I am a massive bookworm. When I launched the Twist Change for the Better newsletter (sign up here) in 2020, I was keen to include a book review. This shares reads that I and others have found insightful and that have helped us develop a different perspective on the world.
So, each month, you’ll see a review of a book covering a topic from either organisational or system change, climate change or wellbeing and resilience. These include new reads or ‘go to’ editions that sometimes get lost in our real or virtual bookshelves.
As people have told me these insights have been useful, this post is a wrap-up of three of the reviews that have proved the most popular, plus a few recommendations that still to be reviewed. Here goes…
Image: Seven Shooter, unsplash
Pause – how to press pause before life does it for you
I was given this book by a colleague when it was first published in 2017. Before the pandemic, I’d flicked through it, written down a couple of examples of good practice and then put it back on shelf.
I rediscovered it in August 2020 and read it from cover to cover. This is a great example of a book finding you at the right time.
Read the review here.
The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
Interestingly, I was given this book as a wedding gift back in 2009 and it’s one of those reads I come back to again and again. For me, it’s a foundation read for all things wellbeing-related.
The mantra I took away from it is actually in the sub-title – ‘Managing our ENERGY, no time, is the key to HIGH PERFORMANCE, HEALTH and HAPPINESS’. It’s not about the number of hours you put into your work but your energy levels during those hours.
I’ve never forgotten this since the first read and I talk to my clients about the same thing (on repeat). This has since been supplemented by thinking around attention management, giving a rounded approach to how we can better cope.
Read the review here
Imagine it forward – Courage, Creativity and the Power of Change, Beth Comstock
This book is in an elite group on my shelf, of those with the most post-it notes marking things to read. I rarely write in books, but this has scribbles all over it.
This should be a standard read for anyone in business but especially those in leadership teams, change or project management and marketing. It’s a fascinating read by a former vice chair, head of marketing at GE and a self-confessed change-maker. Here’s a couple of quotes to whet your appetite:
“The world will never be slower than it is right now” and “To be innovative, you have to be comfortable with some level of maybe.”
READ THIS BOOK!
Read the review here.
What’s next?
Here are recommendations I’ve had for reads or reviews that are coming up…
The Midnight Library, Matt Haig
Brave New Work – Aaron Dignan
How Bad are Bananas? – Mike Berners-Lee
Let me know if you’ve already read these and what you think. Or, if you have any suggestions for other books, podcasts or videos to follow, I’d love to hear about it and I’ll share more in the next quarter!
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