I love learning - especially learning about leadership. One of my favorite things to do is to read about a leadership skill and then try it out at work. It gives difficult days at work a silver lining and it enables me to help develop my team.
I read some awesome books in 2018. Instead of just listing them as a book recommendation list, I thought I would also list how I heard about the book and a key takeaway for business and leadership.
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I do not receive any money or financial reimbursement from anyone for this blog.
All the comments and reviews below are my own personal opinion.
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1) Thinking Fast & Slow - Daniel Kahneman
1) Thinking Fast & Slow - Daniel Kahneman
This was assigned reading for my Babson Graduate Class ‘Decisions’ and my professor Dwight Getz correctly warned us that it was meaty but worth it. Honestly, I only made it through the first 18 chapters but it is an amazing book.
My key takeaway was that my brain, your brain and the brains of really smart people are lazy and we have to watch out for the shortcuts our brains take all the time. Our brains laziness will cause us to make bad decisions or see things the way we always have in the past. With mindfulness, we can tune into our brains behavior and override its lazy tendencies for better outcomes. This is easier said than done.
One quick little win from this book was an example of how really smart people take shortcuts when solving math problems. The book described the shortcut we take and then offered the right answer (which clearly was not the simple answer.) It was a classic 'trick question.' When I applied for my new job this summer I was asked to take a test. Wouldn't you know it but this trick question was on the test. I got the answer right! I would have totally chosen the easy answer without the book. Thankfully I probably would have still gotten the job even if I got the answer wrong, but it was very satisfying to get the answer right!
My key takeaway was that my brain, your brain and the brains of really smart people are lazy and we have to watch out for the shortcuts our brains take all the time. Our brains laziness will cause us to make bad decisions or see things the way we always have in the past. With mindfulness, we can tune into our brains behavior and override its lazy tendencies for better outcomes. This is easier said than done.
One quick little win from this book was an example of how really smart people take shortcuts when solving math problems. The book described the shortcut we take and then offered the right answer (which clearly was not the simple answer.) It was a classic 'trick question.' When I applied for my new job this summer I was asked to take a test. Wouldn't you know it but this trick question was on the test. I got the answer right! I would have totally chosen the easy answer without the book. Thankfully I probably would have still gotten the job even if I got the answer wrong, but it was very satisfying to get the answer right!
2) Wait What? - James E. Ryan
This book was recommended reading for the Analog Devices leadership workshop I co-led with Professor Guhan Subramanian. Guhan recommended a few titles for participants to read to further their learning on how to accelerate profitable growth.
My key takeaway is that we should pay attention to the person in the room who bravely says ‘wait, what?’ We also need to create time and space for these people to speak up. Haven’t we all been in that meeting when the meeting is almost over and someone casually says something and someone else says ‘wait, what did you just say?’ and a huge issue is uncovered that is critical to success for the initiative being worked on. This concept is hard for me because I just want to fly through things and get busy on doing things, not making sure we are solving the right problem and not spending time considering all angles. I need to allow time for these wait what questions to come forth.
My key takeaway is that we should pay attention to the person in the room who bravely says ‘wait, what?’ We also need to create time and space for these people to speak up. Haven’t we all been in that meeting when the meeting is almost over and someone casually says something and someone else says ‘wait, what did you just say?’ and a huge issue is uncovered that is critical to success for the initiative being worked on. This concept is hard for me because I just want to fly through things and get busy on doing things, not making sure we are solving the right problem and not spending time considering all angles. I need to allow time for these wait what questions to come forth.
3) Dare to Lead - Brene Brown
I found out about this book from an e-mail directly from Brene Brown. I must have subscribed to one of her blogs and when her new book came out, I probably ordered that same day.
My key take away from this book is that we cannot leave our emotions & values home when we go to work. Our value system is intrinsically tied to ourselves and we are people with emotions and feelings and ambitions that are with us wherever we go. Brene says often in this book 'people, people, people.' As I lead, it is essential that I allow myself to 'rumble' and be uncomfortable with transparency and vulnerability to make it a safe place to learn and grow. An especially relevant part of the book was the section on 'are you ready to give feedback.' How often have I given feedback without properly aligning myself to give feedback that will really enable a person to change. Brene has very practical ideas like sitting on the same side of the table and looking at the problem together instead of sitting across a desk or table and putting the problem between you and the other person. Great stuff.
