On May 1st, Labor Day is celebrated. With the date in mind, 5 executives, including CEOs and directors of globally active companies such as Appdome, Infobip, ManageEngine, and Fair Fashion, listed 10 reading recommendations for those who want to enhance their knowledge in business and technology at work and for young people seeking a career in the field. The list offers a diverse range of titles with insights related to artificial intelligence, communication, and leadership that can help professionals and enthusiasts in these areas improve their skills and broaden their worldviews.
Yuri Fiaschi – VP of strategic projects at Infobip, a global cloud communication platform
Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
“The biography of Steve Jobs is undoubtedly an interesting book that aligns technology and entrepreneurship. It’s impressive to see someone so disruptive who made real changes, even going against the tide. The book features numerous interviews conducted with Jobs over two years, along with perspectives from competitors, family, friends, and colleagues. Through highs and lows, he made many mistakes on his journey, taking a winding path to learn, which today offers us many lessons, especially for entrepreneurs and businesses.”
Multipliers, by Liz Wiseman
“Another highly interesting title is Multipliers, as it addresses one of my greatest passions: people management. The book distinguishes between multipliers—leaders who know how to highlight their team’s qualities and potential to generate good results—and diminishers—those who focus on reaffirming their position by centralizing power and draining the team’s capacity and intelligence. Liz Wiseman’s lessons clearly make you see and change attitudes that are diminishing and that you don’t even notice in daily life.”
Caio Borges, country manager at Infobip
The Inevitable, by Kevin Kelly
“It presents 12 technological forces that will shape our future. The book shows how trends like artificial intelligence, sharing, and the access economy are irreversible. Technology will become increasingly integrated, personalized, and interactive. Adapting to these changes is essential to thrive.”
The Social Animal, by Elliot Aronson and Joshua Aronson
“A reference for social psychology studies, this book discusses various issues ranging from prejudice to the effects of mass communication and persuasion. The authors, based on scientific production, provide real examples when addressing how the science of human behavior works, offering great reflections on human actions. It’s a worthwhile title for those who work with people and want to develop leadership and communication skills.”
Rajesh Ganesan, CEO of ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corporation that offers IT security and operations management solutions
What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture, by Ben Horowitz
“What makes companies become enduring institutions? What is the secret for these companies to achieve global impact? What inspires and motivates people to work together in these companies with a long-term goal? The answer is certainly culture, which is typically a vague and abstract term for most people. The book firmly establishes what culture means for an organization—it’s what each person and team does when faced with tasks. It’s not what they think, say, or plan, but what they consistently do that defines culture. Consistency in a company’s actions is important and flows from top to bottom.
The book explains this idea with examples spanning hundreds of years, highlighting how victorious leaders cared about creating the best possible culture and how it helped them achieve the company’s goals—lessons that have endured over time and can still be applied in businesses today.”
Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone, by Satya Nadella
“Although it’s quite difficult to establish a strong culture, changing it is often impossible, which usually leads to the end of organizations. In the late 2000s, Microsoft was losing to competitors in the smartphone, cloud, search, browser, and gaming markets. It wasn’t just the leadership change but the cultural shift that the new leadership brought that made Microsoft relevant again in each of these segments.
The book has many valuable lessons and offers wisdom for leaders who are shy, insecure, or lack conviction about how to handle strong market interference. Additionally, it’s inspiring to learn how a typical and academically successful engineer from India starts as a Microsoft contributor and, climbing the hierarchy, could monumentally impact one of the most influential organizations of this century.”
Tom Tovar, CEO and Co-founder of Appdome, a mobile app protection company
Deep Survival, by Laurence Gonzales
“In life, change is constant. Similarly, changes and crises can hit us when we least expect them. Especially when we chose the situation that led to the crisis, this change can amplify mistakes and worsen our situation. Deep Survival helps us stay grounded, understand the new environment, transcend it, and triumph over it. It’s a book filled with short stories about people who overcame incredible odds to survive—lost at sea, in mountains, in jungles, etc. It ends by offering a checklist to help us survive and thrive in our own daily lives.”
Fermat’s Last Theorem, by Simon Singh
“This book deals with a very simple equation that remained unproven for hundreds of years—and the quest to solve it. It’s about the search for truth and proof of how our universe works, as well as the constant struggle against ourselves to find answers.”
André Salem, founder of Blockforce, the platform responsible for Fair Fashion’s blockchain technology
Blockchain – From Theory to Practice: Everything You Need to Know About the Technology Revolutionizing the World, by Richard Montezino
“This book enables anyone to understand in a simple and accessible way what blockchain is, how it works, and why it’s considered one of the most impactful innovations of the 21st century. Beyond cryptocurrencies, it explores real-world blockchain applications in various types of businesses. It’s a good guide for those who want to familiarize themselves with the topic without needing prior technical knowledge. The book offers a clear view of the benefits, challenges, and future of this technology. For me, personally, it’s an important read, even though I’ve worked with the technology for years, as the author’s perspective makes us analyze several relevant points.”
In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, by Steven Levy
“It’s a great read for those who want to understand how the startup founded in a garage became one of the most influential companies in the world. For those who love technology and great stories, it’s an indispensable read, after all, we all use Google. With privileged access to the company’s backstage, the author recounts the journey of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the ethical dilemmas faced by the company, and the impacts of technology on society. It’s a deep dive into Silicon Valley culture, a region crucial to our current technology landscape, the innovations that shaped the internet, and the decisions that turned Google into a true digital empire.”
