People Change

Finished June 21

People Change by Vivek Shraya

This short book looks at change from a human point of view. The author herself has undergone many changes in her life: professional changes and personal ones. Here she looks at what factors lead to change for us, based on her own experiences. Sometimes there are things that happen early in our lives, when we are still figuring ourselves out, and events or experiences can influence us in major ways. 

There is also a common fear of change, and that is covered here as well, sometimes trapping us in a place in our lives that we may not always recognize as a trap. 

This book encourages us to celebrate our changes, to be open to experiences that offer different ways of being, and new inspirations for our existence. 

Sometimes, this book feels 'stream of consciousness' in its flow, and other times it digs deeper into the motivations beneath those meandering thoughts. I read this book slowly, pausing to consider different ideas along the way. 

Why We Work

Finished October 3
Why We Work by Barry Schwartz

This book came out of a TED talk by Schwartz in early 2014. Schwartz's research into the reasons behind why people work belie the accepted answers and show that the real reasons are complex, and unexpected. Research shows that most people are dissatisfied with their work, even those that are paid well for it. It also finds that some people who are not paid well find great satisfaction in jobs that would not seem to lend themselves to such fulfillment. Looking at jobs in many industries and at many levels, Schwartz identifies trends and patterns, and shows that neither the carrot not the stick is the answer to motivating people at work. What is?
The answer is in giving people control. Without that, even good jobs can become bad jobs. This book isn't long, but it will cause you to examine your work, and the way that your workplace is structured.
Insightful and interesting, this book will have you thinking about work in new ways.

Change Your Life

Finished April 18
The Power of Less: the fine art of limiting yourself to the essential . . . in business and in life by Leo Babauta
This short book addresses the issues we all face of having limited time and many things to do. Babauta addresses the issues of attention, productitivy and motivation as he gives advice to help you do less, but do it better. One of his key concepts is to only make one change at a time. Trying to change too many things at once is a recipe for failure. Another concept is to start small. When we go to make a change, the tendency is to make a big change, but that can be hard to keep up. If you start small and add to it gradually, you are more likely to stick with it. Another key concept is to go public with your change. Let others know you are doing it and keep them up to date with your progress. This reinforces the change you are making and adds external motivation.
Babauta talks about both work and personal life, and his later chapters deal with health and fitness as necessary changes to make. There are a lot of good ideas here. Just don't get too excited about that and try to do more than one thing to start!

One for work and one for fun

Finished June 2
The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine
This novel looks at a number of people and dogs that live on one block in New York City. She tells the story from a number of points of view and shows how the different characters interact with each other and are changed by this interaction. I found several of the characters appealing, and all of them believable. A theme running through the book is that we are all only human after all and have feelings and behaviours that we are not always proud of, but that are things that make us vulnerable to others. The way that dogs are used to assist in the interaction of the characters is interesting and the dogs are individualized as well.

Finished May 30
151 Quick Ideas to Recognize and Reward Employees by Ken Lloyd
This quick read gives a variety of ideas to motivate staff, some more practical than others. I found about 40 that would work for me, although I am already doing quite a few of them. It was useful as a reminder of the different ways to encourage people to give their best work and feel good about their commitment to the organization.