teams – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances

By Scott J. Pearson | October 31, 2024October 31, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Books on leadership continue to fill bookstores’ bookshelves. Most more or less peddle the same message: Exhibit these characteristics as a leader, and your team will perform great. The problem then becomes how to attain a leadership position. However, life and business usually don’t follow such a simple cause-and-effect pattern. A simple set of postulates cannot control team performance, as if it were a geometry problem. And individual leaders alone do not shape a team;…

Management-Business

Crucial Accountability: Tools for Resolving Violated Expectations, Broken Commitments & Bad Behavior

By Scott J. Pearson | September 15, 2024September 15, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Handling difficult conversations comprises a key element for navigating life successfully, yet most of us have little training about how to accomplish this. We end up listening to mentors or pastors to refine our skillset. Is there any science or education that could lend insight to how to, at the very least, survive these conversations? This set of authors, who penned the famously successful book Crucial Conversations, submit this guide to aid individuals’ journeys. They…

Leadership Management-Business Software-Technology

Mastering Collaboration: Make Working Together Less Painful & More Productive

By Scott J. Pearson | May 19, 2024September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Many modern problems must be solved in teams, so healthy organizations must prioritize social issues to the fore. Yet sometimes, it seems that modern culture has done worse, not better, at limiting stress and anxiety. These problems are heightened in technical fields where workers often address scientific issues, rather than people issues. To answer these troubling questions, Gretchen Anderson, a Harvard-educated Silicon Valley executive, lends her voice from decades of experience leading teams to develop…

Management-Business Software-Technology

The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause & New Solution for Cybersecurity

By Scott J. Pearson | October 1, 2023October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

A career in technology requires acumen in a specific domain. However, as one’s career builds, people skills (so-called “soft skills”) come more to the fore. Suddenly, being the “smartest person in the room” is of limited benefit. Indeed, it can be a handicap because that means that you don’t have anyone to counterbalance your ideas and to collaborate with. Cybersecurity CEO Christian Espinosa tries to guide those in technology how to transition from someone proficient…

Leadership Management-Business

Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams

By Scott J. Pearson | July 31, 2023September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Recent decades have witnessed the fields of neuroscience and psychology advance the insight that feeling a part of a vibrant community enhances a group’s success, however that is defined. This simple insight can be applied to many endeavors, ranging from civic organizations to businesses. When structured correctly, belonging can attract skilled employees while producing first-rate results. In this book, David Burkus seeks to instill readers with virtues that enhance a team’s well-being and success. Burkus’…

Management-Business Psychology Software-Technology

No More Teams! Mastering the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration

By Scott J. Pearson | November 21, 2021November 21, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

I wanted to read this book because I frequently saw it cited in contemporary business and management books. It talks at length about how to foster creative collaboration through the use of technology. It presaged a vision of a workplace with abundant computerized interactions. More impressively, it did so without foreseeing most of the impact of the Internet. Of course, the technologies described in this book are dated. Indeed, most of them are now in…