams to thrive, read this refreshing indispensable guide now.”
– Dorie Clark, Thinkers50 Ranking, author of The Long Game
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The criteria: Books that have had a lasting influence on the way we think about and practice business and management, and which still have something to teach us today. (The only rule here is that you aren’t allowed to nominate your own books!)
Nominations close 31 March 2023 at 11:59 PM GMT.
Nominations are now closed for the Thinkers50 Management Classics Book List. Stay tuned for the final list announcement!
The criteria: All books published from January 2023 to March 2024 are eligible.
We are looking for the 3 Rs:
As with the criteria for the Classics booklist, the only other rule is that you cannot nominate your own book.
Nominations close 31 March 2024 at 11:59 PM GMT.
Nominations are now closed for the Thinkers50 Best New Management Book List. Stay tuned for the final list announcement!
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