The Best Books Of 2018
Satya Nadella, Henry Kravis, Neel Kashkari - what some of the most powerful people in finance and business were reading in 2018.
(Bloomberg) -- Technology has already infiltrated every human interaction, but 2018 may be remembered as the year we truly started to grapple with the consequences. So perhaps it's no surprise that when Bloomberg asked dozens of business leaders to name the best book they read this year, The Coddling of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, received the most votes.
Warby Parker’s Neil Blumenthal, Loup Ventures’ Gene Munster, and KKR’s Henry Kravis all recommended this read. Blumenthal said, “It made me reflect on my own actions, as both a CEO and a parent,” and Kravis called it a “fascinating book describing how young people are being overly protected.”
Also garnering several votes was John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood, the deep dive into the rise and fall of blood testing startup Theranos. PayPal’s Dan Schulman and Andreessen Horowitz’s Katie Haun both said this was their favorite book of 2018. Haun, who used to work as a Justice Department prosecutor (though not directly on Theranos), said it was fascinating to hear the other side of the story. “I was in the office when the investigation was going on,” she said, “so reading about the business aspect of it was interesting.”
Brian Armstrong, Co-Founder and CEO, Coinbase
Elad is one of the most experienced operators in Silicon Valley, having seen numerous companies hit their inflection points. He has a lot of experience and insights to offer entrepreneurs at any stage of a company’s growth.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-07-17
Neil Blumenthal, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Warby Parker
This incredibly thought-provoking book describes the negative impact that social media and overparenting are having on today’s youth. It made me reflect on my own actions, as both a CEO and a parent, and what ways I’ve contributed to today’s “safetyism” culture. Its core message has stayed with me—and has led me to develop new ways to drive innovation and smart risk-taking at the office, while also helping me to encourage independence and resilience with my children at home.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-09-04
Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution
While much of the media today is focused on what’s happening (or not) in Washington, D.C., the lesser-told story is what’s happening in cities across America. For five years, Jim and Deb Fallows crisscrossed this country finding positive examples of economic revitalization and civic leadership. Their stories, so vividly told, paint a portrait where the rest of America is rising through creativity, innovation, and a commitment to ushering in a better future.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-05-08
Vanessa Colella, Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Citi Ventures, Citi
This year I have been particularly interested in books that highlight our humanity—what makes us strong and what makes us frail; what inspires us to act and what holds us back. Educated is a touching, intimate portrayal of the ties that bind and fray, and I think an important read for all, especially at this moment in history.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-02-20
Patrick Collison, Co-Founder and CEO, Stripe
I think one should mostly read old books. But given the criteria for a year end list, I nominate Tyler’s latest work. Stubborn Attachments is an important, Hume-inspired, ambitious-but-short take on ethics and responsibility.
Editor’s note: This book was published by Stripe Press, which is part of Stripe.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-10-16
Katie Dill, Vice President of Design, Lyft
An absolutely compelling portrayal of an inspiring genius. Isaacson reminds us of Leonardo’s humanity and the source of his great ability: insatiable curiosity and emboldened imagination. It not only made me respect the man more but showed me how we all can be a bit more like Leonardo.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-10-17
Joanna Geraghty, President and Chief Operating Officer, JetBlue Airways
I believe that the young adult genre, which can present great opportunities to share an interesting read with your child, is often overlooked. Refugee, by Alan Gratz, did not disappoint. The author weaves together three generations of refugees—a Jewish child in Nazi Germany, a Cuban refugee following the missile crisis, and a present-day Syrian refugee. The book humanizes the people we see in the news, makes their hardships very relatable, and sparks interesting dialogue for parents and their children. Reading alongside my 10-year-old, I certainly can confirm the book has done just that for my son and me.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-07-25
Dave Gilboa, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Warby Parker
Turning on the news today, you would think the world is getting worse by the minute. Hans Rosling’s Factfulness offers a much more optimistic view about human progress, dispelling pervasive misconceptions with statistics and facts. For example: The number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut in half over the last 20 years, but in most countries fewer than 10 percent of people knew this. I found the book’s realistic look at the world very refreshing and a hopeful antidote to fearmongering.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-04-03
Patrick Harker, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Edward Tenner questions society’s conventional assumptions about the benefits of robotic hyperefficiency and demonstrates through a number of case studies that our reliance on algorithms should not function in the absence of human skills. We should be able to use our own sensibility, instincts, and insights to enhance these benefits. Given the increased pace of automation in today’s world, the idea of creating balance between the drive for efficiency and advances in technologies with digital tools seems of great relevance.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-04-17
Matt Harris, Managing Director, Bain Capital Ventures
The best book I’ve read in the past year is The Third Plate by Dan Barber. Like most urban progressives, I’ve done the easy part, in that I shop at the farmers’ market, eat organic, and even compost when I can. Barber pushes us to do the hard part—cutting back on protein, considering sustainable agriculture, and, most importantly, doing it all while eating better than ever.
