New business material added to the collection

A book on a desk next to a cup of coffee and pen and paper

Adding new items to the Wellington City Libraries book collection is an ongoing process.  
There’s always something new, and the business subject area is diverse. 

Below are some of the new titles that have been added recently covering storytelling with data, aspects of Excel spreadsheets, changing career direction and running hybrid meetings.   

You can find the full listing of new non-fiction material here

Making numbers count : how to translate data into stories that stick / Heath, Chip
“Understanding numbers is essential – but humans aren’t built to understand them. Chip Heath outlines specific principles that reveal how to translate a number into our brain’s language. This book is filled with examples of extreme number makeovers, vivid before-and-after examples that take a dry number and present it in a way that people click in and say “Wow, now I get it!” This book will help math-lovers and math-haters alike translate the numbers that animate our world – allowing us to bring more data, more naturally, into decisions in our schools, our workplaces, and our society”–Publisher’s description.” (Catalogue)

Microsoft Excel dashboards & reports / Alexander, Michael
“It’s time for some truly “Excel-lent” spreadsheet reporting Beneath the seemingly endless rows and columns of cells, the latest version of Microsoft Excel boasts an astonishing variety of features and capabilities. But how do you go about tapping into some of that power without spending all of your days becoming a spreadsheet guru? It’s easy. You grab a copy of the newest edition of Excel Dashboards & Reports For Dummies and get ready to blow the pants off your next presentation audience! With this book, you’ll learn how to transform those rows and columns of data into dynamic reports, dashboards, and visualizations. You’ll draw powerful new insights from your company’s numbers to share with your colleagues – and seem like the smartest person in the room while you’re doing it. Excel Dashboards & Reports For Dummies offers: Complete coverage of the latest version of Microsoft Excel provided in the Microsoft 365 subscription Strategies to automate your reporting so you don’t have to manually crunch the numbers every week, month, quarter, or year Ways to get new perspectives on old data, visualizing it so you can find solutions no one else has seen before If you’re ready to make your company’s numbers and spreadsheets dance, it’s time to get the book that’ll have them moving to your tune in no time. Get Excel Dashboards & Reports For Dummies today.” (Catalogue)

Pivot : the art and science of reinventing your career and life / Markel, Adam
“The successful CEO of the internationally renowned Peak Potentials–who has trained thousands of people to find new jobs, careers, and directions–shares his practical and inspirational program for reinventing yourself, whether you are out of work or want to change your professional trajectory. What would you do in your life if you knew you could not fail? That’s the question answered in Pivot, a roadmap for embracing your true potential without abandoning your responsibilities or risking your future. As a transformational teacher and the CEO of Peak Potentials, which has trained more than one million people worldwide, Adam Markel can help you leap out of your comfort zone and into the destiny you’ve always dreamed of. Whether you are transitioning your career, or have been downsized, or believe that your true potential has yet to be fully tapped, Pivot is a guide to reinvention for anyone, at any age. With clear-eyed compassion and frank assessments, Adam shares the secrets that will guide you away from fear and toward a powerful new vision for your life. The uplifting stories, introspective prompts, clear step-by-step exercises, and energizing calls to action throughout this remarkable book will guide you through the process of personal and career transformation, from creating a vision and clearing space for change to building a supportive environment and establishing daily rituals that will regenerate your soul. Success and personal fulfillment are within reach! Program your internal GPS to a destination of your wildest imagination–all it takes to change your path is one right turn”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)

The end of burnout : why work drains us and how to build better lives / Malesic, Jonathan
“Burnout has become our go-to term for talking about the pressure and dissatisfaction we experience at work. But because we don’t really understand what burnout means, the discourse does little to help workers who are suffering from exhaustion and despair. Jonathan Malesic was one of those workers, and to escape he quit his job as a tenured professor. In The End of Burnout, he dives into the history and psychology of burnout, traces the origin of the high ideals we bring to our dismal jobs, and profiles the individuals and communities who are already resisting our cultural commitment to constant work. In The End of Burnout, Malesic traces his own history as someone who burned out of a tenured job to frame this rigorous investigation of how and why so many of us feel worn out, alienated, and useless in our work. Through research on the science, culture, and philosophy of burnout, Malesic explores the gap between our vocation and our jobs, between the ideals we have for work and the reality of what we have to do… In this critical yet deeply humane book, Malesic offers the vocabulary we need to recognize burnout, overcome burnout culture, and find moral significance in our lives beyond work”– Provided by publisher” (Adapted from catalogue)

