Monday, May 16, 2011

Two more books down

It’s been a slow year for reading. I’m behind my usual pace. I finished The Power of Full Engagement by Loehr and Schwartz last night on my Kindle and Start with Why by Simon Sinek on Audible. Both were good books, although I have trouble recommending the Power of Full Engagement because it is largely repackaged content from a dozen other books I’ve read from the last 10 years.

I’m starting to enjoy Audible. I drive a lot these days. Audio books are an easy way to read while navigating around the Los Angles freeway system. I’m learning to pick my readers carefully though. A bad reader makes for a boring book no matter the subject matter.

Of the two books, Start with Why was a fun read. I enjoy looking behind the scenes of large corporations. I work in a billion dollar division of a multi-billion dollar company. The stories of big company culture resonates with me and make it easy to translate the material into action. I found myself asking why I do the things I do. I thought this was helpful in guiding my team towards doing the right things. I also uncovered a few misguided projects that were not inline with my why.This was helpful and worth the price of the book.

The Power of Full Engagement explores individual performance through the management of energy. The book focuses on making small changes to behavior that result in large changes to performance. I like the concept. I’ve even used it myself for a few years already. But the book touches on the metaphysical “Sprit” a little too much for me to warm up to. I can tell you that some of what they authors’ write about works miracles (the non-god kind of miracle). Recognizing behaviors that are blocking your potential or that are damaging your health, are key factors in changing your life for the better. If you need help with that, this is your book.

Both books are available via the Amazon links.

I’m not sure what my next read will be. I’ve got ten books queued up on my Kindle and three credits with Audible. I would like a recommendation if anyone has something I might find interesting. I’m reading business books at the moment, but I am open to almost anything.

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