SeattleCoach Best Reads and Podcasts
SeattleCoach books at Amazon
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"An Exercise for the Stressed. Whether it's good stress or the difficult kind, I get smarter and happier when I take a few minutes to "rebalance." I invite you to try an exercise I teach my coaching clients as they practice breathing differently and "rebalancing" in the middle of these busy days.Turn up your speakers and click. Note: This exercise only lasts five minutes--so you may feel a bit rushed. Once you've listened to it a few times, you may want to create you own version that extends to a longer version.
For a great 14 minute vacation, check out this little video called Validation, and smile.
And the books (most recent are near the top) . . .
Drive. The latest from Dan Pink. What motivates us? "Autonomy, mastery and purpose." Here's the video announcement.
God and Guinness.Stephen Mansfield. Much of the great 250-year history of Guinness beer is a story in which wealth is gained through faith-inspired excellence and then used to serve others. (This is not just my personal justification for drinking great beer!)
A Whole New Mind. Daniel Pink. Does it feel to you like the world has changed a lot in the past ten years? I love the way this book explains what's happening--especially appreciated the pointers about using, and respecting, both "halves" of our amazing minds. Loved this book.
Outliers. Malcom Gladwell. I loved this book that asks the question: how do you explain success? Bill Gates, The Beatles, Asian math students, some (but not all) geniuses? Turns out every one of them found opportunities that were buried in setbacks. Every one of them had help. Every one of them spent (or spends) thousands of hours practicing their craft before anyone noticed. The bullet points: * find meaningful work, * find complex work,
* work hard at it, * discover the links between your work and reward. * as much as possible, control your own destiny.
Leadership and Self-Deception. The Arbinger Institute. If you're a new manager or new in a leadership job, the big idea in this book will trump everything else you read about changing others, trying to "cope", communication strategies and/or and fabulous new skills and techniques. I read it in one sitting thinking that this is as close as it gets to a "magic bullet."
A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. Edwin Friedman. It's not your command of data, or technique or communication skills. It's your ability to stay calmly yourself, clear about your values and vision while staying connected. The first chapter is a fascinating study of what happened in the fifty years following the events of 1492.
The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great. Pam Anderson, former executive editor of Cook's Illustrated. A book that's more about simple, satisfying and life-long fitness than it is about dieting. Good recipes too. The introduction is worth the price of the book: "Send a clear daily message to your body, 'Don't worry, I'm paying attention!'"
Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love. Dr. Sue Johnson. I think this is simply the definitive book about the healing and creative power of adult love and attachment. When you're tackling life, having a secure relationship in which your partner is available and responsive to you makes all the difference. I suggest reading this one with your significant other.
What Got You Here Won't Get You There. Marshall Goldsmith. Seems like every gifted and accomplished leader has skills and habits that have gotten them this far but now prevent them from going further. This great coach details twenty career-damaging interpersonal habits that hold leaders back. Then he gives direction about how to get honest feedback from wary colleagues, and then make specific changes.
The Way of Transition. William Bridges. My favorite writer on the subject recaps his theory in his most poignant book yet. A great and supportive read for life's toughest--and most unchosen--changes.
Three Cups of Tea. Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A true adventure story about an ordinary man on a quest. Greg Mortenson has built fifty-five schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, providing both boys and girls with a balanced, non-extremist education. The subtitle is, "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations . . . OneSchool at a Time." Click here to read a brief report in Parade Magazine.
Creating You & Co.: Learn to Think Like the CEO of Your Own Career. William Bridges. This is the latest from my favorite teacher on the subject of transition and career change. I'm using it a lot with clients these days.
Changing for Good. James Prochaska. A great way of thinking about creating and sustaining change (and overcoming addictions and bad habits). For my summary, click here.
Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career. Herminia Ibarra. "Career transition is not a straight path toward some predetermined identity, but a crooked journey along which we try on the 'possible selves' we might become." Good stories.
The Balance Within: The Science of Connecting Health and Emotions. Esther M. Sternberg, MD. An engrossing book for professionals who live in the convergence of stress, mood and their own physical reactions. This is a challenging and useful explanation of our mind-body connections, and it's not too woo-woo, and not too medical.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Malcolm Gladwell. This book, from the author of The Tipping Point, is about neuroscience and decision-making. You know when your intuition, a first impression, a snap judgment or a hunch kicks in and the resulting decision is amazingly on target? That's what this book is about. How do we tend to extract the most important info first? How do we create the conditions for successful spontaneity? Does a longer process bring increased accuracy or just increased confidence? And when does a longer process pay off?
Good to Great; Built to Last; How the Mighty Fall. Jim Collins. Three great reads for individuals and organizations who are finding and keeping their niche of greatest relevance, contribution and satisfaction.
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. Twyla Tharp. The great dancer and choreographer talks about the life habits that create the conditions for her amazing creativity.
