Optimal Outcomes: Free Yourself from Conflict at Work, at Home, and in Life

Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler

Harper Business, 240 pp., $29.99

If you don't like conflict, you're not alone. Many individuals dislike it, and many fail in their approach to dealing with it. Still, conflict isn't necessarily bad. In fact, conflict consultant Goldman-Wetzler calls out in Optimal Outcomes that it can be good for you.

What is bad is getting stuck in what the author defines as the "conflict loop"—the cycle of encountering conflict, which leads to thinking about and taking actions that lead to more conflict. But with her Optimal Outcomes Method, Goldman-Wetzler guides readers on eight steps to free themselves of destructive habits and repetitive conflict.

The Ministry of Common Sense: How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate BS

Martin Lindstrom

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 256 pp., $26.33

Have you ever purchased a pair of scissors only to discover that you can't open the tough plastic packaging without a pair of scissors? It's illogical. We all have likely encountered similarly nonsensical restrictions at work, unnecessary meetings, or policies we disagree with that seem to contradict common sense.

To counteract the illogical, Lindstrom outlines a five-step program to empower companies to identify and overcome common-sense roadblocks. Such roadblocks include technology, meetings, politics, and rules and policies.