The Written Word

Books&Publications

Six bestselling titles. Translated into 24 languages. Read by over 3 million leaders worldwide.

01 — Published Works

Six Books.
One Consistent Vision.

Each title distills years of research, field experience, and conversations with the world's most consequential leaders.

Dark navy hardcover book with gold embossed title The Apex Mindset on a marble surface
#1
2023

New York Times Bestseller

The Apex Mindset

How Elite Leaders Think, Decide, and Execute

"The gap between good leaders and great ones isn't talent — it's the architecture of their thinking."

WSJ Business Book of the YearAmazon #1 in LeadershipTranslated into 18 languages
Portfolio / Penguin
Minimalist white and gold hardcover book titled Velocity on a clean desk
#3
2021

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

Velocity

Building Momentum in an Age of Disruption

"Speed without direction is just noise. Velocity is the marriage of pace and purpose."

Inc. Magazine Top 10 Business BooksForbes Must-Read
HarperBusiness
Charcoal grey hardcover book The Long Game displayed on a wooden shelf with warm lighting
#2
2019

USA Today Bestseller

The Long Game

Strategic Patience in a Short-Term World

"The most powerful competitive advantage is the willingness to think in decades, not quarters."

Harvard Business Review RecommendedCEO Library Essential
Simon & Schuster
Deep red hardcover book Founder's Compass with compass illustration on a startup office desk
#1
2017

Amazon Bestseller — Entrepreneurship

Founder's Compass

Navigating the Chaos of Building Something New

"Every great company begins as a conviction that the world can be arranged differently."

TechCrunch Top 5 Startup BooksProduct Hunt #1 Book
Crown Business
Classic ivory and gold hardcover book Capital and Character on a mahogany desk with reading glasses
#4
2015

Financial Times Recommended

Capital & Character

The Ethics of Building Wealth That Lasts

"Wealth built without integrity is a liability dressed as an asset."

CFA Institute Reading ListBloomberg Businessweek Pick
Wiley
Minimalist black and white hardcover book First Principles on a clean white surface
#6
2013

BusinessWeek Bestseller

First Principles

Reasoning from the Ground Up

"Strip away assumption. Strip away convention. What remains is the truth you can build on."

MIT Sloan Management Review FeaturedReissued 3× since publication
McGraw-Hill
02 — Featured Excerpt

From

The Apex Mindset

Chapter 7: The Architecture of Conviction

#1 NYT Bestseller
3.2M Copies Sold
18 Languages

The leaders who endure are not those who avoid uncertainty — they are those who have built an internal architecture so robust that uncertainty becomes fuel rather than friction. They do not seek clarity from the outside world. They generate it from within.

This is what I call the Apex Mindset: the disciplined cultivation of conviction in the absence of certainty. It is not optimism. It is not confidence. It is something far more durable — a structural commitment to the belief that your decisions, made with integrity and intelligence, will compound into outcomes worth having.

Marcus Vane — The Apex Mindset, p. 214
03 — Recognition & Accolades

Recognized by the
World's Leading Publications

6

Published Titles

3.2M+

Copies Sold

24

Languages

11

Bestseller Lists

NYT

New York Times

#1 Bestseller — 3 titles

WSJ

Wall Street Journal

#1 Bestseller — 2 titles

USA

USA Today

Bestseller — 4 titles

AMZ

Amazon

#1 in Leadership & Entrepreneurship

FRB

Forbes

Must-Read Business Books

HBR

Harvard Business Review

Recommended Reading List