Books Recommended by Michael Dell

Ben, an influential venture capitalist (of Andreessen Horowitz) and entrepreneur, candidly talks about the very real thrills and perils of starting a business. This book is loaded with great lessons and advice from a successful leader and innovator.

I loved Peter Diamandis’ and Steven Kotler’s book Abundance, their writing and their Vision. BOLD is an amazing sequel, a book that every entrepreneur should read. It is inspiring, filled with incredible insights and offers a practical how-to game plan for going big and impacting the world.

Downes and Nunes provide some very thought-provoking guidance to existing businesses about how to compete, innovate, and win in this new world of the disruptive startup.

In this 1960s classic, Brooks, a longtime New Yorker contributor, tells the stories of 12 notable companies and how they navigated the trials and tribulations of corporate life in America back in the day.

Thorndike explores the importance of thoughtful capital allocation through the stories of eight successful CEOs. A good read for any business leader but especially those willing to chart their own course

Rifkin poses that the plummeting costs of doing business, brought on by dramatic increases in productivity and the Internet, are driving us toward a hybrid economy of capitalist market and "collaborative commons"--a place where shareable value is as important as exchange value.

The authors make a case for a future world that is better, not worse, than the one we inherited. That may seem far-fetched given the problems we see flashing across our screens every day. But there is reason for optimism, and it starts and ends with one of my favorite things, technology.

Stibel, a brain scientist, uses biology to warn of the inevitable breaking point of all networks, including social networks and the network of networks--the Internet. However, the wave of new technologies on the horizon will show us the way forward and bring competitive advantage to the businesses that understand the nature of networks.

Kaku interviews some of the world's best and brightest scientists to find out what they're working on. What he unveils is a future of sci-fi-like innovations and breakthroughs worth sticking around for.