For those of you in the Denver area, please join me on March 8 for a special evening with Dan Pink, author of A Whole New Mind. I'll interview Dan on the topic of "Career Success in the New Decade."
(BTW–I've been waiting years for Dan's traveling schedule to bring him to Denver. If you are a fan of his work, don't miss this opportunity to see him speak. This is a rare public appearance in the Denver area.)
We'll explore questions like:
"While the economy is still recovering, is there an alternative to hunkering down?"
"What's the dirty little secret of who rises to the top of a field, no matter what field that is?"
"I'm a new grad. How do I start a career in a recession?"
"Why does persistence trump talent?"
"I fell into work that I'm doing today. How can I get back to more satisfying work?"
"Why does "being competent" no longer cut it in today's marketplace?"
This event is sponsored by the Northwestern Club of Colorado and is open to the public. As a bonus, we will be raffling off all four of Pink's books and I'm throwing in a month of coaching. If you decide to attend, let me know ahead of time so that I can be sure to look for you.
Click here to register.
And no matter where you are located, here are two books on careers and the workplace that I recommend:
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. This book lays out the case for why today's carrot and stick approach to the workplace often doesn't produce the intended results, especially as our work has evolved to more creative endeavors. Okay, those of you who are still locked into the tyranny of time and motion studies may be an exception. But for the rest of us, we really are expected to be more than cogs in a corporate wheel. I especially like how Pink provides guidance for where employers and employees should be looking, to get the kind of results that lead to high stock prices and innovation (think: Google.) Hint: how can you have more autonomy, mastery, and purpose in your daily work?
The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. This is a fascinating book that will make you think differently about how to develop talent. The author describes the development of talent from a physiological perspective (i.e., brain stuff that explains why neural connections happen faster in some people than others), from an environmental perspective (i.e., signals in the surroundings that keep the spark of inspiration alive) and from a coaching perspective (i.e., what really effective coaches do and how they do it.) He uses examples from "talent hotbeds" in a variety of disciplines, from singing to Little League baseball to education. All of this adds up to some key points on what it takes to get to mastery.
I love to read because it opens me up to new ways of thinking and doing things. What books have you read lately that have made you think differently, about careers or anything else?
