2022 Book-of-the-Year and Top-10 Books
Help! My wife thinks I may have too many books. But I don’t think so, do you?
TOP-10 BOOKS FOR 2022
This issue features selected books I reviewed in Issues No. 501 to 540. To read other 2022 book reviews from Your Weekly Staffing Meeting eNews, visit the archives at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog.
In 2022, I published 40 issues. (But I thought Your Weekly Staff Meeting was published weekly? Fake news?) Certainly not all 10 books will have popular appeal—because all of us are at different levels of competencies and curiosity across the 20 management buckets.
In 2022, I also launched the Pails in Comparison blog, with shorter book reviews—comparing and contrasting new titles to other books and buckets (buckets, pails…get it?). I published 27 “PIC” issues. Some issues in both blogs included more than one book, so I reviewed about 75 books in 2022.
As author Steve Leveen reminds us in The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life (Book #1 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books), “Do not set out to live a well-read life but rather your well-read life. No one can be well-read using someone else’s reading list.” What were your Top-10 books in 2022?
2022 BOOK-OF-THE-YEAR
#1. THE DISCERNING LIFE: AN INVITATION TO NOTICE GOD IN EVERYTHING, by Stephen Macchia. Listen to the book on Libro.fm (8 hours, 7 minutes). Read my review. In recent years, I’ve slowly munched on one book for up to six months (just on weekends)—seeking to go slow and deep. Examples: Packer’s Knowing God and Blackaby’s Experiencing God. But…the deep end of the pool can be threatening. Nevertheless, The Discerning Life was my weekend book for half of 2022.
Favorite Quote: “Far too often, spiritual discernment has been pigeon-holed,” Steve writes, “into the exclusive realm of decision-making, learning how to make good choices and know God’s will methodically and predictably. We want a simple system to follow: set up the room, put people in place, consider the right options, add a prayer, and then press the button of discernment.”
2022 TOP-10 BOOK LIST: The Other 9
(With brief excerpts from my reviews, these nine books are listed in alphabetical order by author.)
#2. ONE DAMN THING AFTER ANOTHER: MEMOIRS OF AN ATTORNEY GENERAL, by William P. Barr. Listen on Libro.fm (22 hours, 1 minute). Read my review. When Ed Levi, Dean of the University of Chicago Law School (and then president of the university), was asked to describe his stint as Attorney General under President Gerald Ford, he responded, “It’s just one damn thing after another.”
Favorite Quote: The metaphors are enlightening and memorable. “Getting [Trump] to accept good advice was like wrestling an alligator.” And when asked how he felt beginning his first term as the AG, Barr commented, “Like I’m about to run across a river on the backs of alligators.”
#3. BEFORE AND AFTER JACKIE ROBINSON, A STORY OF THE BROOKLYN DODGERS TOLD THROUGH THE LENS OF TICKETS AND PASSES, by Dan Busby. Read my review. Note: Amazingly, Dan Busby (1941-2022) was able to complete this book before his homegoing. Click here to read the tribute to my good friend and his legacy of books.
Favorite Factoid: “Number 42 is now the most celebrated number in baseball. Each year on April 15, every player in the Major Leagues wears 42 and no one wears it the rest of the year.” (That’s just one of 22 “Quotable Quotes” in the book’s introductory appetizers.)
#4. MAKING NUMBERS COUNT: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF COMMUNICATING NUMBERS, by Chip Heath and Karla Starr. Read my review. Listen on Libro (4 hours, 35 min.). This bestselling author says that “our brains process stories better than statistics.”
I know. Why read a book about numbers? First—the authors are hilarious! Rather than giving a meaningless number like $1 billion, they break it down to spending $50,000 per year, for fun, for 55 years…adding, it would take you about two generations to spend $1 billion. They add further, “Almost 14 presidential terms” or “one wait to hear your name called at the DMV.” Lol.
150 Fast-Reading Pages: The genius of this book (less than 150 fast-reading pages, plus almost 50 pages of fascinating notes) is in the mouth-watering examples of stats versus stories. (Oh, my. I could have used this during my CEO years. Just brilliant.)
