2024 the best business books review

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(as of Dec 26, 2024 07:25:08 UTC - Details)

New York Times Bestseller
Wall Street Journal Bestseller

From the world’s most influential management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, this is an insight-packed, revelatory look at how the best CEOs do their jobs based on extensive interviews with today’s most successful corporate leaders—including chiefs at Netflix, JPMorgan Chase, General Motors, and Sony.

Being a CEO at any of the world’s largest companies is among the most challenging roles in business. Billions, and even trillions, are at stake—and the fates of tens of thousands of employees often hang in the balance. Yet, even when “can’t miss” high-achievers win the top job, very few excel. Thirty percent of Fortune 500 CEOs last fewer than three years, and two out of five new CEOs are perceived to be failing within eighteen months.

For those who shoulder the burden of being the one on whom everyone counts, a manual for excellence is sorely needed.

To identify the 21st century’s best CEOs, the authors of CEO Excellence started with a pool of over 2400 public company CEOs. Extensive screening distilled that group into an elite corps, sixty-seven of whom agreed to in-depth, multi-hour interviews. Among those sharing their views: Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Reed Hastings (Netflix), Kazuo Hirai (Sony), Ken Chenault (American Express), Mary Barra (GM), and Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (Nestlé).

What came out of those frank, no-holds-barred conversations is a rich array of mindsets and actions that deliver outsized performance. Compelling, practical, and unprecedented in scope, CEO Excellence is a treasure trove of wisdom from today’s most elite business leaders.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; First Edition (March 15, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982179678
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982179670
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
Reviewer: TC
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Best Business Book in 30 years... because it's more than about business - it's personal.
Review: One of the first things a reader discovers in this book is how lonely being a CEO often is. You’ve reached the top, but all of a sudden, everyone wants a piece of you. And everyone holds you responsible for everything.This book looks at how that feels and what that means through the eyes and actions of the world’s best corporate leaders. How each CEO meets the pressures and opportunities of their position comes through so clearly because the authors have chosen to let each CEO use their own voice to tell their personal story and choose their best insights. The breadth of global experience presented has never been achieved before, especially not at this level. And although these are exceptional people, they're still people at day’s end and this comes through in a remarkable variety of observations, grouped perceptively along 6 “mindsets” to make it easier to self-reflect and take action. There are plenty of compelling numbers and statistics that one would expect from a deeply researched firm such as McKinsey & Co. which makes this much more than a CEO self-help book.The first reason many will buy this book may be the chance to sit inside the rarified space we can only remotely hear from in media. The second reason is the sheer number of good ideas, most amazingly simple, that turned a culture, situation or meeting around. But after reading CEO Excellence, the most profound connection even a casual reader will hopefully have is that taking the sense of gigantic scale away, the position of the CEO is felt by all of us in one very intimate way - our personal lives, where we are ultimately alone, however interconnected with the people and environments we navigate.If you are a CEO, want to be a CEO, or simply seek better leadership of yourself, this book feels like sitting down with some of the smartest people in business and letting them whisper in your ear what they wish they would have known when they first sat down in the big chair. And what they are thinking to do next.This is the first online book review I've ever written, but it deserves writing. More than a playbook, CEO Excellence is a personal as well as business journey written for all of us.

Reviewer: Christian Robles
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Think like a CEO
Review: A great book not only for actual CEOs, but also for aspiring persons to become one, and also for middle managers as well. This book could be viewed as common sense, but it really gives us details for managing a business. It's full of real life examples of the best CEOs of the world. I highly recommend it!

Reviewer: S.R.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Original, insightful, and impactful beyond the CEO role
Review: I have been doing a research effort on the role of the CEO, so had this book on pre-order and eagerly read it upon its arrival. I’ve now read it twice through. It is a masterpiece that can ably replace the best 40+ books of my literature review.With its evidence-based synthesis of interviews supported by years or practice and observation, CEO Excellence has filled the void between executive (auto)biographies and “ok but predictable” self-promotional books whose raison d’etre seems to be creating a platform from which the author can assert their own authority.CEO Excellence breaks the mold of the typical consultant-led marketing effort that are plentiful in the genre. It brings data and a scope that only the vast reach and resources of McKinsey can provide and is delivered with a straightforward humility of self-assured authors who have nothing left to prove. The content is original, insightful and impactful beyond the CEO role and well worth the time of any current executive or manager with ambitions of leadership.

