My Recommended Reading Topics for CEOs

Books are software for the leader's brain.

There’s a stat floating around the internet that high-performing CEOs read 60 books a year.

As far as I can tell, there’s no actual data to back that up. File under: Don’t believe leadership statistics you come across on the Internet.

That being said, great leaders and business minds do read a lot. Warren Buffett said that he “reads and reads and reads. I probably read five to six hours a day.” Asked how he learned to build rockets, Elon Musk reportedly said, “I read books and talked to people. . . . That's kind of how one learns anything.”

For every book I read, I typically come away with a key idea I can put to work in my business or apply to my leadership practice.

Reading is also worthwhile because it:

• Builds your focus muscle. Paying prolonged attention is a skill that can be applied to other facets of your life as well.

• Drives curiosity. Reading reminds you that there’s a vast universe of people, ideas, and events out there. There are few quicker ways to broaden your view of the world…