HOME ABOUT BOOK LIST SERVICES

A Contrarian Book List

What Every CFO Should Read

A Contrarian Book List

What Every CFO Should Read

 I have 5 brand pillars that define my
leadership philosophies & best practices,
"turning financial complexity into clarity and action."


My 5 Pillars are:
📕 Precision in Strategy and Finance 
📘 Integrity in Leadership 
📕 Vision in Action
📘 Service with Purpose 
📕 Collaboration with Impact 

Each book I have selected below reflects these pillars and the values that have most influenced how I think, lead, and serve. I hope they serve you as much as they have served my CFO journey, and my life journey as well.

PILLAR # 1

Precision in Strategy and Finance

Turning financial complexity into clarity. I believe that precision in thought, metrics, and execution transforms strategy into measurable results.

Why these books support this pillar:
These books reveal how disciplined systems thinking and focused execution separate resilient organizations from reactive ones.

Gorilla in the Cockpit

Vip Vyas & Geoff Berridge

A sharp critique of corporate overreliance on spreadsheets and models, urging leaders to reintroduce judgment, culture, and context into strategic decision-making.

My Takeaways:

  • Beware the illusion of certainty: data is not destiny.
  • Culture is a control system that numbers can’t measure.
  • Precision requires curiosity and context, not just calculation.
  • Best Quote: “The map is not the territory; the spreadsheet is not the strategy.”
  • Financial clarity starts with strategic empathy: seeing the story behind the data. 
 
 

Scale at Speed

(How to Triple the Size of Your Business and Build a Superstar Team)
Felix Velarde

A fast-moving manual for scaling organizations by establishing operational rhythm, accountability, and clarity. Proving that speed is the product of focus. This book is a playbook about turning a dream of doubling your revenue or EBITDA in 3 years (2Y3X).

My Takeaways:

  • Clarity creates velocity. Everyone aligned. Everyone is accountable.
  • Strategy becomes action when systems enable consistency.
  • Empower teams with ownership, not oversight.
  • Quote: “Speed is a function of clarity—when everyone knows what matters, progress accelerates.”
  • Discipline in process equals freedom in innovation. 

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown

This book teaches that success isn’t about doing more, but about doing less, better. A guide to filtering out the trivial and pursuing what truly matters.

My Takeaways:

  • Focus is the new productivity.
  • Saying “no” is a strategic act of leadership.
  • Trade-offs define strategy.
  • Best Quote: “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”
  • Clarity of purpose outperforms quantity of effort.
PILLAR # 2

Integrity in Leadership

Integrity is the discipline of alignment—between words, actions, and purpose.

Why I say these books support this pillar:
These books explore the interplay between conviction and reflection—showing that true leadership stems from moral courage, awareness, and disciplined thought.

A Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership

Stephen Sample

President of my alma mater, USC, Stephen Sample’s playbook for thinking gray, listening gray, and leading with deliberate reflection. A reminder that integrity thrives on curiosity and patience.

My Takeaways:

  • Think gray. Suspend judgment to see nuance.
  • Lead from principle, not popularity.
  • Listen longer than feels comfortable; wisdom requires time.
  • Best Quote: “The best leaders are not the quickest to decide; they are the quickest to learn.”
  • Reflection before reaction builds credibility.

Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand

I had to include at least one novel. This one’s a philosophical epic celebrating creative integrity, productive excellence, and individual responsibility: the moral foundation of progress. Peter Diamandis, founder and chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, calls it a book that helps him “get in the mindset of not letting anything stand in my way.”

My Takeaways:

  • Integrity is non-negotiable.
  • Agency is moral courage. Own your vision and its consequences.
  • Creative work is an ethical act.
  • Best Quote: “Integrity is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake reality.”
  • Vision requires defiance in service of truth, not ego.

