Bookshelf
Favorites
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz
The only business book that tells the truth about what it actually feels like to run a company. It's a survival manual.
An Elegant Puzzle
Will Larson
Systems thinking applied to engineering management. The chapter on sizing teams changed how I think about organizational design.
Working Backwards
Colin Bryar & Bill Carr
Amazon's operating system, demystified. The press release framework alone is worth the read for any operator building process.
Shoe Dog
Phil Knight
The best founder memoir I've read. Raw, honest, and a reminder that every great company was once a terrible mess.
Thinking in Systems
Donella Meadows
The foundational text. If you operate anything (a company, a team, a supply chain), this is required reading.
Recent
The Mom Test
Rob Fitzpatrick
Short, practical, and humbling. Changed how I ask questions in every customer conversation.
Staff Engineer
Will Larson
The section on 'being visible' applies to any senior operator trying to have impact without authority. Useful well beyond an engineering audience.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Eric Jorgenson
Leverage, judgment, and specific knowledge. Naval's framework for wealth creation is the clearest I've found.