Most people don’t have time to read the books they want to. Each week join Steph (@stephsbizbookshelf), a life-long bookworm, as she brings you the lessons from the best non-fiction books she’s read. Steph will share the ‘three big things’ the books taught her, favourite quotes and actions she’s implemented since reading the book. If you have an ever-growing pile of half-read books on your bedside table, this podcast is for you. Steph's Business Bookshelf; doing the reading so you don't have to.
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I’ve written books that have sold about a million copies all told, including The Coaching Habit, a self-published book that’s become the best-selling book on coaching this century. I founded a training and development company, Box of Crayons, that has taught coaching skills to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. I love that it’s a human-centered place to work, and that it practices what it preaches.
But wait! There’s more! I’ve been happily married for 30 years or so; I was a Rhodes Scholar; I’ve created a book in partnership with Seth Godin that raised $400,000 for Malaria No More; I’ve been named #1 Thought Leader in Coaching and a Coaching Guru; I’ve launched several podcasts; I’ve spoken live and virtually to crowds of thousands…
What I read in April 2023; pre-releases, comedy, and books I didn't finish
Season 2 · Episode 202
Monday, May 1, 2023 • Duration 14:46
It's April, and it's been a funny month of starting books, not finishing books, and desperately trying to squeeze books in so that I did finish them. So here we are; two books read, two books retired, and two books in progress.
This month I'm talking about...
Books I read 📚 Before and Laughter by Jimmy Carr (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📚 How to Work With (Almost) Anyone by Michael Bungay Stanier (pre-release)
Books I didn't finish 📚 Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock (DNF) 📚 The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas (DNF, TBC)
Books I'm still in the middle of reading 📚 Future Normal by Henry Coutinho-Mason and Rohit Bhargava (WIP) 📚 Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (WIP)
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What's on my TBR: eight books I want to read before the end of the year
Episode 193
Sunday, October 30, 2022 • Duration 12:01
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This week's episode is a little different as I wanted to tell you about some of the books I'm looking forward to reading, rather than about a book I've read. Here's the books on my TBR at the moment...
The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas
Ideaflow by Jeremy Utley and Perry Klebahn
The Prepared Leader by Erika James and Lynn Perry Wooten
Humanocracy by Gary Hemel and Michele Zanini
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff
Big Feelings by Liz Fosslien and Molly West Duffy
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan
In this rare peek into the personal life of the author of numerous bestselling novels, gain an understanding of David Foster Wallace and how he became the man that he was.
Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in This is Water. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace’s electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend.
Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading.
Source: Amazon
About the Author
David Foster Wallace wrote the acclaimed novels Infinite Jest and The Broom of the System and the story collections Oblivion, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and Girl With Curious Hair. His nonfiction includes the essay collections Consider the Lobster and A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, and the full-length work Everything and More. He died in 2008.
The Practice by Seth Godin: Why everything you thought you knew about creativity is wrong
Episode 101
Sunday, December 6, 2020 • Duration 17:24
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About the Book The Practice
Creative work doesn’t come with a guarantee. But there is a pattern to who succeeds and who doesn’t. And engaging in the consistent practice of its pursuit is the best way forward.
Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and share creative work. Godin insists that writer’s block is a myth, that consistency is far more important than authenticity, and that experiencing the imposter syndrome is a sign that you’re a well-adjusted human. Most of all, he shows you what it takes to turn your passion from a private distraction to a productive contribution, the one you’ve been seeking to share all along.
With this book as your guide, you’ll learn to dance with your fear. To take the risks worth taking. And to embrace the empathy required to make work that contributes with authenticity and joy.
Would you like to take better notes from the books you read? Get your copy of Archley's beautiful book journal, the Book of Books here: https://www.archleys.com/?ref=JamVyS-U4mVR
About the Author
Seth Godin is the author of nineteen international bestsellers that have been translated into over 35 languages, and have changed the way people think about marketing and work. For a long time, Unleashing the Ideavirus was the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade.
Own Your Career, Own Your Life by Andy Storch: why you need to take more responsibility for your career, and your life
"Own Your Career Own Your Life'' is an incredible reference manual for every person who wants to design a life they are truly proud and joyful to live! With stories that will engage you and make the book impossible to put down, resources that will become a part of your daily life, and ideas that will spur you on to a more successful life and career, this is the very next book you need to read!
About the Author
Andy Storch is an author, consultant, coach, speaker and facilitator specializing in helping clients turn strategy into action and people doing the best work of their lives. Andy’s purpose is to love and support his family and to impact the world by inspiring people to stop drifting, take control and live life with intention.
Andy is also the host of two podcasts, including The Talent Development Hot Seat and Own Your Career, Own Your Life (previously the Andy Storch show), and the co-founder and host of The Talent Development Think Tank Conference and Community.
