Almost a post about Rubicon, but this pipped it just.
Nothing to do with management, but each chapter will give you some solid points for discussion in social situations.
Challenge is to understand the chapter on quantum physics...this guy is good.
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
The audio version is quite easy listening on an mp3 player- for when you are not listening to MT reruns.
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Reruns. Wow.
Glad we're delivering THAT much value.
Mark
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Mark you don't have to be so humble- I have over 90 podcast subscriptions on itunes and MT in the ONLY one that is marked 'Do not auto delete'. I am constantly rerunning casts that have context in my current situation and am regularly cycling through the series when I can. I have a mindmap that indexes all casts by context with the mp3 file attached and a synopsis of the show.
There is nothing I can think of anything (other than a previous boss/mentor) in my professional and educational life (Engineering degree and MBA) that has as much value as the free MT podcasts and I cannot wait add the the premium content to my existing resources.
Most thankfully,
Jim
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Thanks Jim.
We're just glad we're serving so many who feel we're doing it so well.
Mark
How This Book Applies To Managers
I read this book several years ago. Several times Mr. Bryson talks about scientists who challenged the status quo in their younger days only to become defenders of the status quo as they moved into middle age and beyond.
This applies to managers as well. We're willing to take on the organization and implement new ideas when we're "young" but as we grow older, we grow less bolder.
Someone said, "the only one who likes change is a wet baby." In these times of incredible technological change, we as managers need to keep our minds open even when it's harder to change our behavior than it is to maintain the status quo.
For example, my company is using social media software similar to MySpace to create staff bios, and to help them build relationships with our far-flung staff. We're considering reducing the number of e-mails sent from senior management to everyone by making use of the platform as a way to communicate. Yet, I'm hearing managers telling their direct reports that they don't want them "wasting" their time using this new idea.
As managers, we can learn from history and resist the temptation to act as Mr. Bryson wrote about those scientists.
Our thinking needs to remain agile, not atrophied.