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• How to connect well with others and why that matters
• How to establish a bond with an audience
• How to inspire others to take action

Why you should read Everyone Communicates, Few Connect

To learn how to connect well with others, imitate a connection superstar: leadership development expert John C. Maxwell. When he posted a preliminary version of this book on his blog, 100,000 people viewed it, and many offered comments on how to make it better. Maxwell has sold more than 18 million books and his company has taught leadership skills to more than five million people. He offers this book’s simple principles and its very abundant quotations, anecdotes and stories to explain how to build relationships with other people in many settings. Without being preachy – though he is a preacher – he provides an intelligent, purposeful philosophy about connection. Maxwell’s sensible counsel – focus on others, help them, smile – is not earth shattering, but no one could dispute its basic verity. If the book sometimes seems just to skip merrily from one great story to another, that’s part of its charm – and it all adds up to advice that will improve your ability to link with other people. The trick is to put these examples into practice and Maxwell explains how to do that. getAbstract recommends his book to all those who want to improve their public speaking skills and interpersonal connections.

About the author

John C. Maxwell is an evangelical Christian pastor, speaker and author, who has sold more than 18 million books in more than 50 languages. He is the author of Developing the Leader Within You and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, among many other books.

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• Why an executive must be effective
• What five habits you should develop to become a more productive manager
• Why society depends on successful organizations and the executives who make them so

Why you should read The Effective Executive
As an author and an intellectual, the late Peter F. Drucker was a true business sage. Recognized as the father of modern management, Drucker forecast numerous pivotal trends, including decentralization, privatization and the development of the information society. He introduced the concept of the “knowledge worker,” a term he employs widely in this fascinating book. His internal study of General Motors, Concept of the Corporation, greatly influenced how businesses conduct their affairs. Each Drucker book is a genuine business classic, including this one. getAbstract believes it will help you think productively about what you do. No one writes more intelligently or presciently on management and its functions than Drucker. All executives, even those who are already effective, will benefit from reading this informative, enlightening book.

About the Author
Peter F. Drucker was a management consultant and writer. His 39 books and numerous articles discuss how humans organize themselves in business, government and the nonprofit arena.

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• How to position and pitch a new business
• How to get the most benefit from branding and staffing
• Why starting a business is akin to a spiritual undertaking, requiring belief in the project’s worth and its benefit to society

Why you should read The Art of the Start
This is not a manual, but rather a collection of mostly useful tips for people who wish to start businesses, or even, as author Guy Kawasaki claims, other sorts of projects, including nonprofit organizations. Kawasaki may over-use business-babble such as “bootstrapping” or “rainmaking” (in fact, he recommends coming up with a brand name that can enter the language as a verb, such as Google or Xerox) – but his style is good-natured and humorous. The chapters are divided accessibly with subheads, charts, bullet points, “minichapters,” answers to “Frequently Avoided Questions” and reading lists, making it easy to find important points. Many of Kawasaki’s “exercises” are tongue-in-cheek, like, “Go to eBay and search for used Aeron chairs.” He got his start working at Apple Computer, marketing early MacIntoshes, and he now runs a venture capital firm, Garage Technology Ventures. He refers to both frequently, and most of the book’s examples come from these venues, not from inside knowledge of others start-ups, even though the author has been involved in several. This isn’t the only book you’ll need to read when you decide to start a business, but getAbstract.com finds that its iconoclastic pointers are useful and fun, and its sections on pitching, recruiting and branding, in particular, apply to businesses of any size.

About the Author
Guy Kawasaki got his start in marketing at Apple Computer and went on to found several high tech businesses. He currently runs the venture capital firm Garage Technology Ventures

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• What prospective employers will ask you
• What you should answer and ask in return
• How to avoid common job interview mistakes

Why you should read Acing the Interview
You got fired. How do you handle that during a job interview? Or you only spent a year at each of your last two jobs. How do you convince a prospective employer that you will last? You work for a firm with a great reputation, but you’re not happy. What do you say when an interviewer asks why you want to leave such a respected outfit? Job placement and recruitment expert Tony Beshara provides the best answers to these and other job interview questions. Plus, he explains the questions you should ask before you accept a job offer. TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw calls Beshara “the number one career placement guy” in the U.S. If you’re job hunting, he’s the right source for valuable job interview insights and information. Here, he lists more than 450 typical job interview questions and suggested answers. getAbstract recommends his savvy, comprehensive and helpful book. Job seekers and interviewers alike will appreciate it.

About the Author
Tony Beshara owns a placement and recruitment firm in Dallas, Texas. He has been finding jobs for people since 1973.

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• Why the idea that multitasking works is misleading
• How to deal with constant, active or passive interruptions at work
• How to use your time productively without “switchtasking”

Why you should read The Myth of Multitasking
Dave Crenshaw has managed to stretch a clear, simple concept into an entire book, but it is a useful, helpful concept. Crenshaw debunks the myth that multitasking can be effective and advocates focusing on one task at a time instead. He teaches this lesson by telling the story of a gifted business coach, Phil, and his stressed-out client, Helen. He uses the format of a business novel to demonstrate that multitasking is not an efficient way to get things done. Every time a person changes from one task to another, which Crenshaw calls “switchtasking,” he or she loses time and focus. The remedy, the author explains, is to cut down on interruptions, manage how you allocate your time and concentrate on a single task at a time. This is not exactly a groundbreaking theory in time management, but it is certainly a helpful reminder. getAbstract suggests this book to managers who must help employees handle their time and to people who need guidance to quit multitasking so they can actually get things done.

About the Author
Dave Crenshaw has coached business executives for the past decade. A frequent keynote speaker, he founded the Fresh Juice Strategy program.

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• Why your organization’s new strategy will fail if your employees are not engaged with it
• What six obstacles impede employee engagement
• What are the six best ways to engage employees
• Why “strategic engagement” is a process, not a series of separate, stand-alone actions

Why you should read The Art of Engagement
Organizational leaders spend considerable time and effort carefully developing strategies to advance their corporate goals. However, they often fail to communicate these strategies compellingly to their employees – the people who must execute every step. Therefore, it is no surprise that most such strategies fail. Management consultant Jim Haudan recommends a strategy-sharing approach using visuals, metaphors and stories to engage employees. He offers tactics for getting them on board to execute your strategy and organizational directives. One negative: Many of the illustrations (reductions from original table-size artwork) are busy and even fuzzy. Some feature tiny text, which illustrates – in the breech – Haudan’s point about using clear visuals to communicate and engage. Otherwise the book is superior, very insightful and nicely written. Haudan uses case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of his employee engagement process. getAbstract believes leaders can benefit from learning his tactics for communicating strategies so employees understand them, support them and actually implement them.

About the Author
Jim Haudan is co-founder and CEO of Root Learning, a management-consulting firm.

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