Read to Succeed's preview of 2012 could just as well have been headlined: Read To Survive. Optimists for this year of the dragon are thin on the ground, and the markets are looking bearish. Nevertheless, here are some upcoming 2012 releases that will benefit the professional working hard to prevail over the next 11 fiery months. .
One of the books most anticipated this year has been penned by Wall Street Journal columnist and fiendishly clever generalist Jonah Lehrer. Titled Imagine: How Creativity Works, it's unleashed on March 13.
What The Dog Saw and Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell has had a sneak peek, and says: 'Jonah Lehrer's new book confirms what his fans have known all along - that he knows more about science than a lot of scientists and more about writing than a lot of writers.'
But Lehrer uses science to illustrate how we can all enhance our creative-thinking powers, especially in business. This dude really thinks outside the box, to use a well-worn but apposite clich?
Lehrer shows that creativity is not an amorphous gift possessed by a lucky few. Rather, it's a range of distinct thought-processes that we can all channel, in both our personal and professional lives. This is not strictly a business book, but its business and professional applications are tremendous. And if you have enjoyed Gladwell's popular psychology blockbusters, you'll likely love this.
A more mainstream title is The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business. Patrick Lencioni is author of nine best-selling books with nearly three million copies sold, including the marvellously titled Death by Meeting, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
