Comments on: 36 Best Business Books that Influenced Microsoft Leaders

By: David Domincki

David Domincki — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 22:11:45 +0000

I was just seeking this information for a while. After six hours of continuous Googleing, at last I got it in your site. I wonder what’s the lack of Google strategy that do not rank this kind of informative web sites in top of the list. Usually the top web sites are full of garbage.

By: JD

JD — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:12:27 +0000

@ Joe — I keep the other book lists updated. This is a special snapshot in time. That said, some of the game changing books I know folks have been reading include Linchpin and Business Model Canvas.

By: Joe Philipp

Joe Philipp — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:16:08 +0000

The list is yet powerful, thanks…….. what ‘new books’ have you added to the list since 2010?

By: Friday Links 07-22-2011 - MSDN Blogs

Friday Links 07-22-2011 - MSDN Blogs — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:59:39 +0000

[...] 36 Best Business Books that Influenced Microsoft Leaders – The beauty of Microsoft is the extremely high concentration of smart people and I like to leverage the collective brain I posed the following question to several Microsoft leaders, past and present, and up and down the ranks, ““What are the top 3 books that changed your life in terms of business effectiveness?” This is the answer I got. [...]

By: Number51

Number51 — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:07:30 +0000

Nice list of business books to read, but applying them is hardest. Especially if you find yourself not in the ideal position to do what the author’s talking about.

By: Olivier

Olivier — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:37:33 +0000

Great list. 13 down, 23 to go.

A few that I think are missing in this list are:
- What got you here won’t get your there (Marshall Goldsmith)
- Take Back your Life (Sally McGhee) or Getting Thing Done (David Allen)
- How to stop worrying and start living (Dale Carnegie)
- Blink and the Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell)
- Power Presentations, In the line of Fire and The Power Presenter (Jerry Weissman)

All of them target additional key aspects of being successful at Microsoft. Respectively: growing as a professional, getting efficient, managing stress and tough situations, being able to use earned (through experience) gut feel for decision making, finding the key levers in reaching scaled impact and finally being able to communicate clearly and convincingly your audience (internal or external).

By: JD

JD — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:45:16 +0000

@ Karl

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Jack and it sounds like he would be great to listen to.

Risks are the key. If we take risks, we can fail, but we can learn and respond. If we don’t take risks, we simply decline over time.

@ Jannie

Blue Ocean is definitely a game changer. If nothing else, it can help you get clarity on your current strategy and at least see whether a different approach might be easier and more effective.

@ Nadia

When I’m not reading fiction, I do enjoy insightful business books, too. This list has a bunch I hadn’t seen before, so I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons.

By: Nadia - Happy Lotus

Nadia - Happy Lotus — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:04:43 +0000

Hi JD,

Great list of books. I have come to love reading business books so this list is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us.

By: Jannie Funster

Jannie Funster — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:39:09 +0000

I’ve only heard of about 6 of those.

Blue Ocean is a new one too, I am very intrigued, of course. Very evocative of things like hope, freedom, adventure and choosing one’s own destiny. I shall look for that one today!

Thanks, J.D.!
xo

By: Karl Staib - Work Happy Now

Karl Staib - Work Happy Now — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:20:36 +0000

Out of all these books, and there are so many of them that I like, Jack straight from the gut might be my favorite. I listened to it on CD during my commute and loved it. Such a visionary thinker in a large company. This is a rare occurrence.

We need to cultivate people like Jack instead of trying to stifle them. The only way good businesses will stay on top is if they are willing to take risks.