My key take away from this book is that we cannot leave our emotions & values home when we go to work. Our value system is intrinsically tied to ourselves and we are people with emotions and feelings and ambitions that are with us wherever we go. Brene says often in this book 'people, people, people.' As I lead, it is essential that I allow myself to 'rumble' and be uncomfortable with transparency and vulnerability to make it a safe place to learn and grow. An especially relevant part of the book was the section on 'are you ready to give feedback.' How often have I given feedback without properly aligning myself to give feedback that will really enable a person to change. Brene has very practical ideas like sitting on the same side of the table and looking at the problem together instead of sitting across a desk or table and putting the problem between you and the other person. Great stuff.
4) Getting to yes with yourself - William Ury
I don’t know how I heard about this one, but I had read ‘getting to yes’ forever ago so when I saw this title I checked it out from the library, read it and then proceeded to buy a copy for myself and everyone else I knew.
My key takeaway from this book is the idea of going ‘to the balcony’ when emotions get high in a situation. This technique has saved me numerous times because it allows me to acknowledge my emotions, name the emotions, but not have them swarm over me and take over. This idea of ‘go to the balcony’ enables me to rise above the emotional situation, observe myself in the emotion and potentially respond in a different way. Being able to 'go to the balcony' really helped me process some challenging emotions I was dealing with as I wrestled with my decision to leave a job and company I had been with for 20 years and go on an interview for a new opportunity. For the record, as you can infer from comments above, I went on the interview, got the job and am enjoying my new position.
My key takeaway from this book is the idea of going ‘to the balcony’ when emotions get high in a situation. This technique has saved me numerous times because it allows me to acknowledge my emotions, name the emotions, but not have them swarm over me and take over. This idea of ‘go to the balcony’ enables me to rise above the emotional situation, observe myself in the emotion and potentially respond in a different way. Being able to 'go to the balcony' really helped me process some challenging emotions I was dealing with as I wrestled with my decision to leave a job and company I had been with for 20 years and go on an interview for a new opportunity. For the record, as you can infer from comments above, I went on the interview, got the job and am enjoying my new position.
5) The Chimp Paradox - Steve Peters
So my boss Colin Strother recommended this book. I started work on a Monday and the following week he was headed for vacation. He was asking for book recommendations and I loaned him my book “Thinking fast and slow.’ He then recommended this book to me. I had just signed up for audible and listened to this book during my morning and evening commute for about 6 weeks.
My key takeaway from this book is that our brains are made up of three components which the author names the chimp, the human and the computer. A little less esoteric than Thinking Fast and Slow, it was some of the same concepts but at a level that makes it easier to read (note - I actually finished this book.) Our brains are designed to go onto auto pilot (the computer) but we often respond with emotions (the chimp) that doesn't generally serve us well. When we recognize chimp behavior we can re-frame situations and respond with the human. Our human must control our chimp. As I try to achieve my New Years Resolution of breaking my addiction to sugar, I'm on a January sugar and alcohol fast. When my chimp tries to divert me to eat left over Christmas candy or rationalize why 'one glass of wine' won't hurt anything, I control my chimp with appropriate self-talk.
My key takeaway from this book is that our brains are made up of three components which the author names the chimp, the human and the computer. A little less esoteric than Thinking Fast and Slow, it was some of the same concepts but at a level that makes it easier to read (note - I actually finished this book.) Our brains are designed to go onto auto pilot (the computer) but we often respond with emotions (the chimp) that doesn't generally serve us well. When we recognize chimp behavior we can re-frame situations and respond with the human. Our human must control our chimp. As I try to achieve my New Years Resolution of breaking my addiction to sugar, I'm on a January sugar and alcohol fast. When my chimp tries to divert me to eat left over Christmas candy or rationalize why 'one glass of wine' won't hurt anything, I control my chimp with appropriate self-talk.
I have 5 more books to recommend for you, but I want to keep these blog posts short and sweet, so we'll end here for today and I'll post the others later this month.
Thanks for visiting my blog, make it a great day.
Thanks for visiting my blog, make it a great day.
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