Weekly Bookmarks
99th Edition – December 27, 2020
The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of a mistake.
Meg Whitman
1. Themes and Emerging Trends in 2020
According to Jane Thier, associate editor at CFO Dive, some of the emerging trends she observed this year included:
- Changes in ESG priorities (environmental, social, and governance) due to events that shaped 2020
- The acceleration to digital
- Working from home
- The evolving and expanding role of the CFO
Jane shares a few other trends along with the top business stories of 2020 in one of my favorite interviews this year on the CFO Bookshelf podcast.
2. Walmart’s CEO Favorite Books in 2020
Anytime a business leader mentions a book list, I can’t help but scan it. Who doesn’t?
In an Instagram post, Doug McMillon shared his list of favorite books:
- The Blueprint by Douglas Conant (4.7 / 24 ratings)
- The Politics Industry by Katherine Gel (4.8 / 152 ratings)
- Doing Agile Right by Darrell Rigby (4.6 / 189 ratings)
- Omnichannel Retail by Tim Mason (3.8 / 9 ratings)
- Faith over Fear by Matthew Lemke (4.5 / 53 ratings)
- Authentic Leadership by Bill George(4.5 / 23 ratings)
- God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life (4.9 / 856 ratings)
3. More Sleep in 2021?
Thanks to Shane Parrish of Farnam Street, Matthew Walker has been on my radar for a couple of years. However, both his Kindle and Audible versions of his book on sleep have been in the idle position since I purchased them both.
Maybe that will soon change as the author of Why We Sleep just released his new Masterclass. Walker calls sleep one of the great remaining scientific mysteries of why we sleep. I’ve already started watching the course which will push me to read the book for more in-depth insights on the importance of sleep which Walker calls the swiss army knife of health.
4. The Secret to Achieving Goals
Many of us will renew our focus on health and fitness when it comes to the food we eat and how we workout in the new year. Thanks to Matthew Walker, we’ll realize that sleep is the bedrock for better health.
But how? How do we stick with a plan for the long-term without giving up? Is willpower the solution?
I’ve spent the past 20 years observing CEOs get the process of achieving goals wrong over and over again. That’s because the focus is continually on the result or the target itself, not the process of achieving the accomplishment. Show me a company where the focus is on results and targets only, and I’ll show you a company where training and development are lacking or non-existent.
As you start creating your priorities, objectives, and goals in 2021, work backward to identify the processes that you can control that are both measurable and will hold yourself accountable.
The beauty of this process is what you learn along the journey. Results will follow. Recalibrate as needed.
5. The Gift That I Will Keep Giving in 2021
Some of the best email messages I received in 2020 were the ones I received last week after a gift I purchased started arriving at the homes of friends and family members.
You don’t even have to be a baseball fan to admire and appreciate personalized wooden bats engraved with your name and a second line for your company, favorite team, or title.
Also, this is a bat you can give throughout the year. But I’m warning you. You’ll be showered with thanks. You can buy these bats at justbats.com, the company that’s taught me more about building, growing, and solidifying a business than any other I’ve ever known.
Thank You For Reading. Thank you for making this a successful newsletter.
If you like the content above and the posts at CFO Bookshelf, may I ask a favor? Feel free to share this with other readers along with commenting on your favorite blog posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
Always be learning.
Leave a Reply