Found 0 posts
This is the second in a series of five posts on tips and books for managers, and Cydcor Chief People Officer, Jeannie Finkel. In this series, Jeannie recommends the Top Five Books she believes can help you transform your management style and become a better, more effective leader.
Writing well isn’t just a nice talent you can use to impress friends and colleagues. Sure, it can do that as well, but effective writing is much more important than that. Clear, concise writing is essential to be an effective communicator, a skill you must have if you ever hope to succeed in a leadership or management role. The way you write and communicate can mean the difference between getting the job or not, gaining approval for a critical project, earning the confidence of your team or organization, and the ability to explain yourself in cases when your actions are not as well received or understood. Effective writing ability is not just nice, it’s critical. It can directly impact your ability to survive and thrive in the workplace and your future growth potential.
Below, Jeannie Finkel recommends a book she believes any manager must have to help improve writing ability and communication:
Book #2: The Elements of Style
Author: William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
Short summary: If any aspect of your work involves written communication – beyond texting – and you want the quality of your writing to stand out, this little book will teach you what you need to know to master the core principles of writing clearly. It focuses on the fundamentals, clearly explaining proper usage and composition, and helping explain and address the rules of good writing that are most frequently violated.
This really isn’t a book you “read” per se. Rather, it’s a great reference tool that everyone who aspires to write well, or needs to influence, explain, or inspire would do well to study. It’s less than 100 pages, divided into three segments. The first segment is two chapters which give a set of “rules” for English usage and composition (you’ll remember grammar class in grade school!). Then there’s a terrific section about words and expressions that are most often misused – EVERYONE should review this part. The book ends with a set of 21 tips to keep in mind as you create your own writing style.
What you’ll learn: What you learn from this book really depends on what you need. If you’re newer to business and fresh from writing college papers, you might have to change your style to adapt to the brevity required for business writing, such as reports, PowerPoints, and emails. Find excellent advice to guide you through this transition under the sections entitled “Use definite, specific, concrete language” and “Omit needless words”.
Or, if you’ve been in the business world for some time and now need to or communications for publication, you’ll benefit from reviewing the chapter entitled, “Misused Words and Expressions”. We don’t notice many of these in our everyday conversations with friends, but they really stick out in a written piece!
Dip into the book enough and you’ll experience a true appreciation of the beauty and richness of our language, and realize the professor who wrote the original book truly loved his subject and hoped to pass on the art of communication to future generations.
Why it’s a must read: This is a desk reference I’ve kept with me ever since a rather embarrassing experience with a boss many years ago. I had just been promoted to my first Vice President level assignment, working for someone who had a reputation for being extremely tough. I was a literature major in college, and I thought I wrote pretty well. I wanted to impress him and show I was worthy of the big new job and title, so I wrote a lengthy memo about something I thought he should consider changing. But, I was afraid to be too direct in case he thought I was overstepping. Instead, I made it so indirect and wishy washy that (as I realized later) it was impossible to figure out what I was trying to say.
Thankfully, rather than ripping up what I’d written and leaving it in shreds on my desk, he said nothing. Instead, after lunch, I came back to a little brown paper bag from the bookstore down the street with this book in it, sitting on top of a copy of my memo. I opened it up and looked at the content. My boss had gone so far as to check off the sections he thought I should read, and underline several key sentences in red ink. This was the President of a key business unit who’d taken the time to go out and get this book for me and do this!! After I got over feeling mortified, I rewrote the memo (it was probably two pages shorter) and went in to thank him and make my case, this time much more directly, confidently, and clearly. We went on to be a great team and work together for many years, and we are still good friends today. I credit him, and this book, with setting me on a path to becoming an effective business writer! Maybe it will do the same for you.
Look out for upcoming posts in this series to learn about three more books every manager must have on his or her bookshelf to bolster professional growth and personal development. In case you missed it, don’t forget to read last week’s post about the book 13 Fatal Errors Managers Make and How you can Avoid Them.
