Note: The following review is of a leadership book that I requested from Harvard Business Review Press, which they kindly sent me.

”Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading” by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linksy is a book that urges you to seize opportunities for leadership on an ongoing basis, in your everyday life and working environment.

More written like a novel and a page-turner than a "dry and technical" manual, the book discusses the beauty of leadership and its importance, but at the same time highlights some of the common pitfalls that a leader or manager should look out for, especially in times of great change.

Below are some of the many key points that the book covers of which I took to heart.

1. Look out for clues in your working environment

With lots of different case studies from the area of business and politics, the authors describe how to look for clues in your working environment to get a clear sense of when to push forward or when to pull back. These are clues that otherwise might go unnoticed and get missed entirely or simply being overlooked by a leader that finds himself/herself in a demanding work situation.

2. Observe your closest allies and take note of the signals

To me, the book paints the picture of a work place that is like a living organism, an organization when experiencing too much pressure and strain in one area, risks of breaking apart in a whole different part. Things can quickly take a turn for the worse when someone who's taking on a leadership position doesn't notice the worrisome signals coming from their closest allies due to the pressure they themselves are experiencing in conjunction with the work of change.

Here, the authors do a great job of shedding the light on something that otherwise can result in major negative consequences for someone who's in the forefront.

3. How to reduce the risk of getting emotionally injured

Another important part the authors bring to surface, is how to avoid getting emotionally injured when leading. Just by changing how you, as a leader or manager, interpret the reactions and feedback you’re receiving from your team and colleagues can save you lots of unnecessary emotional pain – here Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linksy provide a great deal of information on how to do that, drawing from their wealth of experiences working for themselves and with others.

4. Leadership isn't a one-person operation

An aspect in regard to leadership the book covers is that leading isn’t a one-person operation. Instead, it is of significant importance to seek out and have allies, but also to seek out and work closely together with your opposition. For leaders, these are crucial steps for navigating through the sometimes harsh waters they find themselves in.

5. Delegate – put the work where it belongs

A good trait of a leader, the authors tell us, is knowing when to step back and delegate in some work related situations and let those involved take full ownership – to put the work where it belongs so as to avoid the recurrence of the issue and instead get sustainable results and achieve progress.

In closing – a great investment

The book makes for lots of reflection besides gifting you with valuable tools for making your work as a leader a more fulfilling one.

”Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading” is well worth your time and investment if leadership is something you’re already involved with or aspiring to explore.

Like the authors tell us – there are opportunities for leadership presenting themselves every day in every walk of life. You just have to seize them!

This year the 149th Open Championship that was to be held at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England, got cancelled due to obvious reasons. Last time the Open Championship was cancelled happened during the World War II.

On the official Open Championship site you can still enjoy some great content like one of my favorite documentary series "Chronicles of a Champion Golfer" and Open Championship recap videos from 1970 until now, among other video materials.

To start watching for free, you just add your email adress (this is also your login username and password). No other information is no longer required to join their "The One Club", a reason why I personally hasn't used this free service until now.

Humble Bundle in collaboration with Magix is back at it again - this time you can get hold of both Vegas Movie Studio 15 and the professional video editor Vegas Pro 15 Edit for only $25, and for this price are additional software such as the effect pack HitFilm Movie Essentials included.

I bought the Magix/Vegas Pro bundle last year and was really happy about it. Since the Vegas Pro 15 includes a much better looking interface in comparison to version 14, and the built-in support for using 3D LUTs, I'll get this deal as well.

Listen to Brian Eno's release of the six-CD set "Music For Installations" that contains many rare and previously unreleased tracks. You find the complete 24 tracks YouTube playlist here.

From Brian Eno's official site:

These highly-acclaimed works have been exhibited all over the globe - from the Venice Biennale and the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg to Beijing’s Ritan Park and the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

'Music For Installations' is a collection of new, rare and previously unreleased tracks, all of which will be available on vinyl for the first time. All of the material was recorded by Eno for use in his installations covering the period from 1986 until the present (and beyond). Over this time he has emerged as the leading exponent of generative music worldwide and is recognised as one of the foremost audio-visual installation artists of his time.

For a lenghty review of "Music for Installations", head over to Pitchfork that rated this album eight out of ten.

In this animated video, as part of the release of his book "Principles", hedge fund manager Ray Dalio shares his principles for success in eight segments.

In this rare 40 minutes long video from 1981, advertising giant David Ogilvy shares some useful marketing techniques and strategies, as well as anecdotes from his private and professional life.

The video is entitled "The View from Touffou" since it was being filmed at Ogilvy's home, a French castle Touffou he bought in 1966, and was aimed toward Ogilvy's staff and clients.

The below version is one of the better ones I found in regards to quality, despite it being hardcoded with a Czech subtitle.

The documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett" (2017) produced by HBO is full of good lifestyle and investment principles from one of the greatest investors of our time, principles that have the capacity to enrich your life.

The description above may sound cliché, but when I watched this documentary upon its release, I was happily surprised that it gave me, not only great financial advice, but advice for a happy life as well.

Here is the synopsis from the HBO site:

With a net worth of over $60,000,000,000, Warren Buffett is truly a one-of-a-kind billionaire. The legendary investor still lives in a modest home in Omaha, and drives himself to the office every morning to manage Berkshire Hathaway. This documentary chronicles Buffett's evolution into one of the wealthiest and most respected men in the world.

Watch the full documentary:

'Instant Dreams' is the title for a documentary that follows individuals from all walks of life that still use Polaroid cameras and its instant film.

Instant Dreams is a feature documentary by Willem Baptist (Wild boar, I’m Never Afraid!) about the fascination and love for Polaroids. When Polaroid announced the end of instant film in 2008, the last still working factory was bought by a small group of enthusiasts. Among them is the retired scientist Stephen Herchen who previously collaborated with the inventor of Polaroid and is still trying to unravel the secret of the lost chemical formula.

Via PetaPixel.

The TV series "Contact: Magnum Photos" explores in ten 30 minutes long episodes some of the most iconic photos from around the world shot by photographers from the Magnum photo agency.

This is a real treat for photography lovers so watch it over at archive.org while you can.

Watch the trailer for the upcoming theater release "Free Solo" about soloist climber Alex Honnold as he prepares for and climbs the face of the rock El Capitan in Yosemite National.

Via Climbing.