My Recommended Top Books For C-Suite Leaders

This curated list of top books for C-Suite leaders offers a mix of leadership and marketing classics. Key recommendations include Emotion by Design by Greg Hoffman, Alchemy by Rory Sutherland, and Turn The Ship Around by L. David Marquet.

These books provide valuable insights on connecting brand to products, embracing unconventional ideas, and transforming leadership styles. Other notable mentions cover decision-making, team dynamics, scaling operations, and effective communication.

My definitive list mixes leadership books with a few classics.
These are the ones I recommend and gift to my exec coaching clients and CMO coaching clients who want to go deeper:

  • Emotion by Design by Greg Hoffman - Greg was Nike's CMO, and his stories show how to connect the deep brand to products and SKUs so marketing can win.

  • Alchemy by Rory Sutherland - It makes the case that the most powerful ideas often don't make sense at first.

  • Turn The Ship Around by L. David Marquet - This book changed my own leadership style. The "I intend to" idea stuck with me, and it's the one I'd give to anyone taking over an underperforming team.

  • Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke - I recommend this most to leaders who struggle to run their own retros or don't understand "resulting", which means judging a decision by its outcome instead of its quality.

  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni - This is the go-to recommendation among exec coaches, and it's very useful for leadership teams. I'd like to see an update for 2026/2027, because the way we work has changed so much.

  • Scaling People by Claire Hughes Johnson - It's strong on scaling operations, managing people and having tough conversations at C-suite level. If you are not operationally strong or struggle cross-functionally as a leader, this is the must read book for you

  • The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky - This is what non-product leaders need to understand: how product and design work together and how customers think.

  • Trillion Dollar Coach (about Bill Campbell) by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle - the coaching book to read by 3 of his former students, including Google’s former CEO and then Chair, it’s a true book pushing for smart EQ over IQ (skills)

  • Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg - great for people who need to know about the key to listening and getting to the bottom of how to ask better questions (which is the key message)

  • Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish - a guide for better and clearer frameworks and mental models

  • The Surprising Science of Meetings by Steven Rogelberg - the guide to create great meetings and breaks down meeting recovery syndrome, a foundation of bad meetings that creates terrible ripples through your business

  • Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg - Essential reading for people who need to understand habit forming and nudges (BJ Fogg is the teacher for James Clear and the Instagram founders)

My top tip: if you're unsure about a book, look for the author's Talks at Google video first. Those talks usually cover a book in enough detail for you to decide whether it's worth reading.

Special Breakdown

In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that most of our gatherings are lacklustre because we rely on routine rather than a clear, specific purpose.

She offers a practical guide for hosts to exercise "generous authority" and intentional design to create meaningful, memorable experiences for work and play.

Key Concepts from the Book

  • Define a Disputable Purpose - A gathering should have a specific, unique goal that acts as a filter for all other decisions, rather than just defaulting to a category like "dinner party" or "meeting".

  • Practice Generous Authority - Hosts should actively lead and guide the event to protect their guests and the gathering's purpose, rather than trying to be "chill" and hands-off.

  • Embrace Generous Exclusion - Curating the guest list intentionally—and excluding those who don't fit the specific purpose—creates a better experience for everyone who attends.

  • Design the Opening and Closing - Events should start with a moment that honours the purpose rather than boring logistics, and end with a deliberate, meaningful closing rather than just fading away.