Mojo. How to get it, how to keep it, how to get it back if you lose it. Marshall Goldsmith. 2009. ISBN 978140132327.  Thank you MaryEllen for recommending this author. Famous as the coaches coach, Goldsmith certainly deserves the title.  I found this little book to be chock full of extremely useful immediately  applicable insights. His writing style is simple, concise and direct – yet he comes across as just so Da,,,mn useful.  For me the lighthouse point was his comment that there really is no use for you in getting upset at people being who they are. They can not help it.  Once you realize this you can forgive them for being who they are. And move on to change what you can.  Good read, great book, terrific summer recharger.  check out more including the smartphone app at  Mojothebook.com

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Winning Body Language. Control the conversation, command attention, & convey the right message without saying a word. Mark Bowden 2010. ISBN 9780071700573.  We spend a lot of time on writing the best content.  Yet, the author states, in communication the audience is paying attention in the following split; 7% the words, 38% the voice and 55% the body language.  Makes one think?  Now I know why I did not believe that CEO saying that everything is just fine, when his body betrayed him.  Bowden is an expert at on body language, having a strong background in performance and theatre. His anecdotes on projects he has taken on are fascinating. The core of the book is bang on the topic , finding a wide range of applicability. As we do many webinars, I found  his tips on those,  very useful, as he tells you exactly how to fight the talking head style.   I always wondered why Steven Coveys presentations were so “truthful”.  I also appreciated the comment on getting away from behind a lectern etc – as removing a barrier. Lots here, a good read and it is clearly written

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Superfreakonomics. Global cooling, patriotic prostitutes, and why suicide bombers should buy life insurance. Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner.  2010. ISBN 9781554686087.  This reads like a novel with twists, turns and surprises on every page.  A very easy to read fact filled and entertaining book.  If you have read Freakonomics you know what you are in for. If not you will find this a treat.  I really enjoyed the discussions form Intelligent Ventures in Seattle.  If you have heard about geoengineering, you will find out more about much simpler responses to global warming than we have head from others. And yes you will hear detractors. But such is the lot of people who debunk sacred cows – especially ones that have so much funding and lobbying attached.

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In The Company of Heroes. Michael J. Durant & Steven Hartov. 2004.ISBN 0451210603. The story of the US helicopter pilot captured in Mogadishu, Somalia which corresponded with the story of  Black Hawk Down.   This is a taut gripping real life story of special ops, top gun flyers and life among the elite of the US Armed Forces.  Durant was seriously injured when his helio was shot down. He endured incredible pain, and  expected the worst. He  received surprising care from some Somalis and eventually was released as a gesture from the warlord , Mohamed Aidid.   If you are curious to live the life of these elite forces and the view of being captured by a young hard nosed military type you will like this book.  I liked his quote from Colin Powell, ” The people in the front lines are right and those in the rear are wrong.”   Durant’s observations of the Clinton approach to this war are totally in line with those expressed in the Bin Laden book.

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Escape From Cubicle Nation . From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur.  Pamela Slim. 2009. ISBN 9781591842576.  From the Blog of the same name, Pamela has penned the what colour  is your parachute book for 2009. directly targeted at those unhappy cubicle dwellers who just have to get out of there.  If you are in this state of mind, or want to explore it  the book  is clearly written, with some very useful advice on topics you may not have thought about.

The Art of the Apology.  How to apologize effectively to practically anyone.  Lauren M. Bloom.  The Fonz ( Henry Winkler ) to the contrary we see the need to apologize every day (Ter Woods to his wife, wonder that that went? ) This thin little book is very well organized and gives you very sound advice on the topic.  If you remember that the best  way to manage risk is to make your decisions with the best advice you have at hand at the time.  This  book will give you another dimension to manage your risk in life.  I really liked her inclusion of “How to best accept an apology. and how to build an apology friendly workplace.”

Grow From Within. Mastering corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. Wolcott & Lippitz. 2010. ISBN 9780071598323.  If you are one of those lucky birds who believes that your own company is ready to support “intrapreneurship” then this book speaks to you.  The tough thing is to align what the new business does with how “business as usual” works in the firm. Most often that does not work  and the “new” firm needs to be isolated from the old “culture”.  This text although” academic in style touches on the salient points. The case studies are larger firms.

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Rules of Thumb. 52 truths for winning at business without losing your self. Alan M. Webber. 2009. ISBN 9780061721830.  Several reviewers voted this one of the best of 09 books, so I just had to sit down and finally finish it.  What if you went through life and made a note of every life lesson you learned, and then boiled it down to 52 short essays?  You might have a book like this. A good writer, Webber was a co-founder of Fast Company ( and he reminds you at every opportunity) which was a a great plac for many life lessons.  Concise, good plane trip read ( if you can get it on board)  this is the type of book you pass onto your children , nieces, nephews, mentees.  I savored it and give it a big thumbs up.

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Through the rest of the book, Eisenberg leads us through the “Buy Side” — a journey directly into our own hearts and minds, asking among other questions: What are we really looking for when we buy? Why are we alternately excited, guilt-ridden, satisfied, disappointed, and recklessly impulsive? What are our biases, need for status, impulses to self-express, that lead us individually to buy what we buy?

This book is fun, serious, well written and pokes some serious holes into some of the other books I have reviewed.  It is a good diift for your children/young adults as well as yourself as we are all in there. I really liked it. Find out if you are a classic buyer or a romantic buyer? What is a Great Buy? Lots there for the retailer to learn from as well.

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Pose Method Of Running. Nicholas Romanov.Ph.D. with John Robson. 2002. 0972553762. In my continuous search for ways to keep on running while the body slowly deteriorates, I came across this book. It is a much deeper, scientific  look into more of the areas that I first found in ChiRunning (although perhaps the Romanov techniques predate ChiRunning) .

This is a very easy to read book with scads of exercises and supporting activities such as flexibility and strength building activites. It is very well researched applied science and is being used  many high perfromance coaches and their athletes.

The big eye opener for me was how he takes the forward lean, relaxed foot approach of ChiRunning much further along the entire foot and up the leg. Example, he stresses how you want to have minimal heel lift, landing on the ball of the foor, with minimal push off , so that your body does not rise and fall as you run. His practise activities really show you how to get gravity working for you with running. Again, it comes down to  attention to detail in the execution.  My natural run has become even easier, when I thought I could not get it any easier. If you take your running seriously this is a great resource for you. See www.posetech.com

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Inside the Mind of the Turtles. How the world’s best traders master risk. Curtis M. Faith.  2009. ISBN 9780071602433.  The follow up book to the Way of the Turtle, takes a more rounded view of the role of risk and the impact of risk avoidance on modern life.  He believes one should take control of risk before it takes control of you. This is an  important book. You may remember my review of Covel’s book on Turtles.

Faith followed-up his success as a trader to continue as a software entrepreneur and then a venture capitalist. He found that many decisions in life worked out well if he used the same thought processes he developed as a trader. If you are looking to talk to a venture capitalist his analysis of their approach to risk is mind changing.

Later in the book he points out the reasons why this process would work in education and rebuilding US infrastructure, but that the status quo greatly prevents this.  He even makes a very good case as to why companies buy the “wrong” products, despite many people knowing better.  He has seven guiding principles:

1. Overcome fear
2. Remain flexible
3. Take reasoned risk
4. Prepare to be wrong
5. Actively seek reality ( my personal favorite)
6. Respond quickly to change
7. Focus on decisions, not outcomes (also a favorite)

Well written, just the right length, this book will hold your attention.  Politicians and young people would especially benefit from the insights. Thank you McGraw Hill again.

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