Accel5®’s Business Book Summaries of the Month: December 2021

Add these summarized business books from Accel5 to your December reading list.

December’s Business Book Summaries cover topics related to emotional intelligence, leadership, parenting, stress management, time management and more. Keep reading to learn more about the most recent additions to Accel5^®.

Pause. Breathe. Choose.
Naz Beheshti

Summary: Is striving for professional success leading you to sacrifice your personal well-being? It doesn’t have to be that way. Naz Beheshti teaches a practice of mindfulness and conscious choice, so that you can become the CEO of your own well-being and empower yourself to live your best life, both professionally and personally.

 For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Emotional Intelligence
• Managing Self
• Stress Management

Organizing for the New Normal
Constantinos C. Markides

Summary: This book is for business leaders and managers who are ready to embrace transformation as a foundation for success. Constantinos C. Markides shows strategies for exploiting change and using disruption to create a more innovative and adaptable organization.

For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Leadership
• Managing Change

Taking Care of Yourself
Harvard Business Review Press

Summary: Working parents often report needing more time in their days to take on their responsibilities, attain their goals, and meet others’ expectations. Rather than sacrificing sleep, self-care, or time with your family, consider examining the tasks that consume large blocks of your time and determining what can be dropped to make room for other priorities.

For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Managing Self
• Stress Management
• Time Management

The Career Stories Method
Kerri Twigg

Summary: Your career is about more than your current role: It’s about your skills and the experiences that honed them. Kerri Twigg harnesses the power of the stories we tell ourselves and others in an 11-step framework for seizing control of your narrative and your future.

For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Communication
• Managing Self

Build Your Cultural Agility
Paula Caligiuri

Summary: To succeed in today’s global business environment, it’s important to cultivate and enhance your cultural competencies. Paula Caligiuri offers a nine-point approach to building effective relationships by minimizing cultural misconceptions and conflicts.

For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Diversity
• Corporate Culture

The Long Game
Dorie Clark

Summary: It’s all too easy to live your life in execution mode, focusing on the short term rather than the future. For others, it seems too daunting to plan for an unpredictable future. Dorie Clark explains that taking time to carve out a long-term plan is necessary for professionals to know when and how to pivot to excel.

For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Goal-Setting
• Managing Self

The Creative Mindset
Jeff DeGraff, Staney DeGraff

Summary: Creativity isn’t for a few gifted individuals—it’s a process that can be learned. Jeff and Staney DeGraff present a step-by-step guide for a wide range of professionals, from individual employees to leaders who want to supply their teams with the techniques that make innovation happen.

For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Creativity
• Innovation
• Managing Self

The Success-Energy Equation
Michelle Cederberg

Summary: Success comes from setting clear goals, believing in your ability to achieve them, and being disciplined enough to do the necessary work. Michelle Cederberg reveals how self-care of your body and mind enhances your health and energy, enables you to set clear goals, and paves the way to success.

 For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Goal Setting
• Managing Self
• Stress Management

Trusted Leader
David Horsager

Summary: Whether you would characterize your organization’s biggest problem as a customer loyalty, management, or employee engagement issue, what you’re actually dealing with—and what’s dragging down your bottom line—is a deficit of trust. David Horsager draws from experience and data to explain why trust decides organizational success, and he offers a framework for establishing trust that facilitates innovation and growth.

For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Leadership
• Managing Others
• Trust and Transparency

Rule Breaker
Jackie Fast

Summary: Through a series of personal experiences and case studies, Jackie Fast illustrates how breaking the rules is fundamental to future business success and provides practical guidance about how we can all become exceptional rebellious leaders.

 For those looking to improve upon these competencies:

• Leadership
• Managing Others

Accel5 features hundreds of business book summaries, videos, and articles from top authors and publishers, covering a wide range of business topics to help enhance personal and professional skills.