#5. LEADERSHIP: SIX STUDIES IN WORLD STRATEGY, by Henry Kissinger. Listen on Libro (19 hours, 9 minutes). Read my review. Invest just five minutes and listen to the first two pages of Leadership, by Henry Kissinger, and then discern: Have you ever heard a more eloquent description of leadership? (Click here for the 5½-minute audio on Libro.fm.)
Favorite Review: Kissinger writes that leaders are either prophets or statesmen. (Did I mention he wrote this book at age 99?) Just this week, Walter Russell Mead’s column in The Wall Street Journal features his recent interview with Henry Kissinger. Click here to read “Kissinger Sees a Global Leadership Vacuum. A dearth of statesmen has left the world misruled by populists and technocrats.” (Dec. 26, 2022)
#6. THE 6 TYPES OF WORKING GENIUS: A BETTER WAY TO UNDERSTAND YOUR GIFTS, YOUR FRUSTRATIONS, AND YOUR TEAM, by Patrick M. Lencioni. Listen on Libro (4 hours, 11 minutes). Read my review. You will love this hilarious story, told in the classic Lencioni business fable format. (Really, it’s hilarious!) And it’s extremely helpful—three stages of work and six types of working genius. (Yes! Look in the mirror and repeat after me, “I’m a genius! But…I’m not a genius in all six types.”)
Favorite Frustrations! The book is eye-opening—you will quickly understand why you and your team members are often frustrated with work projects. And it’s transformational—when you learn what brings you joy and when you should say “no.” And…the Working Genius model is applicable to work, home, and church. (See my review for the link to the online assessment.)
#7. ROAD TO FLOURISHING: EIGHT KEYS TO BOOST EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND WELL-BEING, by Al Lopus with Cory Hartman. Listen on Libro.fm (6 hours, 52 minutes). Read my review. The authors ask you to pick one:
[ ] Life-giving work.
[ ] Life-sucking work.
Eight Favorite Keys: Using the helpful “FLOURISH Model,” the book goes deep on “Eight Keys to Boost Employee Engagement and Well-Being.” So…how would your team members rate these eight factors—and have you ever discerned an objective, quantifiable way to measure overall engagement at your shop? The eight: Fantastic Teams, Life-Giving Work, Outstanding Talent, Uplifting Growth, Rewarding Compensation, Inspirational Leadership, Sustainable Strategy, and Healthy Communication.
#8. PARADISE FOUND: A HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM’S RISE FROM THE ASHES, by Bill Plaschke. Listen on Libro.fm (8 hours, 2 minutes). Read my review. I couldn’t put it down. Literally. Even though I’m “retired” (whatever that means), I took the day “off”—and read the book in one day. Never done that before.
Favorite Overcomer Story! On Nov. 8, 2018, the friendly folks in Paradise, California, watched their town burn to the ground at the rate of 80 acres per minute. The devasting toll:
• 84 lives lost!
• In a day, the population dropped from 26,800 to 2,034!
• 20,000 burned-out cars, 19,000 homes lost!
Of the 104 football players, 95 of the Paradise High School Bobcats had lost their homes. A playoff game for the next night was cancelled. Coaches, athletes, faculty, students, and parents—lives and futures in total disarray. Could the town and the team recover? No way.
#9. IN THE KINGDOM OF ICE: THE GRAND AND TERRIBLE POLAR VOYAGE OF THE USS JEANNETTE, by Hampton Sides. Listen on Libro.fm (17 hours, 28 minutes). Read my review. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Recruit a crew of 32 outstanding men—and set sail from San Francisco to explore the North Pole—one of the few unmapped areas on the globe (as of 1879).
Favorite Quote: Stuck! Marooned! Incapacitated! Yet… “[Captain] Delong appeared to accept that he was locked in for the winter. He seemed, indeed, to embrace adversity—and to hunt for its possible meanings. ‘This is a glorious country to learn patience in,’” he wrote in his journal. “My disappointment is great, how great no one else will probably know. There seemed nothing left but making a virtue of necessity and staying where we were.” Imagine! For 21 months, the ship—stuck in ice—just drifted.
