I’ve spent my life as a psychologist, first as a therapist and then as an executive coach and consultant. My passion has been helping people get out of their own way and live the best lives they possibly can. I have a Ph.D. and an MBA, which provides me with a unique approach. I combine sports-influenced tactics of performance coaching with psychology-trained skills of empathy to help businesses, leaders, and employees perform at their best, with passion and joy. My book captures the essence of what I have learned from my clients and from living my own life.
I wrote...
Curating Your Life: Ending the Struggle for Work-Life Balance
Through decades working as a therapist and then as an executive coach, I recognized the concept of "work/life balance" was not helping people to live productive, fulfilling lives. There is a better way to manage yourself for peak performance. Much as a museum curator creates a beautiful and meaningful exhibit by selecting and arranging artifacts, you too can “curate” your commitments and energies.
When your energy, passion, and happiness are maximized there is an immediate impact on your effectiveness at work. Curating Your Life details how to: deal with the negative voice in your head and others’ criticism; combat procrastination; leave your comfort zone; understand the connection between discipline and freedom; spend time in the “gray zone” being a little bit bad; and re-curate throughout your life.
This book changed my life. I learned how to maximize my energy, so I perform at my best and enjoy my life. The book focuses on four kinds of energy: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is full of practical suggestions – my favorite is, “Life is not a marathon, it is a series of sprints.”
In our digital world, where computers can do many tasks faster and better than people can, we will thrive if we excel at skills that are uniquely human. Pink writes about the cognitive skills that will be most useful in today’s world: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. The book is full of fun and fascinating exercises that helped me develop those skills.
This is a book that you have to read. A Whole New Mind is a groundbreaking look at how we should live our lives in a world turned upside down by rising affluence, the outsourcing of good jobs abroad, and the computerization of our lives a world fast shifting from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. Lawyers. Accountants. Radiologists. Software engineers. That's what our parents encouraged us to be when we grew up. But Mum and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person - a person with a very different kind of mind.…
This book is crucial for business leaders who want to build teams that are highly engaged and productive. Buckingham’s thesis is that you get excellence only from people who are doing what they love. Whether you’re trying to get the best out of yourself or others, this book provides very useful guidance. I find
the book audacious in its use of the word “love.”Business books may talk about passion or
focus or “flow,” but it is rare that authors talk about love, and yet that is
the essence of doing great work.
World-renowned researcher and New York Times bestselling author Marcus Buckingham helps us discover where we're at our best-both at work and in life.
You've long been told to "Do what you love." Sounds simple, but the real challenge is how to do this in a world not set up to help you. Most of us actually don't know the real truth of what we love-what engages us and makes us thrive-and our workplaces, jobs, schools, even our parents, are focused instead on making us conform. Sadly, no person or system is dedicated to discovering the…
Critical thinking is an essential leadership skill, and many business leaders are great at it. The problem is that this approach often intimidates people and stifles their creativity. This book taught me a new set of communication tactics, based on improvisational theater techniques, that reduce fear and drive innovation in the workplace. The best manager I ever worked for was a “Yes, And” manager.
Executives from The Second City-the world's premier comedy theater and school of improvisation-reveal improvisational techniques that can help any organization develop innovators, encourage adaptable leaders, and build transformational businesses. For more than fifty years, The Second City comedy theater in Chicago has been a training ground for some of the best comic minds in the industry-including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Mike Myers, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Tina Fey. But it also provides one-of-a-kind leadership training to cutting-edge companies, nonprofits, and public sector organizations-all aimed at increasing creativity, collaboration, and teamwork. The rules for leadership and teamwork have…
I wish I had written this book. It is chock-full of great advice for women leaders. Sandberg’s writing style is personal and warm and she tackles many of women’s real-life challenges, both at home and in the workplace. She asks us, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” My favorite anecdote is when she admits that she put her children to bed
at night in their school clothes so it was easier to get them up and out in the
morning. This woman who looks as if she
does everything perfectly cuts corners just like the rest of us.
Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership.
Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or…
Coming from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, I have witnessed many successes and failures over more than four decades. I recognized decades ago that communication with patients at a level that involves emotions is a necessary part of being a complete physician. This involves being empathetic and, henceforth, digging deep to find the strength to be transparent, vulnerable, compassionate, understanding, and, when needed, forceful (some would call this paternalism). Although the five books I have chosen to highlight vary widely in content, they have one common theme – finding within us the will and wherewithal to succeed.
My book is a collection of monthly Editor-in-Chief letters to the readership of World Neurosurgery, a journal that I edit. Each essay is short and sweet. The letters were written for neurosurgeons but have been re-edited so that they apply to all human beings. They cover topics such as leadership, empathy, vulnerability, stress, burnout, and on and on…. These essays are relevant for all who strive to craft a better version of themselves.
Life lessons learned by the author during his 40+ year neurosurgery career are shared and translated into real-life scenarios. Between the covers are many lessons that are derived from the experiences of the author and then applied to all humans. The mastering of these lessons should translate into a sense of pride and satisfaction. In keeping with the theme of the book, this process should culminate in the feeling at the end of the day that ‘Today was, indeed, a good day.’
Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon
About the Book Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon features many topics that pertain to how neurosurgeons interact with others and how each of us can use introspection to modify how we are using tools and strategies such as empathy, respect, stress management, and much more. This book provides some insights into leadership, effective communication, and fulfillment from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, and it causes the reader to think about and consider many, many attributes of a leader. We all want to have a good day. This book provides strategies…
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