Actionable Books

What’s your prediction for the future? You may think it doesn’t matter much. It does. Your perspective can actually have an impact on how the future turns out.  Your view of the world will shape your actions.  And your actions will shape the world. That’s what Peter Diamandis and Steve Kotler aim to do with their book, Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think. They want to change your world view (literally, your view of the world), give you some ideas about what is already happening, and show how you can join the revolution.  They do this by describing in detail some of the new technologies and advancements in a variety of critical areas, such as clean water, food, energy, health care and how innovative solutions are emerging to solve the world’s biggest problems. Understanding what is working and how you can contribute in a meaningful way will ‘expand your notions of the possible’ and have you saying, “Yeah, we can do this” by the end of the book. Golden Egg Solving Problems Anywhere, Solves Problems Everywhere “Our days of isolation are behind us. In today’s world, what happens ‘over there’ impacts ‘over here.’” Abundance, introduction You have to admit, things are different now.  Compared with even just a few years ago, the ubiquity of cell phones and the connection to information on a world wide scale has caused an explosion of collaboration and innovation, even the overthrow of governments. Specifically, the viral spread of cell phones in Africa has “had about the same effect as a democratic change of leadership” says business executive Isis Nyong’o. In 2001, 134 million Nigerians were sharing 500,000 landlines. By 2007, Nigeria had 30 million cellular subscribers. Africa and other developing countries are skipping the wired cable infrastructure stage and entering directly into instant wireless access to all the same information that the developed world has, creating what Diamandis calls, “the rising billion.”  These are the 4 billion people occupying the lowest strata of the economic pyramid, the so-called bottom billion, who have lately become a viable economic market. Individually, they may live on less than $2 a day, but their aggregate purchasing power creates significant possibilities. Crucial is the sharing of information, which is our latest, our brightest, commodity. “In a world of material goods and material exchange, trade is a zero-sum game,” says inventor Dean Kamen. “I’ve got a hunk of gold and you have a watch. If we trade, then I have a watch and you have a hunk of gold. But if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we exchange them, then we both have two ideas. It’s nonzero.” And ideas are spreading across the planet at remarkable speed. Over the next eight years, three billion new individuals will be coming online, joining the global conversation, and contributing to the global economy. Their ideas – ideas we’ve never before had access to – will result in new discoveries, products, and inventions that will benefit us all. GEM #1 Exponential Technologies are Accelerating Global Change “If you want to know if technology is accelerating fast enough to bring about an age of global abundance, then you need to know how to predict the future.” Abundance, page 51 Exponential growth is a simple doubling: 1, 2, 4, 8. When you start below 1 (as in .0001) the curve looks like a horizontal line for a while, 13 doublings before it gets to 1, but only seven doublings later the line has skyrocketed above 100.  This quick explosion is hard for our mind to fathom, but it is exactly what is happening in multiple technologies, not just computer processing speed. It started in the early 1950’s when the Air Force tracked the accelerating progress of flight from the Wright brothers forward. They discovered a shocking conclusion: a trip to the moon should be soon possible. Sure enough, the USSR Sputnik and US rockets to the moon occurred right on schedule,

“All of us struggle at one time or another with creative block.   Inevitably striking at the worst moment, it can leave you feeling paralyzed and inept.  Take solace in knowing that you are not alone: it happens to everyone and is an unavoidable part o...

