Book Recommendations
Restorative: kind, calm, and courageous perspectives
Quiet by Susan Cain The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking
It is only when you’re alone that you can engage in deliberate practice. And the deliberate practice has been proven to be the key to exceptional achievement.
Dare to Lead Brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts
Asking for help is a power move. It’s a sign of strength to ask and a sign of strength to fight off judgement when other people raise their hands. It reflects self-awareness that is an essential element of braving trust.
The Art of Rest how to find respite in the modern age
Today’s busyness has become a badge of honour. We want to say we’re busy yet at the same time, we feel exhausted. Instead, we should be taking rest seriously as a method of self-care.
Timeless: great thinking throughout the ages
In Praise of Idleness a timeless essay by Bertrand Russell
Modern methods of production have given us the possibility of ease and security for all; we have chosen instead to have overwork for some and starvation for others.
Hitherto we have continued to be as energetic as we were before there were machines; in this, we have been foolish, but there is no reason to go on being foolish forever.
Essentialism the disciplined pursuit of less
A non-essentialist thinks almost everything is essential.
An essentialist thinks almost everything is non-essential.
To practice the essential, we can start at a simple level and once it becomes second nature to everyday decisions, we can begin to apply it to bigger and broader areas of our personal and professional lives.
Good to Great by Jim Collins why some companies make the leap and others don’t
Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are scattered and diffused, moving on many levels, never integrating their thinking into one overall concept of a unifying vision.
Hedgehogs simplify a complex world into a single organising idea, a basic principle, or concept that unifies and guides everything. For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance.
Deep Work by Cal Newport Rules for focused success in a distracted world
I build my days around a core of carefully chosen deep work, with the shallow activities I absolutely cannot avoid batched into smaller bursts at the peripheries of my schedule.
Three to four hours a day, five days a week, of uninterrupted and carefully directed concentration, it turns out, can produce a lot of valuable output.
Practical: immediately applicable tactics
The Power of a Positive No how to say no and still get to yes by William Ury Ph.D
An intelligent guide to the trouble we get into when we constantly say yes when we want to say NO from someone with lived experience.
You begin by paying positive attention to yourself - emotions, interests and needs. Then you move on to respect the other as a fellow human being who also has emotions, interests and needs.
The 99 Essential Business Questions to take you beyond the obvious management actions
How do I measure success?
Do I take all my annual leave?
When on holiday how often do I access my emails?
What no longer works for me?
How often do I say No and how do I say it?
Quiet Leadership by David Rock Six steps to transforming performance at work
One hundred years ago most people were paid for their physical labour. By 2005 40% of employees and 100% of managers were considered knowledge-workers, paid to perform at work by thinking.
Given performance is driven by behaviours (habits), which are driven by feelings which in turn are driven by thoughts, organisations need to instil in their leaders and managers the ability to transform performance by improving thinking.
The seven habits of highly effective people powerful lessons in personal change
Begin with the end in mind; see it, feel it, experience it, before you do it.
Because it’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the activity trap, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder only to find it’s leaning against the wrong wall - being very, very busy without being very effective.
Atomic Habits Tiny changes, remarkable results
The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results (although they can do that), but because they can change your beliefs about yourself.
So the first step to change is not the how or the what but the who. You need to know who you want to be.
Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most
What could happen if the easy but pointless things became harder and the essential things became easier?
What does ‘done’ look like and how knowing mitigates perfectionism.
Evolutionary: moving great ideas forward
Originals – how non-conformists move the world
The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists. The starting point is curiosity; pondering why the default exists in the first place.
Vuja de, the opposite of deja-vu, sees us facing something familiar but seeing it with a fresh perspective, one that enables new insights into an old problem.
The traditional five day working week is outdated and no longer fit for purpose in a hyper-connected digital era.
With a four day week, we can have the best of both worlds; optimal productivity, work-life balance and worker benefits.
'Humanocracy makes the case for replacing chain of command with chain of trust and radical transparency. It's a prescription for unlocking game-changing innovation and the value of every individual'
- Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce,