Good-Health Reads: Elizabeth Hemphill-Burns, KeHE

The Heart of Business by Hubert Joly This book is a great resource for anyone who aims to become a better leader. The central theme is that organizations are kept alive by their people. We are encouraged to become more aware of what drives us as employees and leaders, and it challenges us to consider how we show up to work every day. It points to self-awareness as the leading ability to create environments that benefit an organization and that allows others to thrive. The book suggests that you must understand your purpose as a manager or a leader to inspire and engage employees when circumstances are great or when they are dire.

Great quotes from the book:

“Doing great work starts when people feel treated like individuals—not human capital—in a work environment where they can thrive.”

“How can we teach [employees] to anchor strategy into a noble purpose, to create environments in which others can be effective and inspired, and to tackle their responsibilities vis-à-vis all stakeholders?”

The Wisdom of Finance by Mihir A. Desai The true power within organizations belongs to those who understand and manage the P&L. Whether you enjoy finance or not, this wonderful book guides you through the fundamentals of finance. The author brilliantly humanizes a complex topic and associates finance with stories, making concepts accessible and relevant to work and life. It’s a dynamic and fresh perspective of finance that makes use cases in the business and work world make sense.

Great quote from the book:

“Relationships that are most enriching are ones that broaden our perspective beyond our usual experience-those relationships are in finance terms, “imperfectly correlated assets.”

Think Again by Adam Grant Grab this book if you want to learn to think like a scientist in life, work, and leadership. This book encourages the reader to pursue life and interactions with an open mind. We have been conditioned to follow process and are being challenged to learn and unlearn what we have been taught to consider broader perspectives, increase collaboration, and make room for innovation. Adam Grant encourages you to critically self-evaluate your thought methodology, way of communicating and interacting with the people in your world to create dynamic ecosystems that challenge your thinking. This book is asking us to admit what we don’t know, inspires greater learning, and ultimately motivates us to think better as a collective. Adam provides key actions for impact and provides a practical framework to follow. Grab a book and be prepared to think, react and choose differently!

Great quote from the book:

“Thinking like a scientist involves more than just reacting with an open mind. It means being actively open-minded. It requires searching for reasons why we might be wrong-not for reasons why we must be right-and revising our views based on what we learn.”

“Changing our minds-is a sign of intellectual integrity.”

Where You Are is not Who You Are by Ursula Burns This is an incredible book that shares powerful insights into the corporate world from a renowned American businesswoman. As the first Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company (Xerox), Ursula recounts her life and career progression candidly, emphatically, and with great wisdom. She carefully depicts strategic decisions and business scenarios to illustrate thought process and methodology—from managing R&D, selling and manufacturing to advocating for ideas with numbers and the art of selling. She talks about how she was able to run the business by knowing her people and understanding her executive teams and how they were making decisions to allocate capital and manage risk. A wonderful series of lessons in life, business, and leadership that anyone working in the corporate world could benefit from.