The busy Indian CEOs & entrepreneurs’ reading lists for 2023 give an excellent guide on what is good for them in terms of continuing their professional and personal life. They recommend global business classics, narratives on Indian business, and personal development guides anchored in philosophy and self-awareness in particular. Such books are not dry treatises on management theory; they are treatises on human nature and how to create enduring institutions, and even how to apply them to the unique challenges of the Indian market.
Here is a selection of the most popular and compelling business books recommended by India’s top business leaders, including the likes of Satya Nadella, Ronnie Screwvala, Subroto Bagchi, and many more that are reshaping the Indian economy.
I. Global Classics for Foundational Business Wisdom
These are classic pieces that should transcend any specific geography and equip you with timeless frameworks for strategy, company culture, and organizational excellence. They’re cited as required reading for leaders at any level.
1. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
- Author: Jim Collins
- Short Intro: Collins and his research team investigate the common characteristics and practices that enable a small group of companies to transition from being merely “good” to accomplishing sustained, outstanding performance. The book introduces concepts such as the Level 5 Leader (a leader who combines extreme personal humility with intense professional will), the Hedgehog Concept (determining what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at, and what drives your economic engine), and the “First Who, Then What” principle (recruiting the right people onto your bus before figuring out where to take them). It’s the ultimate how-to on creating an enduring great company.
2. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
- Author: Ben Horowitz
- Brief Intro: A candid, brutally practical guide to the chaotic, terrifying, great-feeling world of startup life. Horowitz, the veteran entrepreneur and venture capitalist, provides practical advice on the hard decisions that business school doesn’t cover, including firing friends, poaching an exec from a competitor, and the psychology of the CEO in a pressure cooker. The business guru is praised for her unreserved analysis of the emotional and tactical roadblocks facing leadership during a crisis.
3. Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone
- Author: Satya Nadella (Chairman and CEO, Microsoft)
- Brief introduction: This is a part-memoir, part-manifesto that chronicles Nadella’s life journey from a boy growing up in India to the babysitting of one of the technology giant’s grandest goliaths. The prevailing theme is one of “hitting refresh,” a radical, personal, and cultural transformation based on empathy, collaboration, and a growth mindset. It’s essential reading for modern corporate change, and the move to cloud, AI, and ethical tech.
4. Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
- Author: Simon Sinek
- Short Intro: Sinek discusses the idea of establishing a Circle of Safety in the workplace. Building on biology and anthropology, he contends that exceptional leaders create an environment of trust and collaboration by making their people feel secure and shielded from external threats (such as toxic politics or uncertainty). The title is a reference to the military tradition that leaders eat last, they are servants first, and that leader meals are shared with their troops. It makes a powerful case for leading with empathy and focusing on the human side.
II. Narratives of Indian Business and Entrepreneurship
These are must-reads for understanding the ‘Indian Way’ of doing business, getting through the labyrinth of rules, leveraging extended familial trust, and carving out mass-market, nation-building business models.
5. Dream with Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey
- Author: Ronnie Screwvala (Co-founder, UTV Group and Founder, UpGrad)
- Brief Summary: Screwvala tells the story of his journey in building an entertainment empire (UTV) to his second innings in ed-tech (UpGrad). The book provides a frank, unvarnished commentary reinforced with practical insights and “off the record” tales about scaling, pivoting, surviving failure, and what entrepreneurship truly means in the context of India. It is one of the most recommended books for young Indian founders on account of its relatable, local lens in building companies from the ground up.
6. The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time
- Author: Subhash Chandra (Founder, Zee Entertainment Enterprises)
- Short Intro: This is an autobiography which outlines how Subhash Chandra – who went on to become India’s first media mogul and private satellite channel, Zee TV helms the Indian television industry – achieved this staggering success story from nothing. The results are his defining courage in taking huge risks, his tenacity in enduring political and corporate persecution, and his visionary foresight in investment opportunities, all of which offer compelling insights into determination and media entrepreneurship.
