Palo Alto CEO Says He Prefers Summaries To 500-Page Books, Sparks Debate

Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, has ignited discussion on social media after revealing that he skips long-form books, favoring summaries to grasp key concepts swiftly. Speaking on 'In Good Company', a podcast hosted by Nicolai Tangen, Mr Arora admitted difficulty with traditional reading, preferring concise formats unless reading for enjoyment. He said, "I struggle to read; I am more of a summary person than a reader. Why would I read 500 pages to distil 10?"

In response to an X user's post tagging him, claiming he "doesn't read" and questioning if reading is a "Psy-Op," Mr Arora clarified that he avoids long-form books but consumes information from varied sources. He stressed the value of continuous learning, recently diving into agentic architectures to better serve clients. He noted that many books dilute a few key ideas over hundreds of pages, preferring concise formats unless reading for pleasure.

He wrote, "Don't read long form books my friend. I guzzle information, I absorb from wherever I can. I have read as much about agentic architectures lately to build a mental framework to understand how one might protect our customers in such a future. Always be learning. Many long-form books take a lot of prose to make a few points, I find summaries interesting there, unless I feel like a good story."

See the post here:

Don't read long form books my friend. I guzzle information, I absorb from wherever I can. I have read as much about agentic architectures lately to build a mental teamwork to understand how one might protect our customers in such a future. Always be learning. Many long form books… https://t.co/fpIp1AUbqM

— Nikesh Arora (@nikesharora) April 10, 2025

Mr Arora's remarks sparked varied responses on social media. Some users endorsed his view, agreeing that many books could be distilled into briefer formats, while others questioned the reliability and depth of information in shorter summaries. One user wrote, "Honestly, a lot of the great leaders are great readers was true in an era where reading was the only form of information available. It's not true anymore, and hasn't been for a while. (It is popular to say, though.) Great info comes in a lot of forms today."

Another commented, "Many books can be sufficiently well understood from the title! Articles, papers, blogs are valuable. The constraint of space makes the information density so much better." A third said, "Tech nerds can be game changers and richest people on the earth, but if they demonize reading They will do great disservice to humanity and base of it."

A fourth added, "I've found that it's becoming easier to find information, but hard to find high-quality information. The paradox is that ease of access to knowledge has destroyed the signal-to-noise ratio. How do you curate?"