Book picks similar to
Personal Styles & Effective Performance by David W. Merrill


psychology
non-fiction
11-nf-psychology
social-psychology

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace


Gordon MacKenzie - 1996
    But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a "giant hairball"--a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the past--that exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Gordon McKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years, many of which he spent inspiring his colleagues to slip the bonds of Corporate Normalcy and rise to orbit--to a mode of dreaming, daring and doing above and beyond the rubber-stamp confines of the administrative mind-set. In his deeply funny book, exuberantly illustrated in full color, he shares the story of his own professional evolution, together with lessons on awakening and fostering creative genius.Originally self-published and already a business "cult classic", this personally empowering and entertaining look at the intersection between human creativity and the bottom line is now widely available to bookstores. It will be a must-read for any manager looking for new ways to invigorate employees, and any professional who wants to achieve his or her best, most self-expressive, most creative and fulfilling work.

Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work: How to Use the Enneagram System for Success


Ginger Lapid-Bogda - 2004
    In Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work, Enneagram teacher and business consultant Ginger Lapid-Bodga shows professionals how to apply this popular tool to their work as a way to improve their productivity and help them build positive relationships among coworkers. This practical guide explains how to use the Enneagram to:Communicate more effectivelyProvide constructive feedbackPrevent and resolve conflictBring out their strongest leadership skillsDiscover methods for professional developmentWork better in teams

Hard Optimism: How to Succeed in a World Where Positive Wins


Price Pritchett - 2004
    "Hard Optimism" gives you 12 powerful, proven practices for reducing negative thinking and adopting the attitude of a winner-the keys to seizing opportunity, overcoming obstacles, and wielding a positive influence on the people around you.With the action steps outlined in "Hard Optimism," you'll discover how to: Recognize and dispute pessimistic thoughts Gain an edge by adopting an optimistic style to interpret events, both good and bad Use positive reappraisal to handle problems and disappointments Know how and when to use negative thinking to your advantage Play to your signature strengths Practice gratitude and forgiveness to fight off negativityBy taking a hard look at reality rather than sugarcoating it, by managing your thought processes to improve hard results, you'll master hard optimism and meet the challenges in every area of your career and life.

Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector


Ann Gravells - 2008
    This includes further education, adult and community learning, work-based learning, the forces and offender learning and skills. It is easy to read with plenty of practical activities and examples throughout and the content is fully linked to the Teacher Training Standards. Please note: This book has since been updated to reflect the new title of the qualification: The Award in Education and Training.The qualification unit content contained in the appendices has since changed, and some legislation mentioned in the book has been updated.

Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives


Laura Whitworth - 1998
    Published in more than ten languages now, this book has been used as the definitive resource in dozens of corporate, professional development and university-based coaching programs as well as by thousands of individuals looking to elevate their communication, relationship and coaching skills. This fully revised third edition of Co-Active Coaching has been updated to reflect the expanded vision of the newly updated Co-Active Model and coaching course curriculum at The Coaches Training Institute, the training organization founded and run by the authors for 20 years. The third edition emphasizes evoking transformational change in the client and extends the use of the Co-Active Model into leadership management and its effectiveness throughout organizations. This edition also contains an on-line Coach's Toolkit (replacing the CD of the second edition), several new coaching demonstrations and more than 35 updated exercises, questionnaires, checklists and reproducible forms.

Job Interview Tips For Winners: 12 Key Ways To Land The Job


Steven Fies - 2015
    On the hunt for a new job? This book will show you exactly how to ace your next interview. Learn what to say, how to act, what to wear, and how to prepare for common interview questions. Discover the questions you should ask your would-be employers, and how to present your strengths and weaknesses in the best possible light. Furthermore, learn eight ways you can immediately improve your body language - and understand how to make sure it doesn't sabotage you during your next interview. Steven Fies is a business consultant who advises human resources departments on hiring the right people. He is also a certified professional behaviors and motivators analyst with TTI Success Insights, a recognized leader in workplace performance research. Job Interview Tips For Winners is his concise, no-nonsense guide to acing your next interview and landing the job. If you're in the market for a new job and want a clear strategy for sharpening your interviewing skills, Job Interview Tips For Winners is for you. Simple and to the point, it will teach you the most critical interviewing skills in no time.

The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back: Overcoming the Behavior Patterns That Keep You From Getting Ahead


James Waldroop - 2001
    The fact is, most people learn their greatest lessons not from their successes but from their mistakes. The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back offers the flip side to Stephen Covey’s approach in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, zeroing in on the most common behavior that can impede a career. Based on over twenty years of research as business psychologists, the authors claim that the reasons people fail in their jobs are the same everywhere. Only after these detrimental behaviors have been identified can the patterns that limit career advancement be broken. Using real-life accounts of clients they have worked with at Harvard and as executive coaches at such companies as GTE, Sony, GE, and McKinsey & Co., Waldroop and Butler offer invaluable–and in some cases, job-saving–step-by-step advice on how readers can change their behavior to get back on track. For anyone seeking to achieve his or her career ambitions, The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back is a powerful tool for unleashing true potential.