To find out more about Cydcor, check us out on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.
Jeannie Finkel, Chief People Officer at Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales, has more than twenty-five years of business experience, managing human resources and administration at top firms. Jeannie served for nearly twelve years as a Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Charles Schwab & Co. Jeannie was also Head of Human Resources and Administration for a leading asset management firm, and served as Managing Director, Talent Management Systems and Strategies for a Fortune 100 organization. Jeannie later became a Partner with leading global retained search firm, Heidrick & Struggles. With years of experience managing teams and overseeing organizations, Jeannie is a seasoned expert in management, administration, and leadership.
About Non-Obvious: How to Think Different, Curate Ideas & Predict The Future by Rohit Bhargava
Non-Obvious is a road map for any professional to thinking outside the box. By analyzing the landscape of trending marketing and business tactics, the not-so-obvious solutions can be found. Although many companies try to throw many different strategies at the wall, hoping for new results, the correct answer is usually the most non-obvious. This book features strategies and case studies that many companies have used to reach the next level. It acts as the perfect guide to think differently than the competition, cultivate ideas correctly, and get stronger at looking at the bigger picture. What works today will not always work out tomorrow.
Why Cydcor recommends this to future leaders:
In order to do well in the business world today, business leaders must keep up with the latest trending strategies and understand how people will react in the future. Bhargava does an excellent job of combining visual thinking with business strategy, and this book acts as the perfect pilot to getting ahead of the pack. Leaders will appreciate the easiness of the read, as well as the author’s humorous take on why businesses are failing to look at an alternative approach.
Our favorite part:
Although this book has an adequate amount of useful substance, it really shines when examining trends that business predictors aren’t focusing on. These include what the popularity of “The Batkid” has taught audiences about creating a celebrity, and why brands are focusing on content marketing and customer experience. Bhargava focuses on a total of 15 trends to help readers analyze the changing landscape of how business works today, as well as how it may well work later. You can’t go wrong when planning for the future.
Find out more about Cydcor on CrunchBase! https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cydcor
Cydcor is the worldwide leader in outsourced sales. Join the Cydcor team today!
Here is Cydcor's review of Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty.
About Capital in the Twenty-First Century:
Thomas Piketty is a French economist who shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities. Piketty is arguably the world’s leading expert on income and wealth inequality, and does more than document the growing concentration of income in the hands of a small economic elite. He makes a powerful case that we’re on our way back to “patrimonial capitalism,” in which the commanding heights of the economy are dominated by inherited wealth.
Why Cydcor recommends Capital in the Twenty-First Century to future leaders:
This book is a beast; it’s just over seven hundred pages and has seventy-seven pages dedicated just to endnotes. But despite its length, the book is engaging and, at the moment, Piketty is currently the most talked about economist in the world. His book spans across nations as he analyzes tax records and data from the United States, France, Germany and Japan, among others.
Financial Times and McKinsey have named Capital in the Twenty-First Century their business book of the year. Strategy+Business magazine also named Piketty’s book as one of the best books of 2014. It is backed by remarkably detailed data and analysis, and his historical proofs and economic analysis make a fantastic book, and is a must-read for any business leader to truly understand present-day economics.
Our favorite part:
The most admirable part of Piketty’s book is how he takes tremendously complex data and simplifies it in a way that the layman can understand. Piketty's book is commendable both in its content and its attitude. Its content is straightforward. It is a bold analysis of a tremendous effort by Piketty and other scholars to collect data on income distribution and capital accumulation and distribution over many years and many countries. Whatever one thinks of the analysis, this data collection effort is an important contribution to our knowledge about our modern economy and its history.
Head to Cydcor's SlideShare for business, leadership, and productivity tips!
Learn more information about Cydcor by heading to our website at https://www.cydcor.com/
Here is Cydcor's review of Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End by Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
About Confidence: The book’s title, Confidence, is a tad misleading, as the author focuses more broadly on how to capitalize on a winning streak and how to work around a losing one. Kanter talks of how confidence is only a part of a true leadership formula.
