Five books for end-of-summer reading - Fine Point Communications

As we approach the last stretch before classes resume, here’s hoping you have stepped away from the office (or soon will) for a well-deserved break. There is no better time to recharge your creativity and enthusiasm, and maybe you’ll discover a new passion along the way!

For me, it just isn’t vacation unless I have a book in my getaway bag. In case you, too, like to exercise your mind while you relax your body, here are a few titles that I heartily recommend. I come back to each regularly, and they always inspire and provoke.

“Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott

This will be familiar to the writers among you; it’s famous as a guide to getting the words out of you and onto paper or into a computer.

Such books fill a shelf of my library, but I reach for “Bird by Bird” more often than, say, “Writing Down the Bones” or “Draft No. 4” or “Kill Your Darlings.”

Lamott’s simple, straightforward coaching and soothing voice really work for me. (She even includes a chapter on “Finding Your Voice.”) Whenever I hit a writing drought, reading one of her chapters always encourages me.

“Making It All Work” by David Allen

Allen is famous for creating Getting Things Done. But “Getting Things Done,” his book that introduced this great productivity system, is an incomplete read.

This title, published seven years later, is effectively a do-over that improves greatly on the more famous original.

In particular, Allen goes deep in “Making It All Work” into “getting perspective” — an aspect of GTD he all but ignored in the first book. If you’re interested in GTD or already use it but struggle with the bigger-picture elements, check this one out.

“First, Break All the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

This one is for managers, and it rests on Gallup’s findings through its 12-question Q12 Employee Engagement Survey.

You can get the gist of Gallup’s questions from a Google search. The book adds the context around why these questions resonate for employees.

From these, “First, Break All the Rules” proposes four keys for team leaders to draw the best from their colleagues. Both sections are helpful and insightful.

“Better” by Atul Gawande

Here also, I return especially to two sections. One discusses the value of checklists in critical situations. (The New Yorker has published an excerpt on this.) Gawande is persuasive that a list minimizes the chance of errors and just overlooking something important.

The other section addresses how to make what the author calls “a worthy difference.” It’s part of a look at what has been termed “positive deviance.”

But what really captures my imagination in “Better” is Gawande’s underlying question: How hard is it not only to do better but also to become better?

“Service Fanatics” by James Merlino

Another book about improving performance, Merlino comes at the matter from the perspective of a hospital administrator.

As with schools, hospitals live by some unusual economic rules: They need the business of people who trust the expertise of those who work there. At the same time, the mantra “the customer is always right” simply won’t do.

Merlino’s job as chief experience officer of the Cleveland Clinic was to raise customer satisfaction without affecting the work product — the practice of medicine. For anyone who works in schools and, in particular, with parents, “Service Fanatics” will prompt some interesting ideas.

Bonus: Beach books

Although I don’t read fiction often, two novels recently took my breath away:

“A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles, relies on a plot device that could easily have become hokey: the lead character trapped in a hotel. But Towles’ story is beautifully written, and I bought into his premise completely.

“Circe,” by Madeline Miller, focuses on the goddess with a small but important role in Homer’s “Odyssey.” I appreciated how deftly Miller waved Odysseus to the periphery of her story. As gods and men alike keep betraying Circe’s love, her tale broke my heart.

What’s new at Fine Point Communications

Summer means the arrival of end-of-year school magazines, a couple of which include pieces from Fine Point Communications!

It was such fun reporting and writing this story on entrepreneur Erik Schluntz for The Potomac School. Erik is amazing, launching two successful companies before he turned 30.

The Lovett School also called on Fine Point for a series of short profiles of alumni directly involved in its campus master planning process. Each has made a mark on the Atlanta skyline, and it was great to meet them and to learn and then share their stories.

In other news, I’m pleased to return this year as a judge for the InspirED School Marketers Brilliance Awards. This annual competition opens Sept. 7, and you should join the related LinkedIn group to get more information as it’s released.

Don’t-miss clicks

I learn so much from reviewing case studies of crisis communications. And Northwestern University’s athletics program is providing quite the education this summer. Here is a great summary of all that has gone on and gone wrong, along with takeaways from communicators to consider.