Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection―Now and in an Uncertain Future

by Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, Martin E.P. Seligman

Thrive in your career with this radical, fu ture-proofed approach to work in a world where automation, globalization, and downsizing are a n urgent and threatening r eality—from experts in workplace mental health, Gabriella Kellerman, C PO of BetterUp, and world-renowned psychologist Martin Seligman.

In recent years, workplace toxicity, industry volatility, and technology-driven turnover have threatened the psychological well-being of employees. When we can’t flourish at work, both personal success and corporate productivity suffer. As we sit on the cusp of some of the most turbulent economic changes in history, many of us wonder how we can not only survive but flourish in our careers.

Now, Tomorrowmind provides essential plans and actionable advice for facing the uncertain future of work. With in-depth and clear-eyed evidence, it offers key skills on everything from resilience and innovation to social connection and foresight. Cultivate a workplace that fosters connection and meaning for yourself or your employees with this timely and crucial guide that is destined to inspire generations of workers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Psychology, Self Help, Professional Development, Audiobook, Personal Development

288 pages, Hardcover

Published January 17, 2023

Reviews

[Stroop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tomorrowmind explores the future of work, and how we can make meaning, form connections, and ultimately flourish. As someone who thinks and reads about burnout, psychological safety, wellbeing, and creativity, I am not sure I gained new insights. Still, Tomorrowmind is a thought-provoking read.

The first few chapters explore resilience. Then we learn more about the importance of social connections and how to grow and manage these connections. My favorite chapters were the final two where the authors note that creativity is one thing that humans have that cannot be automated (and offer guidance for how to practice and enhance creativity), and where they offer reflections and tips on how organizations should evolve to respond to a changing world. It seems that no matter how much new technology or innovating occurs, the best ways to thrive in the workplace are to be self-aware, do work that matters to you, make genuine connections with colleagues/people, and (learn to) be creative.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

[Justin Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not familiar with either author when I caught them together on a podcast, but I came away from that quite intrigued. Professor Seligman has been a leader in research on positive psychology and Dr. Kellerman is trained in psychiatry and fMRI research, but has been working on medical technology start-ups, including her current work with BetterUp. This short volume weaves together insights from educational theory, neuroscience, medical research, and psychology with application for individuals as well as organizations. The disruption of the global pandemic opened the aperture for a lot of businesses and individual leaders to be more mindful of their employees well-being. When organizations that had their employees coming into the office everyday, but had to quickly shift to a distributed environment, many were challenged to maintain that connectedness not only for their companies to thrive, but also to ensure wellness of their people in early months of COVID-19. I really appreciated the clear message and responsibility that leaders have as the biggest driver of meaning and mattering for their direct reports. The failure to provide that context and clarity in an uncertain world is what leads team members to consider moving on. As the saying goes, people don't quit jobs they quit managers. The well-being of team members goes hand-in-hand with the flourishing of companies and leaders are responsible for creating those conditions that allow their teams to really thrive and achieve organizational goals.

[Adrienne Teague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tomorrowmind starts out like a self-help book, but quickly takes the focus from the individual to the organization. The things that work t the personal level, translate to the company level.

The basic premise is that we spend too much time and effort figuring out how to fix problems (with ourselves, with our products, with our businesses) and not enough time preventing those problems in the first place. People and organizations who are resilient avoid long-term, nasty consequences from traumatic events/the constant twists and turns of business life.

Parts of it read like an infomercial convincing us to buy something, but there really isn't anything to buy. The steps to take to initiate change are all here, and there is more to be learned with a little research.

I found many things to incorporate into my own life, and ways to improve my own leadership roles.

This is perfect for Human Resources professionals interested in making some changes, as well as individuals who want to be able to roll with the punches life invariable hands out.

[Edmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the book was exciting. The first few chapters were eye opening, but then I was struggling to finish the book. The latter chapters were difficult to get through and I kind of lost the message from the early chapters. The initial message was we need to think differently today at work, and be creative and not be stressed about the little things and look at the glass half full.

