50+ Books Every Marketer & Founder Should Read At Least Once

When I first started running the marketing department at Crossrope, everything was new to me. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I was an engineer by trade who tinkered with marketing projects on the side.

Books saved me. They helped me fill knowledge gaps. They helped me shortcut my education and sharpen my skills and mindset. They gave me unique and interesting ideas to take back and experiment with.

We used the tools from Traction to build out a robust tracking system for our business. We used Scrum to build a productivity system for our marketing team. I used Atomic Habits to build effective habits that allow me to continue learning and growing as a CMO. The list goes on.

Books have helped me become a better marketer and ultimately a better CMO.

So I wanted to put together a list of books I think all highly ambitious marketers & aspiring CMOs should read. I also reached out to friends in the space and included their top recommendations. It’s by no means an all-encompassing list, but it’s a great place to start if you’re looking for inspiration.

Note – big thanks to Shiv / Faheem / Hallie / Jacques / Justin / Juliana / Tom / Devin and many others for sharing their inputs!

Here are the 50+ books I recommend, categorized appropriately. Enjoy!

Business Strategy

The following books will teach you how to think about high-level business strategy. Great reads for aspiring CMOs.

Traction by Gino Wickman – EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) powers thousands of successful companies. It was a game-changer for us at Crossrope and it works wonders if you’re disciplined enough to follow it. Learn the tools in this book.
Scaling Up by Verne Harnish – similar to Traction, this book (or what feels like a textbook) is packed with tools and processes to help you solidify how you run your business successfully. If anything, look up the One Page Strategic Plan.
Good to Great by Jim Collins – there are so many great things to pull from this classic, but the flywheel and hedgehog concept are two I’ve always kept with me. Any book by Jim Collins is worth digging into.
Play Bigger by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, & Kevin Maney – this book is all about category creation which we lean on heavily at Crossrope. Juliana (the CLV Lady) also mentioned “this book is for rebels and out of the box thinkers that want to disrupt the market with a new product / category or concept.”
Profit from the Core by Chris Zook – This one was recommended by my friend Shiv (CEO @ How to SaaS, former CMO) – “this is the one I’d recommend to people more than any other. Probably the best strategy book worth reading for any executive.”

Leadership & Culture

The following books will teach you concepts and ideas around leadership, culture, team building, and dealing with people.

Start With Why by Simon Sinek – a quick read about finding your ‘why’ that can spark foundational changes at any organization. Let the golden circle guide you.
Maverick by Ricardo Semler– this has to be one of the craziest stories on culture I’ve ever read (and that you’ve probably never heard of since the company is based out of Brazil). It’s the book that asks ‘what if’ at every corner.
Radical Candor by Kim Scott – one of our go-to culture books at Crossrope as we strive to build a world-class team. It will teach you how to to challenge your team directly and care for them personally.
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie – I read this classic once every year as it offers simple, timeless wisdom for dealing with people.
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle – this one came at a great time as our team started growing. It taught me some of the key skills that lie at the heart of great teamwork – safety, vulnerability, purpose, having a common goal.
Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt – I have this one in my queue but it’s been recommended to me a few times. My friend Faheem (Chief Strategy Officer @ Lamark) said: “I can’t recommend this enough. There was a point in 2020 where I bought 30 copies and just gifted them to people that needed help leading a team.”
Who: The Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street – if you’re building a team, this book will teach you how to recruit effectively. We’ve built a lot of our internal recruiting strategies around the principles taught here.
Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki – This one was recommended to me by my friend Jacques (CEO @ Raindrop Marketing) and I loved the description I found: think of this book as How to Win Friends and Influence People meets Influence meets the Internet and social media. Jacques – “It really dives into the emotions.”
The Best Team Wins by Adrian Gostick – I learned a lot about onboarding, motivator assessments, and understanding how to think about what drives different generations within your org. Flip to the last chapter for easy-to-implement ideas for your own team.
Powerful by Patty McCord – Patty built the high-performing culture at Netflix and shares her ideas about recruiting, motivating, and creating great teams. It’s also worth looking through the Netflix culture deck if you haven’t seen it (Google it).
High Output Management by Andy Grove – this one is high up on my list of still-need-to-read, but it’s been recommended so many times, it belongs here. The best way I’ve seen it described – “a bible that every entrepreneur and every manager in the country should look at, read and understand.”
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz – a great book about what it takes to be a world-class CEO and build a world-class company (that you can apply to your own work). It’s riddled with great anecdotes and rap quotes.
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown – this book is highly recommended and still on my to read list. It sets out to help us become more daring leaders. Brown explores courage & vulnerability, pairing down essential core values, and specific behaviors that create trust with the people you lead.