Kanter examines in detail the collective strategies and behaviors of companies and sports franchises. She has traveled around the world to interview leaders of great corporations, as well as observe and interact with them at their most basic operative levels.
Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this book to future leaders: The author acknowledges that leading a turnaround in regards to a company can be a tremendously complex task. However, she identifies and provides the framework to reverse the cycle of potential failures.
1. Invest in people and their work environment. Show confidence in the future, set attainable goals and start winning one step at a time.
2. Promote collaboration and free flow of information and decision-making. (Winning teams are data rich)
3. As the first two improve the ethos of the group/individual, risk taking (innovation) potential is released which further helps build successful products and fuel cycles of growth.
Confidence is a great book for all leaders committed to their personal growth and the success of their organization's mission.
Our favorite part: Kanter speaks at length regarding baseball, by using sports examples and analogies in regards to the business world. She tells the story of the Chicago Cubs during the 2003 pennant race. This was the infamous moment in baseball where a Cubs fan wearing a hat and headphones reached out over the railing and caught a baseball that an outfielder was attempting to reach. The fan inadvertently knocked the ball out of the player’s glove and perpetuated the idea of a “demon curse” which left the Cubs out of the World Series in 2003.
This caused the fan to become a pariah among Cubs supporters; however, Kanter states that there is something far deeper in the losing mentality of the Chicago Cubs, and it can’t be chalked up to one misstep by a fan. She demonstrates how a team can’t throw off decades of losing in one season, as it’s a long struggle that takes time and the correct approach.
Take a look at these Team Testimonials regarding what it's like to work at Cydcor to get a bigger picture of our company.
Here is Cydcor's review of Radical Openness: Four Unexpected Principles for Success by Anthony D Williams and Don Tapscott.
About Radical Openness: The authors of Radical Openness, Anthony D. Williams and Don Tapscott, are thoughtful leaders on business, government and society, and speak on the technologies that can achieve new opportunities. They offer real world examples to show an application of their ideas and how to fulfill a vision.
The authors also speak on the importance of organizations embracing transparency with customers and society to foster trust. They also speak at length regarding innovation and successful companies that dissolve corporate boundaries.
Learn more about Cydcor on our website: https://www.cydcor.com/
Why Cydcor recommends this book to future leaders: This is a good introductory read for anyone who is considering the implications of openness and transparency for either themselves or their organization. It also focuses on dynamic platforms to provide opportunities for people to collaborate with and contribute ideas to one another.
The book also speaks about digital technologies and how they reduce costs by allowing new ecosystems of companies and organizations to work together in a new way. Today, companies are able to tap into global talent pools via social media—something that was never so easily possible in the past.
Our favorite part: Tapscott and Williams offer example after example of how people are harnessing contemporary communication, consumer engagement and transparency tools.
Tapscott also acknowledged that there may still be proprietary information that needs to be protected, but increasingly companies default "toward an open position." They cited Ikea, which engages customers in co-designing its products.
“It's called 'prosumer.’ You turn your consumer into a producer, by engaging customers and providing them with information they need to produce."
Check out Cydcor's LinkedIn page for our most recent job openings and company updates.
This week Cydcor wanted to post a round-up of our favorite content on Cydcor Reviews, our book review site. Recommended for team members by team members.
Linchpin was written by marketing expert Seth Godin, who believes that finding career success today depends on learning how to market one’s self. Linchpins are an upcoming role in the world of tech, start-ups and the age of entrepreneurship. The linchpins are those that come up with new solutions, break the mold, and foster creativity in companies. Linchpin is about learning how to break out of the systemic roles traditionally in the workplace and implement new ideas where you work. Often, the linchpins are the indispensable people in the background, empowering others, but staying out of the spotlight. They often have a less specific role in the company, but rather focus on specific needs as the work scape morphs and changes. Godin believes everyone has something brilliant to offer, and being able to harness that brilliance and bring it to the workplace can equal success and happiness.