PUBLISH DATE: 2015-04-07
Neesha Hathi, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Charles Schwab
Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love is a look at how successful technology companies such as Google, Tesla, and Netflix design, develop, and deploy attention-grabbing products. Discussions in this book focus on structuring staff and discovering/delivering technology products your customers will love. The client-centered approach mirrors what we do at Schwab; the emphasis on how successful teams work when the client is at the center echoes what we are undertaking within Schwab’s Digital Services team.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-12-04
Kathryn Haun, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
Practically overnight, Theranos went from being a $9 billion unicorn to losing it all. It’s a cautionary tale on what can happen when a captivating narrative distracts from business fundamentals—and the perils of squelching dissent at all costs. Carreyrou’s work also underscores the importance of investigative journalism, without which this story may well have never been told.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-05-21
Sarah Holme, Executive Vice President of Design, Old Navy
Not only did da Vinci embrace constraints, it’s because of them that he dreamt what others believed to be impossible. Isaacson takes you on a journey to understand da Vinci’s fascination with the order of art and science and how the entanglement of the two inspired an incredible life of creativity. A great read for anyone with an insatiable curiosity for life and a love of trying, even if not always finishing, the impossible.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-10-17
Neel Kashkari, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
A fantastic biography of an imperfect but brilliant and important leader. Grant overcame enormous obstacles to help save the country and end slavery. He was decades ahead of his time regarding civil rights and belongs alongside Washington and Lincoln in the annals of U.S. history.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-10-10
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Uber
Every leader builds their own operating system—what works for them, what mistakes they have learned from. Ray has put it all on paper in a very personal account of building his business that I’ve found incredibly useful as I look to move forward with Uber and my team. The human tendency is to celebrate successes and look away from your mistakes, but a hard look at your mistakes is often the best way to improve. Ray has done just that.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-09-19
Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, KKR
The Coddling of the American Mind is a fascinating book describing how young people are being overly protected, which makes it more difficult for them to be properly prepared for the independence of college. It goes on to talk about the lack of civil discourse in society, where open and honest discussion with differing views is missing. The book discusses risk aversion, security, overprotection of young people, and confirmation bias—and the reasons why we find ourselves in this position today.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-09-04
Max Levchin, Co-Founder and CEO, Affirm, Co-Founder of Paypal
Despite the slightly sensationalist title, the book delivers a relevant mix of solid academic research along with practical advice and not-quite-usual, if requisite, anecdotes from the trenches. Scaling a startup through the always difficult “teenage” period of a few hundred folks, when not all work relationships are high-trust by default, sent me searching for a good book on the topic—and The Culture Code certainly had some great, nonobvious insights to contribute.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-01-30
Bharat Masrani, Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group
Hit Refresh is an insightful read about the importance of being willing to adapt to the environment you find yourself in—rather than wishing for the good old days to return. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, they rarely do. Satya explores the critical role culture plays in organizational transformation and the importance of both being a good listener and demonstrating genuine empathy. A terrific read by an inspiring leader.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-09-26
Mike Mayo, Wall Street Analyst, Wells Fargo Securities
The famed Fed chief notoriously doubled interest rates to 20 percent in a high-wire act that helped to tame inflation and resulted in four decades of price stability. His new memoir provides the backstory to his conviction that he remain "lashed to the mast” to accomplish this feat, all the while confronting backlash from a president, his family, the country, and the Fed itself in an attempted coup.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-10-30
Dave McKay, President and CEO, Royal Bank of Canada
A few months ago, I had the privilege of speaking to a graduating University of Waterloo math class. I imparted a few key lessons that have guided me during my career, but I could have just recommended they read Ray Dalio’s Principles. Ray’s book is a crash course in decision-making and goal-setting in your work life, but also invaluable advice on living well in general. Read it, then pass it along to a young person just starting their career.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-09-19
