Stephen King says that if you want to be a writer, there are two things you must do: read a lot and write a lot. This is about the “read a lot” part. I include reading lists and book reviews that will help you do business more effectively and write better for business.
In this post, I point you to reviews of How We Make Stuff Now: Turn Ideas into Products That Build Successful Businesses, Host-Six New Roles of Engagement, Great Leaders Have No Rules: Contrarian Leadership Principles to Transform Your Team and Business, Employee Confidence: The New Rules of Engagement, and Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. Plus, a look at leadership books scheduled for release in June 2019.
From Bob Morris: How We Make Stuff Now
“How to evaluate a potential product or service, then identify market opportunities for it. Most ideas about new products or services are abandoned. With rare exception, those that succeed either fill an unmet need or are significantly better than what had been available. The research department at 3M, for example, developed a glue that really didn’t stick very well. Today, Post-it products generate billions in sales. Not everyone can complete a lengthy and difficult, often discouraging process of evaluating an idea, refining it, determining its market potential, and then launching the given product or service. Jules Pieri has worked with more than 3,000 companies to help them complete that process. She’s been there, done it, and helped thousands of others to do it.”
From Marcella Bremer: Leadership: the Hero, the Servant, and the Host
“The positive leader is like a ‘host’, as Mark McKergow and Helen Bailey describe in their book ‘Host – Six new roles of engagement.’ It’s a great metaphor to describe what positive leadership entails, as everyone knows the roles of host and guest.”
From Michael McKinney: Great Leaders Have No Rules
“THERE ARE well-intentioned behaviors and assumptions about leadership that we have accepted over the years that really don’t serve us well. Kevin Kruse has identified ten such assumptions and provided effective counter-thinking in Great Leaders Have No Rules.”
From Skip Prichard: New Rules to Increase Employee Engagement
“In her book, Employee Confidence: The New Rules of Engagement, Karen J. Hewitt, argues that employee confidence and engagement are intertwined. The difference maker in engagement is confidence. I had a chance to catch up with her and talk about her new book and work.”
From Daniel Akst: The case for general excellence
“In his new book, Range, David Epstein argues that although specialization has its virtues, businesses need people with wide horizons and ranges of interests in order to succeed.”
From Michael McKinney: First Look: Leadership Books for June 2019
“Here’s a look at some of the best leadership books to be released in June 2019.”
Reading recommendations are a regular feature of this blog. Want more recommendations about what to read? Check out my Three Star Leadership blog, Michael McKinney’s LeadingBlog, and Skip Prichard’s Leadership Insights.