Michael Dell is in a University of Texas dorm room, taking apart computers and selling them for a profit. Steve Jobs is in a conference room, telling someone their work isn’t good enough. Edwin Land holds a camera that develops a photo in minutes and realizes the world isn’t ready for it.
Play nice, but win. Do well by doing good. Be pleased, but never satisfied. Keep your head during tough times. Dream of something worth doing, and then do it. Those themes run through my January reading list: Play Nice But Win, Inside Steve’s Brain, 1929, King of the Cowboys, and Instant. For more reading lists, here are the books I’ve read.
Play Nice But Win is Michael Dell’s story of building Dell, keeping it, and reinventing it. Inside Steve’s Brain shows how Steve Jobs bent Apple to his will, allowing him to continue inventing. 1929 is a behind-the-scenes look at how the crash began and what it still teaches us. King of the Cowboys tells how Jerry Jones built the Dallas Cowboys into a global brand. Instant covers Edwin Land building a world-class brand—and how it eventually collapsed. With that context, let’s dive into the January reading list.
Play Nice But Win: A CEO’s Journey from Founder to Leader
Play Nice But Win: A CEO’s Journey from Founder to Leader by Michael Dell tells the story in three phases: build, keep, transform.
He starts in a University of Texas dorm room, shipping custom-built computers, and ends up taking Dell public, private, and public again. Along the way, you watch him grow up as a founder and CEO.
Key lessons I learned:
- Be curious and think differently
- Understand what customers want
- Execute relentlessly—ideas are cheap
- Hire great people and trust them
- Stay optimistic through setbacks
- Focus on what you can control
- Keep learning and update your thinking
- Play nice but win
- Be pleased but never satisfied
📚 Play Nice But Win: A CEO’s Journey from Founder to Leader
Inside Steve’s Brain
Inside Steve’s Brain examines the forces behind Steve Jobs’ success.
Jobs reshaped personal computing, animated film, and digital music across three decades.
He was both a visionary and a tyrant—famously stopping meetings cold to tell someone their work wasn’t good enough—bending Apple and its people to meet his standards.
If you want to see the cost of that kind of greatness, read:
1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation
This book takes you inside the collision between Wall Street and Washington.
It’s a story of money, power, and the dangerous belief that “this time is different.”
It explains speculation, market psychology, and the warning signs people ignore in every bubble—right up until the moment everything breaks.
For more, read:
📚 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation
King of the Cowboys: The Life and Times of Jerry Jones
King of the Cowboys tells the story of Jerry Jones, the larger-than-life owner of the Dallas Cowboys.
Controversial in the NFL—undeniably effective.
Key lessons from the book:
- Think big and act decisively
- Take calculated risks
- Outwork the competition
- Trust your instincts
- Stay composed under pressure
For more on Jerry Jones and his approach, read:
📚 King of the Cowboys: The Life and Times of Jerry Jones
Instant: The Story of Polaroid
Instant tells the story of Edwin Land and the rise and fall of Polaroid.
What began as a 1930s startup became a billion-dollar company after the instant camera breakthrough.
Artists like Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol helped cement its cultural relevance.
Polaroid didn’t fail from a lack of innovation—it failed by clinging to past success.
Lessons from Land’s story include:
- Do something distinctly your own
- Build space to think deeply
- Invent at the edge of what’s possible
- Great products don’t need heavy marketing
- The world is rarely ready for true innovation
For more on Edwin Land and Polaroid, read:
📚 Instant: The Story of Polaroid
January Reading List
Michael Dell proves you can play nice and still win. Steve Jobs shows that uncompromising standards can reshape industries. The 1929 crash is a reminder that markets run on psychology as much as fundamentals. Jerry Jones shows the power of decisive action. And Edwin Land reminds us to build something original and go do it.
