Cube Rules Reference Library
Over the course of writing Cube Rules, I’ve also read a great number of books, not all of which have been reviewed yet. However, I thought it useful to list the book and the review link here in this reference library.
The Library is organized by the number of “cubes” awarded the book, with five being the highest value to readers here and one the least. When you click on the link, you’ll be taken to Amazon’s web page for the book. If you buy the book, I’ll get a (very) small commission which, if it ever gets to $10, will be used to buy even more books!
Five Cubes — you really need to read these
GUST: The Tale Wind of Office Politics by Timothy L. Johnson. “I couldn’t put the book down. It was that good. So far beyond my expectations that I haven’t done this review here on the blog simply because I want to give the book its due.”
Still the best way to determine the politics being played in your office. Plus, a reasonable way to determine your next steps to work within the politics to get your stuff done.
Yeah, it was that good. Review.
The Three Signs of a Miserable Job. This book describes how management can address the lack of employee engagement in the workplace. For Cubicle Warriors, it shows you how to evaluate a culture and decide to stay or leave your position.
In my opinion, this book provides the best ways to determine if you are really engaged in your work. Plus it provides you the categories of questions to ask in an interview to ensure your culture needs of a company match what you need for your sanity.
Never eat alone is networking at a high-level - but beginners and experienced networker’s can learn a great deal from this book. In an age where our network is critical to our career and our personal well-being, this book can provide you the gateway to networking excellence - for all the right reasons.
Once in a while, a great book comes along that provides a unique, actionable and powerful viewpoint in business. EPIC Change: How to Lead Change in the Global Age by Timothy R. Clark is such a book.
“Change fails less often for the poor strategy or technical difficulty,” Clark notes. “Rather, it is a leader’s inability to draw out the discretionary efforts of people that usually signals failure.” Review.
Two Weeks to a Breakthrough gives you a solid method of achieving a breakthrough for your goal. Lisa includes solid theory with practical actions from the participants themselves in the book. This real-world application of theory and practice is excellent.
Small actions consistently done have significant impacts on your strategic goals. This book tells you how to do the small actions that make a difference.
Four Cubes — Well Worth the Read
All of us at one time or another have felt stuck — an impasse in our work, our relationships, or in how we are living our life. The good news is that this is a signal that it is time for a change.
Timothy Butler has composed Getting Unstuck: How Dead Ends Become New Paths. It is a book about recognizing when you are stuck and a methodology for understanding why you are stuck so you can move forward.
In a rash of sanity, Beyond Bullet Points actually points the way to have successful PowerPoint presentations without the dreaded bullet point machine guns pointing at you all the time. The true benefit of the book is the explanation of how people learn when presented with both visual and oral information. And the real trick of getting the information through the eye of a needle into long term memory and learning.
Oh, and a step-by-step method of creating a successful presentation based on the theory.
When your site name is Cube Rules, you have to pay attention to a book named The Executive Rules: The Complete Guide to Landing an Executive Job, by Thad Greer.
When I first looked at the book, I was thinking that it was yet another book aimed at corporate suite types. But Thad defines executive as having managerial responsibilities and making more than $75,000 a year. With that criteria, I became curious on whether or not the book would apply to Cubicle Warriors. It does.
Three Cubes — You might be interested
Executive Intelligence — What all Great Leaders Have, by Justin Menkes, suggests that success in management is driven by executive intelligence, the intellectual ability to actually do the job. Yet, hiring managers — or boards of directors — “are enamored with attributes, such as personality and style, that are only tangentially related to how well executives actually do their job.” Review.
Two Cubes — I didn’t see much value, you might
Winning Nice — how to succeed in business and life without waging war. Dawna has cred: she went on Martha Stewart’s The Apprentice and won using the principles in the book. And while the book is NOT about how she won the “reality” show, the principles in the book are the ones she lives by and used in the show.
While most sections had good suggestions for how to put some of this into action, I was left short too many times with examples of successful people who had done the principle — but not how it was actually done. Not enough of the specific struggles that were faced by these people that could be relevant to a person working in a corporate cube. Review.
One Cube — Really, don’t click on the link and buy this book
Haven’t reviewed any here yet. Hope I don’t.
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