Reading list · 7 books
Stewart Butterfield's reading list
Co-founder of Slack and Flickr. A philosophy-trained founder (he holds degrees in the subject) whose recommendations span leadership, history, psychology, and the nature of play.
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01
The Arbinger Institute
One of the most useful leadership books he's read; he bought copies for his entire Slack exec team (70+ people) to align them on a shared mindset.
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02
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
Paired with the above as "two of the most useful books I've ever read on either leadership or management."
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03
Julie Zhuo
Calls it an excellent, approachable guide to becoming a manager; Slack gives it to new managers.
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04
Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
A recent five-star read he recommended on X; an accessible dialogue on Adlerian psychology and living on your own terms.
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05
Michael Pollan
Praised Pollan as "a gifted observer and clear writer"; recommended the author-narrated audiobook on the science of psychedelics.
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06
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Doris Kearns Goodwin
"Among the best historical books I've ever read" — Lincoln's cabinet as a master class in leadership through disagreement.
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07
Ian Bogost
A book he liked enough to blurb; its theory of play and constraints resonates with his game-design roots (Slack and Flickr both grew out of games).
More on Stewart Butterfield's picks
Butterfield's recommendations are unusually well-documented because most come straight from his own X/Twitter posts, often with star ratings and reasons. He famously bought Leadership and Self-Deception for ~70+ people on his exec team and gives The Making of a Manager to new Slack managers. His range — Lincoln-era history, psychedelics research, game design — reflects a deliberately broad, humanistic reader.
