How to Thrive in the Virtual Workplace
Simple and Effective Tips for Successful, Productive, and Empowered Remote Work
Robert Glazer
“Remote work is here to stay, and the companies that do it well will have a clear competitive advantage in the future. As founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, a 100 percent remote organization with 170 employees who work from home, Robert Glazer has discovered that with the right principles, tactics and tools for managing remote employees, many businesses can excel in a virtual world. In this highly actionable book, Glazer shares how he and his team built a remote organization that has been recognized with dozens of awards for its industry performance and company culture.”
This book promises to help you succeed in remote work, but honestly, it doesn’t deliver much that’s new or useful. The advice feels really basic and, frankly, outdated. The author talks about things like staying productive, keeping in touch with colleagues, and making the most of working from home, but let’s be real, that’s all pretty obvious at this point. It doesn’t really bring anything fresh to the table.
A big chunk of the book is aimed at managers, with tips on how to manage virtual teams, build culture, and hire remote employees. If you’re not a manager, there’s not much here for you. The last couple of chapters are full of buzzwords and vague ideas about team-building that don’t really offer practical takeaways for your day-to-day work.
At the end of the day, the book feels like a surface-level overview of remote work, the kind of stuff most of us already know. It’s not engaging, it doesn’t bring new insights, and it’s pretty forgettable. 2 stars.
Zero to One promises a fresh perspective on building groundbreaking startups, especially coming from someone like the author, a Silicon Valley veteran. The book is visually appealing and I had high expectations, but unfortunately, I found the content somewhat underwhelming.
I really enjoyed this book and found it quite compulsive reading. The author has a smooth narrative style that provokes both ‘haha’ moments and deadly (haha) experiences. The format of essentially one major patient story per chapter worked well, even though it didn’t seem to be completely chronological. There were some small things in his educational journey that pushed him towards brain surgery, and then pediatric surgery. Working with children and their ‘plastic’ brains is fascinating, and I loved hearing about how sometimes it’s amazing the way children bounce back from surgeries.
I listened to this one as an audiobook, and honestly, it was fairly average. The author goes into an unnecessary amount of depth, describing and setting the scene for things that really don’t need it. It’s not a high energy book, and I found myself not caring about many of the little side groups of people we kept hearing from, especially at the start. A lot of that could have easily been edited out.
I absolutely loved this book! From start to finish, it kept me hooked. The author writes with the perfect balance of detail, enough to paint a vivid picture but never so much that it bogs you down. He sprinkles in just the right amount of humor and storytelling, and you can tell there are still plenty of stories he left untold.
I first listened to Dare to Lead as an audiobook read by Brené Brown herself, and her engaging delivery truly brought the ideas to life. When I recently got my hands on a hard copy, I knew it was worth a second read. The author’s concept of vulnerability as a pathway to developing strengths—such as courage, integrity, authenticity, and connection—resonates deeply. Her message that courage and fear can coexist, that “clear is kind,” and that “who we are is how we lead” left a lasting impact on me. These principles encourage leaders not to shy away from difficult conversations and to stay true to their values, even when it’s challenging.
I picked up Einstein’s Boss because the premise sounded interesting—leadership lessons drawn from the story of Abraham Flexner who guided Albert Einstein. I thought it would be a good mix of stories and learning theory.
This isn’t the type of book I’d usually pick up. I only read it because my doctor suggested it might help me manage stress. I had no expectations going in, just a vague idea that it was something about resilience. What I found was an intense memoir that completely pulled me in.
I’ve just finished Delivering Happiness and I’ve got to say—it left me a bit unsure how to feel. The book is essentially the author’s life story: from his childhood side hustles to running Zappos and eventually selling it to Amazon. Some of those early stories were fun and gave me a laugh—clearly, he had that entrepreneurial itch from a young age.
I recently finished Daring Greatly and while it wasn’t my first time reading one of her books, it still gave me plenty to think about. The core idea? That vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s courage. In a world that often celebrates keeping it all together, the author flips the script and makes a strong case for letting your guard down, showing up fully, and embracing the mess of being human.