It’s taken me a while to get this post finished (I’ll blame COVID, which negated about two weeks of productivity in January). In the past I’ve just shared my top 5 books of the year, but this year I thought I’d also share a few of my favourite TV shows and podcasts.
BOOKS
The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Strainer
The book starts with this quote by Naguib Mahfouz, “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” That summarizes the book, which attempts to convince the reader to give less advice and ask more questions. Why? Because we’re over-inclined to believe our ideas are excellent (the self-serving bias, which I have plenty of).
Why doesn’t advice often work? Because:
1) You’re offering insights and solutions to the wrong problem, believing the first challenge that’s mentioned is the real challenge (it rarely is)
2) You’re proposing a mediocre solution, because you’ve got few facts, you think you understand what’s happening, and your advice demotivates the advice-receiver
Michael Bungay Stainer is very concise with his books. This book gets to the point quickly, and then it’s done.
Rapture by Nick Nurse
Like many Canadians, I was cheering for the Toronto Raptors during their NBA 2019 championship run (where they were underdogs against the evil empire of the Golden State Warriors), so I enjoyed this autobiography of the Raptor’s head coach. Nick wanted to be a head coach in the NBA, but instead of climbing the normal “NBA corporate ladder”, he instead went to Europe to gain head coaching experience working with small market teams. The book is about his unconventional path to become an NBA coach, and his innovative ideas of furthering his career goals (like orchestrating a G-League team to come to his hometown, so he could be the head coach). As someone who is learning how to serve entrepreneurs and professionals through coaching, this book was insightful and inspirational. And as a basketball fan, this was a fun read.
The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
This book helped me understand myself, my wife, and my team better. I like it because it’s very simple to understand (unlike other assessments), with lots of practical applications in the workplace. The premise of the book is that people who use their natural talents are more fulfilled and successful, and organizations that help their people tap into those talents are more productive. The book outlines 6 types of working geniuses that are needed to get any type of work or project accomplished: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity (yes, that spells WIDGET). Each person has 2 areas of working genius (activities that give you joy, energy, and passion), 2 areas of working competency (activities that you find neither completely miserable or joyful), and 2 areas of working frustration (work that drains you of your joy and energy).
I found the Working Genius model so helpful that I recently became a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, so I could better help individuals and teams through this assessment (let me know if you want to learn how to use this to improve your team’s productivity). As for the book, it’s an allegory, which Patrick Lencioni is famous for. It’s an easy read. I highly recommend this.
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
An excellent read about designing your gatherings better. Here are my main takeaways:
- The more specific the meeting, the more likelihood for success
- Venues come with scripts and we tend to follow rigid unwritten scripts associated with specific locations
- Hosting is an exercise of power – run your gathering with a strong and confident hand for the sake of others
- 90% of what makes a gathering successful is put into place before the event even starts
- Realness in a gathering can be designed by pushing for people to share experiences over ideas, raising the stranger quotient, and inviting people to intimacy
- How you end the gathering shapes people’s experience, sense of meaning, and memory
The book also had an excellent list of questions to start meaningful conversations:
- How have your priorities changed over the years?
- How have your background and experience limited or favoured you?
- What parts of your life have been a waste of time?
- What have you rebelled against in the past and what are you rebelling against now?
- What are the limits of your compassion?
TV SHOWS
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Based on the first book in Mick Herron’s series, this 6-episode season is about a team of disgraced MI5 agents, who have been assigned to administrative purgatory because of stupid mistakes they’ve made in their past. This team is known as “Slow Horses”. Somehow, while enduring their dull lives, they are pulled into the investigation of schemes endangering England.
It’s fast-paced with well-written dialogue and a superb cast led by Gary Oldman who gives “a masterclass in frumpy authority.” Highly entertaining.
Andor (Disney+)
As a big Star Wars fan, this was really fun to watch. It tells the story of Cassian Andor, who is one of the lead characters in the Rogue One movie (the prequel to episodes 7, 8, and 9).
Season 1 tells the story of how Cassian Andor turns from a selfish thief into a sacrificial leader in the Rebellion. It’s also the story of the rise of the Rebellion, exploring the push and pull of an Empire looking to exert dominance and the growing courage of everyday people that make sacrifices to fight back.
The Rings of Power (Amazon Prime)
This series is the prequel to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and it about the back story of the main characters in those movies: Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, and the bad guy, Sauron. The first few episodes are quite slow, but it picks up later in the series. As a LOTR fan, I enjoyed the episodes very much, and was sad when the series ended (and am eagerly awaiting season 2).
Amazon bought the TV rights from the Tolkien Estate in 2017 to make a five-season production for US $1 billion. Season 2 is scheduled to be released in 2024.
Welcome to Wrexham (Disney+)
This docuseries is the story of how actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds purchase the Wrexham AFC which is one of the worst teams in the the lowest of the five nationwide professional football divisions in England.
It’s an underdog story about the impact these two actors have on not only the football club, but also the entire city of Wrexham. The series was entertaining, and also taught me a lot about the mystery of European football.
PODCASTS
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
The podcast covers current events, the tech industry, politics, and a little bit of science, with conversations between four friends and investors. The show is educational and entertaining. I appreciate the differing views (right and left), the debate, and the banter between friends.
After Hours (TED Audio Collective)
In depth analysis about current events in business, by three Harvard professors. The weekly podcast covers a few topics each week, and ends with personal recommendations which includes TV shows, books, apps, products, or even recipes.
Overall, I like how the After Hours podcast brings a more educational (textbook) approach to business, whereas the All-In podcast brings a more industry insider (practical) approach to business.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
- Severance (Apple TV+) – A twisted, creative, thought-provoking show about the division of work and life.
- Only Murders in the Building (Disney+) – Both seasons of this mystery/comedy were well-written and well-acted, and super fun to watch.
- Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang – The entertaining and inspiring story of how immigrant Jia Jiang did a 100-day experiment to get rejected once a day, and what he learned about conquering the fear of rejection and how to turn a no into a yes.
- The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching: A Revolutionary Approach to Masterful Coaching by Marion Franklin – This book helped me deepen my understanding and skill as I started my journey to becoming a certified coach.
- Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown – Our entire family read this book last year, and it helped give us language and description to better understand 87 emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human.