Career & Success

Summer Reading: 11 Books to Keep Your Mind Busy

The latest books from Stanford GSB faculty and lecturers.

July 07, 2022

| by Jenny Luna
A student sits reading in McCoy Courtyard next to a stack of books. Photo by Tricia Seibold

Here are some books to add to your summer reading list. | Tricia Seibold

You may have some downtime scheduled for this summer. Whether you’re on a plane or sitting by the pool, our editors have collected books from our faculty that will keep your brain active. Put your feet up, pour yourself a cold beverage, and enjoy.

Book cover: Making Numbers Count
By the Numbers
The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers
Chip Heath, Karla Starr

How much bigger is a billion than a million? Heath and Starr share techniques for presenting data in ways our brains can more easily understand.

Book cover: An Economist Goes to the Game
Game Theory
How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights from the Economics of Sports
Paul Oyer

Are ticket scalpers good for teams? Should parents push their kids to excel at sports? This book is an entertaining guide to how economics might make you a better athlete and a more informed fan.

Book cover: 7 Rules of Power
Be Bold
Surprising – but True — Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career
Jeffrey Pfeffer

Learn how power skills and understanding can become the keys to increasing salaries, job satisfaction, career advancement, organizational change, and, happiness.

Book cover: The Corporate Explorer
Bright Ideas
How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game
Charles A. O’Reilly, Andrew Binns, Michael Tushman

Lessons from experts in corporate innovation. This is is a guidebook to the practices that enable managers to go from idea into action.

Book cover: Leading with Values
Values Added
Strategies for Making Ethical Decisions in Business and Life
Neil Malhotra, Ken Shotts

Being a good leader requires both an understanding of the realities of human decision-making as well as an analysis of what is right and wrong. This book teaches how to be strategic as you lead with your values.

Book cover: Hot Seat
Executive Summary
What I Learned Leading a Great American Company
Jeff Immelt

A memoir of successful leadership in times of crisis. Immelt, former CEO of General Electric shares how he’s pushed through even the most withering criticism.

Book cover: The Brains and Brawn Company
Good Company
How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical
Robert E. Siegel

This guide shows how to create a partnership between digital innovation and traditional business operations within an organization.

Book cover: Acting with Power
Power Surge
Why We Are More Powerful Than We Believe
Deborah Gruenfeld

It’s not just how much power we have but how we use it that determines how powerful we actually are. Learn how to adopt an actor's mindset to become more comfortable with power.

Book cover: Connect
Stay Connected
Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues
David Bradford, Carole Robin

A guide to building more fulfilling relationships with colleagues, friends, and family, based on the popular MBA course, Interpersonal Dynamics.

Book cover: Making Great Strategy
Organization Tips
Arguing for Organizational Advantage
Jesper B. Sørensen, Glenn R. Carroll

Discover a straightforward framework for managing strategy: visualization, logic, and constructive argumentation.

No Joke
Why Humor is a Secret Weapon in Business and in Life
Jennifer Aaker, Naomi Bagdonas

Discover how humor works — and how it not only changes the way you do business, but how you live life. Includes advice from world-class comedians, findings from behavioral scientists, and stories from leaders around the world.

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