#10. DON’T MISS YOUR LIFE: THE SECRET TO SIGNIFICANCE, by Aaron Tredway. Read my review. This former professional soccer player (now pastor and ministry leader) quotes D.L. Moody: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.”
Favorite Gut-check: “Have you ever noticed, Jesus doesn’t say we should aspire to hear God say,
• ‘Well done, good and successful servant!’
• ‘There’s no mention of a good and famous servant or a good and wealthy servant.’
• ‘Jesus doesn’t say we should seek to hear the words, good and powerful servant either.’”
Bonus Book: Special Mention!
THE GIFT OF DISILLUSIONMENT: ENDURING HOPE FOR LEADERS AFTER IDEALISM FADES, by Peter Greer and Chris Horst, with Brianna Lapp and Jill Heisey. Listen on Libro.fm (6 hours, 7 minutes). Read my review. Of course—you’ll agree—idealism is always inadequate, so do we really need this book? But then why am I so drawn to the stories? So captivated by the big idea—and the practical (not preachy) way that the Old Testament words of Jeremiah are fleshed out in this book?
Favorite Quote: “And no amount of positive thinking or inspirational Christian wall art promising a hope and a future would change their circumstances. Yet Jeremiah remained faithful and hopeful throughout his journey.”
BOOK BUCKET LISTS!
I love lists and the core competency in the Book Bucket, Chapter 5, in Mastering the Management Buckets is to create your own Top-100 Books List. I’ve curated my list using the 20 management buckets categories. Download the template from the Book Bucket and start your list this week!
For more Books-in-Your-Bunker ideas, check out these lists:
• Spiritual Growth Books – click here
• Leadership Growth Books – click here
• Best Board Governance Books – click here
• 30 Books to Delegate During a Crisis (a 12-page PDF with links to 30 book reviews) – click here
• 8 Leadership Flicks – click here
• New in 2022: Mastering 100 Must-Read Books – click here
COMING IN 2023. I’m reviewing some fascinating books in 2023 (click here), including a hilarious book by The Wall Street Journal’s sports writer: I Wouldn’t Do That If I Were Me: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders), by Jason Gay (2022, 208 pages) – Order from Amazon. Listen on Libro.fm (4 hours, 28 min. – read by the author)
Visit the Book Bucket webpage to download four lists of books (updated through 12/31/2022) that I’ve reviewed since 2006, including my just updated Top-100 books list.
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books – Part 2: Books-of-the-Year
Book #12 of 100:
Leadership Briefs
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #12 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
Leadership Briefs:
Shaping Organizational Culture to Stretch Leadership Capacity
by Dick Daniels
Books #6 through #21 feature 16 books that I named the Book-of-the-Year from 2006 to 2020. I could have used this book 30 years ago—and saved myself and my team members from unnecessary leadership pain!
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: Leadership Briefs
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson)
In my review, I included Daniels’ gut check on employee disengagement: “When the problem is organizational,” says the author, leaders fix it. “When the problem is a team member’s personal baggage, they find a way to help. At last resort, leaders will carefully calculate if it is necessary to release and replace the disengaged. How this transition is handled impacts the attitude and engagement of every other team member who is watching.”
Breaking News! Watch for my review of Dick Daniels’ latest book (available in February), Hardwiring New Leadership Habits: Does Development Develop? Also, see Book #99, by Daniels, Leadership Core: Character, Competence, Capacity (Leadership Multipliers).
SPOTLIGHT ON 2023!
Watch for my review in 2023 of You’re the Leader. Now What? Leadership Lessons from Mayo Clinic, by Dr. Richard Winters (2022, 320 pages). Visit the Pails in Comparison blog for a short list of books on my 2023 review list.
PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. This new year, 2023, will bring new trends, new fads, new colors, new “take-it-to-the-bank” social media and communication strategies and tactics. But before your newly-appointed committee gets carried away with the 2023 Pantone color (it’s “Viva Magenta”) and all the new media gimmicks—take a breath! This new year is a good time to invest a day or two in discerning what’s enduring versus what’s old, boring, and inadequate. What aligns with your mission? Need help? Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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