Book review written by Aleksandr E KheysonI have to say this is one of the best books that I've read when it comes to the topic of mindset and, specifically, explaining the difference between 'Fixed' Mindset and 'Growth' Mindset. Even though the topic of Fixed vs. Growth mindsets is fairly popular and is often being covered in various books, online training workshops, etc., I still found Carol Dweck's book very interesting and engaging, with a great amount of new information on the topic. After I finished reading the book, I gave it to my teenage son to read it as well, so that he had an opportunity to receive another perspective about different types of mindset from someone other than me, and he really enjoyed reading it as well.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is into personal development, self-leadership, and enjoys learning new information. My key takeaway from the book was: "Good leaders have a desire to learn. There is no such thing as a "natural leader." People become leaders by changing themselves." You can read more about the book and, if interested, purchase a hardcover copy or audiobook on Amazon by clicking here.
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Book review written by Aleksandr E KheysonTrust is important anywhere, in any environment, organization, relationship, etc. When trust is absent or shaky we feel uncomfortable and uncertain both in professional and non-professional setting.
In this book, Stephen Covey covers and breaks down the topic of trust in great detail, explaining such important areas and types of trust, such as: "self-trust," "Organizational Trust," "Market Trust," and "Societal Trust." Also, the author introduces the "13 Behaviors of "Relationship Trust," explaining each of the 13 behaviors in great detail, which I found to be very interesting and useful information to take away for my own personal and professional growth. I recommend this book to anyone interested in personal and professional development, team management and leadership. You can read more about the book and, if interested, purchase a hardcover copy or audiobook on Amazon by clicking here. Book review written by Aleksandr E KheysonThis is another excellent book written by Ken Blanchard and is part of the One Minute Manager series of books. Once you read One Minute Manager, you can't stop until you read all books written by Ken Blanchard. I was introduced to One Minute Manager at the very beginning of my professional career, and through reading the books I've learned a great deal about leadership and different types of leadership, team management, and personal development. This is not the type of the book that you read once and you forget about the book, this is the type of the book that you read and re-read many times over, because the leadership concepts discussed never get old and are always relevant year after year.
At first when I saw the title of the book, I was not sure if it was something that I would be interested to read about, since I did not see how term 'monkey' was applicable in relation to the leadership and management. However, after I've read first few paragraphs, the title started to make sense. The book is not talking about monkeys as animals, which is what I thought initially, but about responsibilities and ownership that many of us carry on our shoulders every day. Whether it is a new project that was assigned to you, or new expectation that was added to your list of already significant list of tasks and objectives, then you had dealt with the practice of monkey management without realizing it, until now. This is how monkey management is explained in the book: "Every time we take on the problem of another person, we take their monkey and make it our own (problem), basically saying: "You're not capable of handling this problem so I had better take care of it myself."" Once you understand that concept then the next step is to learn the process and purpose of the rules of monkey management, this is where the understanding of "Oncken's Rules of Monkey Management" explained in great detail in the book come to play. Another interesting topic that is reviewed in the book is the "Paradox in Management," and how understanding this paradox can help leaders to practice an effective team management and employee empowerment. You can read more about the book and, if interested, purchase a hardcover copy or audiobook on Amazon by clicking here. Book review written by Aleksandr E KheysonSelf Leadership and the One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard is one of those books that, in my opinion, should be present in your library of books in you are interested in leadership and personal development. Not only does the author covers some of the basic principles of leadership and what it means to be a leader but dives deeper in a specific area of leadership called Self Leadership.
