The holidays are just around the corner and in between all the delicious meals, it's always a great opportunity to recharge yourself for the new year. From leaderships books to podcasts, family traditions and apps to help you relax. Our Fe+male Tech Heroes mentors and role models give their ultimate tip for the holidays.
#1 Podcast: Goal Digger
Jenna Kutcher's Goal Digger podcast speaks to female entrepreneurs looking to redefine success, chase bold dreams, and tackle their biggest goals. In this live-workshop-style business podcast, Kutcher grabs women by the hand and whisks them into a world where tangible, action-focused takeaways are delivered upfront on various topics, including marketing, finance, mindset, productivity, and setting up superb systems.
The podcast celebrates that entrepreneurs are not perfect leaders but rather brilliant learners who push boundaries, experiment and analyze, and progress every step of the way. Her delivery style inspires her followers — from stay-at-home moms running a side gig to ambitious bachelorettes with ten hours a day to throw at their project — to live a rich life, dream bigger, and take steps towards success in their own, unique way.
Betsy Lindsey, CFO and co-founder Aircision
#2 Book: The Culture Map
When moving to a new country, it's essential to learn a thing or two about the crucial aspects of social relations to avoid embarrassing moments and misunderstandings, right? Now, put those uncomfortable situations in the workplace. Yep, not nice. Erin Meyer's The Culture Map was my Holy Grail in this sense. In the book, the American author uses her expertise as an INSEAD Business School professor to analyze and explain how different nationalities behave, work, and perceive others and how this cultural milkshake can impact companies. Fan-tas-tic. I could clearly understand why my Brazilian-over-explaining-upbringing felt puzzled by the Dutch objectiveness and learned to appreciate it as a token of respect for my (and everyone's) time.
The Culture Map is a must if you're an international and/or work with an international team.
Letícia Batista, Community Manager 5G Hub Eindhoven
#3 Outdoor sports
Get out of your comfort zone and opt for a new sport or activity. Preferably with your loved ones or friends, for which you have less time during the working weeks. For me this is skiing, snowshoeing or even ice climbing. We travel in the snow with the camper! That feels like pure freedom.
Fleur Besters, journalistic entrepreneur and driving force behind Tech Playgrounds
#4 Book: Women Courageous - Leading through the Labyrinth
"Women Courageous: Leading Through the Labyrinth” is a collection of true experiences by women from different parts of the world. The stories illustrate their courage and also include an analysis to reshape our understanding of courage. “Courage is pushing forward, step by step, while everything is holding you back. Often unnoticed by others, courageous acts come with great emotional challenges, and also with a sense of purpose and determination. Courage is how we transform, not only ourselves but those we support and love and the work to which we have dedicated our lives.”
What makes the book special is that it has a part on Prof. Dianne Bevelander, founder of the Erasmus Centre for Women and Organisations (ECWO) who has been a role model for me and passed away couple of months ago. Her story illustrates how passion and resilience combine to enhance our capacity to overcome obstacles without giving up no matter what obstacles we face.
Nur America, Director Newness
#5 App: Insight Timer
I’d like to recommend the Insight Timer app, it is the largest free library of guided meditation on earth. It has an amazing diversity of guided meditation on different topics from stress management to performance, mindfulness and much more. It also has very relaxing music and yoga sessions, and they have activities ranging from 5 minutes to complete workshops, so you can always find something that fits your schedule. It has definitely become my go-to app to relax and refocus!
Karina Garcia del Real, Community Manager AI Innovation Center
#6 Podcast and book: New Female Leader
Since the beginning of this year I have been a big fan of New Female Leader, which is both a cool podcast series with very appealing examples and a helpful book full of knowledge, research and reflection assignments on the axes: clarity, connection, community, courage and compassion.
Lotte Geertsen, Director TMC Entrepreneurial Lab at TMC
#7 Family tradition
For me, holidays are an opportunity to escape the daily routine and remember who I am and why I do what I do. My tip would be, follow a family tradition and watch a movie or read a book that reminds you of your childhood - for me it helps to evaluate where I come from and which I direction I want to go next.
Helena Samodurova, CCO and co-founder of Incooling.
#8 YouTube channel: Physics Girl
Physics Girl is a YouTube Channel created by Dianna Cowern that adventures into the physical sciences with experiments, demonstrations, and cool new discoveries.
