“Never Split the Difference” Review: How to Negotiate Better

What happens to your brain when you hear or read the word “negotiation?” If you are anything like me (and many people), your heart rate quickens, and you might get a pit in your stomach or feel your shoulders tense up. Why would I even review a book on negotiating—specifically, Never Split the Difference: Negotiating read more…

Book Review: Before Happiness by Shawn Achor

Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change by Shawn Achor is the follow-on to his international best seller, The Happiness Advantage. I recently reviewed The Upside of Your Dark Side, by Robert Biswas-Deiner and Todd Kashdan, and shared that I had mixed feelings about it. This book read more…

The Upside of Your Dark Side by Robert Biswas-Deiner and Todd Kashdan (Book Review)

It’s with very mixed feelings that I write this review of The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self–Not Just Your “Good” Self–Drives Success and Fulfillment; and the authors would undoubtedly approve! This is a bold and thought-provoking book by Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Deiner (who, in the interest of full disclosure, read more…

Book Review: Your Brain at Work by David Rock

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long is highly recommended. “In this book you’ll get to know your brain in a way that brains like: by reading a story.” Author and leadership coach, David Rock, wrote the book like a play, going scene-by-scene as the two main characters, Emily and Paul, read more…

Terms of Engagement: New Ways of Leading and Changing Organizations

We all know we need engaged employees who willingly work hard to give their best. Employee engagement is a win/win/win that benefits the employees, the organization they work in, and the customers they serve. But how do you get engagement? One expensive but solid approach to significant organizational change is the “conference model” advocated by read more…