Here is a brief take-aways after reading one more good book - Quiet by Susan Cain.
This book helps you to understand people better, to know how different they can be and what their behavior could mean, how to embrace your quietness and make it work for you.
Here are some quotes I liked:
We don’t need giant personalities to transform companies. We need leaders who build not their own egos but the institutions they run.
Open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair memory.
Studies have shown that performance gets worse as group size increases: groups of nine generate fewer and poorer ideas compared to groups of six, which do worse than groups of four.
Another study, of 38,000 knowledge workers across different sectors, found that the simple act of being interrupted is one of the biggest barriers to productivity. Even multitasking, that prized feat of modern-day office warriors, turns out to be a myth. Scientists now know that the brain is incapable of paying attention to two things at the same time. What looks like multitasking is really switching back and forth between multiple tasks, which reduces productivity and increases mistakes by up to 50 percent.
The “Bus to Abilene” anecdote reveals our tendency to follow those who initiate action— any action. We are similarly inclined to empower dynamic speakers.
For all the managers, who does “people management” (I so don’t like this phrase, but haven’t found a better one), I would definitely recommend reading this book, or at least watch for this 20 minutes Susan Cain TED talk. The talk is not that good and detailed as the book, but still it gives you the main idea.
P.S.: By the middle of the book I’ve started thinking that I am more introvert than extrovert, though always thought opposite :)