» Personal Development

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Big Picture:
I picked this book up from a Brooklyn stoop (New Yorkers often set up small libraries on their stoops for the give & take of myriad of urban resources!). My friend mocked me for picking up a discarded book on essentialism, suggesting that it would only add to a growing collection of un-essential reads. I think her mockery was mis-placed!

Here are the Core Ideas:

• Find the Essential Intent: do one thing, and do it well.
• Make one decision that makes 100 more decisions for you (the daily clothes uniform is a classic example, but this concept is applicable in so many aspects of leadership and decision making.)
• Prioritize our time based on our essential intent (the one thing that we want to do well). It’s not that we don’t have time. Rather, it’s how we prioritize the time we do have.

How to use it:
This book is pure genius for anyone that is struggling to find enough hours in the day. McKeown boils our time down to priorities and reminds us of the simple fact: “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.” I suggest this book for leaders and leadership teams that currently believe everything is important, and therefore struggle to prioritize anything with essential intent. The content is a great mindset primer for re-evaluating time and task management strategies.

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

Big Picture:
Gay Hendricks takes us on a journey to discover our zone of genius. Most of us spend the bulk of our lives operating in our zone of competence or maybe even our zone of excellence. But how much richer, exciting, challenging, and rewarding would our lives be if we took the big leap to our zone of genius? The answer: VERY. This is an excellent book for inspiring deep and honest reflection on how we truly want to spend our time and talent.

How to use it:
Are you thinking about transition or change? Are you trying to determine the path forward (in your personal or professional life) and finding yourself stuck with logistics at the ground level? This book will give you the bird’s eye view and challenge you to re-adjust your perspective. You should use this book to inspire personal development and explore the infinite possibilities that might exist for your future. While reading this book, you will likely find yourself dreaming big. And I hope it will be an awesome feeling.