More than 11,000 business books are published every year—an overwhelming choice for busy professionals. Therefore, in partnership with getAbstract, Training brings you February’s top three business books recommended to our readers.
“The Gamification Revolution. How Leaders Leverage Game Mechanics to Crush the Competition” by Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder (McGraw-Hill, 2013, 235 Pages, ISBN: 9780071808316; $20.50)
Successful gamification—the business use of game-based mechanisms—considers both human psychology and the more concrete matters of how material looks and functions. Experts Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder spell out this process in accessible, engaging language. They explore the best uses of gamification, using illuminating stories about companies, organizations, governments, and individuals. Zichermann and Linder practice what they preach, engaging you with compelling narratives, down-to-earth recommendations and actual games interspersed throughout the text. getAbstract recommends this manual covering the coming wave of gamification in employee training and customer motivation to start-ups, entrepreneurs, managers, marketing, HR professionals, and anyone looking for new ways to inspire and retain customers and employees.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 7
Style: 8
“Evolution of Work and the Worker. What’s Next: Future Global Trends Affecting Your Organization” by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU, 2014, 51 Pages, publicly available: http://getab.li/22642)
In fewer than 40 pages, this valuable report offers a high-level overview of global workforce trends. It addresses topics more complex and nuanced than a brief paper really can digest properly, but it makes a noble effort. While the work unfortunately has numerous typos, its research pegs the major issues confronting workers, corporations, organizations, and governments worldwide. getAbstract suggests this quick read to executives, policy makers, workers, educators, and students seeking a solid, if surface-level, understanding of global workforce trends.
Rating (out of 10): 7
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 7
Style: 6
“The Naked CEO. The Truth You Need to Build a Big Life” by Alex Malley (Wiley, 2014, 256 Pages, ISBN: 9780730314592; $11.48)
Business leader Alex Malley, the CEO of CPA Australia, offers basic training for young people at the start of their careers. Malley shares worthy advice on networking, writing a résumé, interviewing, finding your passion, learning to cope with failure and becoming a leader. Some of his tips are generic: Be yourself, have a firm handshake, set goals. But his underlying message is much more individualized and provocative: “Nothing great comes easily,” he says. Growth—stretching yourself—is the true goal of a business career, and you grow through struggles and challenges. Malley argues that when you like your job and your co-workers and you reach a certain comfort level, it’s time to look elsewhere. He presents most of his advice as abstract instructions; readers may wish he offered more war stories from his experiences to illustrate his concepts. Nevertheless, getAbstract recommends this wide-ranging compendium of career wisdom to young professionals starting or changing their careers.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 7
For five-page summaries of these and more than 10,000 other titles, visit http://www.getabstract.com/affiliate/trainingmagazine
