From gems to sales, here’s a collection of books you can gift to your boss, staff or jewelry industry friends, specially curated for you by National Jeweler.
These books are the seven titles that made National Jeweler’s 2016 list of books to give this holiday season. Let the merriment begin.
New York--All year, National Jeweler has been bringing its readers lists of the newly released business books along with the latest jewelry books, including titles like the Smithsonian Institute’s Gem and 20th Century Jewelry & The Icons of Style.
Now, we have culled our virtual stacks to present a list of seven that would make great holiday gifts for bosses, staff members or friends in the jewelry industry.
Another bonus: In most cases, books are very easy to wrap, which is great for those whose wrapping skills fall short.
Links to these books on Amazon.com are included below, though in most cases they also can be purchased from, or ordered at, your friendly, locally owned neighborhood bookstore.
It is 440 pages of gem photos and profiles that detail not only the science behind gemstones and other precious materials, but also delves into the myths and stories that surround some of the world’s most famous gemstones, from adventures with royalty, film stars and thieves to the alleged curse of the Hope Diamond.
In addition, there’s an 80-page reference section that contains information on a variety of other rocks and stones.
For salespeople … Sell Something Peter Smith National Jeweler columnist and author Peter Smith has another book that should be available on Amazon.com by Dec. 12 called Sell Something: Principles and Perspectives for Engaged Retail Salespeople.
This is the second book for Smith, who also penned Hiring Squirrels: 12 Essential Questions to Uncover Great Retail Sales Talent in 2014.
Released in September of this year, this book delves into the lives of 13 stylish women of the last century, telling their stories through the pieces of jewelry they owned.
Stoned came in December 2015 and would make an excellent gift for anyone who has an interest in both jewelry and history and, moreover, how the two intersect.
In it, she recounts the role eight jewels (actually, seven jewels and one watch) played in shaping history, including the diamond necklace that helped to spark the French Revolution, emeralds’ role in the rise and fall of the Spanish empire, and what part pearls played in modernizing Japan.
In Hug Your Haters, author Jay Baer classifies complainers into two groups, offstage haters and onstage haters.
Offstage haters are people who just want a solution to their problem and complain via phone, email or company websites; they don’t care if other people are aware of their dissatisfaction just as long as they get a resolution.
Onstage haters are those who, usually, are disappointed by the response they received via traditional channels and turn to more public methods of expressing their dissatisfaction, like social media. They want more than just a resolution, they want an audience to share in their indignation.
Baer gives business owners strategies for dealing with both and explains why it’s a bad idea to ignore complaints.
In Superbosses, Sydney Finkelstein explores the common approach that great leaders take to finding, nurturing, leading and even letting go of great people, people that the author labels as “Superbosses.”
Leaders cited in the book include football coach Bill Walsh, television executive Lorne Michaels, restaurateur Alice Waters, technology CEO Larry Ellison and fashion maven Ralph Lauren.
In it, The Huffington Post co-founder advocates for Americans to get more sleep, arguing that a well-rested employee is a happier and, therefore, more productive worker than those struggling to get by on four or five hours a night.
The book has sparked discussion on workplace culture, including how some companies like Uber, Zappos and The Huffington Post provide space, specifically nap pods or nap rooms, for employees to take a mid-day snooze.
Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.
For those who work in customer service …
