Blog / ChangeThis

12 Myths that Lead to a Busy, Unfulfilling Life

By Greg McKeown

"15 years ago, I quit law school to pursue one overarching question: 'Why do capable people fail to breakthrough to the next level?' The answer to the question, to my great surprise, is success. I first noticed the phenomenon while working with executive teams in some of Silicon Valley's most innovative companies. When they were focused on the right few things it led to success. But the success bred options and opportunities which undermined the very focus that led to success in the first place. In other words, I found that success can be a catalyst for failure. If we are not careful, it leads to what Jim Collins described as "the undisciplined pursuit of more." It is true for companies; it is true for people."

Blog / ChangeThis

Make Your Company Smarter

By Geoffrey James

"The unspoken beliefs that wield the most influence over business behavior are the metaphors that people use to envision the following major aspects of the work experience: What is business all about? What is a corporation all about? What is management all about? What role do employees play? What really motivates people? What is the nature of change? What's the role of technology? What is the essential nature of work? The answers to these questions define a company's corporate culture. So, then, what type of culture allows companies to pursue strategies that work today? What makes a corporate culture smart, given today's business environment? A good way to answer these questions is to compare what the executives inside successful companies believed in the past as opposed to what executives inside successful (i.e. smart) companies believe today. Here's what 'smart' cultures believe ... "

Blog / ChangeThis

The Magic Triangle of Company and Career Health

By Rich Karlgaard

"While giving speeches about the post-recession recovery, I began to wonder why some companies had blasted out of the recession in fine shape while others had not yet escaped, as if sick or dysfunctional. When a human being is sick or dysfunctional—or just not thriving—the root cause is always found in one of three areas. Picture a triangle. One side is physical health. Another side is emotional. A third side is social. If you are thriving on just two sides but not on a third, your entire health is at risk. Ask an otherwise physically and mentally healthy person who is struggling with social health, going through a traumatic divorce, say. What does robust health look like in a company or career? Can we find a similar triangle that can help us locate the root cause when our companies and careers are underperforming? I believe so. But warning: I will spend most of the time discussing the least appreciated side of the triangle—the soft edge."

Blog / Jack Covert Selects

Jack Covert Selects - F.I.R.E.

By 800-CEO-READ

F. I. R.

Blog / Jack Covert Selects

Jack Covert Selects - The Road to Reinvention

By 800-CEO-READ

The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation by Josh Linkner, Jossey-Bass, 256 pages, $27. 99, Hardcover, May 2014, ISBN 9780470923436 You don’t have a choice on whether or not your industry will be disrupted (hint: it will be. ) But you do have a choice on whether or not you’re going to be one of the disrupters.

Blog / Jack Covert Selects

Jack Covert Selects - Power Cues

By 800-CEO-READ

Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact by Nick Morgan, Harvard Business School Press, 272 pages, $25. 00, Hardcover, May 2014, ISBN 9781422193501 Nick Morgan has been teaching nonverbal communication and stage presence for more than two decades. In fact, before we went out on the road to give speeches around our book, The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, it was to Morgan that my coauthor Todd Sattersten and I turned for guidance.

Blog / Interviews

Thinker in Residence - Ryan Holiday on Business & Books

By 800-CEO-READ

"How do you not delude yourself with a story about your business but stay focused on the vision you have for it five years down the road? " ~Ryan Holiday

Blog / Interviews

Thinker in Residence: A Q&A with Ryan Holiday

By 800-CEO-READ

"Our perceptions and inner dialogue determine to a large degree what what we are capable of. And if they push us towards acting instead of passivity, it becomes a feedback loop that becomes easier over time. " ~Ryan Holiday

Blog / Interviews

Thinker in Residence: Ryan Holiday

By 800-CEO-READ

"We decide what we will make of each and every situation. " ~Ryan Holiday

Blog / Staff Picks

Two Laurens and a Welcome to the Real World

Book Review by 800-CEO-READ

For the past six months, we've had a fantastic young lady called Lauren (Lo) Holman interning for us—teaching us more about the world of online social medias with all its tumbles and tweetings and books of faces that link us all in together. She's been a great help to us here, and we will miss her greatly when she leaves us next week. But, before she does, she has done us one final solid by writing up a review of "the intern queen" Lauren Berger's new book, Welcome to the Real World: Finding Your Place, Perfecting Your Work, and Turning Your Job Into Your Dream Career.