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell is an in depth look at how ideas get made into wildly popular companies, books or trends. Everything from television shows to teen smoking, popularity of ideas is modeled like an epidemic. There are carriers, those that evangelize the idea and get people excited about it. Malcolm Gladwell explains that there are three types of people involved in spreading an idea: connectors, mavens and salespeople. Connectors are people with a wide social network that are good at creating communities to rally for the concept. Mavens are knowledgeable experts that enjoy educating the public on their area of expertise. Salespeople are gifted at drumming up excitement for new things.
Lincoln by David Herbert covers the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was raised in rural Indiana in a poor household. The book follows Lincoln’s perspective as he picked himself up through poverty and through political savvy made his way into prominence quickly. The book examines his character, his key advisors, and reveals his human flaws as well as his greatness. Biographies and autobiographies are excellent sources of inspiration for anyone looking to achieve professional goals. Lincoln is an especially beloved figure for Americans because he was raised in poverty and came from a disadvantage to well educated men raised in wealthy homes in cities.
Competitive Advantage is a model for creating and managing an enterprise successfully. Porter offers tools for analysis that are taught in MBA programs around the country. Michael Porter is a professor at Harvard Business School, and lectures and writes prolifically on managing a business. Tactics such as the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis teaches critical thinking that is crucial to successfully leading a company. Porter also discusses strategy at length, and helps businesses to either produce a scale economy or define a niche that will keep them profitable.
Onward is the story of how Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz turned Starbucks around after a downturn in financial performance. Schultz explains that while the recession definitely had an impact in the loss in profits for the massive international coffee and specialty company, the biggest factor was a shift in company culture. Onward explains Shultz’ decision to return to the CEO position after a departure to implement a hands on strategy to bring his company to its most profitable year ever. Between 2008 and 2011, Starbucks was able to find its way again and Schultz continues to lead it to record profits every year.
Want to learn more about Cydcor? Check us out on the Cydcor LinkedIn page for our career advice, job news and more.
This week, the Cydcor team highlights another Seth Godin treasure, Linchpin. For more Seth Godin wisdom, see our Cydcor review on Permission Marketing.
Description of this book: Linchpin was written by marketing expert Seth Godin, who believes that finding career success today depends on learning how to market one’s self. Linchpins are an upcoming role in the world of tech, start-ups and the age of entrepreneurship. The linchpins are those that come up with new solutions, break the mold, and foster creativity in companies. Linchpin is about learning how to break out of the systemic roles traditionally in the workplace and implement new ideas where you work. Often, the linchpins are the indispensable people in the background, empowering others, but staying out of the spotlight. They often have a less specific role in the company, but rather focus on specific needs as the work scape morphs and changes. Godin believes everyone has something brilliant to offer, and being able to harness that brilliance and bring it to the workplace can equal success and happiness.
Cydcor recommends this book to professionals because: Godin has written many bestselling books on how marketing works and how companies behave, this book is specifically how to manage your career and create success and satisfaction at work. Godin explains that everyone must strive to be a linchpin, to become indispensable, or suffer. The job markets today are focused on efficiency and creativity, so only those making the most impact will get ahead.
Our favorite part: “There are no longer any great jobs where people tell you exactly what to do”. Godin highlights the importance of taking initiative, learning to work autonomously and bridging those gaps between being managed and over-managing. Flexibility and motivation are the new keys to success.
Do you like our reviews? Follow Cydcor on Pinterest or other popular social media platforms for more inspiration and leadership advice.
Cydcor Reviews The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
Author: Brad Stone
Description of this book: This book details the history of online retailer Amazon, which started as an Internet book delivery store and later became a corporation that sells everything from high-definition televisions to fresh vegetables. Written by Brad Stone, senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweek, the book details over 300 interviews with former employees of Amazon as well as family members of Bezos. Stone details Bezos’ thirst for exploring new markets, such as e-readers and cloud computer storage, as well as the future of the company. Amazon changed everything we know about online shopping, and also the way we read and shop today.
