Good Power: Creating Positive Change in Our Lives, Work and World
By Ginni Rometty
(Harvard Business Review Press, March 2023)
A Wall Street Journal bestseller
Ginni Rometty led one of the world’s most iconic companies, and in her first book she recounts her path from challenging childhood, to becoming the ninth CEO of IBM, to her current focus creating job opportunities for more people as the co-founder of the non-profit OneTen.
In Good Power, Ginni shares stories and milestones—painful hurdles, high-stakes decisions, meaningful triumphs, passionate advocacy—while offering concrete lessons about careers and leadership.
The book’s themes reflect Ginni’s foundational belief that how we lead is as vital as what we achieve.
From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America
By Howard Schultz with Joanne Gordon
(Random House, January 2019)
A New York Times bestseller
From the founding CEO and chairman of Starbucks, a book about his journey to discover the role and responsibility of business in society, viewed through the lens of his life and work.
From the Ground Up weaves two narratives. One story shows how Howard’s conflicted boyhood motivated him to become the first in his family to graduate college, then to build the kind of company his father, a working-class laborer, never had a chance to work for: a business that tries to balance profit and human dignity. A parallel story offers a behind-the-scenes look at Howard’s efforts to challenge old notions about the role of business in society.
From the Ground Up is part candid memoir and part uplifting blueprint of mutual responsibility. At its heart, it’s an inspiring account of what happens when we stand up, speak out, and come together for purposes bigger than ourselves.
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life
without Losing Its Soul
By Howard Schultz with Joanne Gordon
(Rodale Books, March 2011)
#1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USAToday bestseller lists
From a starred review in Publishers Weekly:
“In 2000, Starbucks founder and CEO Schultz stepped down from daily oversight of the company and assumed the role of chairman. Eight years later, in the midst of the recession and a period of decline unprecedented in the company’s recent history, Schultz—feeling that the soul of his brand was at risk—returned to the CEO post. In this personal, suspenseful, and surprisingly open account, Schultz traces his own journey to help Starbucks reclaim its original customer-centric values and mission while aggressively innovating and embracing the changing landscape of technology. From the famous leaked memo that exposed his criticisms of Starbucks to new product strategies and rollouts, Schultz bares all about the painful yet often exhilarating steps he had to take to turn the company around. Peppered with stories from his childhood in tough Canarsie, N.Y., neighborhoods, his sequel to the founding of Starbucks is grittier, more gripping, and dramatic, and his voice is winning and authentic. This is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership, management, or the quest to connect a brand with the consumer.”
From Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2011
and one of Amazon’s overall Best Books of 2011 and Best Books in Business and Investing:
“Onward is not a puff piece…Conflicts, raw emotions, high stakes: Onward is a business book that goes beyond feel-good maxims and actually has a story to tell.”
For more information, please visit starbucks.com/onward.
Winners Dream:
A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office
By Bill McDermott with Joanne Gordon
(Simon & Schuster, October 2014)
Winners Dream is a leadership memoir that follows Bill’s career trajectory from the Long Island deli he owned as a teenager, to his years as a top salesman for Xerox in Manhattan, to his role as CEO of the world’s largest business software company, SAP. Told in Bill’s charismatic voice, Winners Dream is laced with insights for building a career as well as a business. The “uplifting and enjoyable memoir” (Publishers Weekly) became an award-winning national bestseller. 
Closing The Engagement Gap:
How Great Companies Unlock Employee Potential for Superior Results
By Don Lowman and Julie Gebeaur with Joanne Gordon
(Portfolio, 2008)
In this practical, illustrative guide to driving employee engagement, Joanne worked with the principals of one of the world’s leading human resources organizations to bring their firm’s groundbreaking global research to life with examples and CEO insights from eight leading companies, including Campbell Soup, Honeywell International, REI, EMC, Novartis and MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Wrote Publishers Weekly, “This timely and convincing argument breaks new ground and is a must-read for HR departments, managers and executives at every level.”
Be Happy At Work:
100 Women Who Love Their Jobs, and Why
By Joanne Gordon
(Ballantine Books, 2005)
In Be Happy at Work, Joanne profiled 100 diverse women—from executives to celebrities, artists to engineers—who found happiness in the workplace. Both prescriptive and inspirational, Be Happy At Work helps women craft their own happy working lives by profiling those who already have. Booklist called Be Happy “absolutely inspiring, and the Library Journal described it as “fantastic, highly recommended. In addition to a six-city book tour, Joanne and the book were featured in USA Today, The New York Times, Glamour, The Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune, among others.
Rules of the Red Rubber Ball:
Find and Sustain Your Life’s Work
By Kevin Carroll
(ESPN Books, 2005)
After meeting business and creativity consultant Kevin Carroll, Joanne worked with him to turn his dynamic life story and business philosophy into this whimsical pocket-sized book that Newsweek called it an adult’s version of Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Kevin originally self-published the book, and its success prompted ESPN Books to acquire the rights. Kevin continues to speak to audiences around the world and share his ideas as well as his book.
Roadtrip Nation:
A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life
By Mike Marriner and Nathan Gebhard with Joanne Gordon
(Ballantine Books, 2003/2006)
Joanne’s first book resulted from an article she wrote for Forbes about two entrepreneurial college grads traveling the country interviewing fascinating people to figure out what to do with their own lives, and help their peers do the same. Together, Mike, Nathan and Joanne turned more than 30 interviews that the pair conducted on their cross-country trip into an informative, widely hailed career guide. The book combined first-person interviews with a hands-on guide to informational interviewing in a conversational, approachable style. Roadtrip Nation evolved into a successful company, a film documentary and ongoing series on PBS, airing nationwide