15 Books. Zero Fluff.
These aren't "business books." They're weapons-grade problem-solving frameworks disguised as paperbacks. Each one has shaped how we think, diagnose, and fix.
Not sure where to start? Take the 3-question diagnostic →
The Execution Library
Dave's essential reads for the execution crisis. Start here if you're stuck between strategy and reality.
The Knowing-Doing Gap
Read this if: You know what to do but can't seem to make it happen.
"Companies that document best practices but don't implement them have a knowing-doing gap."
Skunk Works
Read this if: You need to deliver breakthrough results fast, outside the org chart.
"Kelly's 14 Rules proved that small teams with autonomy could outperform massive bureaucracies."
The Challenger Sale
Read this if: You need to influence high-performers who resist advice.
"The best salespeople don't ask what keeps you up at night. They tell you what should."
Antifragile
Read this if: You're trying to plan in a world that won't sit still.
"Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility."
Essentialism
Read this if: You're doing too many things and making progress on none.
"If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will."
Team of Teams
Read this if: Your organisation is too slow to respond to reality.
"In complex environments, speed of adaptation beats quality of planning."
Systems Architects
Understanding the machine. Read these if your problem is structural.
Thinking in Systems
Read this if: You keep solving the same problem over and over.
"We can't impose our will on a system. We can dance with it."
Finite and Infinite Games
Read this if: You're obsessed with "winning" but unclear what winning means.
"A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play."
The Art of the Long View
Read this if: You're paralyzed by uncertainty about the future.
"Scenarios are not predictions. They are stories about the way the world might turn out."
Good Strategy Bad Strategy
Read this if: Your strategy is actually just a list of goals.
"A good strategy honestly acknowledges the challenges being faced and provides an approach to overcoming them."
Cynefin
Read this if: You apply "best practices" to problems where they don't work.
"We can know more than we can tell."
Creative Interrogators
Asking better questions. Read these if your problem is unclear.
A More Beautiful Question
Read this if: You're jumping to answers before understanding the question.
"The most creative, successful people tend to be expert questioners."
The Mom Test
Read this if: People keep telling you your idea is great (but it's not).
"It's not their responsibility to tell you the truth. It's your responsibility to find it."
Liminal Thinking
Read this if: You're stuck in a worldview that's no longer serving you.
"Create the change you want by changing the way you think."
Lateral Thinking
Read this if: Your logic keeps digging the same hole deeper.
"You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper."
Orbiting the Giant Hairball
Read this if: You're creative but trapped in corporate gravity.
"If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted."
Hard-Nosed Operators
Execution and decision. Read these if your problem is action.
Decisive
Read this if: You're paralyzed by analysis or keep making the same mistakes.
"Our brains are wired to make bad decisions due to biases."
The Pyramid Principle
Read this if: People don't understand your recommendations.
"Start with the answer."
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
Read this if: You need to separate signal from noise in high-stakes situations.
"Intelligence failures are rarely caused by a lack of information, but by the inability to process it correctly."
Superforecasting
Read this if: You think in certainties instead of probabilities.
"Foresight is not a mysterious gift; it is the product of particular ways of thinking."
The Dice Man
Read this if: You're too controlled, too predictable, too safe.
"I am large, I contain multitudes."
Not Sure Where to Start?
Answer three questions. Get your first book.
What's your biggest frustration right now?
How complex is your situation?
What's your default mode?
Books Only Get You So Far
These frameworks come alive when applied to your specific situation.
Open a Case File →