More than 11,000 business books are published every year—an overwhelming choice for busy professionals. Therefore, in partnership with getAbstract, Training brings you September’s top three business books recommended to our readers.
“Virtual Freedom. How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business” by Chris Ducker (BenBella, 2014, 296 Pages, ISBN: 9781939529749; $10.78)
Businesspeople often seek to make their operations more virtual, migrating work online to save money, be more efficient, and free their time to strategize and build their companies. Going virtual can include hiring virtual assistants (VAs): capable, hardworking freelancers who often live in other countries—most notably, the Philippines. Finding, selecting, training and managing foreign, long-distance workers can be challenging. Most VAs speak a different language, live in a different culture, and have different attitudes about work. Chris Ducker, known as the “Virtual CEO,” explains how to recruit and work with VAs. His knowledgeable manual offers useful guidelines, handy checklists, and an extensive resources section. getAbstract recommends Ducker’s insights, pragmatic advice, and easily applicable methods to the self-employed, small-business owners, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and anyone considering employing an offshore VA.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 8
“Revolutionize Learning & Development. Performance and Innovation Strategy for the Information Age” by Clark N. Quinn (Pfeiffer, 2014, 256 Pages, ISBN: 9781118863619; $33.50)
Clark N. Quinn, an expert on corporate learning, proposes a total revamp of the learning and development (L&D) industry. He identifies recent technological and social changes, and blasts the field for ignoring them. Calling for L&D to transform into “Performance & Development” (P&D), Quinn both outlines an idealized model and discusses practical issues in P&D implementation. Though at times wordy and wandering, his message is an alarm clock for the industry, a challenge to awaken and update where necessary, but without undermining learning that works. getAbstract recommends his change guidebook to corporate learning professionals.
Rating (out of 10): 8
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 8
Style: 7
“Teaching That Changes Lives. 12 Mindset Tools for Igniting the Love of Learning by Marilee Adams” (Berrett-Koehler, 2013, 217 Pages, ISBN: 9781609945695; $14.36)
Education consultant Marilee Adams discusses teachers and administrators who function with either an open, positive, curious “Learner mind-set” or a negative, closed, and apathetic “Judger mind-set.” Adams explains how an administrator or teacher’s point of view affects learning, intelligence, and conflict management. Adding 12 useful attitude-shaping tools in a 30-page workbook at the back of the volume, Adams presents a parable about a sixth-grade teacher who considers quitting teaching. Her mentor heightens her dedication, teaches her about mind-sets and challenges, and inspires her to change her mental approach so she can become a better teacher. getAbstract recommends Adams’s helpful guidance to K-12 teachers, university professors, as well as school principals and education administrators.
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
