Book club reading outside

Entering the summer months, many managers for frontline cleaning crews, distributors, or building service contractors (BSCs) are looking forward to some much-deserved time off; whether it’s a cross-country travel or simply staying back home to spend more time with family. In reality, however, the wheels are always turning whether these managers are technically on-the-clock or not. For many, keeping one’s mentality sharp during downtime can come through simply reading a book.

While the options are endless when it comes to picking out a proper business strategies-related book, CleanLink tries to narrow down the search with the recommendations of three noteworthy recommendations for the next sunny patio reading session: 

1. Crucial Accountability: Tools for Resolving Violated Expectations, Broken Commitments, and Bad Behavior. Written by Joseph Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron Joesph McMillan and Al Swizler and David Mayfield and published by McGraw Hill, this book dives into the accumulative damage when a lack of accountability happens in the workplace. Whether it's failing to follow through on one's role in a project, failing to prepare for presentations, or not showing up for shifts on time, the pitfall of whatever bottom-line consequences these mishaps have can be minimal compared to the effect on workforce morale. This book will dive into common examples of employees not receiving adequate accountability, how it can negatively affect other employees, and how to avoid these instances. 

2. How Full is Your Bucket? Written by Tom Rath and published by Gallup Press, dives into the power of human emotion and how even seemingly small changes in attitude throughout the day can boost morale and productivity — while also draining it with the wrong approach. Rath uses the metaphor of a "bucket and a dipper" and encourages readers to evaluate each interaction (long or short) with someone as either a positive one "filling the bucket" or a negative one "dipping from it". Included are examples of how body languages and use of words, while seemingly subtle, can set the tone both for others and yourself throughout a workday. 

3. Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't. Written by Simon Sinek and published by Portfolio, this book highlights some of the secrets behind teams and workforces with an overwhelming positive culture. Many businesses that have unmotivated employees or people only looking out for themselves do so because they aren't optimistic about the outlook of their job or company as a whole. In this book Sinek illustrates several applicable strategies managers can take to establish a genuinely positive work environment — including the importance of putting the interests of employees before their own. Using an example from a Marine Corps general, a gesture as simple as letting lower-ranking officers eat first while higher-ups take the back of the line can send a lasting message that despite hierarchy, there's a mutual respect amongst all. 

For more CleanLink Book Club content, check out another recent installment here on Hire With Your Head: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Outstanding Diverse Teams, written by Lou Adler and published by Wiley.