The two books reviewed are recommendations from Amber Kujath, PhD, RN, the current President of the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses (NAON), and I concur with her recommendations. These two books are The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz and Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right by Joseph L. Badaracco.
The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz was published in paperback by Free Press Paperbacks (New York) in 2005. The book can be purchased for between $3.88 and $23.85. It is 245 pages in length and contains 11 chapters and resources. These resources include a Summary of the Full Engagement Training System, Organizational Energy Dynamics, Most Important Physical Energy Management Strategies, Glycemic Index Examples, The Full Engagement Personal Development Plan of Roger B., The Full Engagement Personal Development Plan Worksheet, Acknowledgments, Notes, Bibliography, and Index. The book is divided into two parts; Part 1 (Chapters 1-7) presents the dynamics of full engagement, and Part 2 presents the training system.
Chapter 1 is titled "Fully Engaged: Energy, Not Time Is Our Most Precious Resource." The authors discuss how it is common to have difficulty remaining focused at work or home or to be present in the moment with coworkers or family members. They posit that energy is the "fundamental currency" to high performance, not time. Thus, skillful management of energy results in better performance, health, and happiness. Four key energy principles drive this process:
Principle 1: Full engagement requires drawing on four separate but related sources of energy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
Principle 2: Because energy capacity diminishes both with overuse and with underuse, we must balance energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal.
Principle 3: To build capacity, we must push beyond our normal limits, training in the same systematic way that elite athletes do.
Principle 4: Positive energy rituals-highly specific routines for managing energy-are the key to full engagement and sustained high performance.
In Chapter 2, Roger B. serves as an example of a disengaged life. Chapter 3 discusses balancing stress and recovery and how this balance is the pulse of high performance. Chapters 4-7 discuss the four separate but related sources of energy in detail.
Chapter 8 looks at defining the purpose because purpose creates a destination. Purpose is discussed on various levels and leads to the concept of values and virtues. Chapter 9 asks the reader to "face the truth" on how you are managing your energy now and looks at costs and benefits of your current approach. Chapter 10 discusses taking action and the power of positive rituals. In Chapter 11, Roger B. demonstrates the positive outcomes of his re-engaged life.
The third section of the book is the resources for using the Full Engagement Training System. Other resources are worksheets and inventories. As is common, there are videos online that reinforce the ideas from the book.
I would recommend this book and its training system. The first thing that struck me as I read this book was how much of the message is what we as nurses learned about health and energy. As with many approaches or systems for increased satisfaction with work and life, each person finds one that best meets their needs.
Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right by Joseph L. Badaracco. It was published in 1997 by Harvard Business School, Boston, MA. The book is 147 pages in length and has a Preface, nine chapters, Notes, Index, and About the Author. The book costs between $4.18 and $20.99 and is available on Audible and Kindle. This is an excellent book as it addresses difficult questions managers encounter that are often matters of right versus right, situations in which both ways of resolving the question are the right thing to do. Badaracco explores these questions using insights provided by numerous philosophers and writers.
Chapter 1 uses a situation encountered by a manager to discuss "dirty hands" problems. This moniker comes from the play by Sartre where the question arises as to what should be done in wartime. Badaracco asks the urgent questions encountered by managers including "How do I resolve them in ways I can live with?"
In Chapter 2, Badaracco introduces three managers and the three types of right-versus-right conflicts. The situations presented illustrate common situations you may encounter as a manager. Chapter 3, the "Futility of Grand Principles," discusses other sources of moral guidance, citing three sources relevant to the conflicts presented. "Sleep-Test Ethics" are discussed in Chapter 4. These are commonly referred to as "wake-up calls" or the ability to sleep soundly when morally sound decisions were made. The author explores these concepts using, in one case, an example from the movie, Shindler's List.
Chapter 5 is "Defining Moments." Some right-versus-right decisions are defining moments. The book Badaracco uses to illustrate these concepts is The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. The concept of defining moments and the idea of what they reveal, test, or shape are explored. In Chapter 6, the personal aspect of revealing, testing, and shaping is viewed through the lens of what is most important and what guidance seems most useful. In the next chapter, defining moments for organizations are examined. In Chapter 8, "Virtu, Virtue, and Success," is about the decision by the chairman of Roussel-Uclaf, a pharmaceutical company, to withdraw from the market RU486. The intricacies of the multiple conflicting right-versus-right decisions are discussed. Chapter 9, "A Space of Quiet," looks at what a manager can do when right-versus-right situations are encountered in a busy and pressured situation. Badaracco uses Marcus Aurelius' writings as a framework for consideration of the ideas.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who must make decisions. Badaracco provides the opportunity for the reader to consider right-versus-right situations independent of the pressure of the moment. The writings and examples provide the reader an underpinning for further consideration and pondering of the issues involved in right-versus-right decisions.
I recommend both books and thank Dr. Kujath for making me aware of them. The information and training system in The Power of Full Engagement offers usable content to the reader. I strongly recommend Badaracco's book, Defining Moments, as an opportunity for anyone to consider how they may make right-versus-right decisions prior to the situation presenting itself. I appreciate the opportunity to consider these ideas in a systematic manner.