Judith McKenna, President and CEO, Walmart
In an ever-changing and increasingly transparent world, New Power explores human behavior and focuses on how the evolution of social networks and social movements are changing the way businesses and society interact. For anyone trying to understand how to meaningfully connect with people at scale, it can transform the way you think about what matters and how to elevate values as part of the dialogue. As someone who believes that people and humanity are the greatest forces on the planet, I found this a must-read.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-04-03
Ken Moelis, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Moelis & Co.
Given the success of Ron Chernow’s book published last year, I decided to read the original. Grant’s memoirs have always been considered among the best of any president, and my advice would always be to go as close to the primary source as possible if you can. Great read in simple, plain-spoken writing, if a bit long.
PUBLISH DATE: 2009-10-12
Gene Munster, Managing Partner, Loup Ventures
In the age of incivility on social media, breaking down some core components of why civil discourse seems to be vanishing is useful. People who disagree with us aren’t evil, and we should do better to manage our emotions and consider their viewpoint. The Buddha quote included in the book says it well: “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, nothing can help you as much.”
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-09-04
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
The math of inference and causality is the core of this book. I love that it is written by both a Turing Award-winning computer scientist focused on artificial intelligence and a student of philosophy who recognizes the critical importance of language and logic. Whether you run a business or make policy, The Book of Why will help you understand the math and science underlying the future of technology. “Language shapes our thoughts,” Pearl writes. We cannot ask a question that we have no words for. Therefore, we cannot train AI without blending both computer science and the humanities. “You don’t really understand AI until you can teach it to a mechanical robot,” Pearl says. Once we’ve built a moral robot, many apocalyptic visions start to recede into irrelevance.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-05-15
Anthony Noto, CEO, Sofi
The Culture Code examines the dynamics of company culture through stories of success and failure, offering valuable insights on leadership through change. The emphasis on leading with vulnerability—acknowledging that "I made a mistake; it's my fault"—is crucial and often overlooked as a key component to leadership.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-01-30
Jeetu Patel, Chief Product Officer, Box
Powerful provides actionable advice on creating a corporate culture of transparency and accountability. McCord’s storytelling abilities, decades of experience building successful teams, and fresh perspective on developing and retaining the best talent, places Powerful in a class of its own. A must-read for every leader—whether you come from a company of two or 20,000.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-01-09
Brad Peterson, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ
Humility, humor, concern for people and a true global thinker—those are the attributes of the late Hans Rosling, author of Factfulness. In this opinion-changing work, he outlines how many of our views of the world today are outdated. Compounding this is the fact that the source of our daily updates from the news is skewed toward the sensational and negative, which makes it difficult to gauge trends accurately.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-04-03
Mark Pincus, Founder and Chairman, Zynga
This book takes an optimistic worldview and argues that our happiness is dependent on our present state, not past traumas. That means it’s never too late to live the life you want.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-05-08
Josh Reeves, Co-Founder and CEO, Gusto
Leaders can sometimes be put on a pedestal when in reality, they serve their teams. It’s through being vulnerable and sharing the way we are improving that others are inspired to do the same. Dare to Lead is a great capture of learnings, examples, and practical advice on how to be a leader with heart.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-10-09
George Roberts, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, KKR
The book is about John Marshall, who served as the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835. It’s a well-written history about the early days of our country and the strong character of Justice Marshall and his influence in shaping the Supreme Court. The book is also very informative about the man himself: He had an eighth grade education, was raised on the frontier, and fought in the Revolutionary War with Washington.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-02-20
Emmanuel “Manny” Roman, CEO, Pimco
Denis Johnson is one of the most original writers of short stories since Raymond Carver.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-01-16
Morton Schapiro, Professor and President, Northwestern University.
