What to Put Under the Tree? 10 Books to Gift Yourself and Your Loved Ones.

The end of the year is approaching and it’s the last moment to think about gifts for your loved ones, colleagues – and simply for yourself. Instead of yet another gadget that will end up in a drawer after a week, we suggest books that give you a moment to breathe and at the same time properly feed your mind – they stay with you long after the holidays.

For many leaders, the holidays are the only time of year when you can really take your foot off the gas: put away the slides, KPIs and Teams meetings. It’s worth using this time not only to rest, but also for some quiet reading that helps you gain distance, broaden your perspective and sort a few things out. That’s why we’ve prepared 10 books that are both developmental and let you switch off; inspiring, relaxing, but also the kind that make it hard not to avoid taking a few important notes.

Our suggestions for you:

1. The Power of AI for Business Leaders – Victoria R. Summers

A good pick if you want to understand AI not as a “magic gadget”, but as a series of concrete business decisions: where it gives you an edge, where it creates risk, and how to implement it in a real company rather than in a lab. It’s an easy read, and every few pages you stumble on an idea that practically begs to be tested in your team or project.

2. Everyday Business Storytelling – Janine Kurnoff, Lee Lazarus

This is a book for everyone who feels that their slides and presentations “don’t deliver the story”. The authors show how to turn data and facts into narratives that engage the board, clients and the team – without fireworks, but with very concrete frameworks and examples. Perfect for reading in small chunks and applying immediately in your next presentations.

3. Source Code. My Beginnings – Bill Gates

Bill Gates goes back to his beginnings: childhood, first projects, the creation of Microsoft. It’s not a hagiography, but an honest record of ambition, mistakes, obsessions and learning on the run. A great holiday read because it shows that behind a huge company stands a human being who also improvised for a long time.

4. Emotional Intelligence in Practice – Daniel Goleman

A classic in a very practical version. Goleman strips the topic of “emotions at work” of its reputation as a soft add-on and shows how specific emotional skills translate into results, leadership and relationships in the team. A good book if you want to calmly sort out which of these competencies are currently your strength and which require deliberate practice.

5. Business Wars – David Brown

The author puts major brands (Netflix, Adidas, Coca-Cola and many others) on the table and breaks down their key conflicts, plot twists and strategic bends. It reads like a series of great campfire stories, and at the same time gives you a solid dose of knowledge about strategy, marketing and the courage to take risks.

6. Dear England. Lessons in Leadership – Gareth Southgate

The manager of the England national team writes about leadership, responsibility and working under the immense pressure of a nation’s expectations. It’s a very human, calm book about courage, failures, locker-room conversations and building trust. Perfect for those who prefer stories from sport to yet another model from a textbook.

7. The Great War for Chips – Chris Miller

A powerful yet very well-written introduction to a world in which microchips determine the balance of power in the global economy. The US, China, Taiwan, geopolitics, supply chains – it all comes together into a story after which you look differently at risk, dependencies and the strategic decisions of states and companies.

8. Kleptopia. How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World – Tom Burgis

This is a book after which it’s hard to look at the global economy the same way as before. Burgis shows how dirty money seeps into the “respectable” financial system, how dictators, oligarchs, lawyers and banks operate. A hard-hitting, at times overwhelming read, but one that gives priceless context for conversations about business and politics.

9. Acting with Power. Why We Are More Powerful Than We Believe – Deborah Gruenfeld

The author combines social psychology with leadership practice and debunks the myth that “power always corrupts everyone”. She shows how to use influence responsibly and consciously without losing yourself or your relationships with people. A good book for the holidays, because it encourages calm reflection on what kind of leader we want to strengthen in ourselves.

10. The Excluded – Artur Domosławski

And finally, something stronger. Domosławski takes us to places where the global economy and politics have left people on the margins: slums, peripheries, countries where “development” means something very different than it does on our slides. It’s a difficult but very necessary read, reminding us that behind our decisions, strategies and supply chains there are real human stories.

Happy reading!

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