“Business Without the Bullsh*t: 49 Secrets and Shortcuts You Should Know” by Geoffrey James (Business Plus, $27).
James, the author of the “Sales Source” blog on Inc.com, uses his years of interviews with top executives and reader feedback to provide what they don’t teach you in school about making your way in the workplace. Here are some of the 49 secrets:
2. Always remember the unwritten part of every job description: “Make the boss successful.” How? Own your job. Keep your promises. Provide solutions, not complaints. Don’t second-guess decisions. No surprises — good or bad.
9. Play clean office politics. Backstabbing and gossiping won’t win you the friends you need to do your job. What will? Listen for signals about what colleagues need to succeed; provide input and assistance. Doing so builds give-and-take alliances. “Use your alliances at key points to help achieve your goals.”
16. Things to remember when you become the boss. “Manage individuals, not numbers.” While numbers measure outcomes, people do the work. Be clear about expectations. Employees need to know how their results will be measured.
Coach them; provide opportunities to think and grow. Coaching creates two-way feedback. Also, share information and make sure they have access to the resources they need to do their jobs.
18. Make meetings productive. Start with an agenda that explains the goal of the meeting and the discussion topics. Provide briefing documents to ensure attendees can speak to the topics. Keep discussion on point. Assign follow-up and deadlines. Distribute minutes to attendees, those who could not attend and those affected by follow-up actions.
29. Communicating clearly. Define the why of the communication and what’s required of the recipient(s). Because the medium conveys the message, consider whether face-to-face, phone or email best suits your audience. When using written communication, choose plain-language, simple sentences and avoid jargon and acronyms.
Key takeaway: Thumb through the index and choose the “How to …” area that addresses your current situation. As situations change, use other “How to …” sections to maintain or regain your edge.
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“Resource Revolution — How to Capture the Biggest Business Opportunity in a Century” by Stefan Heck, Matt Rogers and Paul Carroll (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $25).
The Industrial Revolution produced winners who saw opportunity and capitalized on it and losers whose products became obsolete. The winners spawned economic growth across many sectors. Example: The auto industry’s early-stage growth increased the need for roads and fuel. As its growth continued, so did urban sprawl and housing, interstate travel and tourism, trucking, engineering, automation, etc. These, in turn, had a domino effect on the demand for goods and services in other sectors.
For all the growth the auto industry created, the end results (i.e. an expensive mode of transportation that spends most of its time parked, a freeway system that was overbuilt to accommodate rush-hour traffic) don’t speak to the efficient use of resources.
The auto companies (forced largely by federally-mandated mileage requirements) found innovative ways to make vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient. They’ve eliminated waste in production costs (e.g. energy usage, scrap, idle time, etc.) and turned to recycled materials to reduce material costs. While driven by the profit motive, their innovations make buying/leasing and operating a vehicle less expensive.
Thanks to smartphone and other technology, there are innovators in the area of vehicle usage, too. Mobile apps make it easy to create carpools. Zipcar offers members hourly rentals. RelayRides and Getaround let individuals rent their cars to others.
Other vehicle innovators include Inrix (in-vehicle GPS technology that maps traffic patterns and flow, and feeds information to drivers and radio stations) and Google (the driverless car).
The authors provide examples of small and large companies that use knowledge-sharing and innovation as platforms for growth.
Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.
