Dear Management, here is my holiday wish list…
Tis’ the season of giving, and as a strong proponent of giving AND receiving (feedback, coaching, recognition) all year round, I’ve put together a top 5 list of the most powerful gifts you can give this holiday season. Many of us don’t need any extra “stuff” this year so why not give the gift of knowledge and help someone you truly care about transform their career, business or relationships with one of these must read books!
1. Start With Why by Simon Sinek
Simon has developed “The Golden Circle” which guides organizations on how to inspire. Essentially all organizations and careers function on 3 levels. What you do, How you do it and Why you do it. And according to his research we don’t even know that the most important Why level even exists!
2. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Following their award-winning book Made to Stick, the Heath brother’s look to answer the question of “Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?” This is done by bringing together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to demonstrate how transformative change can be accomplished.
3. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
DISCLOSURE: We are 37Signals fans. Now that we got that out of the way this book is written by the founders of 37 signals and shows you a better, faster and easier way to succeed in business with counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you.
4. Making Ideas Happen – Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky.
We all know remarkable leaders who generate excellent ideas, however how do you transform this dream into doing? This book outlines a formula used by exceptionally productive creative leaders and teams to transform a vision into reality.
5. The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
Although I’m jumping the gun a bit here, with the release date of this book set for March 2011, I’m really looking forward to throwing this one down. The Thank You Economy explains that we’re going through enormous change where top down, one-way exchanges are a thing of the past. Leading edge companies who are succeeding are replacing the old rules of the game with relationships based on open, honest and constant communication.
On a more personal level, I’m really looking forward to diving into a few other gems which include: Ignore Everybody by Hugh Macleod, The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel, and WIKIBRANDS by Mike Dover and Sean Moffitt; all over a 10 day span while in Montreal. Wish me luck!
In addition to this tangible gift, you can also inscribe the book with a personal note on why this is special and every time the recipient picks it up, they’ll have no choice but to think of you. This truly is the gift that keeps on giving all year round!
Happy holidays!
