The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work
Shawn Achor - 2010
If we can just find that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But recent discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that this formula is actually backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. When we are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive at work. This isn’t just an empty mantra. This discovery has been repeatedly borne out by rigorous research in psychology and neuroscience, management studies, and the bottom lines of organizations around the globe. In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor, who spent over a decade living, researching, and lecturing at Harvard University, draws on his own research—including one of the largest studies of happiness and potential at Harvard and others at companies like UBS and KPMG—to fix this broken formula. Using stories and case studies from his work with thousands of Fortune 500 executives in 42 countries, Achor explains how we can reprogram our brains to become more positive in order to gain a competitive edge at work. Isolating seven practical, actionable principles that have been tried and tested everywhere from classrooms to boardrooms, stretching from Argentina to Zimbabwe, he shows us how we can capitalize on the Happiness Advantage to improve our performance and maximize our potential. Among the principles he outlines: • The Tetris Effect: how to retrain our brains to spot patterns of possibility, so we can see—and seize—opportunities wherever we look. • The Zorro Circle: how to channel our efforts on small, manageable goals, to gain the leverage to gradually conquer bigger and bigger ones. • Social Investment: how to reap the dividends of investing in one of the greatest predictors of success and happiness—our social support network A must-read for everyone trying to excel in a world of increasing workloads, stress, and negativity, The Happiness Advantage isn’t only about how to become happier at work. It’s about how to reap the benefits of a happier and more positive mind-set to achieve the extraordinary in our work and in our lives.From the Hardcover edition.
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
Adam Alter - 2017
We obsess over our emails, Instagram likes, and Facebook feeds; we binge on TV episodes and YouTube videos; we work longer hours each year; and we spend an average of three hours each day using our smartphones. Half of us would rather suffer a broken bone than a broken phone, and Millennial kids spend so much time in front of screens that they struggle to interact with real, live humans. In this revolutionary book, Adam Alter, a professor of psychology and marketing at NYU, tracks the rise of behavioral addiction, and explains why so many of today's products are irresistible. Though these miraculous products melt the miles that separate people across the globe, their extraordinary and sometimes damaging magnetism is no accident. The companies that design these products tweak them over time until they become almost impossible to resist. By reverse engineering behavioral addiction, Alter explains how we can harness addictive products for the good—to improve how we communicate with each other, spend and save our money, and set boundaries between work and play—and how we can mitigate their most damaging effects on our well-being, and the health and happiness of our children.
How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs
Guy Raz - 2020
Great ideas often come from a simple spark: A soccer player on the New Zealand national team notices all the unused wool his country produces and figures out a way to turn them into shoes (Allbirds). A former Buddhist monk decides the very best way to spread his mindfulness teachings is by launching an app (Headspace). A sandwich cart vendor finds a way to reuse leftover pita bread and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business (Stacy’s Pita Chips). Award-winning journalist and NPR host Guy Raz has interviewed more than 200 highly successful entrepreneurs to uncover amazing true stories like these. In How I Built This, he shares tips for every entrepreneur’s journey: from the early days of formulating your idea, to raising money and recruiting employees, to fending off competitors, to finally paying yourself a real salary. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of starting their own business or wondered how trailblazing entrepreneurs made their own dreams a reality.
Independent Contractor, Sole Proprietor, and LLC Taxes Explained in 100 Pages or Less
Mike Piper - 2011
Find all of the following, explained in plain-English with no legal jargon:Business Taxation 101: A brief primer on tax topics in general, especially as they apply to businesses.Home Office Deduction: How to ensure you qualify for it and how to calculate it.Estimated Tax payments: When and how to pay them, as well as an easy way to calculate each payment.Self-Employment Tax: What it is, why it exists, and how to calculate it.Business Retirement Plans: What the different types are, and which one is best for you.Numerous Business Deductions: Several deductions explained in detail, including how to make sure you can qualify to take them and how to maximize them.Audit Protection: Learn what records you need to keep (and how long to keep them) in order to protect yourself in case of an audit.
Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals
Michael Hyatt - 2018
We all want to reach our full potential. But too often we find ourselves overwhelmed by the day-to-day. Our big goals get pushed to the back burner--and then, more often than not, they get forgotten. New York Times bestselling author Michael Hyatt wants readers to know that it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, he thinks that this is the year readers can finally close the gap between reality and their dreams.In Your Best Year Ever, Hyatt shares a powerful, proven, research-driven system for setting and achieving goals. Readers learn how to design their best year ever in just five hours- three simple ways to triple the likelihood of achieving their goals- how to quit-proof their goals- what to do when they feel stuck- and much moreAnyone who is tired of not seeing progress in their personal, intellectual, business, relationship, or financial goals will treasure the field-tested wisdom found in these pages.
Classroom Habitudes: Teaching Learning Habits and Attitudes in 21st Century Learning
Angela Maiers - 2008
But how do you work those skills into the curriculum? Learn how to use the content you already teach to challenge students to think critically, collaborate with others, solve new problems, and adapt to change across new learning contexts. Help students build the seven habitudes habits of disciplined decisions and specific attitudes they need to succeed."
The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family
Karyn Purvis - 2007
Some adoptions, though, present unique challenges. Welcoming these children into your family--and addressing their special needs--requires care, consideration, and compassion.Written by two research psychologists specializing in adoption and attachment, "The Connected Child" will help you: Build bonds of affection and trust with your adopted child Effectively deal with any learning or behavioral disorders Discipline your child with love without making him or her feel threatened
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
Adele Faber - 1996
Enthusiastically praised by parents and professionals around the world, the down--to--earth, respectful approach of Faber and Mazlish makes relationships with children of all ages less stressful and more rewarding.Recently revised and updated with fresh insights and suggestions, How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk is full of practical, innovative ways to solve common problems and build foundations for lasting relationships.
