5 Books The Top 25 Execs 2008 Are Reading

Knowledge is power. ChannelWeb's Top 25 Execs of 2008 know this, constantly enriching their minds with "recreational" reading. We asked the Top 25 to spill on which business books are their favorites.

Author: Thomas L. Friedman



Recommended by: Greg Spierkel, CEO, Ingram Micro



When author Friedman says the world is "flat" what he means is that it is so interconnected that global distances mean nothing. Old news, but Friedman examines and discusses the implications of this interconnectedness on our society -- not just governments and big business, but on individual entrepreneurs.

Author: Martin Wolf

Recommended by: Mitch Breen, senior vice president of global channel strategy and sales, EMC





Martin Wolf explains the how and why of the forces of global finance at work, showing connections between economic crises in the late '90s in Latin America, Russia and Asia to the United States's subprime loan crisis. Wolf also outlines some potential solutions to re-occurring global financial problems.

Author: Michael Lewis



Recommended by: Eric Berridge, co-founder, Bluewolf



Lewis analyzes how the Oakland A's, a team with one of the smallest budgets in the Major Leagues, was able to attract and keep a winning lineup in 2002, through the manager's shrewd knowledge of the business and negotiation skills.

Author: Robert Kriegel

Recommended by: Chris Franey, vice president of commercial sales and marketing, Samsung





Kriegel examines how people and businesses tend to follow set routines even when the needs of the industry change, and by refusing to change, miss many lucrative business opportunities.

Author: Jim Collins



Recommended by: Adrian Jones, vice president/general manager of the Americas, Hewlett-Packard; Matt Medeiros, CEO, SonicWall; Rick Chernick, CEO, Camera Corner Connecting Point; Steve Orenberg, president of the Americas, Kaspersky Lab; and Robert McKernan, President North America, APC



Can a good company become a great company? That's the question author Jim Collins asks in his best-selling book. Collins looked at almost 1500 companies in an attempt to answer this question.