Essential Reading: A Curated List of Books for Business Leaders

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, continuous learning is not just an advantage, it's a necessity. To equip future leaders with the knowledge and perspectives they need to thrive, Bentley professors have shared their must-read books, offering a diverse range of insights into business, leadership, and the human experience. This curated list goes beyond traditional business texts to include works that foster creativity, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of the world.

Understanding the Human Element

All About Love by bell hooks

Maricruz Osorio, assistant professor of Global Studies, champions this book for its profound exploration of love, not just in a romantic sense, but as a powerful force in our personal lives and in society. hooks expertly dissects this important emotion, encouraging self-reflection on one of humanity's most fundamental experiences. This book allows for self-reflection on one of the most - if not the most - powerful experiences of humanity.

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Janelle Estes, lecturer in Experience Design and director of the Master’s in Human Factors in Information Design program, recommends this book for its ability to cultivate the discipline and mindset required for innovative leadership. The Artist’s Way goes far beyond "being creative," offering structured reflection and simple daily practices to clear mental noise, challenge assumptions, and access fresh ways of thinking. Through structured reflection and simple daily practices, it helps you clear mental noise, challenge assumptions and access fresh ways of thinking.

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

David Stamps, assistant professor of Experience Design, highlights this book's exploration of how our emotions and upbringing shape our daily habits and decisions. The Psychology of Money features 19 short stories that delve into human behavior, revealing the emotional messiness behind financial choices and other life decisions. The book explores human behavior, and while it touches on financial decisions and money management, the text is more concerned with how and why we make decisions.

Soul of a Citizen by Paul Loeb

Jonathan White, professor of Sociology and director of the Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center (BSLCE) and Bentley Social Innovation Incubator, advocates for this book as an antidote to cynicism and civic paralysis. Soul of a Citizen reminds us how easy and rewarding it is to involve ourselves in community, be part of the social change we believe to be necessary and learn how to sustain our civic energies over time without burning out - and it shares stories of the deep impact that can follow if we do. Avoiding cynicism and civic paralysis while surrounded by the complex social and environmental issues facing this generation is both essential for personal health and well-being and our responsibility in a citizen democracy.

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant

Chris Beneke, professor of History and associate dean of First-Year Experience and the Bentley Core, recommends this book for its explanation of why rethinking is essential in life and in business and how readers can cultivate the habit. The central point is that good leaders don’t cling to their assumptions; they ask better questions and revise their views and approaches when the evidence warrants it. They think like scientists.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Liz Brown, Wilder Professor of Law, considers this book essential reading for its profound insights into finding purpose and fulfillment, even in the face of unimaginable adversity. Frankl's experiences in Nazi concentration camps led him to develop a timeless theory about what makes life worth living, offering solace and guidance to generations of readers. This book is essential reading because it will help you figure out your purpose and what will make you feel fulfilled.

Understanding the Economic and Business Landscape

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty

Naveen Sunder, assistant professor of Economics, recommends this book to help business students see the economy not just as a set of markets but as a living system shaped by people, politics, and history. Piketty traces how wealth becomes concentrated and how societies push back to create more opportunity, offering a roadmap for understanding the world where inequality, mobility, and opportunity are central business issues. When Piketty traces how wealth becomes concentrated and how societies push back to create more opportunity, he’s offering a roadmap for understanding the world you will graduate into - a world where inequality, mobility and opportunity are central business issues, not just political talking points.

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick

Dave Szymanski, professor of geology and associate provost for Academic Innovation, emphasizes the importance of understanding how to work with AI. Co-Intelligence provides a framework for thinking about AI as a co-worker, co-teacher, and coach, a skill that every Bentley grad will need to master upon entering the job market. AI is advancing faster than we can write books, but Mollick provides a framework for how we should be thinking about working with AI.

The Misbehavior of Markets by Benoit Mandelbrot

Mary Marcel, associate professor of Experience Design, recommends this book to get students to understand probability in its complexity, particularly with respect to financial markets. Mandelbrot invented fractal mathematics, offering a new and more accurate way of describing market behavior than traditional theories. This is a great book to get students to understand probability in its complexity, particularly with respect to financial markets.

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The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Eric Gaynor, lecturer in Accounting, champions this book for its ability to make big, complex ideas practical and easy to grasp. Goldratt’s focus on systems thinking and the Theory of Constraints lines up perfectly with our goal of helping students see the bigger picture. The emphasis on continuous improvement and teamwork also reflects Bentley’s values of lifelong learning, adaptability and community. The Goal makes big, complex ideas practical and easy to grasp.

