Growth by the Dozen

Dear Happiness & Leadership@Work Community,

As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, I hope this message finds you anticipating joyful moments with family and friends. Today, my son and I are delighted to be in Boston, celebrating my nephew’s graduation.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday! With love and gratitude, Grace

Book Recos

A client recently asked for book recommendations. Having successfully scaled their startup into a thriving nine figure business, the two founders hired me to help them figure out how to take their company into its next phase of growth.

Like many leaders, they want to read more, so? I put together in one place the dozen books I’ve written about over the years to share with them and with you!

ERG Annual Lineup

I’ve been asked to speak to personal development book clubs within employee resource groups (ERGs) over the years.? In our virtual world of work, these groups are playing an even more important role for encouraging employee engagement. These dozen can serve as the annual lineup for ERGs to read each month. I’ve linked each book to my commentary that can serve as a starting point for facilitators of these groups.

• Start with Why by Simon Sinek.? I had dinner with Simon years ago and found his work so powerful that? I’ve led “what is your why” sessions for clients to know WHY they are in business, and then to live their purpose on purpose.
• The Hard Thing about Hard Things: Building a Business When There are No Easy Answers? by Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz, covers handling the psychology of a failing company, building a good place to work, scaling a company, and being a good CEO. It moved the CEO of a tech client so much, I quickly decided to learn why.
• Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You by Anne Morriss and Frances Frei. Leadership isn't about you. It's about how effective you are at empowering other people—and making sure this impact endures even in your absence.
• The Art of Possibility - by Rosamund Stone Zander and Ben Zander. I recently had a gardenside chat with maestro Ben Zander in the backyard of his lovely Cambridge home.? I will share more soon. “Everything in life is an invention. If you choose to look at your life in a new way, then suddenly your problems fade away. One of the best ways to do this is to focus on the possibilities surrounding you in any situation rather than slipping into the default mode of measuring and comparing your life to others.”
• Confidence Code? by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman. Confidence. We want it. We need it. But it can be maddeningly enigmatic and out of reach. This book deconstructs this essential, elusive, and misunderstood quality and offers a blueprint for bringing more of it into our lives.? Confidence is an issue that so many leaders ask for help that I’ve created ConfidenceWorks, a workshop I lead to build this important human element for clients.

• The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor.? The core of my weekly column, Happiness & Leadership@Work is that happiness is what creates success, not the other way. This is the Happiness Advantage.

• From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness & Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur Brooks. Authored by one of my key teachers, this book is simply a must read for those entering the second half of their life.
• Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Being Happier by Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey.? A follow-on book that is an easy to read guidebook for everyone, no matter what stage in life.
• The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace by Amy Edmonson. I had a chance to be in Professor Edmonson’s classroom at my 30th Harvard Business School reunion and share learnings from Project Aristotle, Google’s research in its quest to find the components of their most successful teams, which align closely with Edmonson’s work on psychological safety.
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth.? I was introduced to University of Pennsylvania Professor Duckworth’s TED talk in a meeting for parents when my son was in high school.? Her book, and understanding the importance of grit is relevant for all ages and walks of life.

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• The Inner Game of Tennis? by Timothy Gallwey.? Recommended by my piano teacher Teddy Robie, Gallwey’s book has changed my piano performing. I have since worked with elite athletes who have said the same. See how understanding and applying this book’s concept can help your career growth too.
• How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen. At my 25th Harvard Business School reunion, I had the chance to meet Clay Christensen when he spoke on this book? in one of his final lectures.? I share the “jobs to be done theory” and how his work has impacted my client’s thinking too.

I look forward to hearing if you read any of these, and how they impact you....Happy Memorial Day!

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About Grace Ueng

Grace Ueng is CEO of Savvy Growth, a management and marketing consultancy dedicated to helping leaders and their companies realize their fullest potential.? With a proven track record in strategic reviews, marketing audits, and executive coaching, Grace guides organizations through their growth journeys.

A respected TED speaker, Grace's insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, and Inc. Magazine.

To learn more about how Grace’s flagship workshop, HappinessWorks? can benefit your organization, or to explore consulting or coaching to address your unique challenges, please contact us. We look forward to meeting you!

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