Hawaii born and raised, Dianna was inspired by physics as a girl. Thanks to encouragement by her teachers and family, she pursued a physics degree at MIT. She subsequently explored careers in scientific research (at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), software engineering (at General Electric) and science outreach (at the Reuben H Fleet Science Center and the University of California San Diego) before committing to the Physics Girl YouTube channel full-time. Dianna loves sharing her curiosity with her 1.3 million subscribers and beyond, and she was recently named as one of Forbes 30 under 30.
Gareth Thomas, co-founder VersionBay
#9 Book and podcast: Survive your career, use your right brain
“Hello! It’s you! The proud, fully-functioning office professional. Congratulations on all your accomplishments, your skillset and degrees. By the way, you missed a spot. Actually more like half, the right half of your brain...” This is how the book ‘Right-Brainer: survival handbook of office epiphanies’ starts. Designer Marijn van der Poll teaches readers why they should use their right brain more, instead of only their rational left-brain. Generating and developing ideas is not a talent, but a common skill, with a finely tuned instrument. You. Marijn was a guest in the latest episode of the High Tech Podcast, listen the episode here.
Hans Meeske, Managing Director Holland Innovative
#10 Recipe: Crêpes Suzette
Before Christmas, I will spend some time to train myself in preparing a wonderful sweet and classic Christmas dessert: Crêpes Suzette. You will really impress your guests with a nice flambe dish. Make sure to do a tryout first. Here's a very clear prescription how to make it: Crêpes Suzette recipe | BBC Good Food.
Cees Admiraal, Director Business Development at High Tech Campus Eindhoven
#11 App: Alphabeats
In order to be succesful in your work, it is important that you don't forget your own vitality. In addition to moving a lot, you can also do that with the help of technology. For example with the app from startups Alphabeats. Through their algorithmic layer that responds to both the music you are listening to, and your biofeedback, Alphabeats allows your brain to reset to alpha-state, a.k.a state of wakeful rest. All you need is the Alphabeats app, a phone, headphones, 10 dedicated minutes and your favorite music.
Apple App Store The latest version will go live in the second half of this week. So put it on your to-do list!
Google Play Store
Hilde de Vocht, co-founder Fe+male Tech Heroes
#12 Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow
A few years ago I read Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow. It's a great combination of theory and lots of recognizable examples that gives insight in how we think. It put you to think about your own thinking. It's not a quick read, but for sure an absolutely interesting book.
Vivian de Corti, Marketing and Communication Manager at WP Haton
Take your time and think about what kind of personality type you are with the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator. This might help you to understand why you act like you do, why others act like they do and how you can benefit from your understanding of the diversity of personality types. Have a look at the visual or dive in the details here.
Victor Donker, CEO Usono and Marketing Manager High Tech Campus Eindhoven
#14 A break from work in nature
It's the water where I can let my mind float
The sound of the waves and the wind of the sea through my hair brings peace and tranquility
It is the mountains where I experience the greatness of nature;
and feel insignificant with deep respect for Mother Nature;
to realize that we still have so much beautiful to discover in ourselves and the world around me.
Martine Dubling, Manager Recruitment at Sioux
#15 Book in Dutch: Eenvoud voor gevorderden
In the world we live in right now, we are longing for... something else. Food for thought: "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when creating them" (Albert Einstein). What we can do, however, is use the eye for the invisible: our smart unconscious. A great way to start is the booklet of Ben Meijering: Eenvoud voor gevorderden - Ingrediënten voor inspirerend leiderschap. It fits in your pocket.
Maron Galama, partner at Bluetivity
#16 Recipe: Oliebollen
The end of the year is typically the time to get together with family, bring back memories, and enjoy old traditions. Oliebollen are my favorite at New Year's Eve, fun to make together on the 31st of December. Hereby a nice recipe.
Anke Jutten, Business Development, High Tech Campus Eindhoven
#17 Book: This road I ride
The book I wish to recommend is a super gripping, and beautifully written, story about an insanely brave and extremely determined woman who herself insists that she is quite an ordinary person just pushing outside of her comfort zone. Having escaped a cult upbringing and then being faced with grief of losing the man she loved, her soulmate, she decides to learn to ride a bike, at the age of 30, and becomes the fastest woman to cycle the world, solo, by cycling in the opposite direction than that recommended as optimal by seasoned cycling professionals who have done it with a team in tow. Crazy, dangerous, and awe inspiring. The book is: This road I ride, by Juliana Buhring.
Lilly Rosier, Business Analyst at Shimano
