The World's Best Book Summaries
Are you uncomfortable with conflict? How should you address conflict? Not many people enjoy getting into conflict, but unfortunately, you can’t always run away from it. Shonda Rhimes’s book Year of Yes gives techniques for addressing conflict so that you can assert your boundaries. Continue reading to learn how to address conflict the right way.
Why should you remain neutral in crucial situations? How does neutrality improve your life? Chris Hadfield’s memoir An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth expresses important lessons that astronauts learn from space. One of these lessons is to stay as neutral as possible if you’re new to a team or community. Here’s why remaining neutral is the better choice for those in new situations.
Why is democracy in the workplace important? How do you distribute authority at work? In Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan emphasizes the importance of giving power to everyone in the workplace. Doing this ensures equality at work and encourages employees to speak up and carry out the organization’s purpose. Let’s look at how you can enforce democracy in the workplace to create an environment of equality.
With mass layoffs reaching a record high, are you wondering how to prepare for layoffs? What should you do before or after being laid off? Layoffs that began in 2022 have picked up pace this year, as companies hit by weaker earnings, inflation, high interest rates, and fears of recession look to cut costs. Since layoffs can cause more distress than even a divorce, it’s important to prepare for layoffs before they happen. Read on to learn how to prepare for layoffs and what to do if you’re laid off.
Are you having trouble balancing your role as a parent and your job? What is some advice for working moms? These days, moms can do it all. They can work by day at their job and take care of the kids by night. But as Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes points out, it’s not easy being a working mom. Check out this advice for working moms to make your life easier.
What are the qualities of an ideal workspace? How can you arrange and decorate your workspace to optimize your thinking? Science writer Annie Murphy Paul claims that creating the ideal workspace is important because where you decide to work has a significant impact on the quality of your thinking. In The Extended Mind, she provides tips for creating a workspace that optimizes your brain’s productivity. Keep reading to discover how to create the ideal workspace, according to Paul.
Are you struggling to stay on top of all your tasks and responsibilities? What’s the best way to streamline your to-do list so you can tackle your workload more effectively and efficiently? If you want to feel in control of your life and on top of your to-do list, you need a system. Having a productivity system allows you to determine how to tackle an item when it lands in front of you rather than waiting until you’re up against a deadline. Here are three productivity systems to help you take control of your time and workload.
Why is advice-giving a common habit in the workplace? How can you stop giving unsolicited advice at work? In The Advice Trap, leadership coach Michael Bungay Stanier argues that when we use advice-driven leadership at work it creates an unproductive work environment and a lack of team confidence. To stop giving unsolicited advice, Stanier offers four steps to break the advice-giving habit. Read on to learn how to stop giving unsolicited advice, according to Stanier.
What’s Conway’s Law? What’s an inverse Conway maneuver, and how can it help your teams succeed? Conway’s Law states that a piece of software’s architecture mimics the structure of the team that produced it. Based on this, software engineers Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais advocate an approach to software development that they call an inverse Conway maneuver. Continue reading to learn about designing tech teams according to Conway’s Law.
What is the “advice monster?” What’s the problem with advice-giving? How can you tame your advice monster? According to author Michael Bungay Stanier, advice-giving is a widespread habit that many people find difficult to break—a habit he personifies as your “advice monster.” He claims that subduing the compulsion to give advice (i.e. taming your advice monster) is not an easy change to make. Read on to learn more about Stanier’s advice monster and how to break advice-giving habits.