INTHEBLACK August 2024 - Flipbook - Page 12
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Our top reads for accountants and finance professionals
The Habit Revolution
Dr Gina Cleo
Murdoch Books
Move Fast & Fix Things:
The Trusted Leader’s Guide
to Solving Hard Problems
Frances Frei and Anne Morriss
Harvard Business Review Press
Eating healthier, exercising more,
being more productive at work and
spending less time on social media
– millions of people resolve to swap
their bad habits for better ones, and
millions fail to achieve this again
and again.
Habit researcher Dr Gina Cleo
knows exactly why some behaviours
are notoriously difficult to change, and she has
a solution that does not rely on willpower or
good intentions.
Cleo offers practical, science-based advice on how
to achieve lasting change through curiosity and
kindness. While explaining the theory behind
motivation, she busts some pervasive myths and
provides step-by-step activities and exercises to help
personalise the goal-setting process.
When Meta, formerly Facebook,
famously made “move fast and
break things” its informal corporate
motto, the idea that destruction
is the price of corporate progress
seemed to take hold.
Not so, say Harvard Business School professor
Frances Frei and leadership coach Anne Morriss.
In this book, as well as in their TED podcast Fixable, the
pair make a compelling case for solving hard problems not
only with fierce urgency, but also with great care and trust.
The book offers business leaders a one-week plan to
identify and fix the real problems holding them back, tackling
one step per day. Despite this exhilarating speed, the authors
promise that their approach will preserve, and even improve,
relationships with employees, customers and shareholders.
Writely or Wrongly:
An Unstuffy Guide
to Language Stuff
Invention to Innovation:
How Scientists Can Drive
Our Economy
Joanne Anderson
Murdoch Books
Dr Larry Marshall
CSIRO Publishing
Clear and concise written
communication is more important
than ever, but it is not easily
achieved. Former journalist,
editor and style guide author
Joanne Anderson is here to help, with
this decidedly unstuffy guide to written English.
More entertaining than prescriptive, the book ranges
from plain language and punctuation to Americanisms,
and devotes an entire chapter to “befuddling things”
(is it “affect” or “effect”? “Bimonthly” or “biweekly”?).
The practical tips are bookended with jokes and
distinctive illustrations by cartoonist Matt Golding.
These help readers navigate the debate on whether
data should be considered singular or plural, or whether
one’s head can “literally” explode from working on
a particularly challenging tax return.
Scientific inquiry has value that
extends far beyond academia –
it can make a real difference to
growing the economy, argues
Dr Larry Marshall, former CEO of
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO. In his book,
Marshall makes an interesting case for championing the
“Scientist CEO” and illustrates how science-driven companies
can turn Australia into a knowledge economy powerhouse.
Marshall draws on his two decades of experience with
Silicon Valley’s deep-tech companies to offer real-world
examples of the challenges facing science and business
leaders, their failures and breakthroughs.
There are plenty of takeaways for scientists who
want to turn their inventions into successful commercial
ventures, as well as C-suite leaders and investors looking
to extract value from cutting edge science and technology.
12 INTHEBLACK August 2024
