Like most things in my life, my reading journey proceeds in a convoluted and undirected fashion. The reading cut ends up being about 75% romance, 25% everything else. Almost all of the books will have been supplied by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Saturday, April 16, 2022
A Man of Some Repute by Elizabeth Edmondson
Friday, April 15, 2022
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself -Anthology
The first talks about how you allocate your resources. Author Christensen advocates for looking at delayed gratification and not always looking for the shortcut.
"... humility was not defined by self-deprecating behavior or attitudes but by the esteem with which you regard others." "... if you have a humble eagerness to learn something from everybody, your learning opportunities will be unlimited."... abusive, arrogant or demeaning... their behavior is almost always a symptom of their lack of self-esteem."
Drucker tells us about feedback analysis, that it can lead to the actions of concentrating and developing our strengths, then look for where our arrogance is hindering us and overcome it. "...but with opportunity comes responsibility." "Organizations are no longer built on force but on trust. The existencs of trust between people does not necessarily mean that they like one another. It means they understand one another." "...it is vitally important for the individual... to have an area in which [they] can contribute, make a difference, and be somebody."
Oncken and Wass lead a spirited article on the discussion of monkeys and whether the monkeys (problems) should be on the backs of the managers (rarely) or their trusted subordinates.
Coutu talks about resilience, the study of which has been more closely looked at lately and will come into focus again soon with all that faces the world at the moment. Her key points include facing down reality, searching for meaning, and continually improvising.
Schwartz and McCarthy look at four types of energy (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and how those can be drained but also rebuilt.
Hallowell's article explores ADT, attention deficit trait and how so many people have so many drains on their time that they can't accomplish anything. He talks about the goals or protecting your brain (sleep, food, exercise), organize around the ADT (break down tasks, keep an area on your desk and in your calendar clear, practice OHIO (only handle it once), and work in a way that helps you perform the best (adjust hours, use headphones, work standing up)), and slow down and take your time.
Friedman focuses on the domains of work, self, home, and community. He suggests that you sit down and really figure out who/what is important in your life and then see what small changes that you make might make you happier in all of the domains. He walks you through Total Leadership (the principles of which are be real, be whole, be innovative) which is designed to help you figure out how to not only plan but how to experiment and measure progress in all four domains.
Ghoshal and Bruch talk about prioritization and what you want to achieve as a manager.
Quinn argues that great leadership comes from within. We can learn and emulate all we like but we need to find the fundamental state of leadership. He introduces the four questions that can shift you into that state: Am I results centered, internally directed, other focused, and externally open?
Key questions to ask yourself are the focus of Kaplan's article. They help you identify visions and priorities, how you manage your time, feedback, succession planning, evaluation and alignment, leading under pressure, and how to stay true to yourself.
Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee write about emotional intelligence and not only that leaders should know that they impact employees but HOW they impcat employees (and therefore adjust their style.)
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Crooked Herring, by L.C. Tyler
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber
Opinions are my own
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
Monday, April 11, 2022
Last Respects by Catherine Aird
When an unknown man's body turns up on a slow river, Inspector Sloan is called in to investigate. Though it seems he was dropped from a great height, the man didn't drown. He and Constable Crosby will have to work to figure out what is going on.