Words from the wise

These career-focused reads are perfect to give (or to get)

THE holidays are almost here, and perhaps the biggest gift you can give to a co-worker, a family member or a friend is encouragement to do what they love and believe in, to be their best selves and to contribute their unique talents for the good of the world. It’s what gets you ahead, however you define it, at the office and probably even life, say experts.

Whether a leader, manager, team member or an individual contributor, here are five books that might help guide you or your gift recipient along the way.

“Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous and Different” by Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger (Harper-Collins, $25.99)

There are those talented, outside-of-the-box thinkers who find going to work and playing by the rules to be soul-crushing. But they seldom complain. Instead of sharing their unique opinions and ideas, they bite their tongues believing that conformity will keep them safe. The problem is that this stifles their creativity and ability to make significant contributions, so they rarely get ahead. And, even if they do, the reward is hardly enough to make up for all they surrendered.

“Rare Breed” is a book that these underachievers need to read. Authors Bonnell and Hansberger, co-founders of Motto, a Financial Districtbased (200 Broadway) branding agency, coach readers to “take smart, calculated risks that let you venture into the unknown. Where the gold is.” They also argue that “sometimes, burning the plan is the best plan of all.”

“The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek (Portfolio, $28)

Although most of us are familiar with the saying, “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game,” it’s not an idea we generally apply to business, our careers or our lives, according to best-selling author Sinek. In his latest book, “The Infinite Game,” he explains that even though we’re coached to go for the win at all costs, that often does more harm than good, especially when it leads to acting like a jerk, or working in a cut-throat work environment and/ or unethical business practices. After all, in business and in careers, there is seldom a final inning or a fixed finish line. Consider that even if you do win the promotion or your company’s stock rises to a new high, the game isn’t over; you still go to work tomorrow, face the same people, and the next outcome might be different. The same holds true if your project or a product your employer introduces bombs: “You’re behind for now,” writes Sinek, you haven’t lost.

“The Infinite Game” is a rallying cry to set aside “win at all costs” thinking and to replace it with “a reality that is vastly more conducive to our deep-seated human need to feel safe, to contribute to something bigger than ourselves and to provide for ourselves and our families,” writes Sinek.

“Connect First: 52 Simple Ways To Ignite Success, Meaning and Joy at Work” by Melanie A. Katzman, Ph.D. (McGraw-Hill, $26)

Research by pollster Gallup suggests that 70 percent of us are disconnected at work. While it’s easy to sit back and blame management or technology for the problem, individual workers suffer the consequences. But they don’t have to be victims. “You have the power to change your world,” writes Katzman, a clinical psychologist and corporate consultant.

Katzman offers 52 easy, actionable techniques that you can start applying to your work-life five minutes after opening the book. Some are as simple as smiling at your co-workers (instead of staring at a screen). “People who smile appear to be more likeable, courteous and even competent,” writes Katzman. Another tip? “Generate joy and laughter.” Cited research found that managers who display a good sense of humor are given more opportunities than those who take themselves more seriously.

“Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change” by Marc Benioff and Monica Langley (Currency, $28)

This book if for the CEO, manager or worker who needs proof that you don’t need to leave your values outside the door when you walk into the office.

Benioff is the co-founder and co-CEO of Salesforce, one of the world’s largest software companies. Among its core tenets is giving away 1 percent each of its product, equity and employee time to charitable causes. In other words, Salesforce’s mission goes beyond serving customers and creating value for shareholders, it aims to help make the world a better place as well.

The book chronicles Benioff’s alarm when he realized that men and women weren’t being equally paid at his company, and what he did to fix it. It also recounts how Salesforce responded to Indiana’s proposed Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which made it legal for businesses to refuse to serve certain customers for reasons such as sexual orientation based on the owners’ religious beliefs.

Benioff encourages workers to step up and take a stand. “My sincere hope is that this book will inspire you to look inside yourself, ask the right questions and blaze your own trail. What you do next matters.”

“Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall (Harvard Business Review Press, $30)

Here’s your permission slip to throw away the stupid ideas that you have been taught about work and your career.

Take, for example, the one that claims that people care about what company they work for. The reality, according to Buckingham and Goodall, is that workers care about the name and reputation of their employer before they get hired, but once they are on the job, it’s about the team they are on, and how that team relates to other teams at the company and to the company’s leaders.

How does that apply to your experience at work and career? Next time you look for job, ask the employer what he or she does to build teams.

Other lies include “People need feedback.” The authors’ research found that it’s attention, and more specifically positive attention, that workers crave and that helps them do their best work. The idea that “the best people are wellrounded” is another misnomer. It turns out that excellent performance is generated by a few unique strengths, nurtured over time and put to great use.