I love learning which is good because my clients, and the coaches I train and mentor are always hot on my heals with their own insights.

Two topics are always front-and-center for me: How can we understand and solidly unleash our signature strengths, and what is the difference between change and compliance. Check out these two terrific (and easy) reads–both have inspired me.

1. Positivity by Barbara Fredrickson. This author is also a researcher who writes about the whats and hows of deliberately building a positive point of view. The pay-offs can be huge in our ability to be smarter, more resilient and have more access to our strengths and areas of mastery. Pretty readable for a researcher.

2. Switch by Chip Heath. This is the best book I’ve read this year on how people change–and how leaders can help them to. The author borrows a very remember-able analogy that I will think of the next time try to give direction to a large, powerful, emotional, impulsive, intelligent animal (human or otherwise).