· professional skills

Get The Boring Stuff Right: Talk Resources

If you attended my Get The Boring Stuff Right tech talk, you’ll know that I mentioned a ton of different resources to update your skills. Here’s a list of those resources. This is some my favorite sites and books that you can use to level up.

Go forth and conquer!

I did a post about the content of this talk on the That Conference Blog.

Get The Boring Stuff Right

Slides

Mindset

Carol Dweck is the main researcher behind the growth mindset. She has both a book and a TED talk. (Along with lots of other research)

Mindset Carol Dweck TED Talk

Design and UX Books

There’s tons of great resources to build up your design and UX skills. These are some of my favorites.

Design for Hackers Don’t Make Me Think Design of Everyday Things

Smashing Magazine and A List Apart are two of my favorite sites for UX related stuff.

Writing and Communication

Writing and communication skills are extremely important. The best book I’ve read on the topic is On Writing Well. In addition to reading books on writing, make a regular habit of writing by keeping a journal or blog.

Conflict Resolution

The two best resources that I’ve encountered on the topic of conflict resolution are Nonviolent Communication and Crucial Conversations. More people should read both of these books.

Persuasion

The best book on general persuasion that I’ve read is Influence. As an added bonus, you’ll be better prepared to deal with the various compliance tactics employed by sales and marketing professionals.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is a broad subject, but one of my favorite resources related to critical thinking skills is the Farnam Street blog. The Wikipedia articles on Cognitive Biases are also good. For a general overview of the different mental systems of the brain, check out Thinking Fast and Slow.

Stress / Ego Management

There’s no shortage of resources on this topic, but here’s a few I found useful:

Ego is The Enemy A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy [Grit](https://amzn.to/2JkG35M

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