By Alison Levine Alison Levine takes lessons learned from accomplishing the Adventure Grand Slam – summiting the highest peak on every continent and skiing to the both the North and South Poles (something only 43 people have ever done) and applies them to everyday business challenges for managers at all levels. The advice she provides is accurately described as counterintuitive in title but not in substance. Topics include Why Backward is Often the Right Direction, Making the Most of Weakness, Ignore the Rules, and Embracing Failure. Perhaps best of all, this book delivers practical business advice told in an adventure story. On the mountaintop or in the conference room, Alison explains that leadership requires us to make critical decisions in conditions that are far from…
Popular Posts
-
Archives
Mindful Work
By David Gelles Want a guided tour of the expanding world of contemplative practices in business? This is your book. From the corporate offices and executive experiences of General Mills, Ford, Target, Google, Green Mountain, Aetna, Newman’s Own, Huffington Post, Twitter… and many, many more… to the conference rooms of Wisdom 2.0 and the classrooms of the Harvard Business School, mindfulness is rapidly revolutionizing the way we work. This book certainly raised my awareness as to how mainstream mindfulness practices are becoming in corporate America. It also serves as a testament of benefits experienced from the factory floor to the executive suite. If you’re new to mindfulness, you’ll likely find these stories surprising. And if you’re a die-hard fan of mindfulness, you’ll likely be impressed…
Rising Strong
By Brene Brown Just to get this out there, I think I officially have a crush on Brene Brown. I loved Daring Greatly and Rising Strong is even better. Yes, her TED talks have set records in viewership. Yes, she was brilliant on a recent Tim Ferris podcast. Does everything this Ph.D. researcher touch turn to gold? No – In fact, Brown continues her comfortable, conversational writing style in this follow-up book to tell even more personal stories of mistaken impressions, communication struggles, and how we all hurt as she talks about her own rumble with vulnerability. There are so many wonderful quotes available in this text – my favorite (today) is “We can’t rise strong when we’re on the run.” And as strange as this may sound…
Team of Teams
by Stanley McChrystal and Tantum Collins General Stanley McChrystal is the former commander of the Joint Special Operations Task Force and the former commander of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Along with his coauthors, McChrystal explains the reasoning behind his overhaul of the Task Force, in the midst of conflict, into something new: an organization with centralized information and decentralized decision making – in other words, a team of teams. In fairness, this is not a book about how to be a great leader. It is a book about becoming the kind of leader that encourages an organization of great leaders. And if you only read one book this year about Organizational Management, Team of Teams would definitely make the short list. I…
Mindful Leadership: The 9 Ways to Self-Awareness, Transforming Yourself, and Inspiring Others
by Maria Gonzalez I want to make sure that I give this book the credit that it is due. I really enjoyed it because it uses simple language to describe what others often make confusing. So much so that I even used this book as the basis for the Mindfulness at Work page on the website – it’s just that good. Mindful Leadership provides simple techniques you can use anytime, anywhere, to improve yourself as a leader. It cuts through the fads that often clutter up the leadership space and offers 9 mindful behaviors for personal and professional success. You simply won’t be disappointed with this book. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=””…
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
by Richard Bach Probably the book I have gifted the most over the years – just perfect for graduations (transitions) of any kind – and it is the only book that I read at least once each year. It’s an easy read with deep lessons about following your heart and questioning limitations. I’m a huge Richard Bach fan and could have just as easily included Illusions here as well. Start with Jonathan and see where it takes you. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_button link=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/147679331X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=147679331X&linkCode=as2&tag=point02b-20&linkId=ZNOY24QHLKDXBBME” color=”blue” size=”medium” type=”flat” shape=”square” target=”_blank” title=”Jonathan Livingston Seagull” gradient_colors=”|” gradient_hover_colors=”|” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”1px” icon=”” icon_divider=”yes” icon_position=”left” modal=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ alignment=”left” class=””…
Finding the Space to Lead: A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership Paperback
By Janice Marturano This has been my go-to book this Fall. It’s subtitle, A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership, couldn’t be more on the spot. The early chapter on finding the space to lead made a great impact on me but it’s the later section’s chapters that I find myself revisiting. I long ago finished the book, but kept taking it down from the shelf with such regularity that I now simply leave it on my credenza. The reflections and meditations go beyond simple suggestion, they’re clear, effective, and most importantly, they are applicable. And the audio files (available online for book purchasers) further the experience. As a senior leader in a Fortune 200 corporation, Janice Marturano knows first hand the toll exacted by workplace…