The summer holidays are the perfect time to recharge, reflect, and discover fresh perspectives through reading great books. This year, CEIBS faculty members have once again curated a thoughtful collection of book recommendations spanning leadership, strategy, and history to enrich your summer break. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your professional edge or simply immerse yourself in compelling stories, we hope these titles will inspire and accompany you wherever your summer takes you.

Gordon Kwesi Adomdza

Associate Professor of Management Practice; Director of CEIBS Africa

The New Leader’s 100 Day Action Plan (5th edition)

By George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check, John A. Lawler

“As the new Director of CEIBS Africa, I find that I need some frameworks to guide my thoughts and actions. So I found this great resource that talks about ‘how to succeed in new leadership roles, build high-performance teams, execute winning strategies, and achieve organisational goals’ – all the things I need to succeed in! I also like that they added relevant updates to the older editions on how to lead in remote or hybrid environments, as at CEIBS Africa we have teams and partners in different locations on the continent, and how to leverage diversity to ‘meet team goals, drive growth and enhance any organisation’. I very much like the roadmaps and tools because they encourage immediate application.”

Lydia J. Price

Professor Emeritus

The Ministry for the Future

By Kim Stanley Robinson

“This speculative fiction book presents a compelling vision of how a fictional United Nations agency of the future might work with governments, economists, scientists and activists in the battle against climate change. Despite its fictional format the tale contains lessons from the perspective of each stakeholder group.”

Shameen Prashantham

Professor of International Business and Strategy; Associate Dean (Africa)

Performance Leadership

By Albert Wolfe and Mike Burns

“Based on extensive executive coaching experience, the authors of this book argue that while most leaders believe that employee engagement drives performance, it is in fact the other way around: it is all about managing performance in order to increase employee engagement. This relatively short, easy-to-digest book draws upon multiple real-world examples, including several from China where the authors are actively engaged.”

Jean Lee

Professor Emerita

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels

By Michael Watkins

“As new leaders embark on their roles, The First 90 Days provides a crucial roadmap for navigating the complex transitions that define early leadership success. Michael Watkins emphasises the importance of quick, strategic learning within the first three months, where effective role transitions are shown to be pivotal to long-term outcomes.

Utilising practical tools like the ‘STARS model’ for understanding new contexts and a '90-day plan' to guide initial actions, this book is essential for leaders looking to rapidly establish credibility and influence. The book details a strategic approach to transitions that involves making successive waves of change, each wave comprising distinct phases of learning, designing the changes, building support, implementing the changes, and observing the results. Each chapter dives deep into these areas and includes actionable checklists, making this guide not just theoretical but highly applicable. The emphasis on team development, leadership enhancement, self-management, and accelerating everyone's transition is particularly beneficial for leaders aiming to foster a thriving environment.”

Sebastian Schuh

Professor of Organisational Behaviour;

Department Chair (Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management)

Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation

By Gary Pisano

“Innovation is crucial, but many organisations struggle to make it work consistently. In Creative Construction, Gary Pisano offers a grounded, realistic look at how established companies can build innovation into their core. What stood out to me is his focus on leadership and culture, rather than short-term trends or quick fixes. It’s an accessible, thoughtful read for anyone interested in successful, long-term strategy.”

Flora Chiang

Professor of Management

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader

By John Maxwell

“This book distils leadership into 21 clear, actionable qualities (e.g., character, communication, discipline), offering readers a structured roadmap for personal and professional growth.  Each quality is explained in short, digestible chapters, making it easy to apply immediately—perfect for busy professionals or emerging leaders. The book encourages self-reflection and continuous development, aligning with contemporary leadership philosophies about lifelong learning.”

Terence Tsai

Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business

1587: A Year of No Significance

By Ray Huang

“I strongly recommend 1587: A Year of No Significance to CEIBS students. While many may have encountered this seminal work in their formative years, revisiting it now, through a managerial lens, yields fresh and profound insights. More than a mere historical account, the book serves as a compelling examination of complex systems, illustrating how rigid institutional structures can stifle transformation, even in the presence of exceptional individuals.

By analysing the failed reforms of the Ming Dynasty, the text demonstrates that even the most formidable empires risk uncontrollable upheaval, or even collapse, if they fail to adapt to changing circumstances. These historical lessons bear striking relevance to contemporary organisational challenges, reflecting the struggles that businesses face amid technological disruption, shifting market dynamics, and evolving regulatory landscapes.

Approach this book not simply as a historical narrative, but as a case study in constrained leadership, the perils of institutional inertia, and the systemic barriers to change. For business leaders, it underscores a critical truth: sustained success demands not only visionary thinking but also an institutional framework capable of continuous evolution and adaptation.”