The World's Best Book Summaries
What is organizational purpose? Do you feel like you often lose sight of your purpose as change gets in the way? Organizational purpose is the grand vision of an organization that pulls its different functions together. Although most businesses will have a purpose, many struggle to stay true to it as circumstances get in the way. There are five techniques to stay true to your and your organization’s orienting purpose as you navigate change.
Who was Frances Perkins? In what ways did Perkins assist in making the New Deal? In his book The Road to Character, David Brooks talks about several historical figures who acted selflessly to benefit the greater good. The first person Brooks outlines is Frances Perkins, the woman behind the New Deal. Here is a brief overview of Frances Perkins’s biography, as written by David Brooks.
What are some things you feel confident about? What do you think gives you that confidence? Where does confidence stem from in general? According to Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, the authors of The Confidence Code, real confidence stems from mastery. You can only be truly confident about your ability to do something because you have the hard evidence for it—you’ve worked hard and pushed through the difficulties to master it. In this article, you’ll learn about the psychology of confidence: what confidence is, why it’s important, and how women seem predisposed to have less of it than men.
Have you read The Purpose Driven Life? Have you successfully applied the concepts to your life? Pastor Rick Warren wrote The Purpose Driven Life to help you find your purposes and learn how to fulfill them. We’ve put together several exercises to help you apply the principles in the book. These can be done individually or with a group. Keep reading for these practical exercises.
Is your organization in dire need of a change but you don’t know where to start? How can looking to outside sources help expand your options? In the fable Our Iceberg Is Melting, the penguins realize that their iceberg will not survive the winter but they can’t come up with solutions on how to fix it. Only when a seagull pays them a visit do they realize that their best course of action is to leave the iceberg altogether, something they never considered. Here is why outside ideas are crucial when it comes to making big changes.
What are tax-advantaged accounts? What kind of financial assets should you use a tax-advantaged account for? Tax-advantaged accounts are tax-deferred or tax-exempt. You should use these accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, for holding tax-inefficient assets (e.g. bond funds that generate taxable interest, actively managed stock funds, CDs, and REITs). They pay interest and non-qualified dividends and produce capital gains distributions. Below, we’ll take a look at the basic types of tax-advantaged accounts and their key characteristics.
What is a beta risk? What is the difference between systematic vs unsystematic risk? Does this particular kind of risk involve higher premiums? The key characteristic of systematic risk, better known as “beta risk” is that it cannot be diversified away by having a diverse portfolio. And researchers found that because it can’t be diversified away, beta risk is the only kind of risk that pays a “risk premium”—that is, a higher return for the higher risk. Keep reading for more about beta risk, and whether it actually leads to a higher premium.
What is future scenario planning? How can it help you make better decisions? Future scenario planning is a method of anticipating all the possible outcomes of a decision. By doing this exercise, you’re more likely to make a rational decision and achieve a desirable result. Read more to learn how future scenario planning can be a useful tool for you.
What is God’s purpose for your life? Why should you embrace it? Understanding and fulfilling God’s purpose for your life is central to your existence. The Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren shares six reasons why you should embrace God’s purpose. Read on to learn why you should accept God’s purpose for your life.
What happened during the conversion of St Paul? What inspired his spiritual transformation? What can we learn from this story? The biblical story of the conversion of St Paul chronicles the transformation of Paul the Apostle from persecutor and heretic to a devout follower of Jesus. The conversion of St Paul was set off after an encounter with the risen Christ on the famous road to Damascus, leading to the realization that his doubt of the messiah was misplaced. Here’s what happened during the conversion of St Paul.