I really enjoyed this book: http://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Entrepreneurship-Peter-F-Drucker/dp/0060851139/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450073425&sr=1-5&keywords=peter+drucker
Surprisingly applicable to IT management in general. On nimble team mentality, etc.
Peter Drucker's book is a good one.
https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Entrepreneurship-Peter-F-Drucker/dp/0060851139
> I can't argue "actually this and that business didn't have a mission-driven founder"
You absolutely can argue that if you were to find some examples to prove your point. But you won’t find those examples.
And I can argue my claim. There is extensive literature on the effect of founder effects, competition and clustering, and the effect of individual entrepreneurs on innovation.
There’s a reason, after all, that people who spend their lives studying economics and business are not socialists.
None. The only way to start a business is to start.
Lots of people read books on it but never do anything.
But if you're looking for Dak Horse candidates that are more practical than cheerleading: