For many, this week takes on a significant spiritual and family focused importance. Given the mid-week timing of the Christmas and New Year holidays, many of you may combine remaining vacation days and gain a bit of an early winter break. The current economic turmoil may disrupt this plan for some of you, but hopefully not all.
I’m busy working on my plans to launch The Management Excellence podcast series early in 2009 and of course this involves a whole new learning curve for me. I’ve wanted to create a podcast series for quite some time, and instead of thinking about it, I am taking my own advice and turning ideas into actions. The podcast format will offer some great opportunities to involve other professionals via interviews and guest episodes as well as a new format for me to share ideas and insights on management excellence. Stay tuned.
For those of you seeking seasonal reading or looking for some cutting-edge thinking, I’ve got two very different suggestions for you.
The first one comes from author and consultant Gary Hamel (The Future of Management) and according to surveys, one of the world’s most influential business thinkers. Hamel offers up his criteria for books he views as “worth reading” in his post at the WSJ, entitled: “What Business Advice is Worth Taking?” His criteria emphasize issues like, “Does it challenge management dogma?” and “Does it dig deep and look at root causes,” just to name a few. The books that he believes meet these criteria merit serious consideration if you happen to find yourself newly armed with a gift card from your favorite bookseller.
My second suggestion is one of that is timely from both a seasonal perspective as well as for many struggling with employment issues, a profoundly personal perspective. In a book review at the WSJ entitled: “How Charles Dickens Rescued His Career and Remade Christmas,” the new book, The Man Who Invented Christmas, by Les Standiford, offers some fascinating perspectives on Dickens and the impact that he had on this holiday.
Deeply in debt and with his Christmas ghost story rejected by every major publisher, Dickens was forced to borrow and self-publish. In the process, he redefined his career and along with it the modern celebration of Christmas. As a Dicken’s devotee, this book has moved to the top of my wish list!
Enjoy your reading, and if your focus this week is spiritual and/or family focused, may you find peace and enjoyment in the process. And if reading is on the to-do list, Hamel and Dickens are both worthy subjects.