Have sales roles always been a mystery to you? Or alternatively, do you find yourself sitting on a plateau in your own sales performance? In Selling the Wheel, author Jeff Cox and Howard Stevens tell the story of a “technology startup” - a fictional company inventing and marketing the wheel - evolving into a large corporation.  Through his humorous and inspired story, Cox gives readers a look into the entire ecosystem and lifecycle of a business, focusing his attention on which elements are integral to specific sales processes. Golden Egg There is no Perfect Salesperson “For one thing, we learned that there is no such thing as the perfect salesperson who is universally effective with all customers.” Selling the Wheel, page 9 Cox clearly illustrates through his story that different types of salespeople or sales systems are more impactful than others at various points throughout the life of a company. There simply is not one-type of perfect salesperson. For example, in the early years of a company’s life, it’s crucial to have someone who is able to close one-time deals with as many early adopters as possible. This salesperson sells not only a product or service, but also sells the opportunity associated with the product. As this salesperson is one that will do anything to seal the deal, he often neglects the other aspects of relationship management, such as client support or service. However, as a company begins growing and taking on larger clients, the ideal salesperson’s role starts changing: instead of getting clients simply to sign the dotted line, the role is more about building a system that helps instruct the early majority of users on how to use the product. The system also offers support for any damages to the product. Later on, when the majority of clients have started using the technology (in the case of our story, the wheel), the salesperson’s role once again evolves: instead of instructing or converting non-users into users, it is now about maintaining relationships with everyone, client or not. Most people have now tried this technology. In order to acquire customers, a good salesperson waits patiently for their prospect’s current business partner to mess up, either through neglect or poor service. Once this happens, the salesperson then intervenes and attempts to win the client. As the company and the competition begin to saturate the market, one salesperson is no longer enough to capture the entire market. Instead, our original salesperson is now leading a sales team that simply try to remove barriers for clients to buy their product, and outdo the competition by adding more value per client. As we can see through the various iterations of company growth outlined above, the most appropriate salesperson, sales style, and set of priorities can vary dramatically. While you may have always thought that “sales” wasn’t your strong point, it’s worth considering that you may just need to switch the type of sales that you’re exploring. If you’ve hit a plateau in your sales, it could be because your style and focus isn’t aligned with your company’s (current) needs. Try moving to an earlier or later stage of the process. GEM #1 Ozzie the Oracle “For the price of a burnt offering, you could ask any question and the Oracle would tune in to the infinite and tell you what was what.” Selling the Wheel, page 21 Throughout the plot of Selling the Wheel, whenever the entrepreneurial protagonist was stuck at an intersection, or faced with an overwhelming competitor, he and his business partner would pay “Ozzie the Oracle” a visit. It was here that they received pivotal strategic advice that would change their company and their approach to sales. While the notion of an all-knowing and all-foreseeing mentor is just as nonexistent as the perfect salesperson, the real-life Ozzie the Oracle could be a board of advisors, mentors, or directors.  Where will you turn to when you have no idea what to do?

"Remember that Tribal Leadership is not about changing ideas or gaining knowledge; it is about changing language and relationships.  It's not about intellectualizations; it's about actions." Tribal Leadership, page 37 Tribal Leadership is one of the ...

“Never walk away from another touchy, controversial, or complex issue, - at work or at home!” Crucial Confrontations, Back Cover Have you had a situation where you were disappointed with someone else, perhaps with a boss, co-worker, spouse or child? ...

"When we surveyed hundreds of managers around the world...95 percent of these leaders fundamentally misunderstood the most important source of motivation...the conventional rules miss the fundamental act of good management: managing for progress." The Progress Principle, pages 3 & 10 The husband-and-wife team of Amabile and Kramer have studied creativity for more than 35 years. Along the way, they have challenged some long-held assumptions about how we work, how we create. During a year-long study involving over 120,000 work events reported as they happened, they noticed a pattern: what mattered most in any work environment, no matter the worker's basic personality or position in the company, progress, however small, was the greatest indicator of their happiness and performance. Golden Egg Making Progress, However Small, is the Greatest Indicator of Performance and Satisfaction "[O]ur research is unambiguous. As inner work life rises and falls, so does performance...making progress in meaningful work is the most powerful stimulant to great inner work life." The Progress Principle, pages 45 & 74 Ask any manager what motivates their top workers, what would turn their laggards around, and they'll comment on carrots and sticks. Extrinsic rewards and punishment are the average manager's first (and often last) resort. It turns out that's wrong. Studying data collected in real time from dozens of employees at seven companies, progress was the outstanding causative factor. Whether the company was floundering or flying, whether their manager was a saint or a jerk, it was the daily small wins which motivated people to try harder, to come up with more creative solutions, and to be happier while doing more. The Progress Principle states that progress contributes to positive inner work life, which contributes to progress, creating an upward spiral of creativity, engagement, and performance. Inner work life is defined as "the confluence of perceptions, emotions, and motivations that individuals experience as they react to and make sense of the events of their workday." It is inner because it is invisible to others, including supervisors. It relates to work because that's where it takes place, and that's what it affects. And it is life because it is ongoing, growing and changing, and affects life outside work. Whether it's employees, partners, co-workers, or our own children, fostering positive inner work life creates happiness while motivating greater performance. GEM #1 describes some ways to do this. GEM #2 highlights a critical warning about the asymmetry of good and bad events. GEM #1 Support Progress with Catalysts and People with Nourishment "[C]atalysts are triggers directed at the project, nourishers are interpersonal triggers, directed at the person." The Progress Principle, page 82 Catalysts, actions which affect work, and nourishers, events which affect people, are powerful because while they contribute to progress, even before that, they contribute to positive inner work life. The effects of catalysts and nourishers are immediate. These are actions all of us can take to contribute to progress and positive inner work life in others. The 7 Major Catalysts: Setting clear goals — knowing where you're going, and why Allowing autonomy — self-direction creates drive Providing resources — having the proper tools makes any task more efficient and enjoyable Giving enough time—but not too much — constant time pressure is destructive, and low time pressure contributes to boredom Help with the work — sometimes we all need information or skills we don't have Learning from problems and successes — shining a non-judgmental light on failure in order to learn from it contributes to psychological safety Allowing ideas to flow — good communication without negativity   The 4 Major Nourishers Respect — recognition, honesty, civility Encouragement — enthusiasm,

