More than 11,000 business books are published every year—an overwhelming choice for busy professionals. Therefore, in partnership with getAbstract, Training brings you May’s top three business books recommended to our readers.
“Developing Human Capital. Using Analytics to Plan and Optimize Your Learning and Development Investments” by Gene Pease, Bonnie Beresford and Lew Walker (Wiley, 2014, 189 pages, ISBN: 9781118753507; $43.18)
The economy and the workforce have evolved beyond the traditional understanding and capabilities of many Human Resources (HR) and Training divisions. As HR analysts and learning experts Gene Pease, Bonnie Beresford, and Lew Walker argue, other professions effectively leverage data and evidence in making decisions, yet HR and learning officers generally rely on experience and instinct. Even so, most seasoned learning and development professionals will find nothing new in this manual’s first few chapters. The fun begins when you jump ahead to the fourth or fifth chapters, and thoroughly read the eighth and ninth chapters, as well as Appendix F, which offers terrific advice on collecting needed data. getAbstract recommends that less-experienced Learning and HR officers read the entire book, which—including the content-rich appendices—offers action-oriented advice and tools to dive deep into HR and learning analytics.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 8
Style: 7
“Learn or Die. Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization” by Edward D. Hess (Columbia UP, 2014, 280 pages, ISBN: 9780231170246; $22.41)
Professor Edward D. Hess offers a clear, methodical synthesis of current research. If you are familiar with the fields of learning and thinking, or with learning organizations, you’ll recognize much of this intelligently compiled content. However, you’ll still learn from reading Hess’s clear, methodical overview, which works as a manual for applying today’s research to yourself and your firm. While focusing on core concepts and tools, Hess also offers usefully honest accounts of his personal experiences and the transformations people go through to become better learners. His case studies are fascinating. getAbstract recommends Hess’s work to teachers, managers, innovators, and anyone interested in learning organizations.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 8
“How the World Sees You. Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination” by Sally Hogshead (Copyright © 2014 by Sally Hogshead. Published by arrangement with HarperBusiness, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2014, 448 pages, ISBN: 9780062230690; $18.92)
Shakespeare’s Hamlet offered this sage counsel: “Know thyself and to thine self be true.” If you don’t understand what makes you uniquely you—if you don’t know yourself—how can others perceive what you offer? For professionals and companies, being the distinctive exception means delivering increased, genuine value to your clients or customers. Branding expert Sally Hogshead shows you how to learn who you are and how the world sees you. She helps you identify your specific, powerful “Fascination Advantages”—your most effective personality traits—and explains how best to present yourself to others based on those advantages. While this level of self-inspection and self-promotion may seem a little over the top, the tools Hogshead offers are useful, including a code that provides a free Fascination Advantage assessment. getAbstract recommends her self-appraisal strategies to readers who want to identify and leverage their personal strengths.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 8
Style: 7
For five-page summaries of these and more than 10,000 other titles, visit http://www.getabstract.com/affiliate/trainingmagazine