How to Speak Tech: The Non-Techie’s Guide to Key Technology Concepts
Vinay Trivedi - 2013
Now it's time to find out how these things work. Vinay Trivedi peels back the mystery of the Internet, explains it all in the simplest terms, and gives you the knowledge you need to speak confidently when the subject turns to technology.This revised second edition of
How to Speak Tech
consists of two parts: the first spells out the essential terms and technologies of Internet startups to get you up to speed on the jargon you need to know; the second is a primer on the latest tech trends, including the blockchain, augmented and virtual reality, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.Neither the Internet nor the top tech trends are beyond anyone, given the right teaching. This book breaks down the major concepts and technologies of a modern app into bite-sized chapters, helping you understand topics that usually are not explained clearly and showing you that it's not rocket science.So go ahead, grab this book and start to speak tech.What You'll LearnUnderstand the basics of new and established technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR), Internet of Things (IoT), software development, programming languages, databases, and moreListen intelligently and speak confidently when technologies are brought up in your businessBe confident in your grasp of terms and technologies when setting up your own organization's application
Who This Book Is ForStudents who want to understand different technologies relevant to their future careers at startups and established organizations, as well as business and other non-technical professionals who encounter and require an understanding of key technical terms and trends to succeed in their rolesReviews
"Finally, a book non-techies can use to understand the web technologies that are changing our lives."
Paul Bottino, Executive Director, Technology and Entrepreneurship Center, Harvard University
"A great book everyone can use to understand how tech startups work."
Rene Reinsberg, Founder, Celo; Former VP of Emerging Products, GoDaddy
"Through the simplicity of his presentation, Vinay shows that the basics of technology can be straightforwardly understood by anyone who puts in the time and effort to learn."
Joseph Lassiter, Professor of Management Science, Harvard Business School and Harvard Innovation Lab
The Learning Brain: Memory and Brain Development in Children
Torkel Klingberg - 2011
We recently ranked 15th in the world in reading, math, and science. Clearly, more needs to be done. In The Learning Brain, Torkel Klingberg urges us to use the insights of neuroscienceto improve the education of our children.The key to improving education lies in understanding how the brain works: that is where learning takes place, after all. The book focuses in particular on working memory--our ability to concentrate and to keep relevant information in our head while ignoring distractions (a topic the author coveredin The Overflowing Brain). Research shows enormous variation in working memory among children, with some ten-year-olds performing at the level of a fourteen-year old, others at that of a six-year old. More important, children with high working memory have better math and reading skills, whilechildren with poor working memory consistently underperform. Interestingly, teachers tend to perceive children with poor working memory as dreamy or unfocused, not recognizing that these children have a memory problem. But what can we do for these children? For one, we can train working memory. TheLearning Brain provides a variety of different techniques and scientific insights that may just teach us how to improve our children's working memory. Klingberg also discusses how stress can impair working memory (skydivers tested just before a jump showed a 30% drop in working memory) and howaerobic exercise can actually modify the brain's nerve cells and improve classroom performance.Torkel Klingberg is one of the world's leading cognitive neuroscientists, but in this book he wears his erudition lightly, writing with simplicity and good humor as he shows us how to give our children the best chance to learn and grow.
The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues
Patrick Lencioni - 2016
Here he turns his focus to the individual, revealing the three indispensable virtues of an ideal team player. In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle’s company by restoring its cultural commitment to teamwork. Jeff must crack the code on the virtues that real team players possess, and then build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players. Whether you’re a leader trying to create a culture around teamwork, a staffing professional looking to hire real team players, or a team player wanting to improve yourself, this book will prove to be as useful as it is compelling.
HR on Purpose: Developing Deliberate People Passion
Steve Browne - 2017
Read this book to rekindle your passion for a field that is vibrant and vital and touch the lives of everyone your encounter with HR on Purpose!!”
The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development Into Business Results
Calhoun W. Wick - 2006
The Six Disciplines provides the definitive road map and tools for optimizing the business impact of leadership and management training, sales, quality, performance improvement, and individual development programs. This important book presents the theories and techniques behind the approach and includes expert advice for bridging the "learning-doing" gap. The authors' recommendations are illustrated with dozens of real-life examples from successful companies on the cutting edge of results-driven educational performance.
The Daily Five
Gail Boushey - 2006
Based on literacy learning and motivation research, they created a structure called The Daily Five which has been practiced and refined in their own classrooms for ten years, and shared with thousands of teachers throughout the United States. The Daily Five is a series of literacy tasks (reading to self, reading with someone, writing, word work, and listening to reading) which students complete daily while the teacher meets with small groups or confers with individuals.This book not only explains the philosophy behind the structure, but shows you how to carefully and systematically train your students to participate in each of the five components.Explicit modeling practice, reflecting and refining take place during the launching phase, preparing the foundation for a year of meaningful content instruction tailored to meet the needs of each child.The Daily Five is more than a management system or a curriculum framework; it is a structure that will help students develop the habits that lead to a lifetime of independent literacy.
Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/Poor Reading Achievement Gap
Richard L. Allington - 1981
Yet far too little attention is given to this pressing problem. This timely volume now offers not only a comprehensive review of what is known about summer reading loss but also provides reliable interventions and guidance. Written by acknowledged experts and researchers on reading, remedial reading, and special education, this collection describes multiple models of innovative summer reading and book distribution initiatives as well as research-based guidelines for planning a successful summer reading program, including tips on book selection, distribution methods, and direction for crucial follow-up. Most important, the authors clearly show how schools and communities can see greater academic gains for students from low-income families using the methods described in this book than they can from much more costly interventions.