Happy World Book Day!
In honour of this day, I bring you my top 5 reads for investing in your personal and professional development.
S.U.M.O (Shut Up, Move On) - Paul McGee
Some really simple, but incredibly useful techniques which have proven invaluable for me both personally and professionally. Whatever your role, level, profession, I guarantee you will take something useful from this book which just helps you manage, well, you! E+R=O is one such technique that I’ve recited to possibly everyone who has ever known me. It’s a quick read, but a real “must-read".
Buy the book here.Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success - Matthew Syed
An interesting book to read in the middle of a global pandemic as it opens with a startling example about the healthcare system but, this is just one compelling example of the very many that this book uses as evidence to showcase its salient points. This book highlights the importance of “marginal gains”; small incremental improvements that will have an impact. It also talks about the effective use of data to make the right, most impactful, improvements and teaches us the importance of an open feedback culture and culture that embraces the learning from the knocks that we all take in our lives and our careers.
Buy the book here.The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey - Ken Blanchard
I only read this very recently when I was searching for simple and useful text to support the concepts of time management and prioritisation. Something which we all struggle with at some point in our lives and careers. Particularly if you’re in a management role, or considering moving into a management role, this read will be really helpful for you.
Buy the book here.Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t - James C. Collins
For anyone who wants a really logical approach to strategic planning, this book is excellent. It’s all very practical, makes it all very achievable and uses evidence and data to support its arguments. The concept of the “flywheel” and how to trigger and develop that momentum was particularly powerful for me and cements the thinking that a “transformation” is not a moment in time but instead a series of events, decisions, objectives, actions over a continuous period of time that create the flywheel effect.
Buy the book here.Leadership & The One Minute Manager - Ken Blanchard
Without sounding like a Ken Blanchard groupie, his series of books are great for showcasing a particular point, by way of a story, that makes it really memorable. The concept of situational leadership, when you get it (and more importantly implement it), is an absolute game-changer. It’s a concept that emphasises that no one person is at a particular stage of their development for ALL the tasks that they perform moreover, that their level of knowledge and confidence/commitment is at different levels dependent upon the task. And therefore that, as a Manager, you need to adapt how you support an individual with that particular task. Take a read of the book and it will all become clear…
Buy the book here.