Why am I passionate about this?

Early in my career, I was a federal prosecutor and moved to California to get involved in tech as a midlife career change. I became passionate about leadership and personal development because I worked alongside some outstanding leaders at companies like eBay and Airbnb for over 20 years. If I could take away one lesson, it would be this: you become what you surround yourself with. Want to be happy? Read books about happiness, spend time around people who are happy, focus on the positive each day. Want to be a great leader? Talk to other great leaders, read books about leadership. These books have each, in their way, helped me on the journey.  


I wrote

Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution

By Robert Chesnut,

Book cover of Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution

What is my book about?

As our workplaces are becoming more diverse, global, and connected, integrity matters more than ever. It requires leadership from the…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

Robert Chesnut Why did I love this book?

Life is full of givers and takers…we all know givers who always take time to help others, and takers, who are always driven to help only themselves. Which group is happier, and more financially successful? The answer might surprise you. Adam Grant provides science to help you understand how giving the right way can be the key to changing your career trajectory, and your life.  

By Adam Grant,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Give and Take as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A groundbreaking look at why our interactions with others hold the key to success, from the bestselling author of Think Again and Originals

For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But in today's dramatically reconfigured world, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. In Give and Take, Adam Grant, an award-winning researcher and Wharton's highest-rated professor, examines the surprising forces that shape why some people rise to the top of the success ladder while others sink to the bottom. Praised by social scientists, business theorists, and corporate…


Book cover of Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking

Robert Chesnut Why did I love this book?

“I’m tired of all the focus on diversity…I just want to hire the best person for the job.” You’ve all heard leaders who talk this way…but they will never build teams that reach their fullest potential with this sort of thinking. Syed helps us all understand the science behind why diverse teams repeatedly outperform homogeneous teams, and why building your team with diversity in mind will help your company achieve better results. You’ll never look at diversity the same way again.  

By Matthew Syed,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Rebel Ideas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'I like listening to people who know things that I don't,' Gareth Southgate told me. 'That's how you learn.'

Former Olympian and best-selling author Matthew Syed is one of the advisors Gareth Southgate engaged from outside football in order to find new ways of working as a team. In Rebel Ideas, discover how Southgate 'the man with the plan' replaced 50 years of hurt with two major tournament semi-finals in three years.'

Matthew Syed's phenomenal bestseller will change the way you think about success - for ever.

'Syed is a superb storyteller. I couldn't put the book down, and I…


Book cover of 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life

Robert Chesnut Why did I love this book?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, because it’s focusing on what really matters in life. Living a life filled with gratitude can change your entire perspective on the world…what would happen if you spent a few minutes each day writing a short thank you note to someone in your life, expressing gratitude for who they are or what they’ve done. Kralik was mired in a world of personal troubles when he decided to give it try, and the results will make you want to rethink how you look at the world. Every day, there are a dozen reasons to say it’s a good day, and a dozen reasons why it’s a bad day. You choose how to define it.  

By John Kralik,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 365 Thank Yous as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One recent December, at age 53, John Kralik found his life at a terrible, frightening low: his small law firm was failing; he was struggling through a painful second divorce; he had grown distant from his two older children and was afraid he might lose contact with his young daughter; he was living in a tiny apartment where he froze in the winter and baked in the summer; he was 40 pounds overweight; his girlfriend had just broken up with him; and overall, his dearest life dreams--including hopes of upholding idealistic legal principles and of becoming a judge--seemed to have…


Book cover of Positivity

Robert Chesnut Why did I love this book?

Do you focus on the negative each day, or the positive? Dr. Frederickson looks at the science behind the ratio of positive thoughts to negative thoughts…what’s your ratio? And is there an ideal ratio that you should strive for, that can actually change your life? The answer is 2.9 to 1…and the choice is yours.  

By Barbara Fredrickson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Positivity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

World renowned researcher Dr. Barbara Fredrickson gives you the lab-tested tools necessary to create a healthier, more vibrant, and flourishing life through a process she calls "the upward spiral."

You’ll discover:

•What positivity is, and why it needs to be heartfelt to be effective
• The ten sometimes surprising forms of positivity
• Why positivity is more important than happiness
• How positivity can enhance relationships, work, and health, and how it relieves depression, broadens minds, and builds lives
• The top-notch research that backs the 3-to-1 "positivity ratio" as a key tipping point
• That your own sources of…


Book cover of The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups

Robert Chesnut Why did I love this book?

Coyle explores why some groups are far more successful than other groups. It’s not about intelligence, nor is it tied to pay or other incentives. It’s about the culture of the group, the norms for how they work together and get along. Once you understand these norms, you can drive them into the culture of your organization, with amazing results.  

By Daniel Coyle,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Culture Code as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A marvel of insight and practicality' Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit
____________________________

How do you build and sustain a great team?

The Culture Code reveals the secrets of some of the best teams in the world - from Pixar to Google to US Navy SEALs - explaining the three skills such groups have mastered in order to generate trust and a willingness to collaborate. Combining cutting-edge science, on-the-ground insight and practical ideas for action, it offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded.…


Explore my book 😀

Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution

By Robert Chesnut,

Book cover of Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution

What is my book about?

As our workplaces are becoming more diverse, global, and connected, integrity matters more than ever. It requires leadership from the top, but it also requires that everyone in the company have a shared sense of what integrity means in their workplace and a strong, empowered voice to put that integrity into practice.

In the bestselling book Intentional Integrity, Airbnb veteran Robert Chesnut delivers a six-step process for leaders to foster and manage a culture of integrity at work. As the leading expert in corporate ethics, he explains the rationale and legal context behind his curriculum and illuminates the nuances of thinking deeply and objectively about workplace culture. An Inc Magazine top 10 business book of the year.

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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Mimi Zieman Author Of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives. 

Mimi's book list on women exploring the world and self

What is my book about?

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.


By Mimi Zieman,

Why should I read it?

22 authors picked Tap Dancing on Everest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in success in life, gratitude, and positive psychology?

Success In Life 262 books
Gratitude 24 books