The Twelve Monotasks: Do One Thing at a Time to Do Everything Better


Thatcher Wine - 2021
    What if you could train your brain to focus on one thing at a time? What if the secret to better productivity involved doing less, not more?  Drawing on research in psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness, The Twelve Monotasks provides a clear and accessible plan for life in the twenty-first century. Practice resisting distractions and building focus by doing the things you already do—like reading, sleeping, eating, and listening—with renewed attention. For example, the next time you go for a walk, don’t try to run an errand or squeeze in a phone call, but instead, notice the cool breeze on your face and the plants and birds that may cross your path. Immerse yourself in the activity and let time melt away, even if you’re only actually out for 20 minutes. Notice how much clearer your head feels when you return home. This is the magic of monotasking. With monotasking you will:Become more productiveProduce higher quality workReduce stress And increase happiness. Thatcher Wine’s The Twelve Monotasks will help you do one thing at a time, and do it well, so you can enjoy all of your life!

The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World


Sophia Dembling - 2012
     This clever and pithy book challenges introverts to take ownership of their personalities...with quiet strength. Sophia Dembling asserts that the introvert’s lifestyle is not “wrong” or lacking, as society or extroverts would have us believe. Through a combination of personal insights and psychology, The Introvert’s Way helps and encourages introverts to embrace their nature, to respect traits they may have been ashamed of and reframe them as assets. You’re not shy; rather, you appreciate the joys of quiet. You’re not antisocial; instead, you enjoy recharging through time alone. You’re not unfriendly, but you do find more meaning in one-on-one connections than large gatherings. By honoring what makes them unique, this astute and inspiring book challenges introverts to “own” their introversion, igniting a quiet revolution that will change how they see themselves and how they engage with the world.

LEAD . . . for God'Sake!: A Parable for Finding the Heart of Leadership


Todd G. Gongwer - 2011
    With expectations at an all-time high, his players have lost their will to win and their passion for the game; none of Coach Rocker’s tried and true motivational methods are working, and he doesn’t know why.As the season continues to spiral downward and his home life begins to mirror the problems he’s facing on the court, Coach Rocker stumbles upon a most unlikely mentor— Joe Taylor, the school’s janitor, who seems to have the answers to all of the Coach’s problems.

Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage


Paul Ekman - 1985
    From the deception strategies of international public figures, such as Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon, to the deceitful behavior of private individuals, including adulterers and petty criminals, Ekman shows that a successful liar most often depends on a willfully innocent dupe. His study describes how lies vary in form and can differ from other types of misinformation, as well as how a person's body language, voice, and facial expressions can give away a lie but still escape the detection of professional lie hunters—judges, police officers, drug enforcement agents, Secret Service agents, and others.

The Art of Persuasion: The Language of Influence and Manipulation


Andrzej Batko - 2004
    

The 100/0 Principle: The Secret of Great Relationships


Al Ritter - 2010
    • If you like "212, the Extra Degree," you are going to love this book! Brian Tracy said..."Eighty percent of life's satisfaction comes from meaningful relationships." Think about it...when you look back at the end of your life what will really matter? Five words...the quality of your relationships. So here's the question: If your relationships are the most important part of your life, what are you doing to make them all they can be? The 100/0 Principle...The Secret of Great Relationships, may be the most important book you'll ever read. The message is truly life-changing. Author Al Ritter is a management consultant who works with CEO's, other leaders and teams, who are committed to achieving breakthrough results. Also, as a professional speaker, Al has delivered over 500 speeches, workshops and seminars. Simply put, The 100/0 Principle is a book that can benefit anyone. It can make your marriage better and greatly improve your relationships with family members, friends, co-workers...even your boss.

Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or Ph.D.


Robert L. Peters - 1992
    It will also help graduate students finish in less time, for less money, and with less trouble.Based on interviews with career counselors, graduate students, and professors, Getting What You Came For is packed with real-life experiences. It has all the advice a student will need not only to survive but to thrive in graduate school, including: instructions on applying to school and for financial aid; how to excel on qualifying exams; how to manage academic politics--including hostile professors; and how to write and defend a top-notch thesis. Most important, it shows you how to land a job when you graduate.

The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing


John R. Perry - 2012
    Or Hillary Clinton, or Steven Spielberg. Clearly they have no trouble getting stuff done. For the great majority of us, though, what a comfort to discover that we’re not wastrels and slackers, but doers . . . in our own way. It may sound counterintuitive, but according to philosopher John Perry, you can accomplish a lot by putting things off. He calls it “structured procrastination”:In 1995, while not working on some project I should have been working on, I began to feel rotten about myself. But then I noticed something. On the whole, I had a reputation as a person who got a lot done and made a reasonable contribution. . . . A paradox. Rather than getting to work on my important projects, I began to think about this conundrum. I realized that I was what I call a structured procrastinator: a person who gets a lot done by not doing other things.Celebrating a nearly universal character flaw, The Art of Procrastination is a wise, charming, compulsively readable book—really, a tongue-in-cheek argument of ideas. Perry offers ingenious strategies, like the defensive to-do list (“1. Learn Chinese . . .”) and task triage. He discusses the double-edged relationship between the computer and procrastination—on the one hand, it allows the procrastinator to fire off a letter or paper at the last possible minute; on the other, it’s a dangerous time suck (Perry counters this by never surfing until he’s already hungry for lunch). Or what may be procrastination’s greatest gift: the chance to accomplish surprising, wonderful things by not sticking to a rigid schedule. For example, Perry wrote this book by avoiding the work he was supposed to be doing—grading papers and evaluating dissertation ideas. How lucky for us.