Management-Business - Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Power of the Other: The Startling Effect Other People Have on You, from the Boardroom to the Bedroom & Beyond – and What to Do About It

By Scott J. Pearson | January 16, 2024January 16, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Modern leadership is often contrasted with healthy relationships. Leaders, we are told, have to be a lonely and isolated genius, like Steve Jobs. However, in truth, no one can lead without relying on other people. Getting things done requires healthy relationships, and most key advances just cannot be made without others’ influence. In this book, leadership psychologist Henry Cloud examines how to best take advantage of others’ help by identifying mutually beneficial relationships. Cloud’s main…

Management-Business

Let It Go!: How to (Finally) Master Delegation & Scale Freedom Across Your Organization

By Scott J. Pearson | January 12, 2024January 12, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Entrepreneurship draws people who aren’t afraid of taking risks and who are willing to put in the work. However, this field also has its share of pitfalls… like not being able to transform work requests into work for others. Leaders often get to their positions by getting things done. The practice of leadership, however, often means letting others get things done. The handoff process is called delegation. In this book, Emily Morgan dissects this topic…

Management-Business Software-Technology

Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager: How to Be the Leader Your Development Team Needs

By Scott J. Pearson | January 4, 2024January 4, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Managing software engineering efforts is a difficult task. One needs a thorough knowledge of authoring software, which itself is a rare, time-consuming accomplishment. Almost all general managers do not have an in-depth knowledge of programming (though many assume they do!). A few of the best software developers are promoted into a managerial role and have to figure out what to do on the job. Much literature on general management topics exists, but few writings center…

Management-Business

Delegation & Supervision

By Scott J. Pearson | January 1, 2024January 1, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

It’s January 1, and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to learn to say “no” more often and more effectively. To accomplish this, I’m reading several books on delegation. This book, short and inexpensive, seemed like a good place to start. Brian Tracy offers a broad overview of how to delegate and supervise work accomplished by a team. He communicates his message in a clear, accessible, and succinct manner. The book offers a good…

Management-Business

The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well

By Scott J. Pearson | December 30, 2023December 30, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

American business success tends to feed off a narrative of continual rise and winning. However, lives and careers are full of setbacks, and most do not know how to handle these towards a positive effect. Failing well is not an idea with wide acceptance. Many leaders fear permissiveness of failure will lead to a downward cycle in performance. Amy Edomondson, a business professor who studies organizational failures, believes that this pervasive culture needs to change.…

Indie Management-Business Research-Education

Work-Life Balance: A Review: A Critical Review of Research in the Realm of Work-Life Balance

By Scott J. Pearson | December 25, 2023December 25, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

The term “work-life balance” has come into everyday business parlance in the last forty years. Though common, its precise meaning and nature are not well understood. In addition, its uptake has varied both among individual companies and among geographic regions. Recruiters, managers, and executives try to use a sense of work-life balance for competitive advantage, but almost always, such claims have limited data to back them up. What can we know about work-life balance so…

Management-Business

Power Listening: Mastering the Most Critical Business Skill of All

By Scott J. Pearson | December 18, 2023December 18, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Learning from colleagues’ and direct reports’ assessments is a deceptively difficult task. Unlike with medical professionals where listening to patients is rigorously taught, most business education comparatively neglects this topic. Yet the simple act of listening can have a dramatic impact on one’s workplace effectiveness – and one’s career trajectory. This brief book seeks to teach those skills. As the conclusion admits, though, the proof is in the day-to-day practice of how a job is…

Management-Business

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

By Scott J. Pearson | November 30, 2023November 30, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

This book is known as a classics on strategic planning and the role of strategy in business. It speaks from the point of view of leadership over Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) numerous businesses. The company identified its organization to be weak in understanding strategy, and it sought to inculcate strategic thinking into its leadership. Although this book references a few other corporations, it consists largely of case studies around how P&G succeeded using strategy. The…

Management-Business Mentoring

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

By Scott J. Pearson | October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

When approached with an issue, most of us instinctively respond with doling out advice. We assume that people want to use our expertise. However, many of the best leaders have a different response: curiosity about the other person. They ask questions to empower the people around them to make better decisions. After all, the question-askers are the ones closest to the issues, not the one being questioned. In this book, Michael Bungay Stanier seeks to…

Management-Business Software-Technology

Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

By Scott J. Pearson | October 15, 2023October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Since computers and digital technology have become so ubiquitous in contemporary life, creating good software and technology products has become an important business function. Many (exceeding 50%) technology products fail, despite significant design, engineering, and financial efforts. How can we make this process more efficient and profitable? That’s the job of a relatively new job title: the product manager. In this book, Marty Cagan discusses how to fulfill this role in an organization so that…