I believe that our individual personal development begins with understanding and mastering the art of self leadership. Why? Because how could anyone be a leader to others if he or she is unable or not ready to be a leader within himself or herself? As it is noted in the book "No boss can know and provide the motivation that every individual needs." We as individuals should find that motivation within ourselves and become a leader and source of motivation to others around us. In the book author discusses the importance for people to challenge our 'assumed constraints,' further defining what 'assumed constraint' is and how it may impact our present and future states. Also, in this book I enjoyed learning about different points of power, such as 'knowledge power,' 'personal power,' 'relationship power,' ' task power,' and 'position power.' Author does a wonderful job in defining each power and how they apply in self leadership. As it is noted in the book - "you need to know the nature of your strengths - your power - before you can lead yourself." In addition to understanding different points of power, author explains the importance of celebrating your points of points of power. The other valuable tool covered in the book is the term called 'The Development Continuum' and how it may be used to understand where, as individuals, as leaders, we fall on 'The Development Continuum.' Are you someone who is "High Achiever," "Capable but Cautious," "Disillusioned Learner," or "Enthusiastic Beginne?" If you are interested in learning about each stage on the 'Development Continuum,' the author does a great job in explaining each one and outlining type of support that you may need from your employer, your manager, depending on where you find yourself on the continuum. I like how leader is defined in the book as "anyone who can give you the support and direction you need to achieve your goal." So, leader is not necessarily who is in position of power, or someone who has a specific title, leader can be anyone who is there to help you and guide you when you need guidance and motivation to keep going and pursuing your personal and professional goals. You can read more about the book and, if interested, purchase a hardcover copy or audiobook on Amazon by clicking here. Book review written by Aleksandr E KheysonThis book is should definitely be on a list of ‘books to read’ for anyone who is in leadership role now, someone who manages teams, or anyone who is into personal development and leadership. If I had to summarize the book in few words, I would say that its main its main theme is the topic of change, being ready for change, the importance of change, and what happens if we resist change.
Some of the initial key points that I noted from the book were:
As it is noted in the book: “The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese.” So, the sooner we let go of our past and present that is holding us back, the faster we will find new opportunities. Change happens all the time, the question is: Are we ready for the change? Are we willing to accept it? Are we prepared to change our present? As noted in the book: “It is natural for change to continually occur, whether you expect it or not. Change could surprise you only if you didn’t expect it and weren’t looking for it.” If we aren’t ready to accept change, we could never expect for things to change in our personal and professional lives. We must be ready and willing to accept change and take necessary actions to create change in order to move forward and become the agent of change. ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ book also provides some examples of what happens when we resist change and how it impacts us and those around us. It also talks about denial when it pertains to resisting change. Some of us tend to come up with many different reasons why we should not act, why we should stay where we are creating an illusion in our mind that things will get better over time, even when we do not take any action and change. As noted in the book “instead of changing jobs, maybe you should change the way you do your job,” which is great example of where many of us make a mistake of waiting for things to improve in our jobs, without us actually changing what we do on the daily basis. Instead, we should ask ourselves, perhaps that issue is not with what is happening around us or in our company but with what is happening inside of us, is there an opportunity for us to change what we do or how we do it? As noted in the book “people want for things to stay the same and they think the change will be bad for them. When one person says the change is a bad idea, others say the same and they may not even feel that way at all, but they agree in order to fit in.” In the book, author provides several questions that one can ask to see if it appropriate or necessary for him or her to take action. Also, author explains different stages of change management especially when it pertains to teams or groups:
By reading ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ I have also enjoyed learning about ‘Nine Team Roles’ that typically exist in any team and/or organization, and how different roles can work together as a team. There are: Action Oriented Roles:
In summary, I truly enjoyed reading ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ by Dr. Spencer Johnson, and highly recommend this book to leaders, managers, and anyone who is interested in personal development and team leadership. You can read more about the book and, if interested, purchase a hardcover copy or audiobook on Amazon by clicking here. Book review written by Alex E KheysonOverall, I thought that this was a very interesting book, filled with a great deal of action, surprises, twists and turns. For me, it was difficult to get emerged and fully grasp the plot of at the beginning of the book's first few chapters. I did not immediately saw where the story was going and who were the key characters. However, as I kept on reading, things began to fall in place and start to make sense.
