More than 11,000 business books are published every year—an overwhelming choice for busy professionals. Therefore, in partnership with getAbstract, Training brings youJuly’stop three business books recommended to our readers.
“The Gift of Struggle. Life-Changing Lessons About Leading” by Bobby Herrera (Bard Press, 2019, 176 pages, ISBN: 9781885167873; $19.99)
Populus Group co-founder and CEO Bobby Herrera reveals in homespun fashion how to become a better leader by finding solutions inside problems. In this business autobiography, he applies his experiences as the child of migrant field workers, a soldier, a father, and a mountain climber to leadership. He advocates open, honest conversations and shares his mistakes, solutions ,and lessons learned: Invite discussion and disagreement. Share the source of your passion. New and veteran leaders can gain from his core teaching to turn problems into opportunities. Find the gift in each challenge you face.
Rating (out of 10): 9
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 9
Style: 8
“Minds at Work. Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy” by David Grebow and Stephen J. Gill (ATD Publications, 2017, 184 pages, ISBN: 9781562866839; $19.95)
Speakers and coaches David Grebow and Stephen J. Gill provide a brief, solid overview of why organizations must adapt so they can offer learning in a faster, more disruptive business environment and how they can do so by adopting modern management practices. Aside from inventing some new terms—for example, the “managing minds” organizations—the authors are informative, not original. They summarize a well-trodden path following the evolution of the global economy, from an early emphasis on physical labor to today’s knowledge economy. Their solutions are mostly common knowledge today, but they excel when they describe the learning culture modern organizations must adopt: technology-enabled, self-directed, online, social, outcomes-oriented, and measurable through analytics. Executives not directly involved in learning or newcomers to organizational learning will gain the most from this concise, nonprescriptive overview of how to implement a learning culture.
Rating (out of 10): 7
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 6
Style: 7
“To-Do List Formula. A Stress-Free Guide to Creating To-Do Lists That Work! The Art of Productivity” by Damon Zahariades (2016, 107 pages, ISBN: 9781539438120; $8.04)
Millions of people use to-do lists and understand their value. And yet, those with to-do lists complete only 41 percent of their tasks. Productivity expert Damon Zahariades reports, counterintuitively, that to-do lists often make you less productive, not more. The task management industry calls it the “productivity paradox.” To resolve this dilemma, consider Zahariades’ commonsense method. He imbues the task of making to-do lists with purpose. His book teaches you how to plan, create, and work from practical to-do lists that encourage you and enable you to recognize, prioritize, and complete multiple tasks. Although Zahariades sometimes says things are important, without saying why, or promises to get to something “later,” and hopes you find it, you can use his time-management best practices to create a to-do list that helps you to be more effective instead of driving you nuts.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 8
For five-page summaries of these and more than 15,000 other titles, visit http://www.getabstract.com/affiliate/trainingmagazine
