The World's Best Book Summaries
How are procrastination and time management related? Why do people underestimate how long it takes to complete a task? One reason why we procrastinate is that we have trouble with planning. Figuring out how to accomplish everything on your to-do list requires planning, but most of us aren’t very good at these kinds of plans. Learn how bad planning and poor time management puts you on a direct path to procrastination.
Do you know how to practice critical thinking? Why do leaders need to have critical thinking skills? Every leader needs critical thinking and problem-solving skills in their back pocket. Critical thinking helps you identify ways to improve the situations and organizations you’re involved in. Keep reading to learn how to practice critical thinking to become a leader among your peers.
How do your emotions cause you to procrastinate? What happens when you avoid negative emotions, rather than confront them? Timothy A. Pychyl says that procrastination results from a failure of the cognitive capacity psychologists call emotion regulation. This is the ability to manage your emotions, attention, and behavior so you can work toward your goals or act according to your values. Continue reading to learn why procrastination and emotional regulation are more commonly related than you might think.
What is Howard Schultz like as a leader? How did Schultz help Starbucks out of a rut? In 2008, Howard Schultz made his official return to Starbucks. In his first few months as CEO, he used two strategies to project a reassuring image to both internal and external stakeholders: strong communication and timely action. Let’s look at these two elements of Howard Schultz’s leadership style.
Do people look up to you at work? What type of identity do you have as a leader? To be a role model to others, you need to have a firm grasp of what your own beliefs and values are. Clay Scroggins says that understanding this connection between identity and leadership can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Continue reading to discover what your leadership identity is.
Why did Howard Schultz return to Starbucks in the mid-2000s? How did Schultz make a smooth transition back into the CEO role? During a grave position at Starbucks, Schultz stepped in as CEO for the second time in 2008 to steer the company in a better direction. In his book Onward, he discusses his motivation for reprising his role as CEO and the leadership strategies he used to restore stakeholders’ trust in Starbucks. Discover more about the process behind Schultz’s return to Starbucks.
What’s the psychology of procrastination? Why are humans ill-equipped to deal with distractions? One reason we find ourselves procrastinating is that we don’t prepare for even the most obvious things that might go wrong, according to Timothy A. Pychyl. You know yourself and know how you typically behave, but you likely don’t use that information to your advantage. Check out how that leads to two causes of procrastination.
What’s external leadership? How can you lead your environment and superiors as an employee? If you want to lead, you must take charge of external areas of control: how you can lead people and things outside of yourself. Clay Scroggins implies you have a measure of control over people and things you directly interact with, even without authority. We’ve grouped Scroggins’s ideas into two main kinds of external leadership: leading your environment and leading your superiors.
How does procrastination affect your mental and physical health? How does putting off a task result in stronger negative emotions? The desire to avoid negative emotions often drives procrastination. Timothy A. Pychyl warns that this rarely works out the way we expect it, because procrastination doesn’t make us happier, nor does it make us feel physically better. Take a look at the mental and physical effects of procrastination on health below.
What was the Starbucks crisis in 2007 and 2008? What caused Starbucks stocks to drop at a worrying pace during this time? By the mid-2000s, Starbucks was in a great place as a franchise. However, the decision to focus on rapid growth over in-store experience led to customer complaints, dropping stocks, and slow financial growth. Continue reading to learn about the factors that led to Starbucks’s downfall.