Big Time by Laura Vanderkam

BIG TIME by Laura Vanderkam is subtitled “A Simple Path to Time Abundance” and compliments the other texts (e.g., Tranquility by Tuesday or Juliet's School of Possibilities) that she has written regarding time management. In this case, Vanderkam asks readers to take more of a big picture approach and to think in terms of 8,760 hours (an entire year).  Her first chapter discusses the benefits of time tracking – learning about patterns of how one’s time is spent. From there, she advocates for readers to “become the ringmaster,” balancing career, relationships, and self. For example, she describes the Better Workday Challenge where she advocates for people to pursue three strategies: find meaning by spending an extra hour per week on the work you like best; increase belonging by giving fifteen more minutes to deepening a work friendship; and reinforce a feeling of autonomy by taking two, short intentional breaks per day. Subsequent chapters are labeled “Embrace Your Golden Hours” and “Be Open to Serendipity” and contain ideas for evening hours, weekends and vacations. Throughout, Vanderkam points to examples from her own life or the survey research which has conducted with others who tracked their time. The text is written in an accessible manner and concludes with a brief case study. Publishers Weekly describes BIG TIME as an “upbeat guide” that “will resonate most with readers juggling family and career demands.”

Genius at Scale by Hill, Tedards, and Wild

GENIUS AT SCALE by Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Jason Wild is an in-depth, thoughtful look at “How Great Leaders Drive Innovation.” The authors’ credentials are impressive: Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (HBS); Tedards is a graduate researcher in organizational behavior at HBS; and Wild is he former Global Vice President of CEO Co-Innovation and Customer Engagement at Microsoft. Together, they essentially use case studies and real-world examples to talk about Architects, Bridgers, and Catalysts effecting change in their organizations. Some of the companies and groups mentioned are P&G, Pfizer, Mastercard, Delta Airlines, as well as food organizations in Africa and Italy and the Sampark Foundation which promoted educational advancements in India.  

GENIUS AT SCALE is very accessible, with differently sized helpful headers, a conversational tone, and a focus on individuals and their stories. Much of this necessitates a new way of thinking, like Mastercard’s emphasis on a Framework to Grow, Diversify and Build in the “World Beyond Cash” or P&G’s increasing recognition that “the product economy was shifting to an experience economy.” The authors note that “as much as leaders would like to plan their way to innovation, their job as architects is to help their teams and organizations act their way instead,” referencing a vivid descriptor from previous research: “it's like shifting from leading an orchestra to a jazz ensemble: while their sheet music provides some guardrails, the musicians have to improvise, listen, and adapt to each other as they perform.” Another chapter looks at the establishment of the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi, stressing the importance of continuous learning and adapting to local practices, needing “to create an environment where all caregivers could be ‘contemplative and creative rather than reactive problem solvers’.” While reading, I found many insightful comments like when the Sampark leadership opined “If you launch a decision as an initiative, people wait for it to fail. If you launch it as an experiment -- indicating that you will reverse it if it doesn't go right -- people participate in shaping it. They own it.” The authors and those they studied repeatedly point out how critical it is to have a “foundation of shared purposes and values -- a sense of community." GENIUS AT SCALE is clearly extensively researched with notes comprising at least ten percent of the book; there's also a helpful index and the online bibliography contains a list of over 700 books and articles.  Highly recommended.

Identity Designed: The Process by David Airey

IDENTITY DESIGNED: THE PROCESS by David Airey builds on his earlier work which deals with visual branding. Airey, an independent graphic designer from Northern Ireland, includes a section in his new text for each of these steps Research, Strategy, Design, Implementation. If nothing else, it will convince readers that the experts in this profession certainly have unique talents. Airey’s previous works, Logo Design Love and Identity Designed, each have an accompanying website and are often referenced in design courses. These are well worth the look as readers can investigate the rationale for and evolution of trademarks for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, Guinness beer, and much more. Many of the projects also contain links to recommended printers, photographers, copywriters, web developers, and so on – quite an education in itself. This latest book is written primarily for designers and is somewhat text heavy, but filled with examples (Airey's acknowledgements recognizes almost two dozen studio contributors). The most poignant piece of advice? “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”

Third Millennium Thinking

THIRD MILLENNIUM THINKING by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun is based on a successful multidisciplinary course at UC Berkeley taught by a physicist, a philosopher, and a psychologist, respectively. The authors’ goal is “Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense” by teaching and writing about using science and thinking tools to make better decisions. They begin by exploring how to build trust in a shared understanding of reality. Subsequent sections deal with applying probabilistic thinking and a “radical can-do stance.” The final areas they delve into include mental traps (the ways our personal thinking tends to go wrong) and then how we can better solve problems with others. Throughout, these professors offer multiple “hands on” examples which greatly increase the ability of readers to understand and relate to their key points. They also suggest exercises (e.g., accompany every statement of fact with an indication of degree of confidence) to further help readers in attempt to offer “a good translation -- a clear and concise explanation that expresses the scientific approach in an accessible way, and that illuminates its practical uses in everyday life.” I sincerely hope that this text has a wide readership, but I fear it will be mostly read by people who are already very concerned about our ability to find common understandings and who agree with the authors that “we need to learn to accept the possibility of errors in our own thinking, and our need for opposing views that help us see where we are going wrong.”

