In this article, we will tell you about several useful novelties that will help busy managers at home and in the office: a helpful reading app, a multi-charger for mobile devices, and an exciting training course.

For reading

Digital transformation is a subject worthy of learning. It is unlikely that mere intuition without preliminary information support and learning will make you a thought leader that really influences business and people. C-class executives say that the best transformation ideas usually come from external sources: success stories of other companies, experience of competitors or business consultants that they share in the public. The second source is ideas from subordinates that have a different point of view on the transformation opportunities and unique ideas. There is also a third path to transformation, which is, in our opinion, the most obvious one: something breaks down or makes a crack. This is not a rare case! Suddenly your business comes to a standstill due to an unexpected emergency, and the consequences become surprisingly severe. Or maybe your key partner offers a new cooperation model, and your company is unable even to support it due to technical reasons. Or a governmental decree forces your company to reinvent your business urgently.

Managers that have been working in the atmosphere of ongoing changes for many years never stop reading. Yes, high-quality content is rather hard to find, but there are many books about business transformation, administration, analysis, and risk management. Reading as much as possible, quickly adapting to changes, and applying new knowledge is one of the key skills for a CEO.

If you do not have enough time for reading, try Blinkist. Developers claim that this helpful program has been specially designed for C-class executives. However, we can definitely recommend it to their subordinates too.

The app offers brief excerpts of the main ideas from the best books on leadership, business practices, and productivity in English. The library already has 3,000 books, and it keeps growing.

The app has been developed by a group of friends eager to learn but lacking free time. They invited a team of rewriters and editors knowing how to make a brief and entertaining summary from globally acclaimed bestsellers and set the following tasks: every book needs to be recompiled in such a way that it could be read in not more than 15 minutes.

Another convenient thing about the app is that it helps you navigate the business literature and select the book that will be the most useful for you. Choose a topic, and you'll get the most appropriate suggestions. The reading list can be dedicated to general productivity or staff management skills, or, for example, building a business abroad. The more you use the app, the better it will know your preferences, and the more accurate its suggestions will be. There is also an audio mode with which you can listen to books while driving or working out.

For gadgets

The number of mobile devices exceeded the population of the Earth back in 2014, and today it probably makes no sense to count them. Most of us have both a tablet and a phone—and this considered a minimum number of gadgets. In families, the total number of gadgets, including Bluetooth headphones, e-books, power banks, and watches, can easily reach 15 or 20. We are so dependent on our gadgets that if one of them, the one used for business purposes, unexpectedly runs out of charge, it is considered a force majeure. The item we’ll talk about will come in handy at home, at the reception desk, and in the office (if you don't have it yet!) It is a multi-charger for mobile devices that can charge six or seven devices at once. It looks like an organizer for books or dishes (there are many types of design) and dramatically reduces the number of cables in the room and the dependence from outlets. Multichargers can also monitor the temperature mode to prevent overheating. Look for it at Amazon. By the way, it's also a great gift for business people.

For learning

From time to time, it is very useful to take advanced professional training or learn adjacent business topics. For example, business leaders and professionals interested in the innovative development of their organizations, and the implementation of customer-oriented products can take a digital product course in Noventiq Education Center. How cross the gap between idea and prototype? You don't need to reinvent the wheel yourself if the details of the technology are explained to you in 16 hours. In this five-module course, you’ll know how to use flexible digital product development workflows, choose research methods, set tasks to developers, use design thinking, identify customer needs, develop new business models, and make “hot” prototypes. The course is available in on-site or remote mode. We recommend it to everyone interested in IT and innovation management!