Marketing Strategy

The following books will teach you different ways to think about marketing strategy. You’ll learn about positioning, standing out from the crowd, storytelling, turning an audience into superfans, manufacturing word-of-mouth, and much more.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hseih – an incredible story of Zappos and how the late Tony Hseih built a culture that prided itself on delivering memorable experiences for every customer. Note – I enjoyed the audio version of this one much more.
This is Marketing by Seth Godin – this was one of Seth’s latest books and great high-level summary of what marketing really is about.
Talk Triggers by Daniel Lemin and Jay Baer – we all love word-of-mouth marketing but we rarely think about how we can manufacture it. This book will show you how companies build features into their products/services that spark conversations and get people talking about your brand.
Superfans by Pat Flynn – this book teaches you how to turn a casual audience into superfans who will spread the word about your brand. I’ve pulled a lot of great ideas for building a robust customer experience from Pat’s work.
Giftology by John Ruhlin – when done right, gifting can be a very effective strategy. This book will show you how to use gifting to build strong relationships (with partners, clients, customers, your team). I still think about ‘planned randomness’ and gifting at unexpected times when I’m gifting. It works well with your significant other too 😉
Purple Cow by Seth Godin – a classic by Seth that’s more important now than ever. If you want to stand out from all the noise, build something so remarkable that people have to talk about it.
Building Storybrand by Donald Miller – read this one a few times until you really get it. It teaches you a powerful storytelling framework (character > problem > guide > plan > action > avoid failure > success) and to always remember that your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand.
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – a classic recommended to me a few times. As marketers, we need to know how to make things stick. This book will teach you the six principles of stickiness (SUCCESS).
Hit Makers by Derek Thompson – I haven’t read this one yet but it was another recommendation from Jacques (who’s award-winning creative agency knows a thing or two about virality) – “this book is a look at how things become popular and it has influenced the way I think about making content that could ‘go viral’.”
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk – regardless of how you feel about Gary, this book has fantastic nuggets that marketers can use to stand out from the noise. It’s about delivering the right combination of jabs (engaging content) and right hooks (promotions) in your marketing.
Positioning by Al Ries & Jack Trout– to get attention in today’s overcommunicated society, you have to create a position in the prospect’s mind. You have to differentiate yourself in the mind of your customer. This classic will teach you how to do that.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal– I read this book years ago and continue to revisit it as we work to build a truly remarkable fitness app at Crossrope. It will teach you the key principles to creating habit forming products.
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy – often considered a bible in the advertising and copywriting worlds, this book is a must read if you want to learn how to write copy that sells. Pro tip – there are plenty of summaries written on this book that neatly dispel all the key learnings.
22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout– this book has some great nuggets for marketers. One of my favorites is the law of perception that states ‘Marketing is not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perception.’
Never Lose a Customer Again by Joey Coleman – learn how to turn first-time customers into lifetime customers. Discover the different phases of the customer experience and why the first 100 days for a new customer are crucial.

Consumer Psychology

The following books will teach you about human psychology, social influence, persuasion, decision making, and more.

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger – as a marketer, this question should intrigue you – ‘why do some things catch on and others don’t’? Berger claims social influence and word-of-mouthtransmission are essential to driving “virality” – lots of great nuggets in this one.
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely – it’s impossible to sum up the immense value this book offers to marketers in one short paragraph. Just read it.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini – a classic best-selling psychology book that will teach you the universal principles of persuasion and help you improve how you approach marketing.
Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel – I debated whether to include this one here since it’s more of a finance book, but I feel it offers fascinating perspectives on how people think about money, greed and happiness. Good stuff for marketers to know.
Buyology by Martin Lindstrom – explore the psychological and subliminal tactics companies use to tap into our subconscious mind and influence purchasing behaviors. It’s a fascinating dive into neuromarketing.

General (Productivity / Mindset / Self Development)

The following books will teach you how to build better habits, how to be a pro, and how to be more productive, persistent, and in control.

Atomic Habits by James Clear – if you want to be a world-class marketer, you need to instill the right habits. This book will teach you what it takes to be a professional, not an amateur. One of my all-time favorites.
Grit by Angela Duckworth – learn how to combine your passion with sustained persistence, embrace deliberate practice, and play the long game.
Business Made Simple by Donald Miller – a practical, high-level overview of what it takes to become a value-driven professional in your organization (and industry). Great read for all highly ambitious marketers.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck – learn the difference between a fixed and growth mindset and, more importantly, learn how to adopt the latter. Hint – all highly ambitious marketers have a growth mindset.
Scrum by Jeff Sutherland – I’ve used the lessons and ideas from this book to build our entire marketing productivity system at Crossrope. Learn how to use scrum for yourself or for your organization and you’ll get more done.
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande – a quick read that will teach you the true value of using checklists in everything you do.
Hell Yea or No by Derek Sivers – as you evolve as a marketer, you’ll need to learn how to make good decisions and say NO more often. This book helps you say no to things that don’t matter.
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday – as a marketer or CMO, you’ll need to learn how to work through periods of stress & overwhelm. This book offers simple, daily wisdom to help you stay in control of your thoughts and emotions.
Deep Work by Cal Newport – this is one of the most important books you’ll need in the coming years as it will show you how to develop the power of deep focus in a highly-distracted world. Having the ability to completely immerse yourself in a complex task is a rare, but valuable skill you need.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown – extending on some of Cal’s work, McKeown explores a new way of life in our modern world: pursuing less but better. As a marketer, you’ll have an abundance of choices and distractions. This book will show you how to stop trying to do it all, how to stop saying yes to everyone, and how to dial into the things that really matter.
Originals by Adam Grant – this is a great read chock full of fascinating stories of how creative people approached & solved seemingly impossible problems. You’ll learn how to cultivate creativity and think originally by leveraging procrastination, connecting random reference points, and focusing on quantity of ideas rather than quality.
The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova – this is a fascinating read whether you’re a poker fan or not. Psychologist Maria Konnikova takes on high-stakes poker (as a rookie) to put some of her theories in practice. You’ll learn how luck and decision-making affect our outcomes in life and how you can make better decisions in an uncertain world.

There you have it.

There are plenty of other books that deserve to be on this list (and I will add them as I find them), but I hope this gives you the inspiration you need to get started with your reading.

Now go fill your knowledge gaps.

✌