As one of my personal goals for my job, I tasked myself with reading some books for my own professional growth. Here’s some reads that only happened for my corporate job:

When by Daniel H. Pink

This explores the use of our personality types to use timing to our advantage. Since I was often struggling to get lesser-priority projects done, this concept appealed to me. How can I utilize the ebbs and flows of my day to get the most done? I was pleasantly surprised by how useful and informative I found the book’s information.

There are 3 typical parts to your day: Peak (highest level of productivity), Trough (break or lull in the day), Rebound (small boost of productivity). Finding where you lean can help to make the rebound productivity easier. Essentially, you should figure out your type, understand your tasks, and select the appropriate time to get things done. Do your most important work during your peak and less priority items during your rebound.

The Power of Positive Energy by Tanaaz Chubb

Here’s some of the information that was included in my presentation to my teammates on how to harvest your power of positive energy:

Energy: Everything in the universe vibrates at a particular frequency; Thoughts and actions both beam energy into the universe
Energetic Vibration: Low vibration = negative energy; High = positive energy
High vibrations attract positive experiences; You attract the energy you frequent
What energy are you putting out into the universe?: YOUR THOUGHTS INFLUENCE REALITY.

LOW VIBRATIONS •Fear •Anger •Guilt •Self-loathing •Lack of self-worth
HIGH VIBRATIONS •Love •Joy •Abundance •Healing •Purpose

The Energy of Self-Love:
•Focus on YOU – do not compare your journey to others
•Balance caregiving and self-love
•Choose to love yourself NOW, not “when…”
•Reflect on the thoughts of who is around you
•Pay attention to how you speak to yourself

Flipping the Switch by John G. Miller

While I’m sure the author has had wild success with his books, as he has persistently made clear and evident in his writing, it seemed like half of this book was just marketing material for his other books. Also, the stories and examples he used were kind of arbitrary and random, and didn’t always back up the point he was trying to make.Almost all of the example stories star what are presumably male names: Bill, David, Bob, Michael.. the male executive on the plane..  There was a  few stories that involved women, but they were still performing stereotypical female roles (like a doctor who delivers children, or women working in pharmaceuticals ). Oh, and he mentions his wife, Karen (but not her profession – only to advertise for his book on parenting). 

Those are my biggest critiques for the book. Anyway, the actual principles are simple: cut through the bullshit to get to the true question behind the question, and take personal accountability to get the right answers.

Others:
Made To Stick by Chip & Dan Heath
The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers by Chris White

Thanks for reading. (Last Updated: Dec 2023)