Blogs

It’s no wonder we celebrate the start of a new year: it gives us the opportunity to become a better version of ourselves!

Whether our goals are to lose weight, drink more water, exercise more, or read more books, we are all ultimately trying to improve some aspect of ourselves—and a new year is the perfect excuse to recommit to it.

Beta Gamma Sigma’s CEO, Chris Carosella, is a successful businesswoman and leader—and she's also an avid reader. We sat down with Chris to talk about what career books helped her learn more about herself, improve her skills, climb the ladder at GE, and run a highly successful consulting business.

If one of your 2020 goals or resolutions is to become more successful in your career, pick up these books at your local bookstore or library.

On Becoming a Leader

By Warren Bennis

Chris' thoughts:

“On Becoming a Leader was important early in my career because it helped me understand the qualities that define leadership, gave examples of people who exemplified those qualities, and taught me how to strategically apply what I learned for my own development.”

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

By Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

 

Chris' thoughts:

“This book teaches leaders how to create workplace cultures that result in successful execution of organization objectives. It’s about picking the right priorities, setting clear timing, assigning to the right people, putting milestones and reviews in place, measuring performance, and then linking results to organizational performance. I know both authors from my time at GE, and this was helpful in my work as a consultant in supporting client objectives.”

Give & Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

By Adam Grant

Chris' thoughts:

“Give & Take is about how effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills help people succeed. It resonated with me because it’s not just about my success but about helping others succeed, too.”

Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

By Amy Cuddy

 

Chris' thoughts:

“Presence was the first book that made me aware of my body language and nonverbal behaviors—in how others saw me, and in how I felt about myself. It helped me change some of what I was ‘communicating’ to others without even knowing it.”


Have you read any of these books? What impact did they have on you? Let us know in the comments!

P.S. If one of your goals for the new year is to find a new, more fulfilling career, you're in luck: next week, we'll be unveiling a new program you're going to love.