Resources and Tools Senior Level Executives Need to Succeed
The resources I recommend are either ones I created with care for you based on my experience or products/services that I use/have used. As a senior level executive, you want to build your personal brand and be seen as the thought leader you are, as well as get more reading done in the time you have, so you have ideas and new perspectives to move the business forward. You’re interested in how to increase your profile, keep your skills sharp, focus in a distracted world. You want to find solutions to these problems and others, as well as grow your career. Professional women have questions such as:
- How do I get more profile/gain visibility?
- What are some strategies to focus in a distracted world?
- How do I read more when I have so little time?
However, it’s often difficult to figure out the resources you need to succeed. A dynamic work environment forces processionals to use informal education for professional development and career advancement. Additionally, in the media, you hear every day that to thrive in an ever-changing environment, lifelong learning is a must.
Perhaps you look up to women like Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Barbara Corcoran, and Sallie Krawcheck. These women inspire you to achieve greatness and be your best self. They know how to gain visibility at work because they've already done it. And they have mastered performance management.
If you're interested in increasing your profile and gaining visibility in your industry keep reading to learn about tools and resources.
Contents
Core Products
I’ve read all of the above books and more to learn about effective reading and learning strategies. Once you’ve mastered the reading and learning strategies outlined in the above books, you’ll become unstoppable. How? You’ll never read books the say way again. You’ll figure out how to apply the 80/20 Rule when reading books. This will save you lots of time, allowing you to focus on the things that matter to you.
This is an important step to gain visibility in your industry. You'll have effective strategies to quickly digest industry information. I created a two-month challenge to help you to learn these strategies and techniques. You’ll read only four books and I’ve included questions to assess your knowledge.
Learning How to Learn Again
Read 1 Book in 1 Week
After you’ve mastered how to read and learn more effectively, it’s time to learn how to read a book a week. But it's not reading the traditional way. The most successful and accomplished people, dip into a book to grab the answers to questions they have. Then they are done with the book. If later they need to dip into the book again, they own it, so they can grab what they need. To them, a book is a problem solving tool. This is a great reading strategy to tackle your to-be-read pile of books.
I created a 7-day course to help you. You'll learn how to read books like the most successful. The strategy will teach you how to digest the average nonfiction book in 30 to 60 minutes. After the seven days are over, for another week, you get to test if you can digest 7 books in 7 days. You'll learn how to identify the big ideas in the books you read. Imagine the knowledge you'll gain when you read the right books from your to-be-read pile. This is another strategy to increase your profile at work and in the industry.
For those who are up for a more intense reading and learning challenge, I created the MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World with you in mind. Here’s how Bustle, the digital publisher for millennials, describe my reading challenge.
“Avil Beckford brought this one to my attention. Her Read the World Challenge consists of a month-by-month reading plan designed to make you a more well-rounded person and a better entrepreneur. With 60 titles needed to complete the challenge, it's not one for the faint of heart, but Beckford provides plenty of helpful lists to guide your book selection process.”
MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World
By the way, the Read the World Challenge evolved into the Strategic Reading Challenge into the Performance Accelerator Plan and is now the MoreReads: Blueprint to change the world. It's indicative of my personal growth and evolution as a small business owner. In this program, you'll read books to develop intercultural awareness, as well as learn key critical skills.
After you've completed the MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World, not only would you have mastered in-demand skills, but you'd have also mastered intercultural awareness. You'll read the types of books that teach you how to visibility at work and in the industry.
Have you read?
9 Reading Challenges For Adults To Take In 2016 by Kristian Wilson
Corporate MoreReads
There's a Corporate MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World. We're in the midst of a global pandemic. We've also had race riots. There will always changes happening around you and in your environment. Many organizations have had to pivot. Your employees are your greatest assets. Give them the authority and opportunity to solve some of the biggest problems that your company is facing. You know what the problems are.
This program is similar to the MoreReads for individuals. A major difference is that there will be some customization to add in your organization's top three strategic imperatives. Employees will get training to consistently to generate ideas, so the organization will have a ready pool of ideas to draw from. The investment in this program is a fraction of what you'd pay for coaches.
How to Leverage Reading and Learning to Gain Visibility: Book Summaries
As a busy professional woman, one of the things you can do to save time, is to read a summary of the book before you read it. This allows you to get through the book faster. Therefore, you can read a lot more books. A summary is not a replacement for reading the book. You need to make your own judgments.
readitfor.me Summary (I have a subscription to this service, so I became an affiliate)
Reading a book summary is an excellent way to get the key concepts from business books. It’s also a great way to decide which books to buy to explore more deeply. Click the Readitforme link to join. Think of this subscription as your speed-reading superpower. You read the summary, therefore, you can digest and process the book faster.
Derek Sivers (Put the notes from hundreds of books he's read online)
How to Leverage Reading and Learning to Secure Authority: Resources to Make You Smarter
You’ve heard the old adage, “Jack of all trades and master of none”? The new version is “Jack of all trades and master of many.” There is still a need for specialists, but it’s important to understand what’s going on outside of your area of specialty. Another niche could have already solved your challenge. But you won’t know that unless you step outside your niche — outside your comfort zone.
The Great Courses
I’ve bought courses from The Great Courses and they serve my purposes. The one thing I don’t like is having to stare at the lecturers walking around or standing looking wooden. Despite that, I enjoy the content. I really enjoyed “Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life.” And now it’s time to revisit the course now that I’ve learned about reading and learning strategies since I first took the course.
I’m currently working my way through “Theories of Knowledge: How to Think about What You Know.” A little tip for you, I only buy the courses when they’re on sale.
