We’re past the halfway mark of the year, and it’s the perfect time to reset and refocus your leadership approach.
This book roundup is tailored for CIOs working where AI, strategy, and team dynamics meet. The picks are built to help you:
- Lead more confidently in a data-rich environment
- Make clear decisions without getting bogged down
- Use AI to sharpen vision and execution
- Guide teams through constant change, calmly and clearly
Effective leadership is about moving with purpose and using the right tools to stay ahead.
Feel like it’s time for a fresh perspective? Jump into the list, and if something clicks, there are 100+ more titles on your CIO Bookshelf to explore.
Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI
Why Machines Learn by Anil Ananthaswamy offers a compelling, accessible dive into the math behind modern AI. Blending rich storytelling with technical clarity, it reveals how ideas like linear algebra and probability evolved into today’s machine learning engines. Ananthaswamy makes the abstract intuitive, showing how theory powers real-world AI applications. From image recognition to language models, he connects core concepts to modern breakthroughs. This book is an essential reading for tech leaders ready to engage more deeply with AI’s foundations.
The Pattern of Progress: How radically cheaper, easier, faster, better technologies and ideas rapidly change the world.
The Pattern of Progress by Bradd Libby explores how transformative ideas and technologies consistently reshape the world. Through the analysis of over 1,500 innovations and historical events, Libby identifies a repeating pattern that underlies large-scale change. He shows how combinations of breakthroughs drive widespread disruption across key sectors. Current advances in AI, robotics, and renewable energy are examined through this lens, offering insight into their potential trajectory. This book is a strategic tool for anticipating change and thinking critically about the forces shaping the future.
The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip
The Thinking Machine by Stephen Witt offers an in-depth look at Nvidia’s rise as a dominant force in advanced computing and AI infrastructure. Through interviews with CEO Jensen Huang, employees, and investors, Witt uncovers how bold technical bets, particularly on AI-specific computing, shaped the company’s trajectory. The book explores how the company built teams, adapted to industry shifts, and maintained clarity amid skepticism and pressure. Witt’s narrative highlights the value of consistency and technical conviction in an unpredictable sector.
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee offers a compelling comparative analysis of how the U.S. and China are shaping the global AI landscape. Drawing on his deep experience in both ecosystems, Lee contrasts China’s rapid, application-driven scale-up with Silicon Valley’s research-centric innovation model. He explores how China’s data-rich environment and entrepreneurial intensity have fueled widespread AI deployment across sectors. At the same time, he underscores the U.S.’s enduring leadership in foundational research and algorithm development. The book also examines AI’s disruptive impact on employment and the evolving role of policymakers and business leaders in preparing for systemic change. AI Superpowers delivers strategic context for understanding the geopolitical and economic dimensions of AI’s global ascent.
The Next Normal: Transform Your Leadership, Your Team, and Your Organization
The Next Normal by Greg Giuliano is a practical and energizing guide for leaders facing frequent change. With a focus on adaptability and forward-thinking leadership, Giuliano offers a framework to help executives transform how they lead, build resilient teams, and drive meaningful organizational growth. He challenges outdated leadership models, encouraging a shift toward trust, collaboration, and innovation as core strategic assets. The Next Normal is valuable reading for executives who want to shape, not just survive, the future of work.
Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
Loonshots by Safi Bahcall is a compelling guide to fostering breakthrough innovation within organizations. Blending science, history, and business insight, Bahcall explores how bold, unconventional ideas, “loonshots,” often spark the greatest advances when given the right conditions to grow. He introduces the concept of “phase transitions” to explain how companies can balance experimental thinking with operational execution without sacrificing either. The book offers a framework to protect early-stage transformation while maintaining organizational performance.
Own the A.I. Revolution: Unlock Your Artificial Intelligence Strategy to Disrupt Your Competition
Own the A.I. Revolution by Neil Sahota is a forward-looking guide for leaders ready to turn AI from a buzzword into a strategic advantage. With clarity and authority, Sahota breaks down the core concepts of AI and shows how organizations can apply them to streamline operations and stay ahead of emerging trends. The book emphasizes aligning AI initiatives with business goals, building capable teams, and fostering a culture that embraces ethical and responsible innovation. Own the A.I. Revolution is an essential playbook for CIOs ready to thrive in this era of intelligent transformation.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport offers a compelling framework for professionals seeking to reclaim focus, time, and well-being in an increasingly connected world. Through practical strategies and real-life examples, the book guides readers in setting boundaries, prioritizing deep work, and fostering meaningful offline engagement. He introduces a 30-day “digital declutter” to help readers reset habits, reduce distractions, and identify which technologies truly add value.
The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our Future
The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman delivers a provocative and timely exploration of the powerful technologies poised to reshape our world. Drawing on his front-line experience at DeepMind and Microsoft AI, Suleyman examines how tools like AI, synthetic biology, and quantum computing are rapidly moving from elite labs into mainstream society. He balances the immense promise of these advances with a stark warning about the growing risks and lack of institutional readiness to manage them. At the heart of the book is the “containment problem”, which is the challenge of controlling increasingly autonomous technologies without resorting to overreach or surrender. Suleyman calls for urgent, coordinated leadership to navigate this fragile frontier between innovation and governance.
Small Acts of Leadership: 12 Intentional Behaviors That Lead to Big Impact
Small Acts of Leadership by G. Shawn Hunter redefines leadership as a series of purposeful, everyday actions that create lasting influence. Focusing on 12 key behaviors, such as active listening, vulnerability, and recognition, Hunter shows how small, intentional choices can foster trust, spark transformation, and strengthen team dynamics. Each chapter includes practical exercises that help readers embed these habits into daily practice. Small Acts of Leadership is a powerful guide for individuals seeking to lead with empathy and lasting purpose.
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