How to use books to create the cultural shifts you need
I wrote a little while ago about Reinventing the Office Library and as it turns out, even Harvard Business Review agrees. The case study they share explains how a health care company has created an initiative designed to engage staff with change initiatives by exposing them to points of view from renowned authors that align with the organisational vision.
Not only do the books they make available provide learning on specific skills, but by encouraging discussions on the content they are able to embed the cultural nuances they want. By buying in bulk from the publisher they were able to negotiate access to the author and built additional interventions and communications around the topic.
A brilliant idea worth replicating! To get you started, this week we've pulled together some suggested themes and titles.
MENTAL HEALTH
This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health by Nathan Filer is a journey into the heartland of psychiatry. It debunks myths, challenges assumptions and offers fresh insight into what it means to be mentally ill. And what it means to be human.
The Happiness Advantage is based on the largest study ever conducted on happiness and human potential. Harvard lecturer Shawn Achor shares seven core principles of positive psychology that each one of us can use to improve our performance, grow our careers, and gain a competitive edge at work. He reveals how happiness actually fuels success and performance, not the other way around.
RESILIENCE
The Art of Resilience by award-winning adventurer Ross Edgley uncovers the secrets of mental fitness and explore the concept of resilience, persistence, valour and a disciplined mindset in overcoming adversity. This groundbreaking book represents a paradigm shift in what we thought the human body and mind were capable of and will give you a blueprint to become a tougher, more resilient and ultimately better human – whatever the challenge you face.
(It’s Great to) Suck at Something by Karen Rinaldi shows us that sucking at something rewires our brain in positive ways, helps us cultivate grit, and inspires us to find joy in the process, without obsessing about the destination. Ultimately, it gives you freedom - the freedom to suck without caring is revelatory.
INNOVATION
Loonshots by physicist and entrepreneur Safi Bahcall reveals a surprising new way of thinking about the mysteries of group behavior that challenges everything we thought we knew about nurturing radical breakthroughs. This book is the first to apply the tools of the science of phase transitions to help all of us unlock our potential to create and nurture the crazy ideas that change the world.
The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger, CEO of Disney, is about the relentless curiosity that has driven Iger for forty-five years. It’s also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership he pursues.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. She draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.
Mouth Full of Blood is vital non-fiction collection from one of the most celebrated and revered American writers, Toni Morrison. Spanning four decades, these essays, speeches and meditations interrogate the world around us.