“Relationship experts tell you how to maintain successful relationships, wealth experts teach you how to manage your money, and health experts help you improve your body. Unfortunately, these experts often disagree with each other…If you try to incorporate all these different ideas into your life, you’ll end up with a fragmented, incongruent mess. I soon realized that an intelligent approach to personal development would have to resolve these incongruencies somehow. Such an approach would have to make logical and intuitive sense, satisfying both head and heart. It would have to appear logically correct in order to satisfy the left brain, and it would have to feel intuitively correct in order to engage the right brain.” Personal Development for Smart People, page xv I’m generally not a fan of many personal development books, but for Steve Pavlina I’m ready to make an exception. Personal Development for Smart People belongs on your bookshelf in between that copy of Linchpin by Seth Godin, and The 4-hour Work Week by Tim Feriss, because it focuses on helping readers develop a universal framework for living a more purposeful and spiritually self-aware existence in all aspects of their lives – whether it be work, health, finances or relationships. It also helps readers identify which of the ideas that enter their life are worth holding onto, and which are worth discarding – an important distinction to be learned for those who wish to live lives of simplicity, meaning, clarity and purpose. A departure from most personal development narratives, what struck me most about this book was its lack of focus on direct solutions to problems that face most people, and a greater emphasis on the process by which readers can develop a system for understanding problems, analyze them within a self-defined framework and arrive at solutions that aligns with their personal aspirations and values. Pavlina’s personal involvement in this book takes less of the form of a guru, and more of a guide. A friend and mentor who has made most of the mistakes that there are to make, and who has devoted a greater portion of his life and career to understanding how people can be spurred on to live lives of fulfillment and conscious personal growth – personal and professional growth which is self-determined, willful and congruent with one’s values and aspirations – this is a book that should always be within sight. And there’s no better way to judge a book’s credibility than to begin by examining the experiences that make its author a credible spiritual guide. Golden Egg Truth “Do you remember the exact moment you first became interested in personal development? I certainly do. It happened in January 1991 while I was sitting in a jail cell. I’d just been arrested for felony grand theft. This wasn’t my first run-in with the law, so I knew I was in trouble. I was 19 years old.” Personal Development for Smart People, page ix And so it begins. From being troubled youth with a history of shoplifting and petty crime whose luck ultimately runs out, to becoming a college student able to complete four years of university education in just three semesters and graduating with the highest distinctions just two years later, to launching a career as an entrepreneur and successful game-developer by his early twenties, Steve Pavlina’s true obsession has been to identify universal principles that can be applied in order to pursue lifelong conscious growth, and to uncover the “hidden order beneath our seemingly chaotic growth experiences” (page xiv). “The laws of physics are universal. Although their specific applications can vary tremendously, these governing laws don’t change based on our location, our culture, or our moods; the core principles are the same whether we’re dealing with rockets or submarines. Why should the field of personal development be any different? Couldn’t universal laws of consciousness exist as well?” (page xvi). And in doing so,