[Scott Wahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rehash of other work by Seligman, mish-mash of other topics that don't really hang together.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a (now retired) bookstore owner caught unprepared at the introduction of the ebook and the subsequent popularity, I understand the need to survive and thrive in a changing work and business environment. I really appreciate the work of Kellerman and Seligman in studying workers all over the world, identifying five traits or psychological powers critical for future survival.

I like to read books on productivity and was surprised to see this one had a bit of a different take. Rather than just introducing the necessary personal qualities, the authors discuss them in the context of behavioral science. I appreciate finding out why some of these characteristics are hard for us. An example being that our brains did not develop to thrive in the repetitive work introduced in the industrial revolution. But now we have the opportunity to revive the ancient abilities of the brain, like searching the landscape, looking for change.

I was happy too see we can develop those five necessary characteristics. We can become increasingly resilient, find meaning and purpose in our work, learn communication techniques for rapid rapport, exercise our imagination to become prospective, and we can grow in our most unique human ability and be creative. Corporations can provide the atmosphere for these qualities to flourish too.

This is a good book for those wanting to survive and thrive in the ever changing landscape of the work force and the corporate world. Individuals, team leaders and managers, and corporate managers would all do well to be familiar with the principles given in this book.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tomorrowmind takes on the lens of being resilient and the components that support that mindset. It has practical tips throughout that are practical and simple to execute to help you the reader improve the skill they teach. It's not a difficult book to read, but it does have a style that tilts towards academic--as though they took several BetterUp research papers, combined them, and turned it into a book for public consumption. It could have been a non-academia dissertation, for how many references it has to BetterUp's own research findings. Or maybe the authors are just too accustomed to writing academic journal articles and it was effort and a good editor who made it more populist. Not a critique, just an observation.

The concepts for how to think and approach work (and life) are similar to Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know and Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results. While those have a more masculine feel (the former has a lot of military references, the latter has more financial and CIA type references), Tomorrowmind is more psychology-based, relational, more feminine. So, I think they convey the same information but in different styles and from different lenses. Pick the style that suits you best.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Grounded in decades of scientific research.” That is the platinum standard that Tomorrowmind boasts that is unfortunately absent from so much of the self help and business literature in existence. As such, the painstaking empirical approach this book takes to the findings it presents should be the benchmark by which all others in these genres are measured. It is also very refreshing to finally see a solution to the crisis of valuing money>people that has been and still is the cause of so much sickness, suffering, and death worldwide. I personally believe the salvation of the soul of humanity possibly lay in the implementation of the ideas outlined herein. They show empirically that valuing people and treating others altruistically goes hand in hand with making money. It would be phenomenally healing and best for both businesses and employees if this is who we of the human race collectively chose to be.

[Ruta Alb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tomorrow is just a day away. Considering how many changes happened since yesterday, why not stop and think, so what now?
It's a book combining a bunch of other researcher's theories how to "survive" in the world of tomorrow.
Cognitive agility is one of the way. People who find it easier to adapt their own mindset to the changing world will feel less stress than those who will try to object to changes coming their way.
Creativity - is a way to move forward and the authors say we are all creatives now. If companies don't suport creativity, it is going to be difficult for them to survive in the long run.
There are a bunch of specific tools how to get more resistant to "bad changes" happening around you. To train your creativity, sense of communityship and other.
It is a nice listen indeed.
So, what did I take from this book to myself?
Tomorrow is just a step away. I think I am ready.

[Michael Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this for its operationalized theory of well-being, and its practices and mechanics.

It does a good job laying out the foundation and provides suggestive actions.

However, it comes up short for the curious to take a next step or the probe further… Each chapter would’ve benefited from a set of search arguments or AI prop craft, enabling the reader to take a deeper, dive in any one particular theme, topic, or controversy.

