Don’t waste a second of your life. You only have 40,000 days to live. The longer you live, the quicker time goes. To a toddler, 10 minutes feels like 10 years. To a 90-year-old man, 10 days feels like half a second.
In The Story of Lululemon: Little Black Stretchy Pants, Entrepreneur and Founder of yoga-inspired athletic apparel company Lululemon Athletica,Chip Wilson writes about founding Lululemon, creating company culture, lessons learned, building great corporate governance, working with family members, his thought process and insights he garnered along the way.
Chip is a voracious reader and he recommends loads of business books.
The thing is, it’s very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better.—JONY IVE
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple as CEO, he developed a partnership with British designer Jony Ive. Their collaboration produced some of the most iconic Apple products such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Jobs referred to Ive as his soul mate. The products revamped Apple to become a highly value company and venturing into different industries. In the process; Ive won various design awards, and got knighted by the Queen.
Technology author Leander Kahney writes about British-American industrial and product designer Jony Ive, who developed a very tight relationship with late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs. Born in London, Ive rose to become Chief Design Officer (CDO) of Apple Inc.
Technology writer Leander Kahney, author of numerous books about Apple subcuTechnology writer Leander Kahney, the author of numerous books about Apple subculture and products, chronicles the journey of Apple CEO Tim Cook as the leader of the most valuable company in the world. When the founder and former CEO of Apple Steve Jobs died in 2011, there was a lot of skepticism surrounding the selection of Tim Cook as the new Apple CEO.
It’s easy now to look at Cook’s ascent to the head of the world’s biggest tech company as the markings of a new era for Apple, but in 2011 it felt more like an ending than a new chapter.
Tim Cook has steadied the Apple ship, leading the company to become the world’s first trillion-dollar company. Drawing on access with several Apple insiders, Kahney reveals how Cook have been able to maintain the Apple culture of innovation by taking some tough decisions, humane leadership, reinventing Apple’s supply chain and committing to his core values. In January 2022, CNBC reported that Apple first U.S. company to reach $3 trillion market cap.
In Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft, Paul Allen describes the early fun days of discovering the personal computer, his love for programming at an early age, meeting Bill Gates at Lakeside private school, the origin story of Microsoft, the partnership dynamic between him and Bill.
Idea Man is a great memoir about innovation, vision, partnerships, sacrifice, compromise, conviction, consistency, and the power of self-belief. A lot of lessons were learned from pioneering the computer revolution, seizing opportunity, making bold moves, and executing relentlessly. Allen was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2009, leading to a renewed sense of urgency for life and sharing his story. Allen was vulnerable about his successes, failures, dealing with cancer, his thorny roller-coaster relationship with Bill Gates. Idea Man is a must-read for co-founding a tech company.
Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues- American Biographer Walter Isaacson takes the reader on a journey, the early days of the Apple, becoming the most valuable company in the world, Steves passionate drive of getting things done and creating insanely great product.
Steve revolutionized six industries through Apple, a company he started with his friend -Steve Wozniak. They started Apple in 1976 with $1,300 in working capital and today is the world’s most valuable company with a market capitalization of USD 2.9 trillion. Steve transformed the following industries : personal computers (iMac, MacBook) animated movies (Pixar) , music(iTunes), phones(iPhone), tablet computing (iPad), and digital publishing(iBook).
The Steve Jobs book is the inspiration for the movie of the same name starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels, directed by Danny Boyle with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
In iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It, Steve Wozniak writes about the origin story of Apple, meeting his co-founder Steve Jobs, his upbringing, love for programming, and the values that has guided his decisions. He wrote the book to dispel some misconceptions about his relationship with Steve Jobs and feeling towards Apple.
Life is growth, Business is growth. You grow or you die.
In Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., Phil Knight describe the early days of Nike as Blue Ribbon Sports reselling Japanese shoes, his partnership with his coach (Bill Bowerman), the early challenges of building the brand, and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
Co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates listed Shoe Dog as one of his favorite books of 2016. Bill Gates on Shoe Dog ” An honest tale of what it takes to succeed in business. Phil Knight opens up in a way few CEOs do in his candid memoir about creating the Nike shoe empire.”. In his 2016 annual letter to shareholders, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet had high praises for the Shoe Dog book : “The best book I read last year was Shoe Dog, by Nike’s Phil Knight. Phil is a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller.”
Oprah Winfrey referred to Will Smith’s autobiography as the “best memoir she’s ever read” in her November 2021 “The Oprah Conversation” interview with actor Will Smith. In Will, American actor Will Smith takes the reader on a journey of his life, childhood, thorny relationship with his dad, his rap career, career-shaping chance encounters with Benny Medina and Quincy Jones, becoming the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, long-term business relationship with James Lassiter, his marriage, divorce, friendships, jealousy, parenthood, and his thought process.
In Will, he rapped, cried, was very vulnerable and he takes the reader on a journey of the renaissance man. I really enjoyed the book as it had everything you would want in a great book: Funny, Inspiring, thought-provoking, vulnerable, entertaining, and smooth.
This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind.
The audiobook was read by Will himself and it is by far one of the best audiobooks have ever listened to. Will is witty, funny, inspiring, entertaining, vulnerable, raw and down to earth. He shares lots of stories about his roller-coaster life such as his successes, failures, fears, heartbreaks, pain, and what makes him thick as an entertainer, actor, entrepreneur, and family man.