"In today's networked world, trust has become the new currency." Smart Trust, page xxiii Would you loan me $20? Unless you know me personally, probably not. When you buy a book at Amazon.com, do you take the great deal offered by BrandNewSeller#37 and get a “like new” used copy for half price, or do you pay full price to get it from Amazon? Take a look at Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. Chart the gross domestic product of each nation, and note the near-perfect correlation between trust to prosperity, worldwide. From individuals to companies to entire nations, trust affects not only how we do business, but how much business we do. If we are perceived to be trustworthy, business is streamlined. There's less muss and fuss when both players trust. Warren Buffett has closed multimillion dollar deals on, literally, a handshake, because there was trust on both sides. Introduced in his first book The Speed of Trust, Covey's concept of "smart trust" aims to help us find a human and rational balance between our innate desire to trust and our learned fear of being taken for a ride and then asked to pay the fare. Golden Egg Trust Changes Prosperity, Energy, and Joy "He studied how other banks set up their loan operation, and then he set up a bank, the Grameen Bank, that did the exact opposite ... Contrary to almost everyone's expectations, an amazing 98 percent of Grameen Bank borrowers do pay back their loans ... [T]o date the organization has made more than $6 billion in loans to more than 8 million borrowers." Smart Trust, pages 7-8 Distrust slows processes. It requires more paperwork, more checks and balances, more conversations, more people, more time. Businesses working in a low-trust environment incur a tax. Everything they do costs more. Trust not only eliminates that tax, it acts as a performance multiplier. Two studies quoted by Covey and Link found that high-trust organizations outperformed low-trust organizations and the market in general by almost three times. High-trust relationships amplify the engagement and innovation of all involved. Worrying less about hidden agendas frees the players to dig in and do the work. A chart showing the relationship between trust and happiness within countries shows a tight connection: higher trust brings greater happiness. Trust is the difference between happiness, success, progress, and stagnation and misery. GEM #1 Balance Propensity to Trust with Analysis “Smart trust … optimizes two key factors: (1) a propensity to trust and (2) analysis.”   Smart Trust, page 57 You've known both types: the gullible trusting sort who's always taken advantage of, and the paranoiac misanthrope who has their own mother sign a receipt. Most of us fall somewhere in between, with a strong leaning toward one or the other. Smart trust is not about balance, trusting enough but not too much. It is about trusting just as much as possible, while keeping an eye on the downside. Getting the analysis right is the trick. Covey shows us three areas to analyze: opportunity, risk, and credibility. How great is the opportunity? Some outcomes are so worthwhile they warrant the risks which are necessary to get there. Other times, the risks are so great that no outcome validates them. Risk is where this often falls apart. Covey and Link tell two brief stories: one, about the commander of a nuclear sub who pointed out that they had regulations about everything right down to using the bathroom. Nobody was about to change that, because if something goes wrong on a nuclear sub, the outcome can be a world-class disaster. On the other hand, newspaper companies accept the risk that when someone drops a quarter in the machine, they just might take two papers instead of one. Newspapers probably recycle more than is stolen. Low-risk, that. So in your analysis, ask yourself, are we talking about nukes or newspapers? When the other party has credibility,

