Recommended Reading – July

A Wealth of Resources

It’s July. It’s Summer. Life is supposed to be lived at a slower pace so that we don’t get overheated and burned to a spent match. Hey. There’s too much to be aware of and consumed. But let’s find some of the really good nuggets to keep our minds fresh and focused on the better side of the issues – and help us be wary of omens and trends.

With all that being said, Here’s the list of reading morsels recommended and found in various environs.

The Los Angeles Public Library offers a place where job seekers can access tools to aid in their career transitions. These tools are essentially universal (not limited to Los Angeles nor to California) so feel free to learn about and start using them (ahem, in addition to staying up to date with the knowledge available on Career Coach Corner

• AARP offers their recommendations for Summer movies.
• They also entice Summer reading choices from their June newsletter
• as well as their Summer fiction preview announced in May
• On the subject of Personal Finance, AARP offers two titles by one of their writers, Kimberly Palmer, which are “Smart Mom, Rich Mom: How to Build Wealth While Raising a Family and The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life.

Offered by Ron from Starbucks Reserve (July 3) are

• The Funding of Scientific Racism: Wickliffe Draper and the Pioneer Fund by William H. Tucker
• The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors by Francis Cress Welsing

NACD Directorship Magazine offers Tools for Being an Effective Director download

HR pros Franny Oxford and Jessica DeFeo have formed a White women’s discussion group that has a recommended reading list you’ll want to have under your belt (no matter what your ethnicity). Too extensive to enumerate each title, here’s the post that provides the list.

In conjunction with the leaning toward affirmative action items, be certain you get your hands on Flora Davis’ Moving the Mountain either to read it or re-read it.

Pinterest offers some especially interesting and useful items related to the subject of Strategic Planning.

Many of us are aware that 82-year-old Associate Justice Kennedy retired two weeks ago. He is far from over the hill and he is definitely not useless. But for those who are threatened with being put into a persistent vegetative state, consider reading the study Can Volunteering Fight Dementia?

The Christian Science Monitor provided an interesting investigation of the issues confronting the Supreme Court on the matters of travel and Executive privilege in their article “As Supreme Court hears travel ban, questions of presidential authority also on docket.”

Resources:

• eBooks
• GoodReads
• Wolters Kluwer
• Read The Desk on Kindle
• Or get your fill of useful training at Talent Genius

Recommended Reading – March 2018

A Wealth of Resources

There’s no two ways about it. I love books. They hold information. They tell stories. They provide Life lessons in various ways. They entertain. They bring comfort. They provide distraction from the tedious two-hour (or more) commute.

These days, they can be consumed in a whole array of media. There’s the traditional hard back, succeeded and supplemented with the paperback. Then came audio books for those who are visually impaired or like to read on the go. And now we have digital books that can be read on any type of mobile device. In fact, because of mobile devices, we can now have a vast library contained in the compact dimensions of a cell phone or tablet.

During my law school days, I commuted for an hour to get to school on the BART. During those rides, I challenged myself to read The New Yorker from cover to cover. Trying to get in last minute studying on the BART just wasn’t realistic, although I encountered a classmate who appeared to be successful at doing so.

When the hours away from BART were part of my life, there was the need to read and understand the text and case books. That led to an intensified addiction to reading. It didn’t matter what the content was, just so there was content to read. When classes weren’t in session, I busied myself with visiting the local library to borrow hard bound or paperback books along with several audiotapes to keep me satisfied while commuting on the bus or just walking from one destination to another. And then there was the filler reading done while doing housework or gardening.

Yes, I was addicted to books. I literally read about ten books per week. In fact, it got to the point that I began to fret that I would borrow nearly all of the adult reading content from the library and would be left with nothing more than the children’s section.

Those were wonderful days. I miss them – a lot. So AARP’s newsletter arrived a few days ago. The header was like pheromones to my eyes. “12 of the Best New Books for Spring” was what it promised to discuss and list. Although not on my business reading list, all of the titles are tempting in some way. With that statement, the practice of sharing book recommendations is being revived.

Reading Recommendations:

• 12 of the Best New Books for Spring
• Best books for Spring reading from Goodreads
• New Releases from BookBub

Recommended from Amazon.com:

• The New Yorker
• Moving the Mountain: Women Working for Social Change (Women’s Lives, Women’s Work)
• The Mis-education of the Negro , Stolen Legacy and The Willie Lynch Letter: the Making of A Slave
• Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Law & Practice 4e (2 Volumes)

• Read The Desk via Kindle
• PHR/SPHR Certification Exam

Career Tip: In the Positive Mode

Going through a job search while unemployed has its pitfalls. If we’re not careful, they can easily consume us. One of the things that feeds them is becoming discouraged and then allowing bad habits to invade our routine. Avoid them as much as possible.

It’s extremely important to stick to the formalities of the brick and mortar workplace in attitude, dress, and speech. Otherwise, we lapse into complacency and a too-relaxed attitude about ourselves and our work. We lose credibility and create mountains to climb, instead of small hills, to our summit of success. Staying ready to go and ready to present the professional side of yourself is critical.

Keep yourself to a schedule. This includes maintaining records, developing materials unique to your endeavors, as well as housekeeping. Make certain that you stick to the regimen of rising at the same time as you would to go to work. Put shower and dress in the same time frame as brush your teeth (and hair). Grooming is important. A little make-up, well-trimmed hair (facial and head) do wonders for attracting people to you. Be certain you get enough rest at night. A well-managed look accompanied by a well-managed schedule makes a powerful statement about the positive you.

Make a budget for yourself and stay within it. Be certain to include a small amount for some type of entertainment – even if it’s a small as a latte, a bouquet of flowers, a new CD/DVD, or a bottle of fragrance. It’s encouraging to know you really do have some financial margin available that’s devoted to a little bit of enjoyment.

Make a point of attending at least one morning business meeting per month and dress appropriately. “Go out” doesn’t need to be all day; an hour or so is sufficient to create a break in being a household hermit but also keep you circulating in the public. It lets you see what the trends are in your real world so you’re in gear for immediately starting things.

Make certain you dress in business casual attire and go out at least three times per week. Wearing business casual doesn’t mean you have to break the bank. Two tops and two bottoms can be interchanged so that you always have a different look. Wash and wear is more sensible than dry clean only (which should be used sparingly).

Keep up your reading about current affairs (newspaper), literature (international or national magazine), and industry chatter (industry journal or newspaper). It’s good grist for conversations as well as keeping you well informed. It’s also useful to keep up your recreational reading in whatever areas interest you. The more well rounded your reading, the more informed and interesting you are.

When we keep ourselves well groomed, we feel better physically and psychologically and therefore do a better job. It attracts people to us because we make them feel better about themselves, their environment, and the choices they make for themselves. Speaking of physical, it’s good to make time for exercise (at least walking) 10 to 20 minutes each day. It keeps the body well tuned, under control, and also promoting a positive attitude.

The interesting part of all these recommendations is the vast number of ways that they can be accomplished. What are you already doing to stay in the positive mode. Given what was discussed here, what types of things can you think of doing to make it happen for you?