Our Top 5 Recommendations for World Book Day 2021

World Book Day is once again upon us and this year we are bringing you 5 books, written by artists we work with, that come highly recommended from our team.

Since the pandemic began, we have been thrust into a changing, complex and uncertain world. Becoming lost in a fictional story and transporting oneself to a distant land was undoubtedly a comfort during the initial lockdown.

But as time moves on, we are becoming more open to new thoughts, ideas and philosophies to guide us through this new world. Our team have picked 5 books that they have read over the past 18 months which are perhaps more relevant now than they were before!

Dan  | The Discomfort Zone by  Farrah Storr

Farrah’s book The Discomfort Zone is brilliantly written and easy to digest. I was impressed with the flow of the book and the mixture of really good content mixed with humour and emotion. Farrah uses her story along with other people’s stories to illustrate the importance of stepping outside their comfort zone to achieve greatness. I was in awe of the tough decisions that she had to make to get things done.

Farrah talks in detail about how putting yourself in uncomfortable positions makes you stronger and able to go so much further.

By using examples from the business, sports and entertainment world, this book will appeal to anyone. I also think it is a very nice add-on to any event you have with Farrah.

"Its a funny thing the human brain, it lies. It looks for easy absolutes to create a narrative. a narrative that, if you believe it will paralyze you."

Debbie Price  | A Rebel Playbook by Debra Corey

A Rebel Playbook by Debra Corey brilliantly illustrates how the old way of treating people at work has failed due to a huge percentage of disengaged employees. It runs on the simple fact that if staff are engaged and feel valued and trusted they will innovate more, deliver better service and your company will out-perform the competition. It is not rocket science – just about treating people like human beings with open and honest communication!

Exploring the ideas of engaged employees through performance, communication, creating a culture of continuous recognition and opening the channels for more collaboration can result in increased performance among company’s competition.

Some of my favourite takeaways include making sure values are explain in order for then to be embedded within the culture, communicate openly and own mistakes, trust people, take care of people, recognise big wins, small wins and hard work and finally, lose the swim lanes where everyone’s job is clearly defined and you don’t stray in to someone else’s lane.  It’s becoming more and more common for employees at all levels to contribute to the business and the bottom line.

Natalia  - "The HR Change Toolkit" by Lucy Adams

Reading this book expanded my understanding of HR. I've always known that HR is an integral part of maintaining the delecate balance in a workplace, but never realised some of the hurdles they faced.

Through Lucy Adams' experience, the reader is walked through businesses large and small and shown that at the heart of addressing change in HR is keeping the 'Human' in Human Resources.

Instead of applying data and numbers as a one-size-fits-all solution, Lucy shares practical advice to implement a new, but never earth-shattering strategy to tailoring HR to the people it serves. Instead of flipping entire institutions on its head, Lucy shows that being an active listener and adjusting every practice to it's people is the best way to create positive, long-lasting change.

A very easy and informative read full of useful resources, advice, and anecdotes to take into your business.

"As a profession we need to put the human back into human resources, by developing a deeper understanding of how employees think and feel, and also by considering how we can create more human leaders at the same time."

Poonam Douglas  - Taming Tigers by  Jim Lawless

In a very frank and conversational style, Taming Tigers provides 10 rules on silencing, or overcoming, the voice of doubt in your mind – the Tiger. Jim Lawless uses his own real-life examples to describe how he has overcome his personal Tiger, some of which include becoming a horse jockey and breaking a record in freediving. He’s not dictating these rules, he’s living them!

Written for a business audience, this book can also be applied to personal goals. There are case studies throughout from ordinary people, discussing how they used the rules in their lives to overcome their Tiger, giving further context to each rule and chapter.

Whether you have a Tiger to tame, or not, this book provides guidance on how to set yourself realistic goals in order to achieve anything you set your mind to. Not only is it an inspiring read but an important reminder that we should be maintaining a positive mental attitude and not giving up at the hurdle’s life throws our way.

“You can buy a nice self-help book... if you want to feel warm and fuzzy. Taming Tigers is about being ALIVE”

Moe  - "The Change Catalyst" by Campbell Macpherson

The Change Catalyst was a very insightful read into why business needs to get 'change' right. Although aimed towards CEO’s and leaders rather than the everyday individual, it is written in a friendly and conversational style which made getting through the book a breeze.

Campbell breaks down why 88% of change initiatives fail, which include employees being inherently afraid of change and the cliché  'this is how it always been done'. These core reasons lead to employees not buying in and supporting the initiative, which inevitably causing failure.

The book also illustrates what is “successful change” and breaks down what he refers to as the 10 ingredients for successful change. This includes why leaders must lead by example, rather than policies, and why a change in culture is often the key to success.

The book is a go-to manual for anyone in a position of leadership in order to survive and thrive in an ever-changing world of business.

"Change is inevitable but successful change isn't."

Photo by Claudia Wolff  on Unsplash For further information or to book a speaker, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070  or email  info@speakerscorner.co.uk .

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