What color is your parachute? 2022 : your guide to a lifetime of meaningful work and career success / Bolles, Richard Nelson
“With timeless advice, up-to-the-minute insights, and more than ten million copies sold over fifty years, the world’s most popular and best-selling career guide is fully revised and expanded for 2022.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Suddenly hybrid : managing the modern meeting / Reed, Karin M.
“Prior to COVID 19, hybrid meetings were relatively rare and consisted of the majority of attendees being in person with perhaps someone “dialing in” (and often forgot about). The hybrid meeting that will likely monopolize the way meetings are conducted from here on out will likely involve a group of people gathered in one conference room, maybe another group of people gathered in a huddle room somewhere else, and a variety of folks showing up in their own individual boxes on screen via their personal webcams. Managing the expectations, participation, and conversation flow for all of these different constituencies will be fraught with challenges but perhaps some opportunities as well for the leader who leans into developing new skills. This book provides some much-needed early insight and guidance into what works and what does NOT when it comes to hybrid meetings. Practical, actionable, and implementable steps organizations can take as they adjust and adopt the hybrid model will be provided. These actionable steps will be supported by current research as well as firsthand stories of those who have begun transitioning to this new way of moving business forward. The primary objectives of this book are: To be a science-based but practical guide on managing the hybrid meeting, what will be the “new normal” for the foreseeable future To highlight new research insights gathered from those who are early in the transition To provide actionable best practices based upon the new research, informed by data from the early days of the pandemic, and supported by groups and teams science To illustrate the challenges and opportunities through real-world examples that can allow readers to “walk in the shoes” of those who are making the transition to a hybrid meeting world.”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)

News in brief

Over the past few weeks a number of reports and news items have been released that readers may not be aware of.  Below are brief summaries of some.

Sustainable Business
This week The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) launched the online Circular Economy Directory

Described as “A first of its kind, the Circular Economy Directory will assist businesses to transition to a circular economy model where products and materials are designed to reduce waste and carbon emissions by keeping existing products in circulation for longer”.

You can access the Circular Economy Directory here and the SBN’s press release here

Hospitality
For those in hospitality Auckland University of Technology (AUT) recently released a report, Voices From the Front Line.

The “research looks at workplace practices in the hospitality industry and gives recommendations to improve working conditions”.

The press release can be found here and a pdf copy of Voices From The Front Line can be downloaded here  

Venture capital
Are you a female entrepreneur looking to raise capital for a start up or expansion of your business? Icehouse Ventures, through ArcAngels Fund is raising $20m through investment to finance woman-led business startups. 

A 2021 University of Auckland study reveals several hurdles facing women founders raising capital in New Zealand, and ArcAngels manager Lauren Fong says ArcAngels Fund II and its wider community of supporters are aiming to address some of these barriers and make funding more accessible to women”.

Read the press release here or learn more about applying for funding from ArcAngels investors here.

Work trends
Microsoft recently released their Work Trends Index 2022 which includes survey data from New Zealand along with input from 30 other countries. Unsurprisingly the survey found that workplaces, and workers, are not the same as they were in the early months of 2020.

Great Expectations: Making Hybrid Work Work identified five trends business leaders need to be aware of and consider : 
Employees have a new “worth it” equation.
Managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations.
Leaders need to make the office worth the commute.
Flexible work doesn’t have to mean “always on.”
Rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world.

Read the report here and the press release here 

If you need more information please contact the Prosearch team at the library. We can help you find information across a range of perspectives and resources. All enquiries are treated in confidence.

