Category Archives: General Interest

earbuds

Favorite Books, Podcasts, and TED Talks

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I am addicted to learning—and therefore to books, podcasts, and Ted Talks. Here are a few of my current favorites...

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“Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Intuition.”
Michael Maboussin
Harvard Business Press, 2013

This book is a great resource for leaders who want to enhance their decision-making skills. Maboussin is chief investment strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management. He is also an adjunct professor of finance at Columbia Business School. In this succinct book, he shares eight common decision-making mistakes and reveals strategies to help you avoid your particular tendencies in repeating these mistakes. It’s an important book to read whenever you are in the midst of making a complex decision.

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Anxiety and fear

What Challenging Conversation Has Your Name On It?

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What difficult conversation is sitting on a shelf patiently waiting for you? How long has it been there?

Many people avoid challenging conversations as long as they can. They try their best to minimize the issue or hope the person will move away—but those strategies rarely work.

Challenging conversations are often delayed because they pose unique problems. In Crucial Conversations, Kerry Paterson and his co-authors highlight three main obstacles:

• The stakes are high.
• Opinions differ.
• Emotions are strong.

Given these factors, it’s easy to understand why these conversations are seen as difficult.

Often it is the lead-up to the talk that is so tough. The obsessing. The endless run-throughs of dialogue in your head. The constantly worrying about what could go wrong.

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