It's more important than ever that, as Warren Buffett suggests, “investing in your skills” is the best way to deal with disruption. With that in mind, here are my annual picks for the top eight business books of 2025. They're built around the four decisions every company needs to get right to scale: people, strategy, execution, and finance, with a bonus category of personal health and leadership. What I think about it is that reset #1 Business Book of 2025. This book is so insightful that I added it to my list of top 12 business books of all time.
people
the power of importance Written by Dr. Zach Mercurio
If we want to drive sustainable performance and productivity gains, we need to address what researcher Zach Mercurio calls the “critical deficit” plaguing many companies. Employees feel more invisible and unheard than ever before. Future growth will belong to organizations that make employees feel like important members of the team, he says. in the power of importanceMercurio provides a clear blueprint for achieving that goal, regardless of other concerns that need to be addressed.
(May 2025)
strategy
Unleashing Innovation: A Leader's Guide to Turning Bold Ideas into Tangible Results Written by Robin Bolton
Do you want to build a more valuable business? The key is to master innovations that make you indispensable to your customers and increase your pricing power. in unleash innovationRobin Bolton, founder and “chief navigator” of innovation consultancy Mile Zero, shows you how to put the right systems in place to support purposeful creativity, build an “innovation playground,” ditch the “zombie ideas” that are slowing you down, and ultimately reap the benefits of smart risk-taking and experimentation.
(January 2025)
execution
Reset: How to change something that isn't working Written by Dan Heath
It is one thing to suggest that leaders focus on the key constraints to growth in their systems and processes. Heath takes it a step further and provides specific ways to identify and fix problems, often within five days. That means collecting first-hand, in-the-field data. Without that, he argues, you end up wasting time in “guess-mongering” meetings where leaders basically sit and make something up. Ultimately, like a professional athlete preparing for the biggest game of their lives, by paving the way for your team to make daily progress toward something meaningful, you'll ensure they're happy, productive, and committed to driving the growth of your company.
cash
Like clockwork: run your business with Swiss military precision Written by Sam Goodner
The holy grail for many leaders is a business with predictable performance and growth. That goal is usually elusive, but it doesn't have to be, according to Sam Goodner, the serial entrepreneur behind Inc. 500 company Catapult Systems and a former member of the elite Swiss Mountain Grenadiers. in like clockworkGoodner provides actionable strategies for building systems-driven organizations that work like a Swiss watch and bring much-needed certainty to a rapidly changing economy.
(September 2025)
personal health
Inner Senses: How the new science of interoception can transform your health Written by Caroline Williams
One of the greatest occupational hazards in leadership is self-neglect. When you focus on motivating your team, it's easy to ignore important signals such as fatigue, which can indicate health issues or provide powerful emotional insights. in inner feelingIn , science journalist Caroline Williams uses interviews with doctors, scientists, and researchers to explore interoception, the “sixth sense” by which we tune in to signals from our bodies. Learn how to harness interoceptive awareness to transform both your physical and mental health.
(September 2025)
Inner compass: A small story about the values that guide us Written by Robert Glaser
Whether we realize it or not, we all have personal core values that act as an internal compass that shapes our behavior and guides our decisions. In this Pat Lencioni-style fable, Glazer helps you understand how to use these values to help you make the Big Three and most important decisions in your life: your life partner, your career, your community, and if you find yourself out of alignment, how to reconnect with what's truly important to you. If you don't have time, read the introduction and then jump straight to Chapter 7, “The Adjusted Life.”
(October 2025)
leadership
Shatter prevention: How to survive in a world of constant chaos (and why resilience isn't enough) Written by Tasha Urich
We are surrounded by chaos every day. How can business leaders thrive despite the circumstances? Organizational psychologist Tasha Urich offers insights from five years of research into how high-achievers thrive during difficult times. The answer is not just gratitude and self-care. They avoid emotional burnout by using the chaos around them to reinvent themselves and their organizations. in Shatter preventionyou'll learn the exact process needed to develop the shatterproof mindset you need to perform at your best.
(April 2025)
Going the distance: How great leaders reframe to make better decisions by Retired Captain David L. Marquette
You need perspective to make the right decisions, and finding it can be difficult. in keep your distanceRetired Captain David L. Marquette shows you how to apply techniques such as looking into an imagined future self, imagining yourself as someone else, and placing the situation in the second or third person. In his best-selling book, Mr. Market showed how to run your team smarter. Turn the ship around! His latest thinking can help you do the same as a leader.
(August 2025)
