The Top Reads From 2025 for Resilient, Values-Led Leaders
As we reflect on 2025, the business for good movement has transitioned from being seen as a “niche experiment” to a powerful catalyst for economic and social transformation.
What emerged decades ago in Australia through grassroots innovation has matured into a thriving ecosystem social enterprises that is now recognised by government, industry, and the public as essential to building a sustainable future.
Energised by the enduring impact of the 2025 Social Enterprise World Forum in Taipei, Taiwan, changemakers continue to exude relentless optimism and a commitment to systemic change. From groundbreaking social procurement frameworks to thematic international networks addressing food insecurity and long-term unemployment, rising tides are uplifting communities across the world.
Throughout 2025, the Impact Boom team engaged in deep conversation with pioneering social entrepreneurs, exploring the insights and inner qualities that sustain them through adversity. Time and again, we've discovered that these leaders share a common connection: the books on their bedside tables. These works serve as both shared wisdom and refuge during the demanding, often messy work of creating change.
We're delighted to present our 2025 essential reading list, curated from recommendations by our guest innovators. Whether you seek tactical business guidance, a deeper understanding of power and systems, or simply inspiration to fuel your journey, these books offer the spark needed to transform bold ideas into lasting impact.
“let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”
- Malala Yousafzai
one
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist by Kate Raworth
two
Mission Economy: A moonshot guide to changing capitalism by Mariana Mazzucato
Three
The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World by John Elkington & Pamela Hartigan
four
Impact by Sir Ronald Cohen
five
Good to Great and the Social Sectors by Jim Collins
six
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard
Seven
Big Bets: How Large Scale Change Really Happens by Dr. Rajiv J. Shah
Eight
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Nine
The Founder's Mentality by Chris Zook & James Allen
Eleven
BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company by Jim Collins & Bill Lazier
Twelve
Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want by Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda & Alan Smith
Thirteen
The Business of Belonging: How to Build Communities That Grow the Bottom Line by David Spinks
Fourteen
Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't by Verne Harnish
Fifteen
The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey
Sixteen
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
Seventeen
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Eighteen
The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind by Raghuram Rajan
Nineteen
Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo
Twenty
Demand-Side Sales 101: Stop Selling and Help Your Customers Make Progress by Bob Moesta
21. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
22. The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Dan Heath & Chip Heath
23. 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy
24. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by Jim Collins
25. Key Person of Influence: The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry by Daniel Priestley
26. The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
27. Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI by Reid Hoffman
28. The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism by Bruce Katz & Jeremy Nowak
29. Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America by Paul Tough
30. Diary of the CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life by Steven Bartlett
31. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
32. Participatory Development Practice: : Using traditional and contemporary frameworks by Anthony Kelly & Peter Westoby
33. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
34. Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari
35. The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
36. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro
37. Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication by Fred Dust
38. Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government by Gavin Newsom
39. Future Philanthropy: The Tech, Trends & Talent Defining New Civic Leadership by Ryan Ginard
40. Nonprofit Moneyball: How To Build And Future Proof Your Team For Big League Fundraising by Ryan Ginard
41. Fundraise for Australia - The Fundraiser's Handbook: Mastering the Basics by Ryan Ginard
42. The Five Pillars of Wealth: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Financial, Emotional, and Spiritual Abundance by Benson Raphael
43. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
44. You Deserve to Be Rich: Master the Inner Game of Wealth and Claim Your Future by Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings
45. Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money by Ken Honda
46. Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One by Dr. Joe Dispenza
47. The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection by Michael A. Singer
48. Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross
50. The Dreaming Path: Indigenous Thinking to Change Your Life by Paul Callaghan with Uncle Paul Gordon
51. Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong
52. Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals by Saul Alinsky
53. The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene
54. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
55. The Race Reporting Handbook by Jenae Tien, AHRC & Media Diversity Australia
56. Evaluation in a Nutshell: A practical guide to the evaluation of health promotion programs by Don Nutbeam & Adrian Bauman
57. Parwana: Recipes and stories from an Afghan kitchen by Durkhanai Ayubi
58. Juice by Tim Winton
59. Holding the Man by Timothy Conigrave
60. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom
61. Animal Farm by George Orwell
62. Radical Mycology: A Treatise On Seeing & Working With Fungi by Peter McCoy
63. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
64. Let's Talk About Body Boundaries by Jayneen Sanders
