With Black Friday and the holidays around the corner, californiacitynews.org offers a list of book and gift suggestions for yourself or for your favorite public official.
Book Suggestions:
Good to Great by Jim Collins - For the employer who wants their business to achieve enduring greatness. Find out which companies convert long-term mediocrity into long-term superiority and what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great.
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink - Daniel Pink outlines the six fundamentally human abilities that are absolute essentials for professional success and personal fulfillment.
The Daily Drucker by Peter Drucker - Amid the multiple pressures of our daily work lives, The Daily Drucker provides inspiration and advice to meet the many challenges we face. Drucker covers key topics, from time management, to innovation, to outsourcing, providing useful insights for each day of the year.
Strengthfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath - We devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths. Strengthfinder 2.0 seeks to incorporate hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths.
The Dance of Leadership: The Art of Leading in Business, Government, and Society by Denhardt and Denhardt - Most successful leaders know that leadership is an art, not a science. This book incorporates in-depth interviews with some of the world's premier artists and writers, as well as dozens of leaders in business, government, the military, and sports.
Cooperation and Conflict between State and Local Government by Hanson and Zeemering - Is there such a thing??? The authors think so, and illustrate conflict and cooperation for policy problems including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental regulation, marijuana regulation, and government management capacity.
Managing America's Cities: A Handbook for Local Government Productivity by Roger Kemp - This book explains the operations of a typical municipal government and examines the many productivity trends that are occurring in city halls across America. It thoroughly examines the roles of the council, manager, and clerk in promoting increased productivity.
Mastering Council Meetings: A Guidebook for Elected Officials and Local Governments by Macfarlane and Estep - Elected officials of special districts, school boards, utility boards, city councils, county commissions, citizen advisory committees—any kind of civic body—will find Mastering Council Meetings to be an essential guidebook for running smooth and fair meetings. This book explains the most commonly used motions, presents efficient meeting procedures and summarizes effective leadership principles. Key rules for discussion and debate are assembled into one easy-reference list; motions are clarified with diagrams for quick understanding.
Other Necessities and Gifts:
Give your office space that extra style. You will be surprised how many more visits you will get from clients and coworkers alike.
'My Favorite Employee Gave Me This Mug' Coffee Cup. You are your boss' favorite employee after all. Or purchase it for yourself, and see your employees fight to become your new favorite hire.
Chaos Coordinator Novelty Desk Sign.
When 'Accounts Coordinator' just doesn't seem to match your job description. Whether at home office or back in City Hall, give yourself (or a coworker) a promotion.
Adjustable Cell Phone Stand. With 270 degrees adjustable viewing angle, this cellphone stand is perfect for the quick conference call on the go.
Toddy Cold Brew System. Real favorite employees understand a cold brew system pairs well with a coffee cup.
Hario V60 Ceramic Coffee Dripper. It's time to replace that plastic coffee dripper with something more permanent. The single hole helps accentuate coffees with floral or fruit flavors through water flow.
PUTT-A-BOUT Par Three Golf Putting Green. Work from home? How about some multitasking. For the person who needs to practice their putting game. This 9ft putting green comes with sand trap cutouts for catching those many missed shots.