Last week I wrote about the tools and exercises found in some of my favorite books. Such tools can allow for self-assessment, create a means for solidifying learning, and point people in the direction of positive change in a way that narrative alone cannot do. Here are some more of my favorites, perhaps a little different from what we ordinarily think of as business books. As always, I am writing about books that I highly recommend picking up and reading. But - if you want to know more before investing the money or time, you can access a free download of a two-page summary written by me. Just click on the title of the book.
Overcoming That Pessimistic Outlook. Too often in organizational life we can succumb to the least hopeful of the strands of thinking around us. It seems the person with the upbeat style is the one regarded as out of touch. But Professor Martin Seligman is here to tell us in Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Change Your Life that the people with the most optimistic viewpoints are the most successful among us. In chapter after chapter he reviews the evidence and makes the case that in sports, offices, school, politics, and families, optimism is a winning strategy. The second half of the book is for those of us who struggle to be optimistic. With a 48-question self-assessment, each reader can get a sense of their own starting point. Then, by imagining our own scenarios and following Dr. Seligman's worksheets, we can gain practice at challenging our initial reactions and choosing better ones. Over time, if we follow the formula, we can make the optimistic perspective more natural. Then, look out world!
Overcoming a Penchant for Poverty. What a service Barbara Stanny has done for all of us who were told as little girls that talking about money is not nice and that we should be focused on taking care of others! The exercises and resources she packs into The Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life are a great boon to all of us struggling see our value rewarded properly in the workplace. After interviewing dozens of women who earn good incomes, she sets out to help us all understand what they have in common... and offers their wisdom to the rest of us. I never thought about how I was contributing to my financial troubles until I took the Am I an Underearner? quiz. And now I know... the solution to balancing my budget is on the income side. Go to work with an intent to make money, sister! You're not selling out your soul... you are taking responsibility! 
Overcoming Motivational Barriers: Carrots and sticks don't work. I think most of us knew that about sticks... but carrots? Nope... they backfire too. Offering a kid a dollar for every A on his report card might get you a flight of A's in the short term... but in the long term you are diminishing that kid's natural desire to do well. Well-meaning as we are, we just can't motivate others. But, with practice, we can learn to tap the powerful internal motivations of those around us. That's the chief lesson in Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, the last 65 pages of which is a Toolkit chock-full of ideas and strategies for awakening our internal motivators and helping others without harming them. Well-written, charming, fun and, yes, motivational, Drive is a must-read for every leader or manager who is swimming upstream against under-performing co-workers. 
Overcoming Indecision: Of all the "glad I read that one" books on my shelf, the one I mention in conversation most often is The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Professor Barry Schwartz. It changed my life... and it can change yours, too. With some little quizzes and self-tests the author guides us to an understanding of our natural tendencies toward satisfaction with the choices we make... or our proclivity to beat ourselves up after decisions. After making the case that we often make ourselves crazy with all the options we have (straight leg or boot cut? big deductible or higher premium? 1% or skim?) Schwartz gives us a series of strategies for learning to be more sanguine about our choices. Learn to accept that good enough is good enough and move on! What an important concept!
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