Category great reads

Drive by Daniel H. Pink

I’ve reached the point that when someone asks, “What are you reading?” I sometimes have the good fortune to say, “Dan Pink.” Whatever this man writes, I want to read. He is a thinker who is at least 1.5 standard deviations beyond the bell curve. And he knows how to blend storytelling and research in ways that produce remarkably engaging and insightful writings.

In Drive, he “exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life.” He takes on some of our most sacred workplace cows: the “carrot-and-stick” mentality of getting others to do what we want, the blind reliance on external motivators, the whole premise of management.

The Happiness Project By Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen hooked me with her opening line: “I’d always vaguely expected to outgrow my limitations. One day I’d stop twisting my hair,” she said, “and wearing running shoes all the time, and eating exactly the same food every day.” Her list, like mine, was long and distinguished.

Then, one April day she realized “I was in danger of wasting my life.” Thus began her quest to discover what made her happy and to pass on to us the small but significant changes she made in her life.

I rarely succumb to self-help advice. But Gretchen’s stories grabbed me.