Why people should read this book: Not many people know the history of Amazon, and how it started in Jeff Bezos’ garage in Bellevue, WA. Bezos, a former vice-president at a Wall Street firm, studied what products would do well selling on the Internet, and decided that books were the way to go. From there, the book spills the secrets of how Amazon turned into the world’s largest online retailer, selling electronic media, toys, furniture, and jewelry. Stone’s thorough reporting is presented well, as well as his notion of belief in the company’s success.
My favorite part: Although Amazon is known for their success, I enjoyed learning its shortcomings as well. Amazon did not do well with their implementation of an auction system that failed to compete with eBay. The company will not even be profitable for years, due to their increase spending and growing. However, Bezos’s hunger has allowed Amazon to become a true American built company, one that allows other merchants to sell along with it, even without a president or chief operating officer. The story behind Bezos and his website is inspirational for any entrepreneur, and also interesting to say the least.
Cydcor is a leading sales company that specializes in face to face relationships and professional development. Follow Cydcor on LinkedIn for more professional development advice.
Cydcor team members recommend this refreshing look at what it means to sell in To Sell is Human.
Author: Daniel H. Pink
Description of this Book: Daniel Pink’s To Sell Is Human is about the art and science of selling, not only professionally but also in our personal lives. Selling is not just person going door-to-door selling products, or someone trying to make a commission quota. Everyone in society is now in sales in some particular way: selling their ideas, personalities, or projects that they want to get done. Pink looks at all aspects of the modern workforce and comes up with a great guide for anyone struggling with taking on the identity of a salesperson today.
Why People Should Read This Book: The book offers many concepts with actual statistical data and scientific evidence to back up points. Pink’s book succeeds at clarifying the typical view of sales as a negative connotation. We often motivate ourselves for all the wrong reasons when it comes to selling, and that’s not just for selling products. The book is very accessible and easy-to-read. Although this topic has been discussed to lengths in other sales books, Pink finds a way to put his own spin on the theory of selling in our world today.
My Favorite Part: Pink stresses that the old selling environment has changed significantly. Buyers now have the same information that sellers have, which used to give salespeople an advantage. He comes up with a new phrase for successful sales called Always Be Closing. Along with that comes the new ABCs: Attunement (perspective of audience), Buoyancy (handle rejection well) , and Clarity (help others see the whole picture). Other advice he offers is six successors to the elevator pitch, which allows a seller to propose something interesting to compel a conversation.
Want more recommendations from Cydcor? Check out this similar Cydcor review of Crucial Conversations.
Cydcor Reviews Platform by Michael Hyatt
Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
By Michael Hyatt
Review by: Gail Michalak
Description of this book: Getting noticed is getting increasingly more difficult. The Internet has made is free and easy for anyone to fill the world with information. If you are a writer or a business owner, having a strategy to build and audience is key to sustaining income. Publishing executive Michael Hyatt explains how to create a compelling product and combine it will a meaningful platform. This book has been endorsed by marketing guru Seth Godin, best selling author Dave Ramsey, and former Yahoo! Executive Tim Sanders. Hyatt explains how to get traffic to your website over and over again and build the life you want to lead.
Why people should read this book: Whether you want to drive sales, promote yourself for a job, publish a book or become a blogger, this book explains how to build an audience and make a good impression. Hyatt also guides you through using all the major social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. This book will help you navigate an increasingly digital world. It is important not to get left behind.
My favorite part: Michael Hyatt writes with honesty from his own experience. He is not afraid to expose his own stories of failure before he hit success. His words are encouraging but also honest, he assures you there is no “quick fix” when it comes to building your platform, but that hard work can pay off once your strategy is in place.
Gail Michalak is the VP of Marketing and Communications for Cydcor. Gail overseas all of Cydcor's digital media, public relations, corporate communications and marketing efforts.