경영자가 쓴 책 - 최고 부자 빌 게이츠의 내 일생의 책 5권

[能田]

경영자가 쓴 책

최고 부자 빌 게이츠의 내 일생의 책 5권

(입력: 월간현대경영 2023년 1월호)

5 of my all-time favorate books

현대경영사史의 ‘큰바위 얼굴’들이 쓴 책을 모아 한국경영의 대하 시리즈를 올린다. 2023년 새해를 맞이하여, 이달에는 ‘경영자가 쓴 책’이라기보다는 ‘경영자가 꼭 읽어봐야 할 책 5권’을 소개한다.

세계 최고의 기업가인 빌게이츠가 평생 동안 읽어본 책 가운데 최고의 책 5권을 선정했다. 빌게이츠의 블로그 ‘The gates note’에서 ‘5 of my all-time faborate books’를 영문으로 소개한다.

Best introduction to grownup sci-fi: Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. Paul Allen and I fell in love with Heinlein when we were just kids, and this book is still one of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time. It tells the story of a young man who returns to Earth after growing up on Mars and starts a new religion. I think the best science fiction pushes your thinking about what’s possible in the future, and Heinlein managed to predict the rise of hippie culture years before it emerged.

Best memoir by a rock star: Surrender, by Bono. This book came out this month, so it’s the most recent one I’ve read on my list. If you’re a U2 fan, there is a good chance you already plan to check it out. Even if you’re not, it’s a super fun read about how a boy from the suburbs of Dublin grew up to become a world-famous rock star and philanthropist. I’m lucky enough to call Bono a friend, but a lot of the stories he tells in Surrender were new to me.

Best guide to leading a country: Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I can’t read enough about Abraham Lincoln, and this is one of the best books on the subject. It feels especially relevant now when our country is once again facing violent insurrection, difficult questions about race, and deep ideological divides. Goodwin is one of America’s best biographers, and Team of Rivals is arguably her masterpiece.

Best guide to getting out of your own way: The Inner Game of Tennis, by Timothy Gallwey. This book from 1974 is a must-read for anyone who plays tennis, but I think even people who have never played will get something out of it. Gallwey argues that your state of mind is just as important—if not more important—than your physical fitness. He gives excellent advice about how to move on constructively from mistakes, which I’ve tried to follow both on and off the court over the years.

Best book about the periodic table: Mendeleyev’s Dream, by Paul Strathern. The history of chemistry is filled with quirky characters like Dimitri Mendeleyev, the Russian scientist who first proposed the periodic table after it allegedly came to him in a dream. Strathern’s book traces that history all the way back to its origins in ancient Greece. It’s a fascinating look at how science develops and how human curiosity has evolved over the millennia.

참고자료: The Gates Note