4 books to help develop leadership skills

How to increase personal efficiency and creativity, as well as cope with attention deficit, to become a leader? LitRes chose four books that answer these questions

The Scout’s Mind by Julia Galef

The well-known speaker Julia Galef in her book offers two interesting metaphors: “the mind of a soldier” and “the mind of a scout.” People are more likely to have the first option – we think linearly, tend to divide things into “black” and “white”, defend our interests and principles, often negatively perceive opinions that differ from ours. The “scout” thinks differently: it analyzes everything, calculates its actions several steps ahead, taking into account possible consequences, pays attention to the context and details. According to Galef, this method is much more productive and allows you to achieve great results in life. She tells what psychological skills you need to develop in order to start thinking “like a scout.”

“Aesthetic Intelligence. How to develop and use it in business and life, Pauline Brown

Is it possible to cultivate good taste? According to the author of this book, definitely yes. Pauline Brown worked for many years as head of the North American division of LVMH Moёt Hennessy Louis Vuitton. She is convinced that the so-called aesthetic intelligence needs to be developed by all entrepreneurs, especially those associated with the fields of fashion, art, services and sales. Pauline cites many successful companies that have managed to take a leading position in the market thanks to their attention to aesthetics. Every detail is important: the first impression, the style of presentation of information and design. The author tells how to create the right products, packaging and functionality that you want to buy. The book also contains 4 creative intelligence exercises that will be useful for professionals in any industry.

“Undistractable. How to manage your attention and life, Nir Eyal, Julie Lee

Attention deficit is one of the main problems of modern man. A huge flow of information makes our brain work in a “clip” mode – it captures individual messages, but it can hardly focus on a specific task. One of the authors of the book, Nir Eyal, is a former professor at Stanford University and a behavioral design specialist. He is sure that the ability to concentrate is one of the most important competitive advantages that allows a person to build a successful career. In this book you will find not only useful information about the features of the brain, but also exercises that help you not to be distracted, not to jump from one thought to another, work with a large amount of data and dive deeply into the desired topic.

“Principles. Life and Work, Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio is the perfect example of a man whose “American dream” has come true. The boy from an ordinary family achieved everything on his own and became the head of a large investment company – Bridgewater – at the age of 26. In his book, Dalio does not give advice, but talks about himself: what rules he followed when concluding transactions, how he chose business partners, and so on. Of course, it may not be worthwhile to apply all these principles in your own life, but why not learn some good habits?