For no particular reason, I here record (alphabetically by last name) a partial list of thinkers whose published ideas I find particularly persuasive.
Thinker Domain Comment Recommended Work(s)
Allen, David personal productivity GTD = most comprehensive yet manageable personal productivity system I’ve encountered.

  • Getting Things Done
Beer, Stafford management, cybernetics VSM = simplest, richest model of organizational functioning I’ve encountered.

  • The Brain of the Firm
  • The Heart of the Enterprise
  • Diagnosing the System for Organizations
Dennett, Daniel C. evolution, philosophy, belief Philosophy analyzed in terms of evolution & neuroscience.

  • Darwin’s Dangerous Idea
  • Freedom Evolves
  • Consciousness Explained
Haidt, Jonathan psychology

  • The Happiness Hypothesis
  • The Righteous Mind
Harari, Yuval Noah history, futurism Deep thinking rooted in deep history on the future of humanity.

  • Homo Deus
  • Sapiens
Hume, David philosophy Dogmatic slumbers duly disturbed!

  • An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Pinker, Steven psychology

  • Enlightenment Now
  • How the Mind Works
  • Better Angels of Our Nature
Pirsig, Robert M. philosophy MoQ = process philosophy for the masses.

  • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
  • Lila 
Senge, Peter management, systems thinking Accessible introduction to systems thinking in management context.

  • The Fifth Discipline
Watts, Alan philosophy, spirituality Listening to his lectures is like going to church.

  • Just So
Wilber, Ken philosophy, spirituality AQAL = most comprehensive framework of knowledge I’ve encountered.

  • Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
Wright, Robert philosophy, spirituality

  • Nonzero
  • Why Buddhism is True
  • The Evolution of God
Who are your personal gurus?