Reading list · 10 books
Satya Nadella's reading list
CEO (now Chairman & CEO) of Microsoft and author of Hit Refresh. A reflective, empathy-focused leader whose reading spans economics, leadership, and big-history — famously crediting Carol Dweck's Mindset for Microsoft's cultural turnaround.
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01
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Carol S. Dweck
The book he credits as inspiration for Microsoft's "learn-it-all" culture; says that years in, "I recognize its power a lot more than I did." Gifted to him by his wife Anu in 2014.
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02
Marshall B. Rosenberg
He urged new direct reports to read it on becoming CEO, using its empathy-and-communication frame to reset Microsoft's culture.
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03
The Rise and Fall of American Growth
Robert J. Gordon
Cited it for the thesis that "innovation is the ultimate source of dramatic improvements in the human condition."
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04
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Daniel James Brown
Called it "a wonderful illustration of the importance of teamwork."
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05
Nancy Koehn
Said simply "I loved it" in a public talk; Koehn's study of courageous leadership in crisis resonates with his leadership themes.
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06
The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty
Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
Discussed at Davos for capturing "the real, constant tension between what a society wants and what the government wants."
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07
Prosperity: Better Business Makes the Greater Good
Colin Mayer
Cited approvingly for arguing a corporation should find "profitable solutions to the challenges of people and the planet" — aligned with his stakeholder view.
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08
Karl Polanyi
A book his father recommended long ago that he still cites on the political-economic origins of markets.
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09
Kai-Fu Lee
Blurbed it: Lee's "smart analysis on human-AI coexistence is clear-eyed and a must-read."
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10
Marco Iansiti & Karim Lakhani
Blurbed it as "an important book" on rethinking the firm to become an "AI-first company."
More on Satya Nadella's picks
Nadella's recommendations surface in interviews (Fast Company, Davos remarks via Quartz, on-stage Q&As) and in book blurbs he's written. He says he's "heavily influenced by the books [his wife] Anu reads," and many picks reflect themes of empathy, growth mindset, and innovation-driven prosperity. He frequently endorses books on AI's societal impact, having blurbed works by Kai-Fu Lee and Iansiti/Lakhani.
