John Cannon’s Top 5 Books Every Catholic Business Leader Should Read in 2024
The new year is a chance to take on new challenges, refresh your mindset, and focus on what matters. Last year, we shared John’s top 5 books for the Catholic Entrepreneur in 2023.
This year, we’re back with another 5 book recommendations to help Catholic leaders succeed in what matters in 2024.
An oldie but a goodie: The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor. This classic business theory text has stood the test of time as home of the most influential business theories of the 21st century and is more applicable than ever as new technological innovations continuously appear. The book dives into disruptive technologies (a term coined by Christensen) and how many market leaders end up failing by doing “everything right.”
It’s not that large corporations don’t see these innovations coming — they do. But when they examine the worth of investing in a low-value, imperfect product meant to break into niche, untapped markets outside their existing customer base, the low profits don’t justify it.
That is where they fail. The key is to have an eye to the future, setting up autonomous branches to work on these imperfect but innovative technologies, making their way into small markets until they’re ready to explode. Read The Innovator’s Dilemma to avoid common well-intentioned pitfalls and keep your company at the forefront of innovation.
Want to learn the key to building a monopoly? Read Zero to One. Written by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Blake Masters, Zero to One guides aspiring entrepreneurs on how to build a business from scratch. The key: Create something new.
That may sound intuitive, but it’s harder than it sounds. Many people wanting to innovate end up incrementally improving upon something else that already exists, moving from “one” to “n.” Thiel coaches readers on starting from the ground up: Moving from zero to one, creating something truly new. Thiel also offers advice about useful business models, key elements for success, and why breaking past rules is important. Read Zero to One to make the newest monopoly from your innovation.
To learn how to put people at the center of your business and integrate a Catholic understanding of work, read Principled Entrepreneurship by Andreas Widmer. More than just an entrepreneur, business strategist, and SENT advisor, Widmer is also an associate professor in entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business. Using his experience in the field and teaching skills, Widmer walks readers through the practice of Principled Entrepreneurship to change how we do business.
The book is grounded in the business style of Art Ciocca, who changed the wine industry forever by making people the core of his company — both customers and employees. He created products with real value in an environment that honored its team, which boosted profits and created happier, engaged employees in an increasingly apathetic workforce.
That’s because this approach foregrounds a deeper meaning in work and focuses on improving lives in every aspect. Widmer outlines 5 pillars to help anyone in business, from founder to employee, simultaneously find that deeper meaning and grow profits. Pick up Principled Entrepreneurship to breathe new life into your business.
Next up is a key text in the SENT Curriculum: Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin. The book takes readers on a spiritual journey by exploring the writings of seven of the great Church doctors. Martin’s insight, informed by his time teaching at Sacred Heart Major Seminary and working on different pontifical councils, makes Fulfillment of All Desire one of the most powerful new spiritual formation texts of the 20th century. This text will be hugely helpful to anyone looking to grow in spiritual formation, whether you feel far from your faith life or are far along your path.
For another SENT connection, those in need of healing should read In Search of the Healing Spirit by Nass Cannon, MD. And healing goes beyond just ourselves — we are also called to heal each other and the world.
Dr. Cannon dedicated his life to both treating the poor and studying the writings of theologian and monk, Thomas Merton. But even Cannon, as a doctor, was not whole — he called himself a broken healer. In Search of the Healing Spirit is a selected collection from the multitude of his writings, edited posthumously by his children (including our own CEO and founder John Cannon), that follows a narrative arc about life through Cannon’s personal reflections and analysis of Merton’s theological contributions. He addresses universal topics like grief and loss, and how the power of love is key to ameliorating the brokenness within all of us. Through healing ourselves, we can take that love outside of us to build a more harmonious world.
What will you start with in 2024?
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