reviews
OFF THE SHELF
MIGHTY MIDSIZED
COMPANIES: HOW
LEADERS OVERCOME
7 SILENT GROWTH
KILLERS
Robert Sher
Bibliomotion, 2014
Midsized companies with revenues
between $10 million and
$1 billion face unique challenges
that smaller and bigger
firms do not. Very little is written
about midsized companies
and not many consultants specialize
in them. Sher identifies
seven silent growth killers and
strategies for overcoming each:
letting time slip away; strategy
tinkering at the top; reckless
attempts at growth; fumbling
strategic acquisitions; operational
meltdowns; liquidity
crashes; and tolerating dysfunctional
leaders.
Talking point
Terminology such as driving
for results or incentivizing behaviour
are quickly becoming
outdated because they miss the
mark; they fail to capture the
people’s energy, creativity and
wellbeing, which we now know
is critical for people to flourish.
By Alyson Nyiri, CHRP
OVERWORKED AND
OVERWHELMED:
THE MINDFULNESS
ALTERNATIVE
Scott Eblin
Wiley, 2014
How you are at your best is
the foundation for the mindfulness
alternative. Knowing
how you are at your best is the
benchmark and reference point
for creating the outcomes in
the three largest areas of your
life: home, work and community.
Drawing on psychologist
Csikzentmihalyi’s psychology
of flow, Eblin outlines what he
calls Life GPS, a personal planning
model designed to identify
and operate from your best.
Talking point
While mindfulness means being
in the present, it also means
being able to look ahead, make
plans and pursue goals.
THE DECODED
COMPANY: KNOW
YOUR TALENT BETTER
THAN YOU KNOW YOUR
CUSTOMERS
Leerom Segal, Aaron Goldstein, Jay
Goldman and Rahaf Harfoush
Penguin, 2014
Amazon has developed clever
tools to learn everything
about their customers. What
if we took these tools and obsession
with customers and
applied it to our talent? Using a
custom, dedicated software system
called Genome, the authors
have built their company Klick
Health using employee data
to create a data-driven, talentcentric
company culture. The
data collected allows organizations
to personalize training
and deliver it when it’s needed,
offer real-time information and
tools and foster engineered ecosystems
based on transparency,
connectedness and community.
Talking point
Privacy and surveillance issues
are key considerations. If
those concerns were addressed,
would you use Big Data to increase
employee performance?
MY, MYSELF AND
US: THE SCIENCE OF
PERSONALITY AND THE
ART OF WELL-BEING
Brian Little
Harper Collins, 2014
Personality psychology has
evolved since it emerged in
the 1930s. Little takes us on
an engaging journey into new
and optimistic ways of viewing
our capacity for meaningful
lives and outlines the art of
wellbeing – the creation of
a distinctive, singular way of
reflecting on our lives. Our
personal constructs and our
personal projects become selfdefining
commitments of our
lives and provide a deep sense
of meaning for us.
Talking point
Our personal projects offer
unique opportunities to engage
with life in a way that
allows us to move beyond our
fixed traits and constraining
environments and, indeed,
provide possibilities for a better
and happier life. n
70 ❚ FEBRUARY 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL