April 2019 Bookshelf
Books 11 April 2019
The Episodic Career: How to Thrive at Work in the Age of Disruption
Farai Chideya
The day and age of the 40-year career with a single employer is all but extinct. However, the institutions that hold such an ideal are not fading away as quickly. We find ourselves encountering significant friction as a result—employers fear a lack of loyalty from entry level employees, traditional education environments fear a change in practice, and all of us are battling with what it means to be successful in the workplace. Farai Chideya, author of The Episodic Career, wants to eliminate the friction and show how you can find your “sweet spot” in work and life in this new age of disruption.
Just Ask Us: Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement
Heather Wolpert-Gawron
When starting a business, one of the first goals for any entrepreneur is to find the “white space” within their industry of interest. What will differentiate them from the competition? In education, oddly enough, the “white space” today is combining learning theory with actually asking kids about their needs and interests. Heather Wolpert-Gawron, author of Just Ask Us, entered that space by interviewing over 1,000 young learners to grasp how the theories she learned applied (or didn’t) to the learners she served. Check out what she discovered and consider how speaking in-depth with your learners might transform your practice as well.
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
Annie Duke
If you’re unfamiliar with the World Series of Poker and the stars who grace its stage, you might be surprised to find the tournament commonly features the same 10 or 20 faces at the final table each year. How can a game that seems to be based on the “luck of the draw” be dominated by a select number of players? Are they naturally lucky? Annie Duke, World Series of Poker champion and author of Thinking in Bets, will tell you luck is an element. But, she’s far more interested in exploring what it means to confidently make decisions in moments of uncertainty. Discover how Duke’s tools of decision making can help you step into the unknown with confidence and resolve.
On Grand Strategy
John Lewis Gaddis
John Lewis Gaddis, author of On Grand Strategy, has taught grand strategy at Yale University for two decades. In his latest book, he sums up the art of strategic thinking in two words: focus and creativity. Gaddis takes readers through centuries of history, exploring the strategic insights and mistakes from leaders such as Machiavelli, Thucidydes. Herodotus, St. Augustine, Tolstoy, Clausewitz, and Abraham Lincoln. A powerful theme runs throughout these stories that will allow anyone interested in improving their leadership ability to come away with new ideas.
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why
Amanda Ripley
Some days, transformational work feels like a dream; while on others, it feels like a 24/7 cycle of putting out fires. What if we could make those fires feel less like an emergency? Amanda Ripley, author of The Unthinkable, took it upon herself to explore the brain’s ability (and inability) to respond in moments of emergency. Exploring recent history of natural and unnatural disasters, Ripley consulted with “brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts” to discover “the brain’s ability to do much, much better” when provided “just a little help.” While flipping through these pages, discover how you can train your brain to manage the chaos lurking just around the corner.
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