Andy is also the author of the book, Own Your Career Own Your Life.
Andy has taught strategy, sales, leadership, finance, and innovation to business leaders all over the world including companies like Salesforce.com, Oracle, Google, Box, Toyota,, State Farm, Red Bull, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, HP, Sony, Bechtel, Cisco, Tiffany & Co and others.
Andy is a partner with Advantage Performance Group. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business where he served as President of the MBA program in 2008 and a BS from the University of Florida (Go Gators!)
Special Episode: Talking books with Steph Clarke and Kelly Irving
Episode 99
Sunday, November 22, 2020 • Duration 33:32
Time for something a little different.
This week, to celebrate the 100th episode of Steph’s Business Bookshelf (yes, you read this right, there was an episode zero, so episode 99 is the 100th episode) AND my birthday, I’ve invited a guest host onto the podcast… introducing, Kelly Irving.
Kelly is an author coach who helps you unlock what’s inside your head, so you plan, write and publish your best book as fast, fun and pain-free as possible. She is obsessed with helping experts, CEOs and thought leaders, author work that matters and makes an impact. As a bestselling-book coach, editor, and creator of The Expert Author Academy, Kelly nurtures authors from idea to implementation. Her unique Write Book method, results in book awards and major publisher deals (she has never had a book rejected), and transforms businesses from 6 to 7-figure turnovers.
Join Kelly and I talking books, and tackle some of these questions:
What books did you read as a child that gave you a feeling of belonging?
How did you develop your reading habit?
How do you find so much time for reading?
How many books have you read since episode zero?
How do you not get bored of reading?
How important do you think ‘story’ is to non-fiction books?
Do you think there’s a place for both professional writers and aspiring authors?
What makes a book unfinishable?
How quickly do you judge a book?
You’re in a bookstore, and you’ve got five minutes to find a book, how would you do that? What would you look for?
How do you make notes?
What’s your system for revisiting your book notes?
If you were a book cover, what would you look like?
Would you like to take better notes from the books you read? Get your copy of Archley's beautiful book journal, the Book of Books here:
Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner: Why morals can get in the way of the right answer
Episode 98
Sunday, November 15, 2020 • Duration 13:11
About the Book
With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner take us inside their thought process and teach us all how to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally.
In Think Like A Freak, they offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. The topics range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you’ll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they’re from Nigeria.
Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing—and so much fun to read.’
Steven and Stephen are co-authors of the “Freakonomics” book series, which have sold millions of copies in 40 languages, and host of Freakonomics Radio, which gets 15 million global monthly downloads and is heard by millions more on NPR and other radio outlets.
Steven D. Levitt is the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, where he directs the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. In 2006, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 People Who Shape Our World. In addition to his academic and Freakonomics pursuits, he is a founding partner of TGG Group consulting firm. He lives in Chicago with his wife Jeannette and their four children.
Dream Teams by Shane Snow: How to fight your way to working better together
Episode 97
Sunday, November 8, 2020 • Duration 16:21
About the Book
A journey through science and history to understand incredible teams and what makes them tick.
In Dream Teams, award-winning journalist Shane Snow takes us on an adventure through psychology, neuroscience, business and more, revealing what separates groups that simply get by together from teams that get better together. You’ll meet rap groups, pirate gangs, buddy cops, pioneering women in journalism and the FBI, soviet hockey teams, outrageous artists and city planners, and the people behind social movements that changed the world. And much more!
Shane Snow is an award-winning entrepreneur, explorer, and journalist who has helped expose gun traffickers and government corruption, explored abandoned buildings and sewers around the world, eaten only ice cream for weeks in the name of science, and taught hundreds of thousands of people to work better through his books, including the #1 business bestseller Dream Teams.
Snow speaks globally about innovation and human behavior, has performed comedy on Broadway, and has been in the running for the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism.
His writing has appeared in GQ,Fast Company, Wired, The New Yorker, and more. He is currently a board member of the media technology company Contently, and the investigative journalism nonprofit The Hatch Institute.
Would you like to take better notes from the books you read? Get your copy of Archley's beautiful book journal, the Book of Books here: https://www.archleys.com/?ref=JamVyS-U4mVR
Source: Amazon
BIG IDEA 1 (4:23) – How to think
This is about the things in our life that we don’t often talk about. Liberal arts degrees are often surrounded by the cliche that they teach you ‘how to think not what to think’. David said that we first need to decide what to think about, therefore not being taught about how or what to think.
Closed-mindedness drives arrogance and leads to wrong ideas or thoughts. We get to choose what we pay attention to or what to think about, but too much time inside our head is a bad thing. Over analysing things is one of the bad things about liberal arts degree or any kind of higher education, because it often leads to over-intellectualising and getting stuck in your thoughts.
