Category Archives: Authors

Authors I refer to and books I have read

Champs and Chumps

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giveandtakeI am reading a terrific new book, Give and Take by Adam Grant.  He is the youngest tenured professor at Wharton Business School and apparently full of great ideas.  I recommend you check out his site and learn more about his new book and the man himself.

The focus is reciprocity, responding in kind to another person.  In a positive sense, responding to another’s kind act with a kind act of your own.  In Give and Take Adam Grant breaks down our preference for reciprocity into three categories:

  • Takers: Takers like to get more than they give. They put their own interests ahead of others and seek to come out ahead in every exchange.
  • Matchers: The majority of us are matchers, and we generally give to others in expectation our favors will be returned. It was a matcher who coined the expression, “you owe me one.”
  • Givers: Givers want to help others independent of an easily foreseeable payback. They’re generous with time and expertise, and go out of their way to help others succeed.

Here is the key question … which type generally is the most successful and which type is the least successful?

On average, based on Grant’s research, givers are the least successful.  The chumps so to speak.  This is a broad stroke and people of each preference can be successful.  Yet, what did the research say about which type is generally the most successful … the givers again.

Givers can be chumps or they can be champs.  

Givers become champs by both taking action on own self-interests AND continuously helping others succeed.  There need not be a balance and givers do not seek it.  They help others succeed without expectation of an equal return.  In the long run givers get back far more than they give.

The book presents great research and true life stories of people representing the full spectrum of preferences.  A start to Adam Grant’s book and ideas is in found in this article from Fast Company, Advice on Becoming a More Generous Leader.

This article presents several ideas accessible to leaders here and now striving to be a better giver.  Read the article for more detail, but really people you are not surprised, right?

  1. Recognize the full potential in people
  2. Share your knowledge and expertise
  3. See and express the best in people
  4. Identify giving tendencies in performance evaluations and job interviews

On Adam Grant’s website there is an assessment to give you some indication on the balance of your preference for taking, matching or giving.   I took it and … 80% giver and 20% matcher. 

So the next question … am I a champ or a chump?   The journey to me continues. 

 

Thursday Thought – Bad on the Outside, Good on the Inside

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Note: Each Thursday I will post a little something to inspire us to finish the week strong. These Thursday Thoughts will be a quote, piece of music, artwork, or inspirational video.  Congratulations, you made it over the hump and let’s finish the week together.

It has been a tough week.  Oddly thanks to Justin Bieber we are reminded of the eternal Anne Frank and her wonderful image of what the world can be.

And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren’t any other people living in the world.

 
Yet the world is full of people, the good and the bad.  Anne knew the answer …choose the good that is inside and hold onto it.  Do not let the outside world draw the bad into your heart.   
 
i_LOVE_BOSTON
 
 

A Thousand Fibers Connect Us

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I am thinking a lot about connections these days.  How we establish meaningful connections with each other.  How we maintain these connections.  How fragile these connections can be in times of stress. 

We cannot live only for ourselves.  A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects. - Herman Melville

As leaders we are responsible for our own connections and we set the groundwork for a healthy organizational ecology where healthy connections thrive.  This is how we grow and prosper. 

The best leaders can “see” the thousand fibers that connect us.  They act with purpose and understand every act, big or small, works to strengthen our bonds or weaken them. 

Act with purpose.  Recognize the fibers that connect us all.   

waterRipples

Death to the BHAG

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Recently I read a post where the author used the term, BHAG.  My stomach turned when I read the post.  I thought of years ago when I attended a big company meeting listening to my senior leaders use that term, BHAG.  They spoke like they invented the term.  The BHAG will lead us to success.  For a period of time BHAG was the word at my organization. 

I admit it. At the time I loved it.  “Bring on the BHAG!”

Now I wish the BHAG to die a quick death.

bhagWhat is a BHAG you ask … Big Hairy Audacious Goal. 

Goal setting is important for leaders.  We know this.  Yet, these days I stop short of the BHAG.  If I never hear the term again, I will be a happy person. 

As I strive to be a better leader, I want to understand why the term bothers me so much these days.  Am I being too harsh on the BHAG?  I do love the word, audacious.  I think not, but let me do a Google Search and see what hits I get for “problem with BHAG”. 

Well, 2,720,000 results for my search - really?!  BHAG has its own Wikipedia site.  I see references to the original authors of the term, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras – the authors of one of my favorite business books, Built to Last.  I see other bloggers writing on the topic of the BHAG.  I do not know if most are yea or nay on the BHAG and I have no time to read the countless sites. 

