16 books that changed leaders in 2025

Leaders will have had a lot on their minds in 2025. And the reading lists of a host of CEOs and changemakers, as told to the World Economic Forum’s Meet the Leader podcast, show that they found answers in a wide range of titles.

Here are some of the books that transformed how leaders – from CEOs of multinationals to start-up founders and Ivy League professors – think, act and lead.

The Power of Geography, by Tim Marshall

Recommended by: Angela Oduor Lungati, Executive Director of global technology non-profit Ushahidi

“That book blew my mind because he has a very interesting way of telling the story about how the position of a particular country influences the geopolitics, how it engages with the countries around it and the resources that they have. Here we are today talking about collaboration in the intelligent age at a time when it feels like we are very fractured. Having that understanding of what could be driving some of these challenges will also help us think about how we shift that.”

Pricing the Priceless, by Paula DiPerna

Recommended by: Sherry Madera, CEO of environmental disclosure platform CDP

“How do we start thinking about water and forestry and land use as something that has a key economic impact? It’s not just the simplicity of seeing that weather changes are impacting our world, it’s also about the financial risks behind it. One of the things that CDP is working on is considering how Earth-positive economics starts becoming the new norm. It’s about integrating those things that were not priced before.”

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, by Walter Isaacson

Recommended by: Sanjeev Mankotia, CEO of GaeaStar, a company that uses additive manufacturing to pioneer uses of new materials

“Back then, the challenges people were facing are exactly the conversations we’re having today. Maybe in a different flavour but very similar – the key themes and principles are the same. You’ve got to play the long game, and these ups and downs are part of the journey. If you’re too close to the volatility, it might seem like it’s whiplash. But if you step back, it’s trending in the right direction.”

The Message, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Recommended by: Jumana Al Hashal, Co-Founder and CEO of voltair.ai, a company that creates AI-enabled solar-electric refrigeration platforms that help transport food more efficiently with fewer emissions

“It’s not about technology or about climate, but it did drive that introspection for me of, what is my role as a technologist in saving the world? We all want to save the world, but what is our role in seeing the world and facing the hard truths as they are. And how does that set our work free and allow us to work with a lot more ease?”

The Vagina Business, by Marina Gerner

Recommended by: Alicia Chong Rodriguez, Founder of wearable healthcare technology start-up Bloomer Tech

“It's amazing to read a book that compiles all of this history around the women's rights movement. We are building a world that includes all of us, not just some of us. And health is the new wealth. This book gives a lot of different perspectives on what the health of women actually is, and how businesses are going to disrupt what we’ve seen over our lifetime so far.”

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, by Naomi Klein

Recommended by: Nathan Méténier, Co-Director of the Youth Climate Justice Fund, a movement to fund youth-led global environmental solutions

“It’s absolutely incredible on understanding the moment we are in, in terms of what are the states of our democracies, what are the states of the inequalities that we have in the world. There is a huge invitation for us to think outside of our bubbles, outside of our sector, and really engage with people who don’t think the way we do. Because if we don’t do that, we push so much that the backlash is too strong and it will undo a lot of what has been obtained.”

The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World, by David Deutsch

Recommended by: Steven Pinker, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University

“He's a physicist. He's an expert in quantum computing, among other things. But it's a rational grounding of the very idea of progress. How can it be possible? And I think perhaps, more than anyone, he's thought through what it is about the nature of ideas, the nature of reality, that makes progress possible.”

The Molecule of More, by Daniel Z Lieberman and Michael E Long

Recommended by: Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of talent management and workplace development platform Workera

“It talks about a lot of entrepreneurs trying to solve problems and make unknowns become knowns, and you tend to be competitive and try to seek another unknown and solve another problem. I realized that I always chase certain goals and try to chase the next one, and I forget to celebrate when we reach them. And so my team and I made a promise to each other to celebrate our wins whenever we can.”

It’s Sid Bernstein Calling, by Sid Bernstein and Arthur Aaron

Recommended by: Diallo Powell, CEO and Co-Founder of vertical parking start-up Stak Mobility

“It's not your typical founder story. He was the promoter for Woodstock, and he had a vision for what the music industry could look like and he absolutely revolutionized it. I want founders to be inspired and have belief in themselves and know that there's going to be a lot of failure along the way. There's so much discussion in the book about the number of times he's failed, and even after a major, major success, the very next step was a massive failure, but he kept coming back and taking more swings. And I think that's the thing that speaks to me the most in the book.”

The Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

Recommended by: Liz Centoni, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer at Cisco

“What we don’t talk about very often is the agency that we have, the power that we have. When you know that you have that agency, you don’t need to be part of the groupthink. It’s not just about being recognized, it’s not just about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about being intentional. It’s about knowing the authenticity that you can bring forward and the power and the agency that it gives you.”

Validation: The New Psychology of Influence, by Caroline Fleck

Recommended by: Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

“She's a therapist who studies how to make people feel seen and heard. And the skills she teaches, I think, are as important for leaders and employees as they are for people at home managing friendships and parents talking to their kids – and even maybe husbands and wives and partners.”

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S Dweck

Recommended by: Alfred Stern, CEO of energy and chemicals company OMV

“I think a growth mindset is something that we all need more than ever before. Accepting the fact that none of us are born with the perfect skill set, but that we all have the capability to learn from each other, to learn from mistakes, to take challenges as an opportunity to grow. That will really lead to people becoming bigger day by day and being able to achieve more and more.”

Who Not How, by Dan Sullivan

Recommended by: Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder of Women in Tech Global, an organization designed to empower and educate women in technology

“I think it's a wonderful book because it shows how you don't have to know how to do everything. Things can be done by surrounding yourself with the right people.”

Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman

Recommended by: Mohit Joshi, CEO, of multinational information services and consulting company Tech Mahindra

“All of us have difficult days. But in the back of our mind, we always think that there'll be this one time in the future where we'll be trouble-free. And when we don't reach that point of time, we get anxious or irritated. One of the profound learnings for me from this book was, there’s never a time when life will be trouble-free. So we should get used to the fact that life will always have challenges and moments of great joy. When those troubles disappear, life will end up becoming very bland.”

Pleasure Activism, The Politics of Feeling Good, by Adrienne Maree Brown

Recommended by: Nadya Okamoto, Founder of period brand August

“The most influential book in my career. It's really about how capitalism has bred us to be depressed robots who are obsessed with utility, and finding pleasure in our lives – in sex and work – is the way that you can best reclaim life for yourself. It might change the way you think about how you spend your time and who you surround yourself with.”

Various titles by Viktor E Frankl

Recommended by: David Steinbach, CIO of global retail investment management company Hines

“Some of his writings are incredibly powerful because the way he frames a lot of situations – and he was a Holocaust survivor – is looking at your circumstances and what is the fundamental meaning of life for you? Without a well-informed ‘why’, and a well-informed purpose and meaning, I don’t think great leadership can be attained. The minute you have your why and your meaning, it allows you to reframe any and every circumstance and situation. I think that is probably the most fundamental thing for any leader – to find their why and their ultimate meaning.”