★★★★

In Rituals Roadmap, Erica Keswin outlines what makes a ritual, how rituals at work enhance performance, and the moments in the employee life cycle where rituals make sense. What makes this book especially helpful are the many, MANY examples of team rituals that promote a sense of belonging and shared purpose. Together, the examples illustrate the habits and behaviors that mark a strong and positive work culture. And, they draw a picture of how great culture feels to employees. (If you don’t have time to read the book, I strongly recommend Keswin’s appearance on Ideo’s Creative Confidence Podcast.)

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“Rituals help us pulse our attention, pause, and prevent burnout.”

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★★★★

In Out of Office, Anne Helen Peterson and Charlie Warzel take on the future of work, primarily the sea change in knowledge labor that was sparked by the pandemic shift to home offices. A guiding question seems to be: how can professionals make the experience of work—especially remote work—suck less? The primary reason to make work better, they say, is not to produce more and more for our companies, but to become liberated and live fuller lives for ourselves. Peterson and Warzel emphasize flexibility, positive org. culture, and the thoughtful application of technologies as a way through the morass. I found the chapter on culture and the discussion of middle managers to be particularly helpful.

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“A healthy work culture creates the circumstances for all employees to do their very best work. But a sustainable, resilient one understands and eagerly invites them to have lives outside it.”

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★★★½

Listen Like You Mean It is a solid resource on communication. I was impressed by both how thorough and how accessible the book is…even skimming it will provide a good framework for the listening skillset. I’ve been through a lot of training on listening, so I didn’t find a lot of new-new information here. However, I did flag exercises for clients and took notes on how Vengoechea organizes and then demystifies a complicated “soft” skill. I’m glad to add this title to my professional quiver. (This review was originally posted in August 2022.)

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“Too often, we “solve” for miscommunication by focusing only on what we say and how we’re saying: if only we could get our message across, things would be much easier. As a result, we may decide to adjust our messaging or turn up the volume. But when we focus solely on our capabilities as speakers, we risk turning our conversation partners into an audience rather than equal collaborators.”

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★★★ ½

Parker has written a modern guide for gatherings that is opinionated about hosting, brimming with examples, and full of heart. At times, I noticed myself bristling at the prescriptive tone, which taunted my inner rebel. However, I can’t argue with Parker’s passion for creating special experiences that deepen the connection between everyone present. One thing I loved about this book is that it can apply to gatherings of all shapes and sizes. From status meetings to family reunions to formal affairs, you’ll find something here that transcends.

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“Ichi-go ichi-e. The master told me it roughly translates to “one meeting, one moment in your life that will never happen again.” She explained further: ‘We could meet again, but you have to praise this moment because in one year, we’ll have a new experience, and we will be different people and will be bringing new experiences with us, because we are also changed.’”

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