New items added

Desk with coffee and picture of book

At the beginning of each month a listing of new items added to the library collection in the previous month is uploaded to the library website. 

You can find it here.

Below are some of the new business materials added in March.  These are now available for borrowing.

Retail recovery : how creative retailers are winning in their post-apocalyptic world / Pilkington, Mark
“This book offers a comprehensive analysis of new forces which are changing the way in which we buy products and experience brands. It includes in-depth interviews with some of the most innovative players–from John Lewis in the UK, to Nike and Patagonia in the US–in the hope of drawing out key learning points for the rest of the industry, across the globe. It also provides essential guidelines for governments, as they strive to rebuild society in the wake of recent catastrophes. The retail industry, with which we have all grown up, has been devastated by the twin effects of the internet and the Coronavirus lockdown. Huge numbers of prestigious brands have gone under, or are a shadow of their former selves. The world economy has gone into deep recession, with reduced employment and incomes across broad swathes of society. Many discretionary products have simply become too expensive for ordinary people to buy on a regular basis. High streets and shopping malls lie half empty, causing a vacuum at the core of our societies. There is an urgent need to regenerate our local shopping centers, in order to create new hope in depressed areas. So how can retailers and brands respond to this crisis? Fortunately, new shoots of recovery are emerging from the wreckage of the old order–new brands, new technology, new ways of providing value, and new and innovative methods of creating excitement to draw in consumers, all of which have the potential to kick-start the retail economy”–Publisher’s description.” (Catalogue)

The awareness code : the secrets to emotional empowerment for incredible leadership / Linton, Wayne
“The Awareness Code is a ground-breaking guide to help you increase your human awareness so you can transform yourself to become an incredible leader. Through the frameworks, case studies and guidance found in this book, you will develop a style of leadership that will allow you to reach a whole new level of awareness. Innovative leadership development has stagnated. The Awareness Code is the new foundation for current and next generation leaders. At every level of human endeavour across all sectors–from CEOs and managers to politicians, teachers and sporting coaches–this book provides guidance for any undertaking that requires someone to step up and lead. The Awareness Code clarifies the full range of human awareness and how you can develop into the most empowered state of leadership, providing valuable insights that will lead to exceptional clarity, productivity and drive on both an individual and collective basis.”–Dust jacket.” (Catalogue)

Managing people / Hunsaker, Phillip L
“This title in DK’s Essential Managers series contains all you need to manage people effectively and to develop or hone your management style.– Amazon.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Mindwandering : how your constant mental drift can improve your mood and boost your creativity / Bar, Moshe
“Research has revealed that our brains are inherently noisy. A number of brain regions connected in what’s dubbed the Default Mode Network (DMN) are always grinding away, engaged in a number of different involuntary activities that neuroscientists collectively call mindwandering: from daydreaming and self-chatter to ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Not only does all of this inner commotion tug our attention away from the present moment, but it can dampen the quality of our experience, lowering our mood and potentially contributing to anxiety and depression. Yet, there’s method to this apparent madness. Mindwandering is our brain’s way of developing our sense of self, trying to sort out what others are thinking, and searching for associations to help us interpret what’s happening in our lives. It can be both positive and negative. On one hand, can become so engaged in this consideration of the past and making predictions about the future that for much of the time we are disconnected from what is actually happening in the moment. On the other, we can become more aware of where our minds are wandering, learning to direct them to stimulate creative, increase our ability to focus, and boost our mood. We want, in short, to work toward being able to bring the right mind to the right time. Mindwandering is the first book to expose readers to the multi-faceted phenomenon of their wandering minds, the new and exciting research of the brain and the mind behind this default mode of ours, when it is beneficial and when it is harming us to wander, and how we can gain some control over our mental lives. In doing so, Mindwandering will bring to readers the rare and marvelous convergence of advanced neuroscience with ancient wisdom; cognitive psychology with creativity and mood; and the brain’s default state linked to the quality of our daily experience”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)

If you need further information on these, or other business related subjects please contact the Prosearch team at the library.  We can help you find information across a range of perspectives and resources.  All enquiries are treated in confidence.