They now offer The Great Courses Plus, a subscription service for as little as USD $14.99. I’m planning to sign up. Here’s what I do, but you can do things your way. Between 6:00 am to 8:30 am is my learning time. It’s in my schedule, and I decide what course I’ll work on. Each lecture from the Great Courses is about 30 minutes, so I’ll either listen to one or two each day, depending on what’s going on with me.
Make sure that you schedule your reading and learning time.
Uncommon Knowledge: Remember What You Read (Hypnosis)
Sarah Arrow told me about this Remember What You Read Hypnosis audio to help me to remember more of what I read. I usually take notes when I read, but I also welcome other tools and resources. I'm very pleased with the product. I plan to get the Successful Study Pack and Concentration Pack. I'm a firm believer of trying different tools and resources to realize my potential. On their website, you can have a look to see what interests you. Here is my affiliate link.
How to Leverage Reading and Learning to Secure Authority: Organizations You May Not Be Aware Of
The Great Books Foundation
In the past, The Great Books Foundation used to offer a yearly subscription plan, but that’s no longer the case. What I like about the organization is that they have a methodology – shared inquiry – for discussing books. I was first introduced to shared inquiry at least 12 years ago when I participated in Toronto Pursuits, which I’ll talk about later. The methodology is a way of thinking about and discussing a significant piece of classic work from the Western culture. When I took the course more than a decade ago, two of the readings we discussed were The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol and Martin Luther King’s The Letter from Birmingham Jail.
By using Shared Inquiry when discussing a book, you’ll get more from the text. This could be a good format for serious book clubbers.
Classical Pursuits
I’ve participated in three Toronto Pursuits: E=MC2, Book of Genesis, and the one I mentioned above where we discussed The Overcoat and The Letter from Birmingham Jail. Using the shared inquiry method, I participated in some of the most enriching discussions I’ve ever had about books. Classical Pursuits also has seminars that they offer overseas. Consider it a learning vacation. I’ve never been on the trips overseas but a good friend raves about it.
One of my hobbies is traveling, which I haven’t done in a while. This is a way to get started again. Classical Pursuits helps you to think critically about the classics.
Center for the Study of the Great Ideas
More than likely you’ve heard about the classic, How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren. Mortimer Adler and Max Weismann founded the Center for the Study of the Great Ideas. You’ll look at great ideas in the past, which will give you ideas about what are great ideas today. You can become a member, which will help you to think more critically. And you’ll become part of a community of great thinkers.
Foundation for Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is a skill you’ll use throughout your life. I’ve bought several books that the Foundation for Critical Thinking offers. But it makes sense and is more cost effective to buy the Set of Twenty-Two Thinker's Guides. The Guides that I own are not an easy read, but when you take the time to read and digest them, you’ll be farther ahead in your thinking and understanding of any subject or topic of interest. Can you see the implications for your career? The critical thinking guides will teach you how to leverage reading and learning to secure authority.
How to Leverage Reading and Learning to Secure Authority: Free/Discounted Books
Who doesn’t like free or discounted books? For books in the public domain, a good sources is Project Gutenberg
There are three websites that I visit every day to see what free and discounted books they have on offer. The books are offered for free or heavily discounted as a way to introduce readers to new authors.
And sometimes, publishers use that as a strategy to introduce a new book that a well-known author wrote. Sometimes the promotion is so successful that by the time you visit Amazon to download the free or discounted e-book, the promotion has ended. So, pay attention to the price on Amazon.
How to Leverage Reading and Learning to Secure Authority: Digital Note Taking Tool
Research shows that you remember more when you take notes by hand. And your level of comprehension increases. When you take notes by hand, you’re forced to rephrase what you’re hearing. And you remember more because you’re writing things in your own words.
Have you read?
Many people use Evernote to take notes. I take notes by hand, then speak my notes into the AI app, otter.ai, which converts it to digital text. Because I have an accent, I get about an 80 percent level of accuracy. I have friends who get close to 100 percent. It works well with Zoom if you're doing an interview. My iPad is about five years old and very sluggish. When I get a new one, I will also get the Notability note taking app. It has some excellent reviews.
You can also use Live Transcribe an Android Speech to Text app. It was developed by Google for the hearing impaired. You cannot save the next, but there is a great work around. I swipe my finger across the text and I get an option to copy the conversation. Next, I then paste it into a document where I save it.
I also plan to buy the Bamboo Wacom Spark, another digital note taking device. Wacom Spark is also good for doodling and that is something I’m learning to do to tap into my creative side.
Final Thoughts: How to Leverage Reading and Learning to Gain Visibility
If you’re interested in finding out how to leverage reading and learning to improve your profile and gain visibility use a few of the resources mentioned above. Make sure that you invest the time to uncover the reading and learning strategies that can accelerate your career. These days, it’s important to do what others are unwilling to do. How many of your colleagues are willing to learn how to learn.
Some people may think it’s an insult to be reading books about learning. However, neuroscientists and cognitive scientists are making discoveries every day. The above books have tips for you to learn more effectively. And you can use the information the rest of your life. If you want to establish any kind of authority lifelong learning is a must.
Finally, I’m adding two videos that are self explanatory. They’ll help you to leverage your reading and learning time.
The above video is important because it's important to develop the habit of reading. Here is a blog post on BookRiot that explains how to use Habitica to gamify your reading.
Several people I know have used this technique and swear by it. I used it once and it worked after I got used to the unnatural sound when you speed up the audio. The one issue I had was my inability to take notes while simultaneously reading and listening to the audio. I suppose you could pause the audio after each chapter of the book, then take notes of what you just read and heard.
Note: A few of the links are affiliate links, which means the company will pay me a very small commission if you make a purchase.
