Two Books Worth Reading
The beautiful thing about being a good manager is that you don't have to be great. There is so much mediocrity that being "good" will vault you way ahead of the pack. The difficulty is that it's not easy to be good. If it were, everyone would be good. If you make a commitment to act, however, you will succeed.
Those words are from Nick McCormick at BeGoodVentures and come from his handy book Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager.
What this book is: A useful handbook for new supervisors or managers who need to understand how to view their role and their people.
The author uses two characters, Joe and Wanda, to highlight typical situations facing managers and their employees. He then provides simple and useful guidelines for what to do (and not) in each situation. The advice is practical.
What this book is not: A deep tome on the psychological and sociological underpinnings of leadership.
How you might use it: This is one of those books that I'd hand out to new managers, ask them to have a quick read, and then sit down and review each of the brief chapters periodically. It's a useful resource to help focus and structure regular follow-up and coaching conversations. The information is practical and there is more in this brief volume (93 pages) than one might imagine at first glance.
The graphics may seem too simplistic for some in this digital age of sophisticated media. However, the lessons presented are ones that people at every organizational level are confronted with daily.
Coolhunting is an entirely different experience and targets those of us who are fascinated by social networks, how they work, and what's "cool." Authors Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper have really done their homework when it comes to showing people how to go about accomplishing the tag line, "Chasing Down the Next Big Thing."
I have to admit that I was captivated by the way they laid out relationships, trends, and technology--and then provided practical guidance to go "Coolhunting" on your own.
If you are at all interested in innovation, you'll see how to find and visualize emerging innovation in a wide array of settings. For those who think that innovation is a nebulous concept, this could be a big help.
Happy reading!
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Note: Complimentary copies of the above-mentioned books were forwarded to me. There was no compensation received nor any promise of favorable comment.
Photo attribution: seclog.de
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