5 books every CEO reads

These books will help you to improve your leadership mindset, make decisions and create products worth making.

We love to learn from top industry leaders at Future London Academy,
and we bet you do too. This is why we asked our speakers from Farfetch, Payhawk, NHSX and ClearScore to share some useful resources!

Here are 5 books on how to stop asking yourself permission, develop your leader's mindset and build products worth making.

Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz
by Frank Barrett

This book explores how the principles of jazz can be applied to leadership to improve skills such as unlearning, experimentation, and collaboration. The author uses examples from his own experience as a jazz musician, as well as from other jazz greats to illustrate how these concepts can be put into practice in a variety of organisations.

Be More Pirate
by Sam Conniff Allende 

The book 'Be More Pirate' discusses how modern rebels can take inspiration from the tactics and teachings of Golden Age pirates in order to create change in the world. The book covers five main points - rebel, rewrite, reorganise, redistribute, and retell - that show how pirates were able to challenge the status quo and change the world around them.

Build
by Tony Fadell

Tony Fadell, the man behind the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat, shares his practical advice and insights on leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, failure and success.

The Three Levels of Leadership
by James Scouller 

The Psychology of Leadership is a book that explores the psychological keys to leadership success. The author, James Scouller, draws on his experience as a CEO and executive coach to develop two new models that outline the challenges and hidden inner blocks faced by all leaders.

Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell

The book Blink is about how we make decisions without thinking, and how sometimes the best decisions are made in an instant. The book looks at how our brains work, and how we can make better decisions by understanding this.

If you want to get practical advice from top industry leaders on becoming a confident design leader, then the Executive Programme for Design Leaders from Future London Academy is for you. In this programme, you will learn everything from emotional intelligence and trust, to business strategy and pricing, to the future of leadership.

Applications to the 2023 Executive Programme for Design Leaders are now open. Apply now to get started on your journey to becoming a Design Leader.