7. The CEO Factory: Management Lessons from Hindustan Unilever
- Author: Sudhir Sitapati (Former Executive Director at HUL)
- Short Introduction: An authoritative management guide to how Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has emerged as India’s leading “CEO Factory”, which has been churning out business heads, not just for Indian but for global corporations. Sitapati unravels HUL’s mythic business strategies, from brand building and rural distribution to its meritocratic culture and talent nurturing. It is the definitive manual for conceiving a consumer–led company on a large scale in India.
8. Connect the Dots: The Inspiring Stories of 20 Entrepreneurs Without An MBA Who Dared To Find Their Own Path
- Author: Rashmi Bansal
- Brief Intro: It is an inspiring compilation of twenty stories of Indian entrepreneurs who made it big by going against the grain. Bansal features a handful of people who, sans traditional management degrees they’ve built thriving companies based on perseverance, street smarts, and an unshakeable belief in their vision. It’s inspirational for those who think their lack of education is an impediment to getting going.
9. I Too Had a Dream
- Writer: Verghese Kurien (Father of the White Revolution)
- Brief Summary: This autobiography is an essential narrative of how Kurien established Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) and, later, the billion-dollar cooperative movement that turned India from a milk-deficient country to the world’s largest milk producer. It’s not a treatise on corporate finance, but an account of the building of institutions, ethical leadership, and the winnowing of millions of margin producers. CEOs say it’s a go-to for understanding social entrepreneurship and the power of the cooperative model.
III. Books on Mindset, Philosophy, and Personal Mastery
Indian CEOs often highlight that success depends on one’s mental outlook, self-knowledge, and philosophy of life. These titles are all about the inner game of leadership.
10. Corporate Chanakya: Successful Management The Chanakya Way
- Writer: Radhakrishnan Pillai
- Brief Summary: This book brings to the present the ancient wisdom of the Arthashastr, a manual of statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy formulated by the ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, and royal counselor Chanakya. Pillai reinterprets Chanakya’s enduring lessons on business, leadership, and governance as relevant, powerful tools in the contemporary corporate environment, thereby creating the quintessential Indian perspective on the philosophy of leadership.
11. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny
- Author: Robin Sharma
- Brief Intro: This is a gripping narrative on a top lawyer, Julian Mantle, who is leading an extravagant life that results in a massive heart attack. Narration 3 norms: from narrative1 The narrator follows his spiritual odyssey to the Himalayas and returns with a newfound mindset on life, time, and true achievement. Indian CEOs tend to swear by’ this book for its focus on achieving work-life balance, mastering oneself, discipline, and living a life with purpose, teachings that are essential in the high-octane industry of the corner office.
12. Leadership by Example: The Ten Key Principles of All Great Leaders
- Author: R. Gopalakrishnan (Former Director, Tata Sons)
- Short Intro: Based on his vast experience with leading Indian companies such as Hindustan Unilever and the Tata Group, Gopalakrishnan identifies the core of what constitutes simplistic yet successful leadership. He gives ten rules that stress integrity, profound self-knowledge, consensus building, and leading from the front – all staples of the best Indian business culture.
13. The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind
- Author: Raghuram G. Rajan (Former RBI Governor)
- Brief Background: An economics and philosophy masterpiece, Rajan contends that the pillars of a prosperous society must balance the State, the Market, and the Community (The Third Pillar). He also persuasively argues that the fragmentation of local communities by unfettered market forces and an intrusive state has produced social instability and unrest. This book is often suggested because it presents a very broad, macro perspective, and because it emphasizes the non-monetary elements of national growth and well-being.
Also check:- Uttarakhand Tourism Professional Association Announces New Governing Body
The Takeaway
India’s top business leaders’ reading habits reveal an important truth: global theories of management offer the framework, but a deep knowledge of local realities, ethical behavior, and strong individual awareness is what makes one a true master. The path from decent manager to great CEO is littered with unrelenting learning, both from the boardroom and from the quiet wisdom residing in tales of adversity, transformation, and the enduring core principles of humanity. There’s no shaking the sense that a leader’s greatest challenge, by far, is not managing the business but managing oneself.
