As another year draws to a close, the CIONET Recommends corner is proud to present a summary of the most insightful and inspiring reads hand-picked by our own CIONET members. These leading minds in technology and digital transformation generously shared the books and reports that made a profound impression on them, offering invaluable guidance for every digital leader navigating the complexities of the modern world.
We asked our members not for a dry list, but for the books and reports that genuinely made them stop, think, and adjust their strategy. The result is a fantastic collection—a real-world curriculum covering everything from the ethics of AI to the nuts and bolts of agile operations.
If you're looking for your next read to inspire your team, challenge your assumptions, or simply keep you ahead of the curve, look no further. Here is the best of the best, straight from the people who know what matters.
The Human Impact of Technology
These books tackle the big, philosophical questions: how is tech reshaping our society, and what are our responsibilities as leaders?
- The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Luc Hendrikx, the CEO of CIONET picked this up because you can't lead the future workforce without understanding it. It’s a compelling look at the digital age’s deep psychological impact on youth, which is crucial context for anyone thinking about talent, company culture, and tomorrow's consumer.
- Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari
Daniel Eycken's (Partner, COO of CIONET) choice highlights the sheer power of data and connectivity. Harari always makes you zoom out and consider the biggest picture, how digital networks might fundamentally redefine humanity itself. A must-read for strategic vision.
Staying Ahead of the Curve (AI & Digital Conflict)
The conversation is dominated by AI and security, and our members are reading the definitive guides to the competitive landscape and the new forms of warfare.
- Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World by Parmy Olson
José Luis Casal (MD Industry X, CIONET Spain) chose this to keep a finger on the pulse of the global AI competition. It clearly lays out who’s leading, why, and what the high stakes are, giving you the context to build your own competitive strategy.
- The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman
Francesco Tondi (MD, CIONET Italy) recommended this book for its focus on the acceleration factor, how AI and synthetic biology are creating a "coming wave" of change. It forces leaders to confront the power, and the potential peril, of these technologies.
- The Language of Deception: The Weaponisation of Language in the Next-Generation Digital War by Peter A. G. R
In a world of deepfakes and misinformation, Taco Mulder, member of CIONET Belgium, highlighted this as essential reading for understanding the new front line of information security. It moves beyond firewalls to the weaponisation of language itself.
- Building a God: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and the Race to Control It by Christopher DiCarlo
José Luis's second pick addresses the urgent need for ethical governance. If you’re deploying AI, you need to understand the moral guardrails and the long-term societal control issues this technology presents.
Driving Organisational Excellence
These selections focus on the practical models, how to restructure your business, manage data, and improve performance using established and emerging frameworks.
- The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Dieter Van de Velde (Member of TRIBES Programme) loves this classic for its brilliant, narrative-driven take on the Theory of Constraints (TOC). It's a foundational read for anyone needing to identify and smash bottlenecks in their IT or business processes.
- Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future by Professor Venkat Venkatraman
Recommended by CIONET Netherlands Advisory Board as a guide to achieving true data and AI integration. This book shows you how to move beyond pilot projects to build a single, cohesive 'fusion strategy' powered by real-time insight.
- Doing Business Architecture: The Rough Guide by Julian Fletcher
Sean Foley (MD, CIONET UK) chose this to demystify Business Architecture. It's a practical, no-nonsense guide for leaders who need to align their tech investments with clear, tangible business outcomes.
- Data as the Fourth Pillar – An Executive Guide for Scaling AI by Sujay Dutta and Siddharth Rajagopal
Mark Hayes’s (MD, CIONET Germany) recommendation stresses that data is a core asset alongside people, processes, and technology. This guide gives executives a blueprint for treating data strategically to successfully scale AI programmes.
Leadership and Talent
From building an agile organisation to future-proofing your workforce, these books remind us that digital leadership is fundamentally about people and culture.
- The Age of Agile by Stephen Denning
Jean Marc Ledent (Member of CIONET Belgium) picked this as the definitive guide to creating an agile culture that extends far beyond the software team. It's about building a responsive, continuously adapting organisation.
- Excellence Now: Extreme Humanism by Tom Peters
Krzysztof Soszyński (Member of CIONET Poland) advocates for Peters' emphasis on "Extreme Humanism." It’s a powerful call to focus relentlessly on people, service, and decency as the core drivers of sustained competitive excellence.
- Future of Jobs Report 2025 (World Economic Forum)
Hendrik Deckers (the Founder of CIONET) wisely points to this report for strategic workforce planning. It’s the data-backed resource you need to understand which skills are becoming obsolete and which ones you must urgently acquire or develop.
- Cyber-Security Board Reporting (CSBR) by Chris Verdonck
Daniel Eycken's second mention is a brilliant, practical tool for communication. It solves the perennial CIO problem: how to translate complex security risks into language that your Board not only understands but acts upon.
This collection is a powerful reminder that the best leaders are always the best readers. We appreciate the generous spirit of our CIONET community in sharing these essential resources.
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