Fortunately the first search result turns out to be the only one I need to read.  It is from one of the best on leadership and business success, Tom Peters.  His post is titled, From BHAG to CCAG. Or From Big Hairy Audacious Goal to Clear and Compelling Audacious Goal. 

Tom keeps the audacious term … marked by originality and verve; daring, bold.  Yea, I do like that word. 

I invite you to read Tom’s post here.  I share Tom’s view as it gets to the heart of my problem with the BHAG.  A stated BHAG is not enough as often the leader is more interested in stating the goal (with much fanfare) than clearly articulating how we will get there. The path is not important, just get me there. 

The bigger, the hairier, with extra audacious sauce … the better the goal. 

This is wrong.  I know it now.  Those I work with and all those who no longer work for my company know it too.  Yes, an organization needs goals.  Goals that indeed stretch and grow the organization.  Yet goals need clarity and involvement.  We must take that big goal and create the path to get there.  That is leadership.

If leaders turn a blind eye to everything but the BHAG then an organization can behave in such a way as to get there under any circumstance … and lose sense of self along the way.  Once one states a BHAG, the most important step is not the last step where one reaches the BHAG.  The most important step is the first one. 

I have learned this lesson the hard way, but ultimately the only way to learn … from life experiences.    I will continue to have goals for myself and my team.  I do dream of returning to a spot where we discuss big goals.  Even audacious goals.  Yet always clear and compelling.   WeMoveTogether. 

goal setting steps

Damn, I am a Sales Person

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carsales

I am on this kick lately on introversion vs. extroversion.   Off and on I am working through Susan Cain’s Book, Quiet.  I am an introvert and the topic is very interesting to me as I read more about open and collaborative workplaces and the promise of more networked learning.

Computers, networks and open-work spaces.  Less we forget our humanity.

More to follow on Susan’s book and the impact for our organizations.  Indeed we accomplish more together, yet to leverage the strength of each unique individual lies the promise.  Many of these people are quiet voices with profound contributions ready to be heard.

For today I read an interesting article in the Washington Post called, Why Extroverts Fail, Introverts Flounder and You Probably Succeed.  In the article the author, Daniel Pink, argues that leaders are indeed sales people and share many of the same traits.  Leaders sell.

I invite you to read the article yourself, but in a nutshell the research shows that both extroverts and introverts do not make the best sales people and by extending the argument, not the best leaders.  A  different group called ambiverts do the best. As compared to introverts and extroverts, more people fall into this middle range.

The best way to understand this is to use a 1 to 7 scale with strong introversion being a 1 and strong extroversion being a 7.  The scale is a continuum.  Each of us lies on this scale from 1 to 7.  Ambiverts fill that middle ground say 3, 4, 5.

Ambiverts are not quiet, but they are not loud.  They know how to assert themselves, but they are not pushy.  

Hum, I called myself an introvert earlier and now say that introverts do not make good leaders.   I share this to point out that we need to be careful.  I am a good leader while possessing many introverted traits.  There are great extroverted leaders as well.  One can fall anywhere on this scale and still perform very well as a leader.

While interesting, we have to be careful with conclusions as presented in this article.  We are more than a number on a scale.  I call myself an introvert, but I am more complex than that label.  Introversion is my home, yet I do leave my home and find great joy in working with people each day.    From that place I retreat back to home to re-energize.

Being a leader is not easy.  But I will tell you a secret.  I think you know this one.  Be curious about people.  Get to know them.  Recognize how they are different from you and others on your team.  Find each person’s unique contribution.

Find and welcome the voice.  The voice of each person.

In that we come together and indeed, WeMoveTogether.

Time To Walk …

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dark_woods

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

- Henry David Thoreau

Use Your Shield

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I am still out of sorts from the events experienced last Friday.  Goodbyes take their toll.   Anyhow let me begin to move on through my writing.

shield1I keep a deck of cards on my desk at work.  These are not playing cards.  The card deck is called the “Creative Whack Pack” created by Roger Von Oech.   While the cards are probable 20 years old, no worries there is an App for that!  Check it out for yourself.

Each card has a separate idea on creativity and thus, for me, good fodder for leaders.   Today with little inspiration to write I pulled the deck out and randomly picked a card.   I told myself I would write about that card.

My card choice … “Use Your Shield”.   The lesson concerned new ideas and how they can be threatening and often provoke a negative reaction.  We need to anticipate such reactions and not let them stop us from acting on our ideas.

Thus the metaphor of using your shield to ward off the negativity.  With this shield how can I be harmed?

