text: I started a book club over a decade ago, in which a group of leaders (CEOs, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, pretty much the gamut of perspectives) would read and discuss a new book every month. Looking back, The Second Mountain was the moment the book club transformed. So many CEOs start out their career trying to get somewhere (rich, famous, successful), only to realize upon getting there that it was an incomplete goal all along. This newsletter’s namesake, The Second Mountain explores the evolution of meaning-making in the life of a leader, from the Self-Oriented-Success of the first mountain to the Community-Oriented-Purpose of the second. A critical read for accomplished leaders looking to dive deeper into purpose.
  The last decade has revolutionized the art and discipline of building and getting the most out of teams. In that time we’ve moved from a wholesale expectation that a complex stew of carrots and sticks would drive behaviors to a realization that people yearn to dedicate their lives to something bigger than themselves, what author Fred Kofman calls “immortality projects,” if only their work was worthy of that commitment. In The Meaning Revolution, Kofman, the former head of culture at LinkedIn, provides a cutting edge analysis of the power of purpose in a modern organization, as well as tools to find the reader’s own purpose and integrate it throughout their organization, perfect for leaders of second-stage companies looking to bust through a ceiling.
  Most founders that I work with look back at the early stages of their company as a time of tremendous innovation, when they were free to take risks and innovate. But the constant demands of running a company have a way of beating the creativity out of founders if they’re not careful, which can turn even paradigm-shifting companies stagnant. Julia Cameron wrote The Artist’s Way to help stuck people rediscover their creative spark. For a leader this can be the key to unlocking previously inaccessible levels of growth, as founders are simply artists working at scale. This book, designed to be read and workshopped over 12-weeks, is perfect for leaders looking to introduce or expand their creativity and innovation.