RANDOM QUESTION: What book are you reading that's truly impacting you?
"Leader are Readers" - but it's hard to decide what to read! There's so much good stuff, we want to read something good & impacting. Leaders don't have time to waste reading the fluff.
That's why we should share with each other what impacting books we're reading.
What book are you reading that's truly impacting you? This can be any type of book, including a book of the bible. Please share with us in the comments below so we can know what to read & what to ignore.
Here are three books that I'm reading right now that are impacting me (we have a Lunch & Learn program at the office, I'm part of three groups, so I'm kinda cheating).
Integrity - Dr. Henry Cloud
This book was highly recommended by several people. And I head never read anything from Dr. Cloud, whose other books are also very popular. But when I started reading, I was disappointed. I thought "Oh great, another '5 Tips to Success' book." But we just got to the 4th chapter, and that has impacted me tremendously! Right now I'm learning the importance of connecting with my co-workers (and people in my life in general). I know this is kinda obvious, but he explains it on a deeper level & gives great practical examples & steps to connecting.
Quote: "If you have kids in Phoenix that you want to take to Disney World, no matter how good it is going to be fore them, they have to want to get in the car. And people are not going to get in the car with someone they don't trust or don't feel understand them. We trust people who we think hear us, understand us, and are able to empathize with our realities as well as their own. That is why the abilities to connect and trust are so intertwined"
As a leader, it's super important to connect with your team. I HIGHLY recommend chapter 4 of Integrity. Borrow from someone this week!
SWITCH: How to Change Things When Change is Hard - Chip & Dan Heath
Again, highly recommended from my friend @RonEdmondson. I LOVE this book! They have a Malcolm Gladwell-esque writing style that uses lots of stories, so it's a fun & informative read. They also use clear language and get very practical and simple, so you can truly learn & apply what they suggest.
I'm learning that to make change you have to "Direct the Rider, motivate the Elephant & shape the Path." Basically make a clear case of what needs to happen (direct the Rider (of the Elephant (you))), Motivate the Elephant (our desires) through emotional appeal/explanation (connecting to their heart), and direct the path by laying out the steps clearly for change.
Though, again, these may be obvious, the examples they give of phenomenal change & insights into human nature have been very helpful.
MAKING IDEAS HAPPEN - Scott Belsky
Okay, we haven't really dug into this book yet. Only in the first 2 chapters. But I'm a super idea person & a low execution person. This book is about helping idea people learn to execute. Here's his formula:
Making Ideas Happen = (The Idea) + Organization & Execution + Forces of Community + Leadership Capability.
For "Organization & Execution" - he lays out some helpful practices for staying organized with all your ideas (projects) and not over committing; he's been quoted a lot as saying "One of the biggest enemies of making ideas happen is coming up with more ideas & dropping the old ones before completion" (paraphrase).
What books are impacting you? And how?
