books inspiring scribbles

 

I have been on a book kick lately. My husband and I went to barnes and nobles the other night and I went home with 4 new books. I had about 8 that I wanted but he talked me into ordering 3 of them on the ipad because it would be half the price. It is probably all this reading that has me inspired to write many of these blog posts. Here are a few of my recommendations....for anyone looking for some holiday light reading:)

I have mentioned it in an earlier post (office imitates life). Drive by Daniel Pink is a great book about motivation. Pink makes a compelling argument for autonomy, mastery and purpose being central to motivating people. He uses examples like Google's "20% rule" to illustrate how one can implement these motivational strategies in their workplace. Working in higher ed, I have found that we need to be creative about motivation. Bonuses and commissions are not a part of the higher ed culture, and Pink claims that monetary incentives are no match for instilling autonomy. Very good read for those that supervise, and are looking for new ways to motivate their staff.

This is a very practical book. It has exercises and assessments to use with a team, and Lencioni's philosophy on the five dysfunctions of a team is right on. He outlines the five dysfunctions, and then each chapter gives the reader strategies to repair the dysfunction. Good for anyone working as a supervisor or leader of a group.

This book is just cool. I can't say much more than that. It gives the reader so many good ideas to maximize the meetings you have with co-workers and get the most out of the time spent in meetings and people that are there. Sibbet makes the case for using visuals in meetings and trainings, and it is a compelling case. He argues that people are much more likely to participate, feel invested in the topic/project being discussed, and will come up with more creative ideas if visuals are used in meetings. From post its to using news print grafitti boards around a room, I buy into what he's selling and I like the ideas he has for making meetings and trainings more visual and interactive.

Much like the "5 dysfunctions of a team" book, this is very practical. It is a very helpful book to pull off the shelf when you need to plan a training. It has some good technical things to keep in mind as you plan your training, gives the reader some guided worksheet type things to help you plan, and gives some in depth facilitation techniques. I found Goad's discussion about training/facilitating to difficult personalities to be very helpful.

I can't take total credit for this one. I saw it in my colleague's office (the cover design caught my eye), and he recommended it to me. It is a great book to have on your book shelf as a reference. It has a lot of great techniques and practical skills for designing your presentation and delivering it. Most of the emphasis is on design, but the info about delivery that is included is very helpful.

I have been all about Zappos lately. Ever since another one of my colleagues talked about the Zappos CEO and philosophy on work culture in a staff meeting I have been on a huge Zappos kick. I regularly check out the Zappos insights blog, ordered a free copy of their employee handbook (the Zappos culture book), and bought this book (delivering happiness). I am only a few chapters in so I haven't gotten too deep into the whole culture discussion, but even learning Hsieh's story has been very intriguing. His dedication and passion for his work makes me feel a little less silly for how psyched I am about my work. Really looking forward to getting more into his philosophy on work culture, and reading the culture book I ordered. Definitely a great read, especially for those that supervise a large staff and/or are working on improving the work environment for your employees.