Shortform Books

Ethical Workplace Behavior: Don’t Leave Gray Areas

Are your employees clear about the ethical expectations at your company? Are you consistently upholding behavior boundaries? CEO and venture capitalist Ben Horowitz draws on historical examples to show how you can provide cultural leadership in your organization. For lessons on ethical workplace behavior, Horowitz looks to Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, who shows us that we must not leave ethical gray areas. Keep reading to learn more about shaping ethical workplace behavior.

How a Distributive Economy Promotes Equality

How to Create a Wealth Mindset to Change Your Reality

What’s a distributive economy? What are the dangers in entrusting the distribution of the money supply to private commercial banks? A distributive economy promotes an equitable distribution of the money supply. In a capitalist economy, the money supply is distributed by private banks, which gives banks too much power. In a distributive economy, government-backed financial institutions take the role of private banks. Here’s why we should democratize money, according to Kate Raworth.

Why Do Poor People Have So Many Children?

Why do poor people have so many children? How do poor parents plan their family size? Poor mothers often suffer disadvantages if they have children too early in life or if they have more children than they can afford. If they have children before they finish school, mothers tend to get less education during their lifetimes, and if they have more children than they can afford, mothers sacrifice their own health needs to ensure those children are cared for. Given these facts, Duflo and Banerjee point out two factors that affect the poor’s reproductive decisions. Here’s why the poor have

What Is the Law of Karma? Gary Zukav Explains

What is the law of karma? What impact does it have on your life? How can you balance your karmic debt? The Seat of the Soul is Gary Zukav’s best-selling exploration of the soul’s evolutionary journey through the material realm. He explains what karma is and discusses the power it has in your life—and what power you have to affect it. He also talks about how to balance your soul’s karmic debt. Read more to learn about Zukav’s understanding of karma.

Loonshots: Book Overview and Key Takeaways

What is Safi Bahcall’s Loonshots about? What is the key message to take away from the book? In his book Loonshots, Safi Bahcall argues that innovations as wide-ranging and world-changing as radar, insulin, and computer animation all share a similar trajectory: They began as flawed, incredibly fragile ideas. They were repeatedly shot down or ignored, and if not for a lot of luck and persistence, they would never have made it. Bahcall’s big idea is that it’s possible to deliberately and systematically nurture loonshots. Below is a brief overview of Loonshots by Safi Bahcall.

How to Prioritize Tasks in the Workplace

Trying to figure out how to prioritize tasks in the workplace? How can the Scrum method help you decide which tasks should be tackled first? If you have so many tasks at work that you’re overwhelmed, try using Jeff Sutherland’s Scrum method. In his book Scrum, Sutherland teaches readers how to organize their projects by figuring out which tasks will have the biggest impact. Here’s how to organize and prioritize your tasks.

How to Cultivate Creativity: 4 Tips for Creative Freedom

Is your creativity getting you anywhere? What’s getting in your way on your path toward creative power and independence? In the book Mastery, Robert Greene identifies creative independence as the second stage of mastery. It comes after you’ve established a foundation of skills and knowledge—when you’ve come to a point where you can apply these in your own way. He offers four tips on how to cultivate creativity: commit to a creative project, keep your mind flexible, create a major insight, and overcome emotional obstacles. Keep reading for details on these recommendations.

Kaizen: The Toyota Way’s Most Important Principle

What does “kaizen” mean? Why is it one of the pillars of the Toyota Way? In The Toyota Way, kaizen is described as continuous improvement. Author Jeffrey Liker says kaizen improves Toyota’s operations at both the modeling stage and the implementation stage. Here’s more on the concept of kaizen in The Toyota Way.

Personal Legends in The Alchemist: What They Mean

What is a Personal Legend in The Alchemist? Why do people tend to abandon their Personal Legends in life? In Paulo Coelho’s book The Alchemist, the main character, Santiago, embarks on a life-changing journey to follow his dreams. Following your dream, or your Personal Legend, is the core message of the book. Let’s take a look at following your Personal Legend, and what can happen if you ignore it.

How to Use a Tactical Business Plan to Reach Goals

What is a tactical business plan? How can a tactical plan help you turn your business goals into reality? Identifying your business goals is important, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a plan to execute those goals. In their book Execution, business leaders Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan teach you how to make a tactical plan to bring your business goals to fruition. Here’s how to create a tactical business plan.