Blog
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Blog / News & Opinion
Persuasive Presentations
By Porchlight
Most of us have witnessed an amazing presentation. We've attended a conference with an enigmatic speaker, we've seen a leader inspire a team, or maybe we've even listened to someone pitch their idea to us. When these moments are truly good, we remember them long after they occur.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
KnowledgeBlocks: Your Life is Your Business
By Sally Haldorson
Last week, in honor of Evaluate Your Life Day, we published an issue that will help you do just that. There we point you toward some wonderful books--mostly narratives--that offer us wisdom on living life, on facing dying, on making the most of the time we have, and achieving the things we dreamed of doing when we were young. The first book, Howard's Gift, will not only introduce you to Howard Stevensen, the Harvard Business School professor whose wisdom and mentorship is the focus of this biography by one of his former students, but also opens the door to a number of other books that encourage you to live life with intention, and face mortality with grace.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / Staff Picks
Extreme Productivity
Book Review by Porchlight
There are few things worse than the feeling that you're getting very little done with the seemingly ample time you have. There are a handful of potential contributors to this feeling (including derangement), but most often we feel unproductive because we are in fact unproductive. In this case, what would help is a guide to increasing productivity, which is exactly what Robert Pozen has created with Extreme Productivity.
Categories: staff-picks
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Blog / News & Opinion
Biz Book Chat with Jon and Michael
By Porchlight
Today, Michael and I took two books we've been looking at, and shared an interesting point from each. The books are, Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway and Katie Yezzi, and Beating the Global Odds: Successful Decision Making in a Confused and Troubled World. Both of the books offer advice on simplifying and improving one's approach to decision making, innovation, and leadership.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
The Glass Elevator: An Interview With Ora Shtull
By Porchlight
Ora Shtull is an Executive Coach and the author of The Glass Elevator: A Guide to Leadership Presence for Women on the Rise. In both her work as a coach and in her book, Ora encourages a complete approach to success, focusing on both professional and personal elements. Ora has developed a model for identifying and developing behaviors that help her clients influence, engage, and connect with the people around them.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / Jack Covert Selects
Jack Covert Selects - Makers
By Porchlight
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson, Crown Business, 257 pages, $26. 00, Hardcover, October 2012, ISBN 9780307720955 The Industrial Revolution began in the middle of the 18th century, and has provided an increasingly stable economy ever since. Innovations in mining, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and technology provided jobs and contributed toward a better quality of life around the world.
Categories: jack-covert-selects
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Blog / Jack Covert Selects
Jack Covert Selects - Leading So People Will Follow
By Porchlight
Leading So People Will Follow by Erika Andersen, Jossey-Bass, 224 Pages, $26. 95, Hardcover, October 2012, ISBN 9781118379875 Call it what you will: “Buy-in,” “Loyalty,” or “Enthusiasm. ” Use whatever metaphor for the phenomenon you like—maybe “Everyone’s onboard” and “rowing the oars together”—but the simple reality is that every organization needs leaders, and leaders need followers.
Categories: jack-covert-selects
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Blog / Jack Covert Selects
Jack Covert Selects - Mind Over Mind
By Porchlight
Mind Over Mind: The Surprising Power of Expectations by Chris Berdik, Current, 288 Pages, $26. 95, Hardcover, October 2012, ISBN 9781591845096 “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. ” Most people are familiar with that idiom and would agree that power has an intoxicating effect on even the most moral person.
Categories: jack-covert-selects
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Blog / News & Opinion
ChangeThis: Issue 99
By Porchlight
The Connected Company: How Distributed Organism Businesses are Rising Against the Machine to Build a More Connected World by Dave Gray “Companies are not really machines, so much as complex, dynamic, growing systems. After all, companies are really just groups of people who have banded together to achieve some kind of purpose. ” The Laws of Subtraction: How to Innovate in the Age of Excess Everything by Matthew E.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / ChangeThis
Timeless Leadership for a New World
By Erika Andersen
"The moon has risen. You and your family and friends are gathered around the fire, deciding who will be your next chieftain. Your former leader has died in battle, and this is a solemn and important occasion. The adults speak quietly, the firelight flickering over their faces, while the children and adolescents listen to every word. [. . . ] This is the most important decision the tribe can make: choose badly, and they could all starve to death, or be overrun by an invading enemy. Choose well, and they can hope for safety, freedom, a measure of prosperity. The discussion continues far into the night. [. . . ] Our deeply-wired-in sense of what makes a good leader is still there. You can see it every day in how we respond to the leaders in our organizations. Some leaders are merely "appointed": they may have the title and the corner office, but people simply don't commit to them. They have employees, but they don't have followers. Then there are what I call "accepted" leaders. Sometimes they don't even have the external signs of leadership—they may not have the top job or the big paycheck, but people gravitate toward them.
Categories: changethis
