Be a Dog with a Bone: always go for your dreams by Peggy McColl, 2003.
For years we have celebrated man’s best friend and his zealous love for life. This business fable teaches us to take a second look at our pets and discover the lessons they can teach us. Do you have a “glass is half full” personality? If so, this book will take you farther, teach you to reach for more. If not, the anecdotes will encourage you to pick up that glass and look again. Your trustworthy pet can teach you to discover your dream, identify those actions that will move you toward your goals, and eliminate the thoughts and actions that will prevent you from reaching those goals.
In the past few months we have been reading business fables for the Business Book discussion group. Here are a couple of reviews to spark your interest. To get a copy of a business fable or to inquire about the book group call Terry Zarsky at 531-6333 extension 2308.
Juggling Elephants: An Easier Way to Get Your Most Important Things Done-Now! by Jones Loflin and Todd Musig, 2005.
In this fun business fable, Jones and Todd apply lessons from the circus to our everyday business and personal lives. The moral of this story is easy to discern. You are the ringmaster in your own circus, and your circus is made up of multiple rings. Those rings represent the essential pieces in your life: business, relationships, and personal growth, to name a few. This tale escorts you through discovering the rings in your life, the acts you currently have, those you may want to add, and how to manage those acts in a way that is satisfying to you as well as your colleagues and family. In other words, this story will help you become a better ringmaster in your own circus.
The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done by Dave Crenshaw, 2008.
Dave Crenshaw questions the existence of one of our most valued skills – multitasking. He illustrates his point through a business coach and a struggling CEO looking for some pointers in time management. With a few short exercises the coach is able to expose the cost of multitasking in our daily lives.
Dave’s scenario begs us to take a few minutes to look at our day. Where do you spend most of your time? How many times are you interrupted in a day? Who interrupts you most and for what reasons? Is there a more efficient approach?
To answer the last question our business coach provides his charge with several techniques to streamline her time along with worksheets to move her in the right direction.
All in all, this is a brief but informative read, providing a clear depiction of the time management problem as well as the means to overcome it.
Are you reading for the PPLD Adult Reading Program? Would you like to meet with others to discuss a business book that can have a lasting effect on you and your business?
Join us in a discussion of Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute on Tuesday, March 31 from 6 PM to 8 PM at the Penrose Library. There will be an interactive discussion followed by breakout sessions to discuss what you learned and how those lessons may be applied to your business.
To get your copy to read or listen to on CD call Terry Zarsky at 531-6333 extension 2308.
I’m on LinkedIn: Now What? By Jason Alba, Happy About, 2008
Do you have a LinkedIn account and now you’re wondering how to use it? I’m on LinkedIn: Now What takes you through the basics of LinkedIn and how to get started using it to the ways you can make it work for you.
Under getting started you will learn what LinkedIn is, how to create or update your profile, managing your account and settings and how to connect with others. Did you know that if you ask three people to connect to you and they all say no you could lose your account? Be specific about who you ask to link to and if you’re going to send a request to someone who doesn’t know you well you might consider sending an e-mail to them telling them why you want to be linked to them. If you are the one receiving invites from people you don’t want to link with because you’re not comfortable being linked or you are not sure who this person is who’s asking you can let the request lapse without a response so you don’t jeopardize their account by saying no.
Making it work for you covers searching, understanding degrees of separation, recommendations, jobs and hiring, services and LinkedIn groups and answers.
Using this section of the book you can see how you and others can use this site to check out potential employers or employees, how you can block certain people from your information (you may not want your current boss to know you are job hunting) and how to establish yourself as a resource for others or use others to find answers to questions you have.
The last section deals with personal branding, shady practices, netiquette and complementary tools and resources. After reading this I realized a number of ways I could better utilize the tools within LinkedIn. Now I just have to implement them.
Whether you are new to computers and are interested in learning the basics, or just curious about what is new in computers or library resources, PPLD offers a variety of computer classes every month at many of the PPLD branches that are all free.
In January there are a number of classes that are being held at the Penrose Library downtown that may be of interest to the business community.
If you are interested in learning what library resources are available to help you in your financial investments, then check out the Investment Tools at Your Library class (Tuesday, January 6 at 8:30 AM or Saturday, January 17 at 8:30 AM).
Perhaps you have decided that 2009 is the year that you will go into business for yourself, and you are interested in how the library can help you learn about demographics in your target area, competition, writing a business plan and finding other funding sources. The Minding Your Business class will be held Saturday, January 10 at 8:30 AM and Thursday, January 22 at 8:30 AM.
Maybe you don’t want to start your own business, but you are interested in making some extra money by cleaning out your attic. The Selling on eBay class Saturday, January 24 at 8:30 AM can help you learn the basics to start making some extra cash.
Again, all of these computer classes are free, and being held at the Penrose Library at 20 N. Cascade. To sign up, or for questions about other computer class offerings of PPLD call the Reference Desk at 389-8968.