I was able to understand what had happened and was intrigued by what would happen in the second half of the book. Once I got to this point, it was very difficult to stop reading/listening to a book, as I could not wait to find out what would happen next. Also, I found the main idea/topic of the book centered around the price of time that we pay based on various decisions and actions that we take as human beings, and how each action and decision that we make may lead to specific, often unexpected, outcome. I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy fiction, as it will certainly keep you engaged and hungry for more until the very last chapter, and there are 75 of them. But don't be scared by such a high number of chapters, as they are all pretty short, which allows one to read 1-2 chapters at a time, without having to pause your reading/listening mid-chapter. Then, one may resume while the story is still fresh on your mind. You can read more about the book and, if interested, purchase a hardcover copy or audiobook on Amazon by clicking here Book review written by Alex E KheysonI found this book very interesting for many different reasons, not to mention that it was written by one of the people and personal development gurus that I admire, but also the engaging nature and stories told by the author which I felt helped me to helps to re-focus the mind on what is really important, what I care about and value the most in life, which may be different for each individual. However, it also helps to paint the picture of many common goals and dreams that many of us have - financial independence, desire to find success doing what we love, and living happy and fulfilling life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about:
You can read more about the book and, if interested, purchase a hardcover copy or audiobook on Amazon by clicking here Review written by Alex E KheysonTo be honest with you, at first I was not sure what to expect from this book before I began reading it. However, as soon as I began reading the first chapter, I was immediately intrigued, curious, and wanted to continue reading more and more. Besides one of the main points discussed in this book - 'how to get people to like you,' there's so much more than that. There so many different questions and topics that are addressed and explained in a highly engaging writing style of the author, that after just few pages you are completely immersed in the story and forget about the time. Speaking of questions and topics addressed in this book, I've tried to capture some of them below, so that you can see how rich the content of this book is, and what you can take away by reading or listening it, since book is also available in audiobook format in Audible by Amazon.
"How to maintain or enhance or develop existing relationships with clients" "How to win anyone over in virtually any social interaction" "How to interact more effectively with colleagues, subordinates and customers" "How parents can repair, maintain, and strengthen relationships with their kids" "How consumers can get better service, better personalized attention" "How to get people to like you" What is a "Friendship Formula" What are the "big 3 friend signals" What is "The game of “non-verbal two step” What is "The golden Rule of Friendship" What are some of the "Techniques to make people feel good about themselves" "Empathetic Statements" – what are they? “Ben Franklin Factor” – what is it? What are "Laws of Attraction and when to use them" "How to speak the language of friendship and keep your ego in check" "How to create cohesive and long-lasting bond with another person" "How to handle anger in the best way possible" "How to empathize effectively" I highly recommend this book as a great read with a lot of interesting and useful information to take away and implement in our daily interactions with others - our colleagues, friends, parents, kids, business partners, customers, and list goes on and on. Check out this book on Amazon by clicking here Review written by Alex E. Kheyson If you want to know how to make and keep money then this book is a must. Before I ready The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason for the first time, I’ve heard about this books from virtually everyone who shares the passion for personal development, growth, entrepreneurship, and financial success. At first I thought that it would be difficult to relate and obtain useful information that can be applied today when it comes to money management and practice of creating wealth based on money practices described in this book, however, after reading few pages, I’ve realized that money creation and growth practices are as applicable in today’s world as they were at the time of Babylon.
Here are few key points/questions that are covered in this awesome book:
This book is an awesome collection of very engaging, easy to follow, and relevant stories that take you back in time of Babylon, bringing the lives of many successful and wealthy merchants to life, while teaching very important lessons and laws of money that where relevant then as well as today. Once you read this book once, you would want to read it again and again. Check out this book on Amazon by clicking here Review written by Alex E Kheyson You are a badass: How to stop doubting your greatness by Jen Sincero is one of those books that you can read multiple time and every time you read it you learn something new, something that you did not catch before. What I like about Jen Sincero’s writing style is its ease of following along, engaging content, many personal stories to support a point or multiple points in each chapter, and relatability to topics and points discussed.
Here’s are few key points/topics covered in this interesting and engaging book:
These are just some of many points and questions address in this highly engaging and interesting book. I highly recommend “You are a badass: How to stop doubting your greatness” by Jen Sincero to anyone who is looking to invest into their own personal development and growth. If you don’t have time to read an actual paperback version of this book, you can purchase an audiobook version on Audible. Check out this book on Amazon by clicking here |