Given that this was an executive thought, leader ship, book, that on the sly makes the case for the authors business platform, betterup.com, I believe that she missed the boat and not providing more substantive cross-linkages to her platform

[Jon Barr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Via audio. I liked their study about how hard people are willing to work if they feel included vs. not. It resonated with different stages of my work life. This is the first book I've read that referenced "Antifragile" which I read late last year. I didn't much care for the way that book was written, but the information it presented will likely impact books like this for years to come.

If you haven't read anything else on positive psychology, don't choose this for your first foray into the science. I'd suggest "Flourish" first and foremost.

[Kevin Stecyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worthwhile Reading as the Pace of Change Accelerates

Being more of a numbers person, I found this book especially illuminating. Our work and society is changing faster and more dramatically than ever before. The authors steer readers how to better equip and prepare themselves to adapt to future changes. And they also provide instruction for those in leadership roles.

I wish that people and corporations were more enlightened so that people could respond more easily to changes and work could be more meaningful.

I highly recommend this book for all workers and leaders.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really respect M. Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology, and his work on strengths and the PERMA well-being model. However, I struggle to respect people who write books that are the result of marketing operations. So, for me, it's very difficult to take the ideas of the book for face value, realizing that Seligman is associated with Betterup folks who, I am sure, want to "help" companies bring their employees to tomorrowmind or, I would say, BetterUpMind.

[David Fredh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended read covering the "future of work"-topic: Importance of flexibility and positive mindset to change. Another topic is "perspection" (Perspective+Perception=10x!) where the question is how we can setup ourselves and the team to be more resilient and fast evolving to change as change is happening faster and faster and faster...

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good read but I was expecting more. It is sad to see that positive psychology and behavioural economics (the trendy disciplines in psychology), are so geared towards marketisation: behavioural economics to take advantage of cognitive biases to make us buy more stuff we don't need, and positive psychology to make people hate their jobs less and be more productive.

[Erika Dajevskis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes because I'm a fan of positive psychology but this was hard to get through. To be fair I'm not the intended audience- seems to be targeted to executive types rather than us lowly workers. Describes some interesting research in places but also includes lots of corporate gobbledygook and random anecdotes.

[Alberto Lagomarsini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es un título bueno pero Martín Seligman se pierde en zigzagueo de la autora. Para salvar el libro introduce términos y “curiosidades” laborales pero sobre psicología positiva es muy superficial. Si desea aprender de psicología positiva, este NO es el libro adecuado.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on audio and felt vaguely enlightened. Some new info here about the need to imagine a future and be prepared for the changes that will come. Sometimes felt like overly reliant on their company, through name dropping and product placement.

[Gabe Botero · Rating 3 out of 5]

What separates us from Neanderthals is our ability to think ahead and plan while still nurturing the dying trait of creativity. We still don’t know how to condense paragraphs into sentences though. I liked this book.

[AJ Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this one and some of the ideas and tips to try in life and in the workplace. It's one I've added to my list to revisit to make sure I'm implementing some of the interesting things in it, so that definitely means I enjoyed it.

[Rachel Lehman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a difficult time applying this to work in health care. Seems more relevant in big business or tech and challenges of remote work. Some parts were helpful on an individual and smaller team level.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard about this book from a podcast. Authors shared valuable insights on working now and in the future. Can't say there was anything that really stood out to me, just a decent read and reminder to many items I already know.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Marce Mellic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on what skills qualities are key today and in future to succeed. Resiliency and others

[Kea4 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting points and examples.

https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...

[Eceyildirim]

since i wrote about it for work, it wouldn’t be okay if i rated it :) but all i can say is that it was really interesting, a recommended read

[Rae Simpson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Minuteman. Read for M, reading it for work. Positive psychology. Powerful story of seminary students not stopping to help man when told time was tight to give a presentation.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most appreciated the active suggestions for how to build PRISM characteristics.

[Fuyuko Gratton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't find the book insightful, instead "boring" was the feeling I kept getting. I stopped listening in chapter 5. I didn't want to waste any more time.

[kylie]

feels like I am reading a casual textbook. not my cup of tea. read it for a work book club.