Five Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner, Recorded Books, 2008. (CD book)
It is critical in today’s ever-changing world to develop the skills and “minds” necessary to get the most out of the information around you. Gardner covers the five mental abilities (i.e. minds) necessary to succeed to your fullest potential. These multiple intelligences allow you to understand what is happening and the potential consequences of the actions. This book will show how to train your brain to grasp these five minds. These minds are disciplining, synthesizing, creating, respectful and ethical. These minds allow you to see every opportunity from multiple viewpoints and help you discern the best way to proceed to get the most from the circumstances.
Using these values developed by training your brain to see different viewpoints will allow you to “think out of the box” when dealing with situations. You will use the disciplined mind to view things from a mathematical or historical viewpoint, the synthesizing mind to try different combinations or potential answers and to see the best one for this situation and the creative mind to foresee new possibilities as the answer.
The last two other minds are more character based and cover the attitudes and ethics of the approaches. The respectful mind takes advantage of the diversity of the cultures and knowledge around you and the ethical mind takes into consideration the effects of the outcome on others as well as on you. Are you operating from a place that values all equally or sets others up for failure so that you can succeed?
When you develop these minds and utilize these newfound skills you will be better able to create the path you want to follow.
Leaders at All Levels: Developing the Talent Pool to Solve the Succession Crisis by Ram Charan, Recorded Books, 2008. (CD Book)
In today’s corporate world when the top management steps down for any reason there is often a waiting period while the company searches for a replacement. Often people are temporarily put in place to see to the day to day duties, but the company fails to keep moving forward as this person is not seen as having the authority to really do much that is new. One way of getting around this problem for your company is to hire and develop your own future leaders. Although positions from managers to CEOs are covered the author shows how hiring young people with future potential and making sure that they get assignments and positions to develop the skills needed in the future can affect the success of the company and can help your company.
Sometimes you may identify 3 or 4 potential newcomers at entry-level positions and give them opportunities to learn and show what they can do for you. By exposing them to all aspects of the business from many angles you will develop a person who really understands your business, the competition and the potential market. By fast tracking these people to specific goals, assignments or positions you can make sure they develop all of the necessary skills and relationships to take the company to the next level.
Ram Charan shares stories of companies that excel at developing their future leaders and he tells stories that show the progression of some of these future leaders. By reading this book you can help develop a process to create and nurture future leaders within your own company.
Are you trying to find the perfect location to rent for your new business? Or maybe you are trying to target a marketing campaign toward the largest demographic in your area? PPLD has recently acquired a new subscription database called BusinessDecision by CIVICTechnologies to assist you in finding out these facts and more.
Accessible via the Electronic Reference section of the PPLD web site, BusinessDecision provides demographic data from ESRI based on a location that you designate. You may designate a specific address, zip code, or hand draw on a map an area that about which you would like to receive extensive demographic information. Based off of GIS information, as well as Census data and others, BusinessDecision is able to provide detailed data and reports, including the Tapestry Area Profile, which identifies and profiles the top segments of the population for any given area. To learn about the BusinessDecision Tapestry Area Profile, check out the data manual to see what type of information BusinessDecision may be able to provide you about your potential customers.
To read the Colorado Springs Business Journal writeup about BusinessDecision, click here. For more information about BusinessDecision, or any other library business resources, contact the PPLD reference desk at 389-8968.
Web 2.0 isn’t just Myspace and Facebook, many new websites are appearing on the landscape that can help you manage your money and budget.
For a peek at some of the best money management websites for these tight times, visit the Top 18 New Money Management Sites.
by Rob Salkowitz, John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
With three-plus generations currently active in the workplace, there are many books that examine the different work styles of generations. There are also many books written about how technology affects people in the workplace. What has not been explored in depth, however, is how technology affects the interactions of generations in the workplace, until Salkowitz’s Generation Blend: Managing across the technology age gap. This book focuses on how new ways of communicating, collaborating and managing information technology affects all employees, and gives organizations a plan for how to create understanding amongst the generations.
The most prevalent generations currently in the work place are the Baby Boomers (born 1946-1962), Generation X (born 1963-1980), and the Millennials (born 1981-2000). Due to shared experiences at the same point in history, there are certain qualities possessed by each generation that affect their workplace styles as well as their attitude towards technology. Baby boomers are often thought to be skeptical of new technology, especially given media coverage of the potential dangers. Generation X is thought to be techoliterate, comfortable with technology although cautious; while Millennials are considered technosavvy, often adopting new technologies without fully considering the risks.
After examining the conflicts that may arise amongst the generations due to the digital technology age gap, and giving full descriptions of the workstyles of the 3 prevalent generations in the workplace, Salkowitz offers 5 questions that any organization should ask themselves in order to best manage the technology age gap, which should help create understanding amongst generations regarding the utilization (or lack thereof) of certain technologies by the organization. Case studies are presented both to illustrate why the technology age gap may actually be beneficial to the workplace, as well as to give examples of the different steps that each of the generations may be taking to eliminate the technology age gap.