Reviewer: ServantofGod
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Orthodox, yet a good gift for CEO and CEO wanna be
Review: As good as you can expect, with smooth writing, good quotes and stories. I like the conclusion chapter the most, which simply covers themselves with tons of disclaimers/anecdotes/cases that there's no holy grail. No matter what, more readable and interesting than any HBR book if you are fond of successful business cases.

Reviewer: Blair
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The power of mindsets - applies to leaders at all levels
Review: CEO Excellence systematically walks through the core responsibilities that make up the irreducible core of the CEO role. But mostly importantly it brings to life the unique mindsets of the best CEOs (e.g., 'Be bold,' 'Treat the soft stuff as the hard stuff'). Once you get those, it's clear how and why those high-performing CEOs have adopted a number of unexpected practices an behaviors. Even if you're not a CEO, there's a lot to learn. I will definitely be thinking differently about how I manage teams ('Manage the team's psychology') for example. The many vignettes and stories make this a very memorable, accessible read - it's really like getting VIP access to a fireside chat with 67 of the world's best performing CEOs. Highly recommend (though I admittedly may be biased!). Including a photo of the book, just in case helpful to anyone. Definitely nice enough looking to gift

Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Compelling!
Review: One of the most eye opening books with great anecdotes, research and storytelling. Practical strategies in the development of successors of the most senior leader in your organization and serves a fantastic resource to those serving in the CEO seat.

Reviewer: CEO of a health tech start-up
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Insightful and practical tips on how to be a great leader of a modern business!
Review: I was recommended this book by a friend - and I found it to be an excellent treatise on how to be a great CEO. As a leader of a rapidly growing healthcare technology organization, I’m always looking for practical tips and insights on how I can improve. One of the biggest takeaways from this book was that great CEOs come from many different personalities - and it’s possible to find your own leadership style suitable for your personality. I found the thorough research and dozens of interviews conducted by the research team to be very helpful in shaping my journey as a CEO!

Reviewer: Emilio Jorge Junic Egri
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Um dos mais atuais livros de liderança para executivos no momento! Recomendo a todos!

Reviewer: jc pezeta
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Gift

Reviewer: Nisha Samson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: CEO Excellence by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra provides an exceptional blueprint for what distinguishes extraordinary CEOs. Based on interviews with 67 top-performing CEOs, including leaders from companies like Microsoft, Netflix, and Merck, the book identifies six core areas of success: corporate strategy, organisational alignment, team building, board engagement, personal leadership, and leadership values.A standout aspect of the book is its emphasis on timeless business principles. In an era dominated by startups and rapid technological disruption, it’s refreshing to see that age-old tenets such as clear vision, team cohesion, and value-driven leadership remain as relevant today as they were 100 years ago. This is exemplified through JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon, who has navigated the bank through several crises, including the 2008 financial crash, by relying on tried-and-true leadership strategies—staying committed to long-term goals, building a resilient team, and always ensuring the company’s values remained at the forefront.The book also showcases Satya Nadella’s transformative leadership at Microsoft, where he fostered a growth mindset to revitalise the company’s culture, and Reed Hastings’ data-driven disruption of the entertainment industry at Netflix. Additionally, Ken Frazier of Merck exemplifies purpose-driven leadership, prioritising long-term research investments over short-term gains to ensure innovation remained central to Merck’s mission.CEO Excellence combines these inspiring stories with actionable lessons, making it a must-read for not only CEOs but also anyone in business leadership. It reinforces that while industries and technologies may evolve, the core principles of effective leadership—strategy, vision, and values—are timeless.Whether you’re a manager, entrepreneur, or student of business, this book offers a comprehensive guide to mastering leadership in any era.

Reviewer: Joseph
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Anyone who think or prepare to become a leader or improve yourself as a leader should read this amazing well prepared and easy to read book. It includes great advices supporting these with examples and to add value into your perspective to think aspects in broader context. If you want to make positive impact for your team or organization, definitely recommended.- Easy to read.- Great advices and examples.- Covering updated important leadership and managenent topics.- Sometimes repeat itself in some sections but not a big issue. Repeating something is also nice to have to digest the information.

Reviewer: Juan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excellent book! Best of the best!