BIG IDEA 2 (6:36) – Things look and feel different to everyone.
We need to ask more questions around why. Why do things look and feel different to everyone? Why is our experience in life different from what other people think and other people’s experience of life? We should also explore where we get our meaning from – the experiences or stories that lead us to believe one things over another.
David talks about how we are the center of our own world, everything we’ve ever experienced has us at the centre. When we start putting our life in the center of everyone else’s life, it’s a problem. We need to free ourselves from the thought that we are the center of the actual universe, despite what our experience tells us. We have to have compassion for what other’s reality might be.
BIG IDEA 3 (8:15) – It’s within your power
You get to decide. We have to learn to choose what gets our attention and what has meaning to us. We need to choose what we worship, whether it’s power, intellect, beauty or money. These things drive our behaviour and we will never feel satisfied or like we have enough of them, especially ones that diminish over time.
Freedom is attention and discipline and the opposite is unconsciousness. Living by the standard set without the awareness of what’s going on. Real education is knowing what’s real. Knowing this is water.
He’s a recent inductee to the Marketing Hall of Fame, and also a member of the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame and (go figure), the Guerrilla Marketing Hall of Fame.
In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth was founder and CEO of Squidoo.com,. His blog (find it by typing “seth” into Google) is the most popular marketing blog in the world. Before his work as a writer and blogger, Godin was Vice President of Direct Marketing at Yahoo!, a job he got after selling them his pioneering 1990s online startup, Yoyodyne.
Build a practice of your work, and practice it everyday with the mindset of a professional. Practice it even when you don’t know what the result will be. Success or good results are not guaranteed but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work towards it on a daily basis. We need to show up.
Seth doesn’t believe in writer’s block. He believes that inspiration doesn’t show up unless we do. We have to turn up professionally, take things seriously on a daily basis, and that momentum and practice will avoid us feeling stuck. We need to start with a problem that we need to solve and then find out what the answer is. Without having an assertion or point of view we won’t do anything.
By putting creative work out on a schedule, things like writer’s block don’t have time to exist, because we are showing up.
BIG IDEA 2 (8:16) – Don’t be a hack.
It’s not just about empathy or deeply knowing your customer but knowing WHO you’re even aiming to create value for. Because if you aim for the masses, you lose your point of view, your authenticity and quickly become a hack.
So you need to know what market you’re in. You need to have a voice. You need to constantly ask who it is you’re creating for, and what will help your work become more appropriate for your audience. Don’t be a hack, know who you’re talking to and don’t worry about the rest.
BIG IDEA 3 (10:24) – Be generous.
Worry less about what other people think. Many of us allow our output or work to define us, meaning that any criticism of our work becomes a criticism of us personally. We need to become like lifeguards, they are not worried about what others think or say or worry about imposter syndrome when they jump into the ocean to save someone. They just do the work they need to do and do it in a generous way.
It is also about not hiding yourself because you will miss the opportunity to be generous. We need to embrace discomfort, show up and do the difficult work. Just put yourself out there so others can benefit.
Would you like to take better notes from the books you read? Get your copy of Archley's beautiful book journal, the Book of Books here: https://www.archleys.com/?ref=JamVyS-U4mVR
BIG IDEA 1 (5:25) - Ask for help
Nobody is building a career or life alone. You need to ask for advice from mentors and coaches or look for informal ways of asking for help, such as asking people specific questions by email. The important thing is you have to take initiative, as you never know where it might lead.
In the book, Andy shares examples of some of the challenges he’s overcome and how he did that by asking for help. There was a time Andy asked for sales advice from his friend and he ended up getting a whole new job.
The important thing is you want to know what help you are asking for, and ask for it well. Go in with a plan, structure an outcome you’re looking to get and then ask the right person for help. This means you might need to expand your network.
BIG IDEA 2 ( 7:33) - Prioritise what matters
You need to prioritise the actions you need to achieve the change you’re looking for. Andy gave examples of exercises, activities or thought provokers at the end of each chapter. He also talks about the important steps of setting goals, vision and strategy to achieve what it is you want to create.
What you need is to prioritise the action that you need to take to create that change and improve something in your life. It comes down to the idea that nothing changes if you don’t. And what got you here, won’t get you there.
BIG IDEA 3 - Take responsibility
This is the fundamental message throughout the whole book. Without responsibility, things will just happen to you. During the time of COVID, Andy looked at what he could control. What are the things that clients need now? How can I still serve them and do a great job?
He also gave some examples in the book of some of the toughest feedback he received earlier in his career. His managers thought that it might not be the right role for him or the company structure might not be a fit for him. But he thought about how he can improve and what he can do about it, rather than just feeling like a victim.