“It is a story told through a life of creating and developing things, as well as expressing a call to arms for young people to become engineers, creating solutions to our current and future problems.”
James Dyson is one of my favorite living Entrepreneur for his passion for creating elegant products with great design. In Invention: A Life, Dyson describes his many failures as an inventor, the importance of mentorship, education, and self-reliance. The book explores his love for great design, scientists, innovators, engineers and farming.
The Book explores his constant desire to learn, fearlessness to step into the unknown, and an unflagging spirit of entrepreneurialism. Ultimately, it is a celebration of the role that young minds play in solving the world’s biggest problems, regardless of experience. 1
“Remember that there is nothing wrong with being persistently dissatisfied or even afraid. We should follow our interests and instincts, mistrusting experts, knowing that life is one long journey of learning, often from mistakes. We must keep on running and we really can do better!”
Africa Rise And Shineis the story of how Jim Ovia built Zenith Bank from a nascent business with $4 million in shareholders’ funds to an internationally recognized brand and institution with more than $16 billion in assets despite a decaying infrastructure and periods of economic instability. Ovia wrote the book determined to redefine the gloom narrative about Africa and illustrate the real Africa behind the headlines. We are a some total of our lives experiences and it is always exciting to read, learn and discover what makes highly successful people like Jim Ovia thick. Success they say leaves clues and Jim Ovia’s story leaves lots of very relatable clues.
In Leaving the tarmac, Nigerian Entrepreneur and former group managing director of Access Bank Plc shares how he and Herbert Wigwe turned Access Bank, a crisis-prone Nigerian Bank they bought in 2002, into one of the most admired banks in Nigeria and Africa. Aigboje gives the readers a front-row seat to the challenges, setbacks, successes, and failures they had to deal with in the process of building a world-class financial institution in an environment like Nigeria.
The book provides insights, lessons learned, a history of Nigerian banking, banking regulation, and a blueprint for dealing with the government while running a thriving business in Nigeria. It is a story of grit, getting things done, building a great team, the power of timing, and striving for excellence.
As part of the global launch of Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is offering internships to five exceptional young Nigerians.
I was excited to read the book because most successful Nigerian business leaders/Entrepreneurs hardly share their success stories. It can be hard for aspiring Entrepreneurs to read their own version of their journey. Leaving the Tarmac is a relatable story about the ups and downs of running a business in Nigeria, continuous improvement, learning through best practices, and connecting the dots by seizing the opportunities around you.
John C. Bogle, the late founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group and creator of the first index mutual fund, in Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life, examines what it truly means to have “enough” in a world increasingly focused on status and score-keeping. The book is divided into three sections: Money, Business, and Life.
The book begins with a great story that summarizes the theme of the book:
At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its whole history. Heller responds,“Yes, but I have something he will never have . . . enough.
“ The great game of life is not about money; it is about doing your best to join the battle to build anew ourselves, our communities, our nation, and our world.”
What It Takes is a biographical book by Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms with over $500 billion in assets under management. Schwarzman is the billionaire philanthropist who founded Schwarzman Scholars, this century’s version of the Rhodes Scholarship, in China.
After starting his finance career with a short stint at U.S. investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Schwarzman began working at Lehman Brothers, where he ascended to run the mergers and acquisitions practice. He eventually partnered with his mentor and friend Pete Peterson to found Blackstone, vowing to create a new and different kind of financial institution.
Bloomberg by Bloomberg is the autobiography of American Businessman and Politician Micheal Bloomberg. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P. He was a three-term New York City Mayor from 2002 to 2013 and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for the United States president. According to Forbes, Bloomberg is the 16th-richest man globally, with a net worth of $USD 59 billion as of March 13, 2021.
He got his start in 1966 on Wall Street at investment bank Salomon Brothers selling stocks. He rose to become a general partner at the firm but was fired in 1981, after Phibro Corporation bought Salomon Brothers. Bloomberg was paid $10 million for his equity stake in Salomon Brothers, and he used the windfall to start his firm Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg by Bloomberg is a great book by a hardworking successful entrepreneur and he shares his thought process, philosophy, management style, keys to becoming successful, his highs and lows. The book is a great read and I would recommend it highly for every aspiring and budding entrepreneur. Lots of insights, nuggets, words of wisdom and practical lessons for navigating life and dealing with the challenges of business.
“Our greatest challenge today? Fighting the stultifying effects of success, the paralyzing results of growth, the debilitating cancer of entrenchment.”
Here are my favourite takeaways from reading, Bloomberg by Bloomberg:
Behind the Cloud is a great account of how Marc Benioff revolutionalized the software industry and pioneered cloud computing with his company salesforce.com. He shares 111 strategies, he used to build the company with the help of very talented individuals and partners.
Marc tells how he and his team created and used new business, technology, and philanthropic models tailored to this time of extraordinary change. Showing how salesforce.com not only survived the dotcom implosion of 2001, but went on to define itself as the leader of the cloud computing revolution and spark a $46-billion dollar industry,
“Seize the opportunity in front of you. Imagine. Invent. Disrupt. Do good. I know that you must be passionate, unreasonable, and a little bit crazy to follow your own ideas and do things differently. But it’s worth it. Life grows relative to one’s investment in it. I promise you that by considering everyone’s success, you will see the return.”
Here are my favorite takeaways from reading, Behind the Cloud by Marc Benioff:
