The World's Best Book Summaries
How can you dedicate your career to fulfilling your personal mission? What are the practical steps? Having a mission is a trait of a lovable job. It focuses your career, and it’s useful to the world— it might even change the world. When your work makes a difference, you find more joy and satisfaction. You also make a bigger impact and leave a greater legacy. Read more to learn about your personal mission in the context of your career.
What is effective team communication in the leader-leader model? How can leaders communicate without controlling? Submarine captain David Marquet found that brief and early conversations with his crew at all levels were the key to effective team communication. Ultimately these conversations saved time, prevented mistakes, and focused efforts on the right objectives. Read more to learn this method of effective team communication.
Do you have job autonomy? If not, what’s the best way to acquire it? Job autonomy is the ability to control what you work on and how you work, including schedule and office space. It’s one of the traits that make a job desirable. The best way to have autonomy is to develop skills that make you invaluable. First, it’s helpful to know how important workplace autonomy is—and when it’s the right time to go for it. Read more to learn how and when to secure job autonomy.
What did L. David Marquet do when he first took command of a submarine? What leadership lessons did he get a chance to put into action? Today, L. David Marquet is known as a remarkable leader who turned things around for a demoralized submarine crew. He did this by putting into action the leadership lessons he learned in his early years in the Navy. The primary lesson was realizing that everyone can think and act like a leader. Read more to learn what L. David Marquet did in the first few months of his new command.
How are political views formed? Do we learn them? Or are we born with them? In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt discusses how we can have more constructive conversations with people who have different political leanings than our own. Interestingly, he believes that political ideology is at least partially innate, not just learned. He offers three keys to understanding ideological development, which can help bridge the divide. Read more to learn about ideological development.
What are the benefits of religion in society? How does religion help make us better as individuals and communities? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that we must understand religion primarily as a social driver that brings people into a community around a belief. Ultimately, this helps us find our moral foundation. Read more to understand the benefits of religion, according to Jonathan Haidt.
How did the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators unfold? What was the ultimate fate of the assassins? The hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices lasted for several days after the assassination of Lincoln. Chasing Lincoln’s Killers tells the chilling tale of the assassins and the sympathizers who helped them flee from Washington, through Maryland, and ultimately to Virginia. Read more to learn the exciting story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth.
Do you have scarce skills that are in high demand? How can they be developed? Scarce skills equal career capital. You can develop them to the point where you’re so good people can’t ignore you. Then you can cash them in to get the job you want. Read more to learn how to develop and leverage scarce skills.
How can you develop leaders by helping them have a proactive mindset? How can a change in language make a big difference? A proactive mindset helps people take ownership in their work. It goes hand in hand with authority to make decisions and promote progress. It can be as simple as declaring an intention to do something—rather than asking permission or waiting to be told to do it. Read more to learn how to instill a proactive mindset in your team members.
What is Jonathan Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory? What does he believe are the six foundations of morality? Jonathan Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory puts forth six foundations of morality that we all have, but in different proportions. They are based on how people in various cultures deal with life’s challenges and what they regard as virtues. Read more to learn about Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory.