
Each quarter, a few of us at Sevenstep gather in our mahogany walled library to nibble on a crisp Argentinian Sardo, savor some Garnacha, and politely debate the merits of great books we’ve read about talent, HR and business.

Most people work at least 40 hours a week. Then there are commitments we make to family, friends, hobbies, and other aspects of life that don't relate to work at all.

Difficult conversations, especially around performance, don’t come easy for most of us. But in my view, ‘running towards the pain’ is vitally important to addressing challenges head on – before they become full-blown crises.

One of the key missteps that organizations make when expanding globally is to assume that what works in one part of the world will also work in another. It’s about much more than language. Cultural differences, shifting politics, unique legal regimes, and even history play a large role in success versus failure.

The holidays are an opportunity for us to spend some quality time with family and reflect on the year gone by. For many, it’s also an opportunity to wind down and relax with a good book or two.

Many of today’s leading CEOs are revered as near-rockstars. They’re followed by millions on social media, their lives are documented in gossip columns, and some, like T-Mobile’s John Legere and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, sort of look the part.

What if you were tasked with developing a new tool for your company, but your management team first wanted to know how long it would take?

Welcome to the first installment of our quarterly book club series. Every three months, we’ll share a handful of books we’re reading about HR, talent acquisition, leadership and business.