More than 11,000 business books are published every year—an overwhelming choice for busy professionals. Therefore, in partnership with getAbstract, Training brings you August’s top three business books recommended to our readers.
“The Good Ones. Ten Crucial Qualities of High-Character Employees” by Bruce Weinstein (New World Library, 2015, 280 pages, ISBN: 9781608682744; $12.93)
The accountant you hire to do your books may be a genius and a top grad from a renowned business school. But these attributes will hold little value if your star hire also swindles, cheats, and lies. Your firm’s new salesperson may be able to charm and close prospects on the first call. But your colleagues quickly will tire of their new co-worker if he or she constantly demeans, belittles, and berates everyone else in the office. Character counts for more than you realize. You can hire the most impressive, skillful, intelligent people, but if they lack character, you’re inviting trouble, extra expense, and turnover. Bruce Weinstein, who uses the tag, “The Ethics Guy,” discusses why character is so crucial in business. He lists the 10 key traits that distinguish “high-character employees” and teaches you how to spot character in job applicants. getAbstract recommends Weinstein’s pragmatic advice to CEOs, HR managers, small business owners, and anyone who hires or fires or is seeking work.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 8
“The Best Place to Work. The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace” by Ron Friedman, Ph.D. (summarized by arrangement with Perigee, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2014, 333 pages, ISBN: 9780399165597; $13.10)
To build a cohesive, productive workforce, companies everywhere chase the elusive goal of employee engagement. Psychologist Ron Friedman has a direct solution: To engage your employees, apply what science teaches about human motivation. Artfully weaving scientific findings with real-world examples, Friedman shows how great workplaces attend to employees’ deep-seated need to feel autonomous, competent, and connected. These companies recognize the limits of the mind and body, and set aside space for creativity and time for recreation. Some readers may object when Friedman compares happy workplaces to casinos, and others may question the tastefulness of drawing business insights from a school hostage situation, but Friedman wields his metaphors to argue convincingly that it takes more than money and job titles to motivate employees. getAbstract recommends his insightful, practical advice on building a better, more productive, more profitable workplace to executives and HR professionals.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 8
“The One World School House. Education Reimagined” by Salman Khan (Copyright Salman Khan, 2012, 259 pages, ISBN: 9781455508389; $14.13)
Improving schools is one of modern society’s most vexing challenges. Khan Academy founder Salman Khan, something of a rock star in education, offers a compelling set of instructions. Test less and demand more. Drop summer vacation. Stop wasting time in useless lectures. End tracking. Prove that with the right instruction, even slow kids can excel. While Khan’s prescriptions are intriguing, at times he seems to overestimate school systems’ abilities to change. Still, given his pioneering role as founder of Khan Academy—a nonprofit offering free online lessons—his fascinating analysis, if somewhat radical in parts, provides many possible solutions. getAbstract recommends his discussion to teachers, students, parents, and policymakers seeking a fresh look at educational reform.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 8
Style: 8
For five-page summaries of these and more than 15,000 other titles, visit http://www.getabstract.com/affiliate/trainingmagazine
