How do 2015â€™s career books stack up?

With just a few days left before ringing in the New Year, it's resolution time. Aside from losing weight, scaling the Alps or finding that special someone, many of us will insist on getting more out of the hours we spend on the job. Some will resolve to rock the enterprise, to start new businesses or to find a way to leave work — on time — with a sense of satisfaction and without guilt. With that in mind, we've plucked a few new additions that may be of assistance. Take a look:

For the disenchanted drone

"The Business Romantic" by Tim Leberecht.Photo: Anne Wermiel

Forget using big data, statistics and ratings all the time, according to Tim Leberecht's new book, "The Business Romantic." Relying on numbers to determine how we work and what we work on is not only cold and calculating, it doesn't feel good, either. No wonder only 13 percent of employees are fully engaged in their jobs, while 63 percent report some disengagement, reports Leberecht, citing a recent Gallup poll.

So what's the problem? Far too often, we check passion, playfulness and intimacy at the door when we walk into work and, as a result, everyone loses. Leberecht provides the inspiration and the tools to do it differently — such as giving everything or nothing, he says: "Overpromise, overcommit, over deliver." And don't forget to laugh at your own imperfections.

For the time-starved trooper

"Work Simply" by Carson Tate.Photo: Anne Wermiel

Busyness is an epidemic — and it doesn't get us very far. If you want to be satisfied in work and in life, you have to dial down the noise to make the ways you spend your time and energy count more — and Carson Tate's "Work Simply" is full of tools to help you do that according to your personal productivity style.

Don't fight your wiring, says Tate. Most of us fit into one of four productivity-style categories: Arrangers think about projects in terms of the people involved; prioritizers concentrate on hitting goals; visualizers look at the big picture; planners fixate on details. The book includes questionnaires that help you discover your style and instructions and advice to work and live in a way that makes the most of it.

For success seekers who occasionally stumble

"Always in Fashion" by Mark Weber.Photo: Anne Wermiel

We've all heard the story about the guy who starts his career in the mailroom, makes all the right moves and becomes CEO a decade later. Mark Weber isn't one of them: His memoir, "Always in Fashion," chronicles his 30-year "one step forward, two steps back" climb to the top rung at Phillips-Van Heusen. What's refreshing is that he openly shares about his big screw-ups — like cursing out his boss on a multiparty conference call — and how he recovered.

Weber also holds nothing back about how he felt when he got canned from that job, the obstacles he encountered trying to land a new gig, and the rigors endured while interviewing with Donna Karan and the brass at Louis Vuitton Moët Chandon — where he was eventually hired to run the Donna Karan Company.

For pitchmen seeking engagement

"Captivology" by Ben Parr.Photo: Anne Wermiel

Don't shout, captivate — that's the key to capturing attention. And you don't need to be especially good-looking, loud or charismatic to do so — there's actually a science behind it. In "Captivology," Ben Parr doesn't get all geeky explaining how it works; instead he draws on examples from Beyoncé, Steve Jobs and the creators of "Game of Thrones."

Whether you're an entrepreneur, manager or up-and-coming worker bee, "Captivology" has tips for you — for example, don't bother pitching your boss or your customers during the morning commute, because their minds are focused on the task at hand. Subway musicians know this — it's why you don't see them on your way to work.

And if you're dealing with someone who's upset, ask them to step out of the office for a cup of joe and get something warm into their hands, it will literally calm them.

For the kind-hearted entrepreneur

"Do the Kind Thing" by Daniel Lubetzky.Photo: Anne Wermiel

You don't have to choose between making money and making the world a better place — such is the premise of Daniel Lubetzky's "Do the KIND Thing." And Lubetzky's not just talk — he's actually doing it at his snack bar company, KIND, and is among the new breed of social entrepreneurs who are intent on balancing both profit and social good. The trick is thinking "and" rather than "either or" when making important choices — in KIND's case, it involves creating a great tasting product, a commercially viable business and serving the community, all at the same time.

For the hair-trigger reactor

Peter Bregman's "Four Seconds."

Bad habits happen to good people — and it's often because we're too quick to react. Our default settings, it seems, are completely out of whack.

Four seconds is all we need to pause, breathe and course correct — or, in other words, to change our mental habits, according to Peter Bregman's "Four Seconds." Bregman uses anecdotes and lessons learned from his professional and personal life and makes them ours for the taking, such as "sometimes, doing nothing at all works better than doing something," and "if you're stuck in an argument, change tactics and listen. It's your only chance to change the other person's mind."