Darya Sinusoid

Darya’s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain/mind/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.

What Is an Action Mindset? A Prerequisite for Success

What does it mean to have an action mindset? Do you consider yourself an action-oriented person? As the name suggests, an action mindset is a mindset that is geared towards taking action. People who have an action-oriented mindset don’t wait for the stars to align or for the muse to pay a visit. They take action even in suboptimal circumstances because non-action kills momentum. Here are five mindsets that all action-oriented people have in common.

Peter Drucker on Executive Decision-Making

How should executives make decisions? What are some things you can do to streamline your decision-making process? Executives’ decisions significantly affect the entire organization and its performance. Therefore, effectiveness in this area is a must. Management consultant Peter Drucker advocates a five-step approach to executive decision-making. In this article, we’ll first introduce Drucker’s decision-making steps and compare them to other executive decision-making approaches.

First, Break All the Rules: Book Overview

Is Marcus Buckingham’s First Break All the Rules book worth reading? What are its key takeaways? In his book First, Break All The Rules, Marcus Buckingham simply and clearly lays out proven management best practices. Then, he teaches how to hire the right people, create a productive working environment, and guide employees to success. Here is a brief overview of First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham.

Change Your Environment—Change Your Life

How does your environment influence your personality? What can you do to restructure your environment for success? Your environment—the people you surround yourself with, the clothes you wear, the neighborhood you live in, and the food you eat—shapes you into the person you are. If you want to become more successful, the first thing you need to do is to change your environment on all three planes: physical, social, and internal. Here is how you can recondition yourself for success by changing your environment.

Micromanagement in the Workplace: Sometimes It’s OK

Is micromanagement always a bad thing? Can overseeing every little detail of employees’ workflow ever be good? Micromanagement is a common practice in modern workplaces. Most of the time, micromanagement is toxic in that it hinders employee performance. However, there are occasions when micromanagement is the way to go. Here’s why managers think they must oversee every detail and when that can actually be helpful.

Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive: Book Overview

What is The Effective Executive about? What can you do to increase the effectiveness of your organization? In his book The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker argues that effectiveness derives from a set of five practices anyone can learn rather than from unique talents or charisma. Drucker’s five effectiveness practices are as follows: 1) manage your time, 2) focus, 3) make a unique contribution, 4) maximize your strengths, and 5) make sound decisions. This article examines how Drucker’s ideas on effectiveness hold up today and how others have built on them.

Black Hole Entropy: Stephen Hawking’s Discovery

What’s entropy like inside a black hole? And how do we know that black holes have entropy in the first place? Jacob Bekenstein suggested that the area of a black hole was itself a measurement of its entropy. But if black holes had entropy, they would have to emit radiation (which was thought impossible at the time). In 1973, Stephen Hawking ran calculations that showed that black holes would indeed create and emit particles. Keep reading to learn more about black hole entropy.

10X Companies: 3 Core Habits That Drive Success

What distinguishes 10X companies from the average? What are some of the key characteristics of businesses that manage to stay afloat through a crisis? Dispelling an entrenched myth, the research suggests that ultra-successful 10X companies are not more creative, more ambitious, or more visionary than the average. What sets them apart are these three behaviors: 1) fanatic discipline, 2) empirical creativity, and 3) productive paranoia. Keep reading to learn about the three core characteristics of 10X companies.

The 3 Attitudes for Success and How to Cultivate Them

What does it mean to have an attitude for success? What kind of attitude sets apart a successful person? Our attitudes speak for us, broadcasting disinterest and boredom, or energy and success. If you want the latter, work on nurturing these three attitudes: 1) “I’m activated,” 2) “You are important,” and 3) “Service first.” Keep reading to learn about the three attitudes that all successful people have in common.

Employee Performance Management: Best Practices

What does employee performance management entail in your organization? What are the characteristics of a good performance management routine? Employee performance management consists of meetings and conversations that help you to focus on the progress and performance of your employees. An effective performance management routine must be simple, regular, future-focused, and tailored to each individual employee. Here are some things to think about as you design a performance management routine for your organization.