Spark by Chris Mettler and Jon Yarian

SPARK by Chris Mettler and Jon Yarian Offers “24 Concepts to Ignite, Unstick or Supercharge Your Work Life.”  With numerous short chapters, it is written in a relatively informal way “in everyday language and offers examples that real people can relate to.” Overall, this seems like a text which would be especially interesting to younger and mid-career workers, with advice like, “I learned to ask dumb questions, risk embarrassment, and embrace failure for the gift of knowledge it offers.” Both authors have extensive start-up business experience. Mettler has founded several companies and is currently Founder and Chairman of Sovereign, a marketing technology company; Yarian, described as a writer, speaker, serial entrepreneur, and performance coach, is Sovereign’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategy. They encourage readers to put aside preconceived notions and to be open to new ways of thinking and acting. For example, they define leadership as “the relinquishment of the illusion of control.” That, in turn allows people to see “your commitment to them and your vision for what is possible for you to accomplish together.” Isn’t that a terrific description of the best boss(es) you have had? SPARK is “a (mostly) modular book” with three main sections: the first involves concepts to work on within yourself, the second focuses on partnerships, teams, and interpersonal skills, and the third section looks more broadly across entire organizations and company culture. A final section suggests combinations and sequences. This relatively short (about 200 pages) but powerful book would be a fascinating text to read and discuss as a group.

Stage (Not Age) by Susan Wilner Golden

STAGE (NOT AGE) by Susan Wilner Golden deals with “How to Understand and Serve People Over 60--the Fastest Growing, Most Dynamic Market in the World.” Golden, who advises and lectures on longevity at Stanford argues that “the tectonic demographic shift must be met with a similarly immense mindset shift.” She spends the first part of the book exploring language (e.g., lifespan generally refers to a numerical age vs. healthspan which she characterizes as a ‘stage’ concept) along with marketing segmentation. Golden’s publisher describes STAGE (NOT AGE) as “the concise guide to helping companies understand that people over sixty are a deeply diverse population.” And in the second part of the book, Golden reviews companies which have successful longevity strategies; she also looks at different types of customers, plus distribution issues, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Golden helpfully begins each of her eight chapters with a summary of its big idea and ends each with a list of key takeaways. In addition, she devotes roughly ten percent to the book to a valuable list of resources, further reading, and notes. Another relevant text is The Longevity Economy by Joseph F. Coughlin, the founder and director of the MIT AgeLab; I recently heard him speak. In fact, it is projected that in fifteen years there will be more Americans over 65 than under 18 – offering fascinating questions on how organizations – public and private – can best plan to meet the likely challenges and leverage this growing opportunity. Students, too, will find much to reflect upon.

Scout Mindset by Julia Galef

THE SCOUT MINDSET by Julia Galef is one of my favorite books of the year. I am seriously considering using portions of this non-fiction text to reinforce key concepts when I teach research skills. Galef emphasizes the difference between a “soldier mindset” (follow the rules) and a “scout mindset” (be open to new ideas and ways of scanning the environment). Many times, our students are set on proving a pre-conceived thesis, rather than letting the research organically drive their conclusions. Discussing Galef’s points about the disadvantages of defending our beliefs against outside threats and ignoring contrary evidence could lead students to appreciate the (re)search aspect of looking for information as well as reward a willingness to experiment more fully with databases and credible web sites.  As Michael Shermer notes in his Wall Street Journal review of THE SCOUT MINDSET, “’I was wrong’ and ‘I changed my mind’ become virtues instead of vices.” I loved Galef’s tales of the scout mindset where “there’s no such thing as a ‘threat’ to your beliefs. If you find out you were wrong about something, great – you’ve improved your map and that can only help you.”

And, I have found a great video to visually reinforce this point with students – be ready to try the unconventional, just like Javy Baez running the bases for the Cubs:

Here is a quick summary of the contrast which Galef describes: 

 

Additional positive reviews from Adam Grant (Think Again) and Daniel Kahneman (Noise – review forthcoming).