Tag Archives: Book Review

The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up (#HRFL11)

the levity effect book reviewI have read The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up, and I think it’s a fantastic book for people to read in order to understand the impact that humor and levity can have in the workplace. Scott Christopher, the author of the book and speaker at the session, had so many fantastic quips and quotes that it might as well have been a comedy session with some learning thrown in. It was phenomenal and I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed hearing him speak.

One of our core values is to have a safe and enjoyable workplace. That’s why we have photos of office staff in men’s helicopter flight suits and videos of bagpipers playing in our lobby. We take the enjoyable part very seriously. Well, not so seriously. Anyway, you get the point.

Five quick points:

  1. Figure out what’s fun and share that (healing patients vs. serving food, building relationships vs. recruiting candidates, etc.)
  2. Herb Kelleher-Southwest Airlines-order of recruiting importance from least to greatest: education, experience, humor Continue reading →

Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work (book review)

When I received my review copy of Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Building a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT by Paul Marciano, I wasn’t sure about what to expect. I’ve talked about employee engagement before, and I feel like I know a good bit about the topic.

This book took it to a whole new level.

See, the engagement stuff is usually “fuzzy.” We know it’s a good concept, but we don’t receive a lot of practical advice on how to make it work. This book covers overarching concepts that affect human psychology at work and actionable ideas for employers to use to affect employee engagement on a daily basis. And the interesting part? It’s all based on respect. Continue reading →

The 1% Solution For Work and Life (Book Review)

how to make your next 30 days your best everToday I get to review the book The 1% Solution for Work and Life by Tom Connellan. I have been doing a lot of reading on working smarter, being more productive, and developing solid work habits lately. With all the balls I juggle, it is often more than a little crazy. When my friend Rebecca reached out to me to see if I wanted to review this book, I couldn’t wait. The last book review I did for them was fantastic, and I hoped this one was on the same level. Lucky for me, it certainly was.

I am a fan of business books written with a narrative story embedded. It helps to put yourself into the situations the character is facing. You can sympathize with the troubles and celebrate with the triumphs. So before I was two pages into the book, it already had that going for it. :-)

The plot

The basic storyline is this: Ken’s life is barely hanging on by a thread in some places. He is sick and tired of just struggling to maintain that level of performance, and that prompts him to start a conversation with a friend who is doing quite well. The friend shares with him an interesting phenomenon illustrated by Olympic athletes. Apparently the best athletes in the entire world are approximately 1% better then those who are just really, really good. It’s not a 50% difference or even 10%. And if they can be the that good by being 1% better, why can’t we be 1% better at lots of little things in life? Continue reading →

Perform Like a Rock Star (Book Review)

how to perform like a rockstarWith my affinity for using “rock” as a verb, you just know I would love reading the book Perform Like a Rock Star (and still have time for lunch) by Orna Drawas. Receiving this book from my friends at the Cadence Group couldn’t have happened at a better time, because my new HR job is requiring me to work smarter (and harder) than ever before. Where it fits, I added the page numbers below to help you find the good stuff.

Some of the highlights

  • CEOs rate the top two qualities they say will help someone advance in their career quickly as:
  • 1) the ability to separate the relevant from the irrelevant
  • 2) the ability to get the job done quickly
  • Don’t prioritize your schedule. Schedule time for your priorities. And make sure it’s during your golden hour.
  • Inbox zero (for your life)-Commit to using a list. Really using it. Anything that will take longer than two minutes to complete gets added onto the list. While it may seem urgent at the time, adding it to the list and then comparing priorities might shine the light on some false urgency. (p77) Continue reading →

A Leader’s Heart: 365 Day Devotional (Book Review)

John Maxwell-A Leader's Heart DevotionalWhen I ordered A Leader’s Heart by John Maxwell to review from BookSneeze, I was really excited. I’ve heard for some time that John Maxwell is an amazing writer in the leadership space, but I kept putting off reading one of his books (until now). My loss.

He writes well, and A Leader’s Heart is full of amazing leadership tenets delivered in bite sized pieces.

I’ll go ahead and admit that I haven’t finished reading the book. It wouldn’t make sense to read it all before reviewing, because it’s a devotional. That means you read a short passage every day for a year. The purpose of the devotional format is to continually immerse yourself in a subject to keep yourself focused and on track.

I gave it two weeks, and I’ve already seen opportunities arise for me to utilize an idea or action I read about in the book. I recommend it for people looking for growth in their leadership skills.

My favorite part so far Continue reading →

Be Bodacious: Put Life in Your Leadership (Book Review)

I’ve been reading a copy of Be Bodacious: Put Life in Your Leadership recently, and it’s been one of the better business books I’ve read this year. I’ve realized that a good mix of “story” and “lesson” is what I enjoy in a book. While there are a lot of good picks out there, a good book needs something to tie it all together and make it stick.

bo·da·cious-adjective

-Thorough, blatant, umistakable
-Remarkable, outstanding
-Audacious; bold or brazen Continue reading →

Review-How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

review how to win friends and influence peopleHow to Win Friends and Influence People Review-I received the book as a contest prize (video review below), and it’s been one of the most valuable prizes I’ve ever won. All of us have strained relationships, ideas we want to move forward, and connections we want to make. I’ve picked up a piece of advice on each of those topics that has helped me in my professional and personal lives.

These ideas are, for the most part, common sense. We already know some of them. But I think the difference for me is knowing that some of the most successful people in the world have used these ideas to achieve what they have. If you are looking for ideas on how to win friends and influence people, get the book today! Continue reading →