Practical, encouraging self-help for the workplace.
Advice for maintaining workers’ well-being.
In her debut book, Kellerman, a medical doctor who pivoted from MRI brain research to public health policy and health care technology, joins with prolific Seligman, a founder of the field of positive behavioral psychology, to offer salient perspectives on the future of work. Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, educational theory, and medical research, they offer guidance on honing skills and perspectives to help individuals succeed in an ever changing work environment. As labor has transformed from hunting-gathering to agriculture to industrialization, success has depended on an important set of skills: resilience (R), finding meaning (M), establishing social supports (S), and honing prospection (P) (the ability to think about the future) and innovation (I)—abilities to which they give the admittedly “out of order” acronym PRISM. Each chapter elaborates on these skills and suggests ways for developing them. Finding meaning is crucial for job satisfaction and can result from factors such as a sense of personal or professional growth; finding a balance between work and personal life; and feeling inspired by one’s contributions. But even more important than meaning, the authors assert, is mattering: “one’s sense of the difference one makes in the world.” Social connections, as well, are integral to work satisfaction, affecting us psychologically and physiologically. The authors suggest ways to overcome a perception of “time famine” that can get in the way of fostering rapport, and they advocate soliciting participation, encouraging the sharing of perspectives, and empathetic listening as strategies to bridge isolation. The book is filled with exercises for building skills, acronyms for easy recall (OCEAN, for example, describes five personality traits—such as openness and curiosity—associated with creativity), and relatable anecdotes. The authors offer suggestions for businesses about how to make corporate cultures more supportive of workers. Even in an unpredictable, roiling future, the authors are optimistic that every worker can flourish.
Practical, encouraging self-help for the workplace.Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-982159-76-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
Career and business advice for the hashtag generation. For all its self-absorption, this book doesn’t offer much reflection...
A Dumpster diver–turned-CEO details her rise to success and her business philosophy.
In this memoir/business book, Amoruso, CEO of the Internet clothing store Nasty Gal, offers advice to young women entrepreneurs who seek an alternative path to fame and fortune. Beginning with a lengthy discussion of her suburban childhood and rebellious teen years, the author describes her experiences living hand to mouth, hitchhiking, shoplifting and dropping out of school. Her life turned around when, bored at work one night, she decided to sell a few pieces of vintage clothing on eBay. Fast-forward seven years, and Amoruso was running a $100 million company with 350 employees. While her success is admirable, most of her advice is based on her own limited experiences and includes such hackneyed lines as, “When you accept yourself, it’s surprising how much other people will accept you, too.” At more than 200 pages, the book is overlong, and much of what the author discusses could be summarized in a few tweets. In fact, much of it probably has been: One of the most interesting sections in the book is her description of how she uses social media. Amoruso has a spiritual side, as well, and she describes her belief in “chaos magic” and “sigils,” a kind of wishful-thinking exercise involving abstract words. The book also includes sidebars featuring guest “girlbosses” (bloggers, Internet entrepreneurs) who share equally clichéd suggestions for business success. Some of the guidance Amoruso offers for interviews (don’t dress like you’re going to a nightclub), getting fired (don’t call anyone names) and finding your fashion style (be careful which trends you follow) will be helpful to her readers, including the sage advice, “You’re not special.”
Career and business advice for the hashtag generation. For all its self-absorption, this book doesn’t offer much reflection or insight.Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16927-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Portfolio
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
An informative and creatively multilayered Google guidebook from the businessman’s perspective.
Two distinguished technology executives share the methodology behind what made Google a global business leader.
Former Google CEO Schmidt (co-author: The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business, 2013) and former senior vice president of products Rosenberg share accumulated wisdom and business acumen from their early careers in technology, then later as management at the Internet search giant. Though little is particularly revelatory or unexpected, the companywide processes that have made Google a household name remain timely and relevant within today’s digitized culture. After several months at Google, the authors found it necessary to retool their management strategies by emphasizing employee culture, codifying company values, and rethinking the way staff is internally positioned in order to best compliment their efforts and potential. Their text places “Googlers” front and center as they adopted the business systems first implemented by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who stressed the importance of company-wide open communication. Schmidt and Rosenberg discuss the value of technological insights, Google’s effective “growth mindset” hiring practices, staff meeting maximization, email tips, and the company’s effective solutions to branding competition and product development complications. They also offer a condensed, two-page strategy checklist that serves as an apt blueprint for managers. At times, statements leak into self-congratulatory territory, as when Schmidt and Rosenberg insinuate that a majority of business plans are flawed and that the Google model is superior. Analogies focused on corporate retention and methods of maximizing Google’s historically impressive culture of “smart creatives” reflect the firm’s legacy of spinning intellect and creativity into Internet gold. The authors also demarcate legendary application missteps like “Wave” and “Buzz” while applauding the independent thinkers responsible for catapulting the company into the upper echelons of technological innovation.
An informative and creatively multilayered Google guidebook from the businessman’s perspective.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-1455582341
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Business Plus/Grand Central
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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