The best business reads of 2025 (plus bonus books from Bill Gates)
These 8 must-read publications made a splash in 2025 and are highly recommended reads for you to upskill over the summer break.
Leadership
The problem with the ‘highest paid person’s opinion’ and leaders being the ‘smartest person in the room’
Ben Dawson believes the best ideas are held by other people and has developed a strategy to get them comfortable enough to speak up. It forms a part of what he calls vulnerable leadership, which he says is now more important than ever.
The four most powerful women in Australia
From mining magnates to tech innovators, these women haven’t just broken the glass ceiling – they’re redefining what power looks like in 2025.
The world’s most powerful women 2025: Where do women hold real power?
Women are steering the systems that will define the next decade. As the 2025 Forbes Power Women list demonstrates, their influence across technology, finance and politics is both deep and global, yet the highest tiers of power remain selectively guarded.
‘Just Say Yes’: How The Iconic’s CMO and Rokt’s AI Chief turn self-doubt into a superpower
Growth happens outside of your comfort zone, leaders from Rokt and The Iconic advised this week. Here’s why you should ‘just say yes’ and balance curiosity with intentionality.
The hidden mental health crisis behind ‘I’m Fine’ – and who’s fixing it
Acknowledging what we feel is one of the simplest and most powerful acts in mental well-being. Still, many high performers bypass that step, believing silence equals strength. This coaltion is working to do something about it.
From Break-Up to Breakthrough: Women aged 45-65 are reframing divorce
As women live into their eighties and nineties, a divorce at 50 is not an ending and it certainly isn’t a decline. It is the beginning of a multi-decade second act.
I went camping with 250 business leaders. Here’s what I learned
When I took my first steps into the world of business some 25 years ago, I didn’t anticipate I would one day be trying to reimagine the economy from inside a very hot tent in the Glenworth Valley. But here I am, in the throes of the hottest October on record, trying to reimagine the economy from inside a tent.
Beachley and Piastri take home Dawn and Don ‘Hall of Fame’ awards
The Sports Australia Hall of Fame awards are in their 40th year. F1 and surfing legends Oscar Piastri and Layne Beachley were presented with the top awards, and six other Australian sports superstars were inducted into the coveted group.
What AI can’t replace: The human skills leaders now back most
The Forbes Australia “Leadership in the Age of AI” panel concluded that using AI to automate mundane tasks creates the capacity – and the responsibility – to elevate a more meaningful, resilient, and inherently human way of leading.