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

This book addresses the common misconceptions about global trends and offers a fact-based perspective on the progress of humanity. By understanding the true state of the world, business leaders can make more informed decisions and focus on the issues that truly matter.

Failed: Why Economics Is Wrong About the World

This book analyzes and ties together some of the most important economic developments of recent years with the common theme that they have been widely misunderstood and in some cases almost completely ignored. A central argument of Failed is that there are always viable alternatives to prolonged economic failure.

Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy by Raghuram Rajan

Rajan, who warned of the global financial crisis, traces the deepening fault lines in a world overly dependent on the indebted American consumer to power global economic growth and stave off global downturns.

The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis by Ben Bernanke

Bernanke reveals important background and insights into the central bank's crucial actions during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The book offers insight into the guiding principles behind the Fed's activities and the lessons to be learned from its handling of recent economic challenges.

The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge

This revised edition of Peter Senge’s bestselling classic is based on fifteen years of experience in putting the book’s ideas into practice. As Senge makes clear, in the long run the only sustainable competitive advantage is your organization’s ability to learn faster than the competition.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don't by Jim Collins

This book identifies the defining traits of companies that transcend mediocrity to greatness, exploring what separates good companies from great ones.

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

This bestseller on strategic success is based on the principle of defining a blue ocean for your business, creating uncontested market space and rendering the competition irrelevant.

The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business by Clayton M. Christensen

Christensen’s book promotes the power of “disruptive technology” for spurring innovation and stepping outside of the traditional business model.

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Reis

The Lean Startup is the go-to guide for avoiding the fate of the majority of startups: failure. Eric Ries’ startup model has been adopted by business owners around the world and changed the way small businesses structure their companies and launch products/services.

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin

This book is based on the notion of standing out. By being “the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins,” businesses can embrace “remarkability” to succeed.

Cultivating Creativity and Innovation

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

Andy Aylesworth, professor of Marketing, suggests that business leaders who want to make space for their team’s creativity can learn from Rubin's insights on creating an environment where creativity can thrive. Everyone is creative, but not everyone is in a space where their creativity can thrive.

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull

This book offers a sneak peek into Pixar Animation’s “braintrust sessions” to see how mediocre ideas become great successes. The #1 takeaway: “Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better.”

Fail Better: Design Smart Mistakes and Succeed Sooner by Anjali Sastry and Kara Penn

This book teaches you how to design your efforts to test the boundaries of your thinking, explore crucial interdependencies, and find the factors that can shift results from just acceptable to groundbreaking-or even world-changing.

Entrepreneurial Insights and Success Stories

The New Life Blueprint: Redefining Success in a Disruptive World by Dr. Natalia Peart and Christopher Burge

This book reimagines how people should navigate life in an era of frequent change and disruption, challenging outdated assumptions about work, success, and stability. Achieving sustainable success in disruptive times demands innovation, agility, and adaptability.

Change the Box: Unlocking Innovation Through Strategic Adjustment by John Spencer-Taylor

Taylor challenges the traditional notion of “thinking outside the box” and instead advocates for “changing the box”-making small, strategic adjustments that lead to significant impact. Today’s rapidly changing digital world demands that business owners know how to adapt and innovate.

The Soccer of Success by Ciarán McArdle

McArdle draws powerful parallels between soccer and success in life and business, offering a structured approach to improvement. The Soccer of Success is especially valuable for business professionals, athletes, and leaders seeking a structured approach to improvement.

Changemakers Wanted by Danaya Wilson

Wilson provides a practical and dynamic guide for women striving to excel in male-dominated industries, drawing from her personal experiences in occupational safety education and compliance training. The book offers strategies for overcoming adversity and advocates equitable workplace policies.

Between Borders, Beyond Boundaries by Muraly Srinarayanathas

This book explores cultural identity and the power of adaptability in an interconnected world, also writing about ethical leadership and international business success.

The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World by David Kirkpatrick

He chronicles its successes and missteps, and gives readers the most complete assessment anywhere of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the central figure in the company’s remarkable ascent.

Nathan's Famous: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

This book tells the story of Nathan Handwerker, an Eastern European Jewish immigrant who built a hot dog empire from a five-cent frankfurter stand on Coney Island, highlighting his loyalty to customers, workers, and family.

Historical and Societal Perspectives

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

While not a traditional business book, this Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression provides valuable insights into the human cost of economic hardship and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.

A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World by Gregory Clark

Countering the prevailing theory that the Industrial Revolution was sparked by the sudden development of stable political, legal, and economic institutions in seventeenth-century Europe, Clark shows that such institutions existed long before industrialization. The problem, Clark says, is that only societies that have long histories of settlement and security seem to develop the cultural characteristics and effective workforces that enable economic growth.

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