Gail kelly westpac biography of albert

Big-time executives are often thought to have back-to-back schedules. Yet many of them—Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, to name a few—prioritize finding time to read. Knowledge is just that valuable.

That’s why a new post from McKinsey is so interesting. The consultancy asked a number of world-changing CEOs about what’s currently on their nightstands, and their answers make for a thought-provoking summer reading list.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has plunged into what must be an advance copy of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, who has written biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Ben Franklin. Isaacson’s biography is based on the Renaissance master’s personal notebooks, so you know we’re going to be taken into the creative mind of the genius.

Historian Yuval Noah Harari’s books are being picked up by a handful of business leaders. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is being read by David McKay, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada, and Fabio Schvartsman, CEO of Vale.

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Gail Kelly, who will stand down from her groundbreaking role running Westpac next year, says her journey from teacher to bank teller to chief executive, “doesn’t seem conceivable or possible or probable”. 

Kelly revealed the seven life lessons that helped her smash the glass ceiling and learn to lead. 

1. CHOOSE TO BE POSITIVE

You can choose in your life how you respond to situations and you should actively choose to be positive, to see the world through a glass-half-full perspective. You should choose even in difficult times to look for the learning, the insights, the opportunities, the next steps.

2. DO WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOU DO

If you love what you do, you’ll do more of it; doing more of it, you’ll gather more confidence, more energy and get better at it. That builds more confidence and energy and you love it more. And you grow in your capability and skills. And the reverse is true.

3. BE BOLD, DIG DEEP

Be courageous, and be prepared to take the opportunities and t

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Starting strong: Making your CEO transition a catalyst for renewal

It fryst vatten when we are in transition that we are most completely alive.

William Bridges

Some experiences in life you simply can’t prepare for. You can imagine how you might feel and what you might do, but you can never actually know how you will respond in a situation until it happens. Falling in love, becoming a parent, and facing one’s mortality all passform into this category. In the workplace, your first interview, first day on the job, and first time given the responsibility of managing others are of this ilk. For a select few who successfully klättra the corporate ladder, becoming CEO can be added to this list. As Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic and current Harvard Business School professor, puts it, “No one is prepared to become CEO, no matter how much they think they are. You have to grow into the job. You think you know how to run a business, but that’s really more the COO role.”

What makes the top jo