The outsiders

Name: The outsiders
ISBN: 1422162672

by William Thorndike · first published 2012

12mentions

7recommended by

11HN commenters

2013–2026first – last mentioned

64% recommend36% neutral

Why HN recommends it

Profiles eight unconventional CEOs and argues that capital allocation, not operations, drives long-term shareholder returns; useful for business leaders, investors, and anyone running a company.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

Biography & Memoir Business & Management

What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: "a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise." Others might point to the qualities of today's so-called celebrity CEOs--charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term. In this refreshing, counterintuitive book, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in

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What Hacker News says

dontscale · Mar 7, 2016 · Recommends

There's an excellent book (you're probably aware of) called The Outsiders. It compares the results of operations focused CEO's like Welch to capital allocators like Buffett, Singleton, and Malone. The thesis is that overtime, the good cap allocators just blow everyone else…
on “So, you want to learn bookkeeping” ↗
storgendibal · Aug 9, 2015 · Recommends

Business Adventures by John Brooks The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William Thorndike
on “Ask HN: What are your non-technical non-fiction recommended reads?” ↗
drited · Sep 4, 2017 · Recommends

…more hilarious The checklist manifesto by Atul Gawande: the power of simple process From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin: lots of mental models to add to your latticework Business management: The Outsiders by William Thorndike: capital allocation The hard thing about hard things by Ben Horowitz: some mental models for managers facing the real-life struggles of startups Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake…
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗
tlapinsk · Dec 5, 2019 · Recommends

Not specific to just tech teams, but I loved The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William Thorndike. So many great notes about leadership and successfully running a business in general. https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-Ra...
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗
sna1l · Dec 9, 2020 · Recommends

This article is great and actually comes to one of the core tenets from the book "The Outsiders." If you had to choose a single core task for the CEO of a company, it is to create free cash flow and decide best how to spend it, aka capital allocation. Book Source: https://smile.amazon.com/Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically-...
on “Games people play with cash flow” ↗
mxschumacher · Feb 27, 2021 · Recommends

…(Teledyne, Apple) do wonders for returns. If you run a listed business you have to think long and hard about what your firm is worth without just looking at the market price. William Thorndike's book "The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success" [0] makes that point beautifully Right now it is interesting to observe that many companies are doing the opposite of buybacks…
on “Berkshire Hathaway 2020 Annual report [pdf]” ↗
huijzer · Sep 17, 2023 · Recommends

After reading many business books: central planning works great as long as the benefits of centralisation outweigh the drawbacks of centralisation. After reading Outsiders by Thorndike, I’m convinced that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits surprisingly rapidly because distributed companies are shown to run much better. Historically, it has been the same with countries/states,…
on “USA built 151 Aircraft carriers in WWII” ↗
kapilkale · Dec 20, 2013 · Mentions

…totally different story. But you aren't starting a restaurant. Even Uber, at its $4B valuation, is giving compensation packages that are weighted towards options vs. salary. * http://www.amazon.com/The-Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically...
on “Introducing Open Salaries at Buffer” ↗
knes · Aug 10, 2015 · Mentions

It's almost as if they read "the outsiders"[0] [0] http://www.amazon.com/The-Outsiders-Unconventional-Radically...
on “G is for Google” ↗
scuff3d · Apr 2, 2026 · Mentions

…become bloated, so I'd recommend skimming it a bit since it's just history on epic financial crashes). I'm planning to read: 7 Powers — Hamilton Helmer Good Strategy/Bad Strategy — Richard Rumelt The Outsiders — William N. Thorndike Jr. The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
on “SpaceX confidentially files to go public at $1.75T, reports say” ↗
scuff3d · Apr 2, 2026 · Mentions

…become bloated, so I'd recommend skimming it a bit since it's just history on epic financial crashes). I'm planning to read: 7 Powers — Hamilton Helmer Good Strategy/Bad Strategy — Richard Rumelt The Outsiders — William N. Thorndike Jr. The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
on “SpaceX confidentially files to go public at $1.75T, reports say” ↗
crdb · Oct 19, 2014 · Mentions

…how to attract extraordinary people; if you are an employee, about which organisations and people to work for or avoid. Is Jack Welch an extraordinary CEO, or was he, as is claimed in Thorndike's "The Outsiders", lucky to start his career with one of the largest economic booms known to man and retire right at the end of it? This impacts whether you'd like to adopt his methods: is stack ranking a great way to…
on “Military Professional Reading Lists” ↗