Does anybody know what time it is?...

First things first by Steven Covey

This is an old book but a timeless classic.  Based on principles that remain true today as they did when covey wrote it back in 1994.
  
Covey’s book changed the way we looked at time management.  He made a comparison between a clock and a compass.

Traditional time management was similar to a clock.  Write a list, check things off when done and that is it.  Success!  The faster you check things off the better because the clock is ticking.  But a clock tells time and that’s all it does.

Covey says, instead, time management is more like a compass.  A compass tells the direction.  In the book he talks more about the importance of direction versus time.

This book is more than highly recommended.

 

Working Hard or Working Smart?

Work Smarts by Betty Liu

Betty Liu's book covers a lot of ground.  We go from thinking about the company of one to being likable, networking, asking for a raise, negotiating, fear and finances.

The best thing about it though is the advise is coming from people who have been there and done that.  She talks with the CEO's from around the country about the questions we all have about work and life.

If you ever wanted to be CEO, Betty also writes about that too. 

I really enjoyed the introduction to this book.  Often times it is the first thing we skip. Don’t.  

I learned many things in this book, company of one, simplicity, hard work, focus, and optimism form some of the basics in working smart!  I highly recommend this book.

To Focus or not to focus that is the question...

FOCUS by Daniel Goleman

When we think of focus we tend to think of only one thing. Success then is defined as narrowly thinking about a single action, plan, or person, with intense focus.   

In the book Goleman tells us that at times it is better not to focus at all! Drifting minds are creative minds because the mind is allowed to flow in any direction it chooses.

Why is any of this important?  The better we are at focusing the better our chances are at improving our life. 

The examples in this book are crystal clear.  I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it.  The only difficulty I found was sometimes in presenting the advances in brain research it became at times technical.

Here are a few examples:

Self-Awareness Focus

Empathy Focus

Big Thinking Focus

Organizing Complex Systems Focus

Long Term Focus or Future Focus

Practice Focus