The book this episode covers
George Lucas
Brian Jay Jones · Reading rank 38 · in 11 other episodes
David identifies investing in oneself as the foundation of Lucas's empire, drawing the theme from the book.
Cross-episode reference · Dedicated episode · Founder theme
Books David recommends along the way
Zero to One
Peter Thiel with Blake Masters · Reading rank 5 · in 48 other episodes
David applies Peter Thiel's recruiting advice: a company's pitch to recruits should be differentiated rather than generic.
Founder theme
Creative Selection
Ken Kocienda · Reading rank 7 · in 19 other episodes
David says anybody building a product should read it.
Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise · Founder theme · Reread language
Titan
Ron Chernow · Reading rank 10 · in 29 other episodes
David uses Titan's Rockefeller passage to extract a hiring principle: hire talented people when found rather than only when needed.
Founder theme
Confessions of an Advertising Man
David Ogilvy · Reading rank 20 · in 23 other episodes
Cross-episode reference
Setting the Table
Danny Meyer · Reading rank 26 · in 14 other episodes
David explicitly says Setting the Table is excellent.
Explicit praise · Founder theme
In the Company of Giants
Rama Dev Jager and Rafael Ortiz · Reading rank 27 · in 22 other episodes
David uses Steve Jobs's answer in the book to frame hiring as a founder's central responsibility.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
Liftoff
Eric Berger · Reading rank 53 · in 11 other episodes
David uses Liftoff's SpaceX hiring example to illustrate solving candidates' practical constraints as part of recruiting.
Founder theme
Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing
Randall E. Stross · Reading rank 60 · in 8 other episodes
David turns a line from the book into a business lesson about not prioritizing expenditures that do not affect customers.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
The Founders
Jimmy Soni · Reading rank 67 · in 13 other episodes
David presents PayPal's insistence on high talent standards as a recruiting lesson from Jimmy Soni's book.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
Pieces of the Action
Vannevar Bush · Reading rank 79 · in 8 other episodes
David calls Pieces of the Action Vannevar Bush's fantastic autobiography.
Explicit praise · Founder theme
Driven
Larry H. Miller with Doug Robinson · Reading rank 105 · in 10 other episodes
David applies the book's Jerry Sloan example as a management principle: hire strong people and let them run the team or business.
Founder theme
Also mentioned
Each note is a short paraphrase of why David brings the book up. Book pages show every piece of evidence and its review status. How ranking works