Weekends are time when things slow down a little. Your weekend shouldn’t be two more regular work days. That’s a sure road to burnout. Take time to refresh yourself. Take time for something different. Take time for some of that reading you can’t find time for during the week.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. This week there are articles about careers and your future at work.

From Matt Villano: Rethinking the Relationship between Age, Business Acumen, and Entrepreneurship

“New data shows the sweet spot for entrepreneurial success, and why young people need to rise up the ranks more quickly.”

From Greg Satell: Why Writing May Be The Most Important Skill Your Kids Need To Learn For The Future

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of coding to be done on the back end and programming is certainly a perfectly reasonable thing to learn. However, there’s no reason people need to learn it to have a successful, productive career. On the other hand writing, as well as other communication skills, will only become more important in the decades to come.”

From Martha Lagace: Are You Prepared to Be a Manager in the Digital Workplace?

“Linda Hill explains how the digital workplace is placing greater burdens on managers but also creating new opportunities to shine. PLUS: Book excerpt.”

From Adi Gaskell: How We Think About Our Future Selves Affects Our Happiness

“Most of us think about the future in some way, but there is an obvious split in whether we want the future to be different from the present or not. A new study from the University of California, Los Angeles explores whether those who think that life will largely remain the same in the coming decade are actually happier than those who think it will change significantly.”

From Arthur C. Brooks: Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think

“But I had started to wonder: Can I really keep this going? I work like a maniac. But even if I stayed at it 12 hours a day, seven days a week, at some point my career would slow and stop. And when it did, what then? Would I one day be looking back wistfully and wishing I were dead? Was there anything I could do, starting now, to give myself a shot at avoiding misery—and maybe even achieve happiness—when the music inevitably stops?”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Jennifer Romolini: A Misfit’s Guide to Navigating the Office

“It’s possible to survive and thrive as a misfit without forcing yourself into a round corporate hole. Here’s how to embrace your weird and successfully navigate the workplace.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: How to Use Mental Imagery to Achieve Your Goals

“Positive thinking can do wonders for your attitude. But it’s not enough to achieve your goals. Instead of thinking positively (and vaguely) about being great, use mental imagery to show you what great looks like”

Book Suggestions

Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change by Greg Satell

Being the Boss, with a New Preface: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader by Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback

Weird in a World That’s Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups, and Failures by Jennifer Romolini

Full Steam Ahead!: Unleash the Power of Vision in Your Work and Your Life by Ken Blanchard and Jesse Lyn Stoner

Every Monday, I do a blog post about business reading and business books. Follow this link to my review of Wooden on Leadership.