When Radical Candor exploded onto the business world in 2017, the story was that this book justified and celebrated the effectiveness of being an a-hole to your people. "Candor" was the code for "being mean," and it was all ok because it worked.

Reading Radical Candor by Kim Scott, you get a much more nuanced (and useful) take on how to be an effective leader by challenging directly AND caring personally.

This episode of the Books Applied Podcast is a fast-paced conversation with Brandi Oldham that hits on what Kim Scott actually said about Radical Candor and how to do it well. We get into the four traps to avoid when delivering radical candor and how to be an excellent communicator and leader.

Caring for other people who are experiencing trauma can cause a trauma exposure response in us. In Trauma Stewardship, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk dive into the warning signs for trauma exposure and how to respond to those signs in a way that sustains and fuels us.

This is a great read for anyone who works or spends time with people experiencing trauma.

I hope this podcast motivates you to read the book so that you can be more self-compassionate and find a sustainable path while caring for others.

Jo Linden and I discuss the mentor mindset, what it is, and how to do it well, based on the book 10 to 25 by David Yeager.

It turns out that the problem with young people today is that older people didn't do their homework and learn the best way to support them based on young people's developmental priorities. David Yeager does the homework for us in his research that goes into this directly applicable book.

If you know or work with any young people (or people who work with young people), you'll find amazing insights in 10 to 25.

Learn more about Jo and her work with youth-serving adults at: https://www.lindenconnects.com/schools.

Effy and I talk about Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara and its lessons for how to be deeply of service to others. Also, Effy defends working in retail, and Iggy enjoys discovering the more nuanced and effective alternative to "assume positive intent."

There are many reasons why I was late to pick-up Untamed by Glennon Doyle (I mention them specifically in the episode). I'm glad I did (eventually) so I could have this animated conversation with the always sharp Daava Mills.

Maybe you can't relate to this book, and that's ok. It still might surprise you.

Learn how to convey more warmth, competence, and charisma as Jenn T. Grace and I discuss the book Cues by Vanessa Van Edwards. This book describes the exact things you can say and do to have your desired impact on the people around you. Jenn and I talk through the details of how it is done.

This engaging book by Georgia Cloepfil gives an insider look into professional women's sports at the not-quite-ultra-elite level. In conversation with Skippy Steve, we explore the challenges and rewards of Georga's experience in women's sports and how this story has been missing from the lore of semi-pro athletics in the public eye.

Remember the it-only-takes-10,000-hours-to-be-an-expert craze? This book is by the guy (Anders Ericsson)who did the research on how to become an expert that was misinterpreted and started all the hullabaloo.

The book clarifies what you actually need to do to become an expert and how to do it. (It may take less than 10,000 hours!)