Corsini’s Top Read, Watch or Listen List:  Summer Reading Edition

by | May 19, 2020 | Uncategorized

Part 1 of 2

It’s time again to offer CCG’s top reading suggestions for 2020. We do this every May in anticipation of summer vacations. This year, you might be limited to a “staycation,” but time for yourself—especially right now when our world has changed so much—is more important than ever.  So is finding time to focus on Family (and friends through social distancing!), Fitness and Fun—three of our 7 F’s of True Success.

These suggestions of things to read, watch or listen to will come in two parts—the first part this week, the rest in our next blog post.

Enjoy!

Corsini’s Top Read, Watch or Listen List (by topic):

  1. Fear of rejection. Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang. I first heard Jiang speak last year at a leadership conference, and he was memorable. Those of you in our coaching program know that we say your success depends on your willingness to get uncomfortable. Every single day. And that, of course, means being prepared for rejection. As Jiang takes you on his “100 days of rejection” experiment, he helps you embrace that uncomfortable idea. This book is funny, easy to read and shares a great life lesson. I’ve been working on my own rejection tolerance since hearing Jiang speak. You can also check out his TED Talk.
  2. Job transition and/or preparing for retirement. The White Shirt: Find Your Peaceful and Life-Giving Career at Any Stage of Life by Michael Alan Tate. Tate is a fellow leadership coach in Birmingham, and he is a very wise man. Told as a fable, the story in this book is great for anyone who is graduating college, in job transition, re-launching a career after being out of the job market, entering retirement and looking for what’s next or those just wanting to find their purpose in life. Tate’s website https://michaelalantate.com offers many resources to supplement his book, so check it out. Also, The White Shirt reminds me of the classic What Color is Your Parachute?, but, at only 150 pages, Tate’s book is something you can read during a single plane trip or listen to on a few long walks.
  3. Business decision-making. The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. Many of us were first introduced to Sinek on his now-famous Start With Why TED talk. His latest book, like his others, doesn’t disappoint. In The Infinite Game, Sinek points out that most executives today focus on the now. They rely upon quick fixes and often end up with short-term results. According to Sinek, this puts them in a finite game with fixed rules and a known objective that, once achieved, ends the game. In this book, he introduces a longer view—one with unknown players and no fixed rules. The game, he says, is never won, and that’s just fine. The goal is to continuously get better.
  4. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As if Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss. This book rocked my world and absolutely changed the way I think about—and coach—negotiating. Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator, and his negotiating concepts and advice can be used in all areas of work and life. I’m telling you now that his strategies are counterintuitive and disruptive. And they work! I’ve listened to this book three times. I highly recommend you read or listen to it, too.
  5. Artificial intelligence. AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee. A client recommended I read this book, but I was put off by the title. So it took me nine months to finally decide to listen to it. Wow! Was I glad I did! It’s a great book, and I learned so much about artificial intelligence and how both the U.S. and China need to embrace the huge responsibilities that their advances in AI have brought to the world. This book looks at the history of AI and its future, which will be here, in life-changing ways, sooner rather than later. Before reading this book, I was somewhat nervous about how AI is going to change our workplaces. I’m now more excited about the possibilities. AI is something everyone should understand better. That’s how you prepare for it.

The rest of the list will be in our next blog post on Tuesday, May 26. Until then, keep doing what you do better!