Mark Helprin’s Paris in the Present Tense is brilliantly evocative and haunting. I finished it months ago and still think about it several times per week.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-10-03
Dan Schulman, President and CEO, PayPal
It is an amazingly well-researched book, told from all sides of the story. It’s fascinating to see how a narrative can quickly become gospel and a good reminder for both companies and leaders today.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-05-21
David Solomon, CEO, Goldman Sachs
A book that’s stayed with me this year is Graham Allison’s Destined for War, which examines the U.S.-China relationship in light of the so-called Thucydides Trap: the idea that violence is inevitable when a rising power crosses paths with one more established. As a history of transitions, this book provides an important perspective on what’s required to maintain mutual relations even as the terms of that relationship evolve. China and the U.S. are very different countries, founded on different sets of beliefs, with unique sets of domestic and international challenges.
Add in that China may one day be a larger economy than the U.S., and you have a recipe for conflict. But it doesn’t have to come to war, and Allison points to other relationships, like the U.S. and Britain, that have instead evolved into strong partnerships. This book has provided a useful lens through which to view the world. In the years ahead, I suspect CEOs and leaders of all stripes will return to its pages for insight into our increasingly complex era. I’m glad to have read it.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-05-30
Vlad Tenev, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Robinhood
It was interesting to see a unique view into Steve Jobs’s life from the vantage point of his first daughter. Entrepreneurs are often glorified in biographies, but the hard work they do often comes with sacrifices in their personal lives, and these stories are rarely told.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-09-04
Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman, Alibaba
I picked up the book because it has “Human” and “Artificial Intelligence” in the same title. As the author, an MIT physics professor, addresses whether computers will take over the world, he reveals that we’ve been asking the wrong question. The real question is not whether machines will become smarter than humans (they certainly will in task-specific ways), but how to set goals for “artificial general intelligence” that will be beneficial to humans. This ultimately turns on a discussion of human ethical principles that may conflict with each other—a dialectic through which we get a glimpse of physicist Tegmark’s philosophical brilliance.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-08-29
Libby Wadle, President, Madewell
The book I recommend is Love and Ruin by Paula McLain—author of the novel The Paris Wife. The Paris Wife was based on the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. This follow-up novel is based on the relationship between Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gelhorn, a writer and journalist in her own right. I really enjoy historical fiction and nonfiction, and this is a great blend. It provides a fascinating and compelling glimpse into the couple’s intense and tumultuous relationship, as well as how both were drawn into the midst of the Spanish Civil War on the eve of World War II.
PUBLISH DATE: 2018-05-01
Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Fifth Wall
Life 3.0 is a remarkably accessible book that delves into the complex social, economic, and ethical implications of superhuman artificial intelligence. An amazing read for anyone interested in AI, the book explores a future where machines are not just better than humans at narrow, discrete tasks (like math computation) but at all tasks, broad and nondiscrete, and are similarly capable of self-improvement at a rate that dwarfs our own, and ultimately what happens when humans are the second-smartest inhabitants of our planet.
PUBLISH DATE: 2017-08-29
By Julie Verhage
—With Doug Alexander, Sonali Basak, Dina Bass, Matthew Boyle, Lulu Chen, John Gittelsohn, Janet Lorin, Chris Palmeri, Heather Perlberg, Mary Schlangenstein, and Jeanna Smialek
Editor: Anne VanderMey