Coaching by John Whitmore

Author: Sir John Whitmore is universally recognised as the forefather of coaching and the professional who has had the greatest impact on the development of the profession. A great thinker in the fields of leadership and organisational change, he is today the author of successful books and a cutting-edge theorist specialising in social and environmental sustainability as well as leadership and organisational development. 

Content: The book which contributed most to the development of coaching as a profession but especially as a culture. Whitmore’s book changes the perspective we view ourselves and others from because it teaches us that everyone has much more than they might be expressing: there’s an infinite potential that needs to be reawakened. This is a key book for everyone and in particular for:

*) everyone within a professional setting because, regardless of a person’s position, every day we have to deal with bosses, colleagues and co-workers and thanks to coaching we can learn to do so better

**) professional coaches, in terms of the new perspective it offers their profession which is now experiencing great change

***) everyone who wants to improve their performance, in companies and in
sports: thanks  to a winning mind we can overcome the standards we are used to

****) the leaders of today, so that they can learn how to become the leaders of
the future people who believe in emotional intelligence, in a holistic approach and in the social responsibility of every one of us.

For me: This was not the first book I read on coaching and it is a simple and effective summary of coaching, which is a pleasure to read even though it has a solid theoretical basis. It’s the right book for someone who wants to understand what coaching is about.

The art of loving by Eric Fromm

Author: Eric Fromm was a German psychoanalyst and sociologist.

Content: In this essay, that was published in 1957, the German philosopher
sets out to demonstrate that love is a genuine form of art and as such needs
discipline, concentration, patience, supreme interest and humility.

It is not an "instruction manual ", as the author himself states in the introduction, but rather a demonstration of how every attempt to love is destined to fail without the active development of one’s own personality and that there cannot be love without the ability to love others with loyalty, humility and courage.

In this essay Fromm analyses "authentic" love, with frequent references to Greek mythology and the Old Testament; moreover he describes its numerous deviances and surrogates like sadism and masochism.

There is also some criticism of Sigmund Freud and his patriarchal vision of sex.

For me: I read the art of loving for the first time in my first year at university after finishing all my exams early! I was travelling alone at the time. It’s a text I have read on other occasions too, which is quite unusual for me, and which I have given as a gift to people who are dear to me. I wrote down four words that for a long period of time were my  mantra:

• Discipline
• Concentration
• Patience
• Supreme interest.

There’s no such thing as luck by Mario Calabresi

Author: Mario is the son of a police commissioner and is a journalist.

Content: "It doesn’t matter how many times you fall. The important thing is the speed with which you pick yourself up again." How do you get out of a crisis, how to get over a loss, an unsuccessful venture, a failure? Some people have found the strength to get back on their feet after the company they were working for shut down; there are people that refused to give up after the recession forced them to sell their homes and leave for who knows where; people who found the strength to carry on after the death of a loved one had almost deprived them of the will to live. Mario Calabresi spent two years travelling across America, taking in thirty-six States, the most exciting presidential election in living memory and looked at the lives of many common people, but at the centre of it, he believes, there is only one question: what happens in the heart of a person who falls down and finds the strength to get up again? It might not be easy, but where do they get that unshakable perseverance and above all what is it that stops them waiting for luck to help them? What is the secret of a nation and its people who have always succeeded – today more than ever before - in reinventing themselves from scratch, giving themselves a second chance, electing a black president against all the odds and that have got back  on track after the worst recession since the second world war ravaged the lives of millions of people?

For me: my husband recommended this book. We normally have different tastes when it comes to reading but in this case I took his advice. Like many people from our generation he’s a big admirer of America. Many of the examples that appear in this book refer to the US but they are very inspirational!!

This was the very reason I wrote my own book, in order to promote that same sense of courage with Italian examples.

And not everything is so easy in the US. People might have less fears, they might set themselves less limitations because of Western culture, but it’s still not easy to achieve your dreams!

Who moved my cheese? by Spencer Johnson 

Author: Spencer Johnson was born in South Dakota, in the United States and graduated in Psychology and Medicine in 1963 in California. He practiced his profession at Harvard Medical School and became famous in 1998 thanks
to the book "Who moved my cheese?"

Thereafter he worked with major companies in senior roles relating to research and medical-scientific dissemination and he founded
his own communications company.

Spencer Johnson is also the creative force behind "The One Minute Manager" and the co-author of the book that was written with the legendary management consultant, Kenneth Blanchard, that always tops the New York Times bestseller lists and which became the world’s best known management method.
These books have sold more than 11 million copies and have been translated into
more than 20 languages.

Content: A short story that is full of meaning and lessons, which helps readers understand the importance and value of change, flexibility and openness to novelties.  Sniff and Scruffy are mice, Hem and Haw are two little people. All four of them live in the "Labyrinth" and are looking for a "Cheese" that will feed them and help them to live happily. The "Cheese" is a metaphor of what we would like to have from our life: a satisfying and fulfilling job, a beautiful love story, financial security. The "Labyrinth" is the world in which we look for what we desire: the company we work for, the family, the community we live in. The characters need to face unexpected changes, one of them faces this with success and writes on the walls of the Labyrinth what he learned from his experience. And these very words will form the basis for discovering how to manage change, suffer less stress and be more successful at work and in life.

For me: I was recommended this book by a client who works in a bank when I was working as a management consultant. The subject was change in the sense of organisational change. Many years have passed and the book has acquired an importance for my current profession as a career coach, where change involves work. Work that people might lose, find or reinvent... I have recommended this book many times and will continue to do so!

The Present by Spencer Johnson

Content: Deciding, reflecting, planning and enjoying life: these are all skills that are to be found in the Present, that dimension we often ignore, since we are all focused on the uncertainty and fear of the future.

This book talks about a young man travelling towards adulthood: he would like to find "the finest gift a person can receive" a wise old man had talked to him about. But the years continue to slip by and disappointment is the main feature in his private life and work.

The man goes back to the wise man and asks him how to find the Present, who responds: "only you have the power to find the Present for yourself ", and the search will be arduous, but it will bring you happiness and professional success.

For me: I bought this book when I was on holiday as I was interested in the genre and the author, whom I knew through the previous book. It offers some wisdom that I really recommend as a coach. After all, one of the principles of coaching is based on the concept of the here and now!