I previously posted on my 5 favourite books (you can read this here) however someone pointed out the inclusion of a Goleman book in the photo of my bookcase and the fact that I hadn’t listed it as one of my top 5. As such I realized that top 5 was too limiting and hence this pointing is my next 5 books, building my top 10. Also being honest, the is an easy post to fill my current writers block for #29daysofwriting
Before I go any further just a recap of my top 5:
- The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Ken Blanchard
- The Silo Effect by Gillian Tett
- Lateral Thinking by De Bono
- The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
So for my 6th book I would suggest a recent read in Resillience by Andrew Zolli and Ann Marie Healy. The books centres on resilience and how we can develop it in an ever changing world. I particularly enjoying the opening phrase “robust but fragile” as used in the book which seems to align with the similary contradictory terms such as “tough but tender” as used in a college I worked in.
Another recent read is Thinking Fast and Slow from Daniel Kahneman. I originally heard this as an audio book listening to it while travelling between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I enjoyed it that much I went out and purchased it. The books use of Agent 1 and Agent 2 as the two ways that we think, fast and slow, is very useful in explaining how we can reach effective decisions quickly however the existence of weaknesses in this approach in certain situations.
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman is an excellent book focusing on the interpersonal aspect of all we do. Whether we are building cars, teaching, a manager, or a million other job roles, we will almost always need to work with others. As such Emotional Intelligence is critically important. I suspect this is a book I will be re-reading shortly.
Edward De Bono’s, I am right, you are wrong is a brilliant book discussing De Bonos perception with regards how the mind works. The books includes some excellent examples of how order of new ideas impacts learning plus some good discussion on “learning backwards”.
My final book for inclusion is Ken Robinsons, The Element. Robinson draws on many examples of successful people who evidence where personal areas of strength meet their passions. A particular favourite point is his suggestion that we ask “How are you intelligent” rather than the usual “How intelligent are you?”. A subtle but critical difference.
Am looking forward to returning to more reading once I get to the conclusion of #29daysofwriting.
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