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

Sam Harris

Wait! Can a book about improving consciousness be applied to leadership? This book is a rational exploration of mindfulness and consciousness, showing how self-awareness creates authenticity, compassion, and moral steadiness in leadership. This book answers the question, “Why meditation?” for a guy like me.

My Takeaways:

  • Integrity begins with awareness.
  • Presence is the foundation of authenticity.
  • Freedom arises from understanding one’s own mind.
  • Best Quote: “A mind at the mercy of its thoughts is an unfree mind.”
  • Self-mastery is the root of ethical leadership.
PILLAR # 3

Vision in Action

Vision matters only when it moves—when bold ideas are executed with creativity and discipline.

Why these books support this pillar:
These titles reflect a builder’s mindset—where innovation, experimentation, and courage turn vision into tangible progress.

The Startup of You

(Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career)
Reid Hoffman & Ben Casnocha

A framework for living and leading like an entrepreneur—always learning, networking, iterating, and adapting.

My Takeaways:

  • Stay in permanent beta.
  • Adaptation beats prediction.
  • ABZ Planning: Plan A, Pivot B, Safety Net Z.
  • Quote: “All humans are entrepreneurs—not because they should start companies, but because the will to create is encoded in us.”
  • Vision is a living prototype—refine relentlessly.

Alchemy

(The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life)
Ayn Rand

A witty masterclass on creativity and behavioral economics—proving that sometimes, the most “irrational” ideas unlock the greatest breakthroughs.

My Takeaways:

  • Magic beats math in human decision-making.
  • Test the non-obvious; breakthrough often looks illogical.
  • Perception is value.
  • Best Quote: “The problem with logic is it kills off magic.”
  • Vision requires bold playfulness.
PILLAR # 4

Collaboration with Impact

Partnership is power. Great outcomes come from teams built on trust, growth, and shared purpose.

Why these books support this pillar:
These two books show how talent, mindset, and culture multiply success — by turning individual strengths into collective excellence.

Talent

(How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World)
Tyler Cowen & Daniel Gross

A research-backed guide to spotting and developing exceptional talent—focusing on curiosity, creativity, and energy as the true markers of potential.

My Takeaways:

  • Curiosity > credentials.
  • Energy > experience.
  • Exceptional people break molds. Hire for edge, not fit.
  • Best Quote: “Talent is the ultimate resource—the lever that moves everything else.”
  • Collaboration begins by recognizing genius in unexpected places.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol S. Dweck

Dweck’s groundbreaking work on growth mindset shows that abilities can be developed through effort, feedback, and resilience — the DNA of collaborative culture.

My Takeaways:

  • You can learn anything with effort and feedback.
  • Failure = data, not defeat.
  • Praise effort, not talent.
  • Best Quote: “Becoming is better than being.”
  • Teams thrive where leaders create psychological safety.
PILLAR # 5

Service with Purpose

Leadership is service to people, organizations, and the communities they touch.

Why these books support this pillar:
These books connect excellence with empathy—demonstrating that purpose-driven leadership fuels both profit and fulfillment.

Purpose and Profit:

(How Business Can Lift Up the World)
George Serafeim

A data-rich argument that purpose and profitability reinforce each other—showing how companies that act responsibly outperform those that don’t.

My Takeaways:

  • Purpose scales performance.
  • Long-term value > short-term gains.
  • Stakeholder trust is strategic capital.
  • Quote: “Purposeful companies outperform because they inspire, innovate, and invest differently.”
  • Doing well and doing good are not opposing goals.

Arete: Activate Your Heroic Potential

 Brian Johnson

A synthesis of ancient philosophy and modern psychology urging leaders to close the gap between who they are and who they’re capable of being.

My Takeaways:

  • Virtue = excellence in action.
  • Discipline is freedom.
  • Small habits, heroic results.
  • Best Quote: “Arete is about being your best self—moment to moment to moment.”
  • Service is the natural expression of mastery.

Peter A. Krusic, CPA, PMP, MBA
Email: [email protected] | Phone: 949-378-0429
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/peterkrusic