In the book there was a ‘no complaining challenge’. How much stuff are you complaining about that you could either ignore, let go or do something about? There are plenty of examples in the book about taking more responsibility like learning new skills before you need them, building your network, and doing things before you’re told to.
Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author, journalist, and TV and radio personality. Dubner’s journalism has also been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time and elsewhere. He has taught English at Columbia University, played in a rock band and, as a writer, was first published at the age of 11. He lives in New York with his wife, the docu mentary photographer Ellen Binder, and their children.
Would you like to take better notes from the books you read? Get your copy of Archley's beautiful book journal, the Book of Books here: https://www.archleys.com/?ref=JamVyS-U4mVR
There are many examples in the book around correlation not equaling causation. A lot of things require second order thinking, the question of ‘what else’. One example in the book is the famous connection between falling crime rates and the legalisation of abortion, 18-20 years earlier. This shows that answers might be uncomfortable but it doesn’t mean they should be ignored or unexplored.
By digging in a little bit deeper, we make better choices and decisions by using the right information. The authors say that we sometimes need to put away our moral compass when trying to find out what’s really happening. Because we might miss things that we don’t like, but it doesn’t mean they are not true.
BIG IDEA 2 (7:46) – Ask the right questions.
The right questions might include – what will happen next? There are some examples in the books around unintended consequences as a result of (what seemed like genius) problem solving. We need to ask what else could be causing this, or what else is contributing to this situation.
There was an example in the book about children who are having difficulties at school. Initial thoughts were that these kids weren’t very smart or even lazy. Turns out they just couldn’t see the board at the front of the room. A quick and cheap fix of giving them glasses meant they were able to contribute in class and do much better.
There was a whole chapter in the book about understanding the root cause of problems. And understanding whether the cause is really the effect, and whether you helped a symptom or cured the actual problem.
This requires the ability to say ‘I don’t know’ because if you don’t, you won’t be able to ask better questions. And in turn, won’t get better answers and better solutions.
BIG IDEA 3 (9:56) – Quit more.
The very core of thinking like a freak is the ability to let go. It is letting go of the system, limits, of saying you don’t know and of first order thinking. This can also involve quitting bigger things like jobs, relationships or alcohol, whatever it happens to be. If in doubt whether to quit something or not, toss a coin.
It turns out that tossing a coin on a decision can take away the idea of failure, because *we* didn’t fail and quit, the coin told us to do it. Importantly, by quitting more, we can offset the opportunity of carrying on with things that aren’t serving us anymore and waste time that could be spent on other opportunities, tasks, relationships and activities.
Would you like to take better notes from the books you read? Get your copy of Archley's beautiful book journal, the Book of Books here: https://www.archleys.com/?ref=JamVyS-U4mVR
BIG IDEA 1 (4:05) – Re-look at problem mountain
Heuristics are the mental models or ways of thinking that we evolved to have in our minds. They impact how we perceive problems, people and our range of potential solutions. Our different experiences growing up, who we grew up with, where we grew up, languages we speak, gender or disability inform just some of the mental heuristics that influence our decision, behaviour and problem solving approach.
Shane says that different people’s mental models or heuristics affect their perspective of a problem. And therefore we need to ‘cast the right crew’ to solve different problems. Our differences may be more or less relevant in different situations or types of problems.
So it’s not about casting the same crew for every problem, but what is important is knowing what type of problem you are solving first, and then picking the best mix of people to solve it.
BIG IDEA 2 (8:20) – The conflict paradox
Conflict can be a predictor of progress in a relationship. A lack of conflict can indicate organisational silence, which can end up as inertia, inaction and halt progress. But what we need to know is what it is we’re actually fighting for, how to harness that and what we are trying to get to as a result of conflict, otherwise it becomes toxic and unhealthy.
An example in the book is the Wright brothers who are known for their loud arguments as they were trying to solve their flying machine problems. They would switch sides regularly and argue really well which lead to them finding the right answer and solving the complex problems.
Make sure that conflict is done in a healthy way, not personal attacks but a focus on getting to the right outcome and answer.
BIG IDEA 3 (11:45) – Play for belonging
Play creates points of connection, similarity and an opportunity for trust.
In Argentina, the immigration of Jewish people and Europeans created significant tensions. However, it was a shared love of football that ended up bridging some of the cultural and religious barriers to bring people together. Despite not looking like each other, having different cultures and languages, customs and religions, they all loved football.
It goes to show that something neutral can transcend generations, cultures, countries and languages can be the thing that connects people. Play breaks down barriers and allow people to have a point of similarity even when sometimes it seems like there’s none.
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