I like it.  I find strength in thinking about such a shield (of course I have days when a real shield is preferable).  The point of course is not the shield itself, but the idea protected behind it.  What ideas do you have now that you expect may be received in a negative manner?   Do you hold back the new idea because you expect a negative reaction? 

Build up your own shield.   Stand strong and present your idea to the world.  You may get battered, but you will survive stronger than before. 

Of course when I think through the power of building up a shield and using it, I pause.   These days too many people are holding up shields.  They may be protecting a great idea (good thing) or sadly holding their shield to ward off the ideas of others.

As leaders we need to know when to hold up our shield to protect our ideas and the ideas of those we lead.  We also need to know when it is best to lower our shield and listen to that possible great idea sitting right there, behind another’s shield.

Some People Are More Certain

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quiet-bookI am reading a wonderful book titled, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking“.   Author Susan Cain has written the book I have wanted to read for years.    I will share more from this book and its careful research in future posts.

I thought I knew much on human interactions and how best to organize the workplace.   This book changes so much of that thinking.   Once again, more to follow and do check out the book for yourself.

As to being so sure on what we think we know, the author shares a great quote from Robert Rubin, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton.

Some people are more certain of everything

than I am of anything.

There is power in being thoughtful, expressing doubt, and exploring new solutions.   It is the powerful leader that holds these traits.   Think about it.  We will talk more.

My First Love … The Hobbit

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the-book-reader

The Hobbit Movie comes out this week.   I am taking this occasion to respond to an award nomination months ago from David at Lead.Learn.Live.   His site is the place to go daily for some inspiration and fun.  Back in September he nominated me for the Booker Award.

I love to read and thought it was cool to list some of my favorite books.  Alas, it took me a few months to write about it.  Hey, I was too busy reading!

With these awards there are rules.  As I get deeper into my blog life I realize that rules are well, guidelines.  1) Nominate 5-10 bloggers and let your recipients know. (2) Post The Booker Award picture. (3) Share your top 5 books of all time.

Let’s see if I get around to nominating fellow bloggers.  For those reading this post do share your own list of favorite books.  No need to list five … remember these are guidelines.

Okay, here is my list.  Give me a week and it may change and that is good.   My love of reading is profound.  It is my main means to relax; to slow the heart rate, breathe, and open the mind to possibilities.  This list has a few book series, but once again … guidelines, not rules.

  1. The Red and the Black (Le Rouge et le Noir) by Stendhal: A classic (French 1830); A complex book full of great characters and considered the first psychological thriller.
  2. The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov: I read it for extra credit in High School Physics.  History, vast space and a human story.  Science Fiction rocks.
  3. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.  I love his writing.  He has larger scale books with deep, deep feeling and meaning.  This book though, while short, speaks to me.  Great characters that seem so real.  Have you ever smelled a book?  This book smells of fresh seafood, of life.
  4. The Gabriel Allon Spy Series by Daniel Silva:  Great writing and modern-day spy novels.  Start at the beginning and go.  Did I mention great writing?
  5. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: My favorite book.  It was voted as the best book of the 20th Century.  Yep, I am in good company.  I hope that those who only know the movies read the books.  So well written and a thrill each time I read it (yea, a few times).
  6. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien:  The first book I remember reading as a young teenager and wanting more.  It started me as a book reader and specifically searching out fantasy / science fiction novels.

You never forget your first love.  From all accounts the new Hobbit movie will be great.  All the better to get me to read the book yet again.

Verbal Bucket List

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I read a wonderful post today on Forbes Magazine’s website.  The author, Jessica Hagy, listed her “40 Things To Say Before You Die“.  A verbal bucket list if you will. Each had its own simple illustration to drive the point home.  I loved the list and please do read it yourself (link here).

Each of us relate to different items on this list.  For me two stand out.  The first is something to say to yourself.  The second is something to say to another.

 

#20 “I can master this.” 

The Ability to learn is the foundation of every other talent.

Willingness/ability to learn is near the top of my list  and certainly as I think about leadership and everything I want to accomplish with my blog.   Leaders learn.  Leaders help others learn.  We move to new places through learning. 

 

#1 “I understand.” 

More important than being right, or being important, is being truly aware.

As a leader our ability to silent our thoughts and monitor our feelings builds the space to understand others.  Through understanding we find the means to move forward together.  

Do check out the list yourself (link here).  Thought-provoking and entertaining too.  Let me know what stands out for you.

All the best and WeMoveTogether through learning and understanding.