"As Henry Ford said, 'Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.'" Traction, page 215 Note that while Traction is written for the more classic "entrepreneur", the lessons and insights culled from the book and discussed below are equally applicable to all business leaders, regardless of organizational structure, size or age. You're always working in your business, but how often are you working on it? Written as a guide book for entrepreneurial leaders of small to mid-sized businesses, Traction offers the plan, tools and success stories to help you disengage from the day to day of your business to take a "bird's eye view".  While what you see from up there may not be pretty, the Entrepreneur's Operating System (or, EOS, as author Gino Wickman refers to it) offers a clean, simple approach to tidying up your business practices and making your operation more profitable. Gino's system is built around the importance of working on your business; taking regular "time-outs" from the day-to-day to clarify and prioritize objectives, review systems and identify issues.  Time set aside to think.  Nothing in Gino's system is particularly earth shattering (as he himself admits), but then again, we typically "need to be reminded more often than taught", as Patrick Lencioni has said.  EOS appears to be an effective, complete way of thinking about small business, and I'm personally eager to put some of the concepts into play. Golden Egg Less is More "Simplify, simplify." Henry David Thoreau "One 'simplify' would have sufficed." Ralph Waldo Emerson Traction page 20 As business leaders, it's easy to overcomplicate things.  To over commit.  We want to launch the new product, hire the new person and implement the new system.  Today. We want to build in contingencies for everything, and (particularly if we're the visionary in the company) we want to share all of our ideas, all at once.  We want to do it all, right now. Welcome to the classic "enthusiasm trap" of the entrepreneurial leader.  Trying to operate at 120% capacity at all times leads to staff frustration, communication breakdown and personal burnout.  Wickman, through his work with over 100 clients in 800 sessions, has proven that when it comes to moving your business forward, less truly is more. GEM #1 Can I have your number? "The ability to create accountability and discipline, and then execute is the area of greatest weakness in most organizations." Traction, page 165 One of the reasons Wickman pushes for simplification and clarity is that they reduce any chance of ambiguity; of people shirking responsibility under the justifiable, "I didn't know it was that important" excuse.  Simplification, by definition, reduces the number of priorities, clarifying for everyone in the organization the most important deliverables for which they are responsible. Wickman suggests taking it one step forward, giving everyone "a number" as a part of their job description.  10 sales calls a week.  98% up time on the line. 8/10 customer satisfaction. Etc.  When you give people (and yourself) numbers, you make it infinitely easier to determine if the job is being done to a satisfactory level.  You make it easier to identify challenges, unrealistic expectations and capacity shortages.  You can—in black and white—see how well you're tracking to your goals.  And, perhaps most importantly, you're prioritizing the activities of a role or project.  (Depending on your role, you may have 1-3 "numbers", but watch for anything higher than that... as a whole organization/unit, you really shouldn't be tracking more than 10-15, total.) What are the most important numbers for your organization/department/role?  Who owns them and how are you tracking them?  Having a regular check in period (weekly/monthly/quarterly) is as important for accountability as having the numbers in the first place. GEM #2 Too much of a good thing

"You may be a great salesperson or an inspired engineer. You may be terrific with customers and employees. Your concept for a company is probably fantastic. But if you don’t know finance, you’re operating at a disadvantage in the world of business.” Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, page 4 Do you know what your burn rate is? What about your cash conversion cycle? Are you surprised that your company is running out of cash even though it’s profitable? These questions, and more, are answered in Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs as Karen Berman and Joe Knight, founders of the Business Literacy Institute, break down what the numbers in your business really mean. They walk through, step-by-step, how you can analyze your company's Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement to really understand how your business is performing and how you can make more informed, and better, business decisions. And no, you don’t need an MBA in Finance to understand all of it either. But before you get caught up in calculating profit margins, return on assets, days sales outstanding and other critical ratios, it’s important to understand one fundamental principle: “finance is as much an art as it is a science.” Golden Egg Learn the Art of Finance “The art of accounting and finance is the art of using limited data to come as close as possible to an accurate description of how well a company is performing.” Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, page 6   I think we can all agree that 2 + 2 = 4. But when it comes to the world of business finance, it’s not that clear cut. “[bookkeepers and accountants] can’t know exactly what everyone in the company does every day, so they don’t know exactly how to allocate costs. They can’t know exactly how long a piece of equipment will last, so they don’t know how much of its original cost to record in any given year… Accounting and finance are not reality, they are a reflection of reality, and the accuracy of that reflection depends on the ability of bookkeepers, accountants, and finance professionals to make reasonable assumptions and to calculate reasonable estimates.” (pg. 6) GEM #1 Understand the Assumptions & Estimates “If you aren’t aware of the assumptions and estimates that underline the numbers and how those assumptions and estimates affect the numbers in one direction or another, your decisions may be faulty.” Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, page 13 Bookkeepers, accountants and other financial professionals in your organization make various assumptions and estimates when they prepare financial statements such as the Income Statement. And it’s crucial to the success of your business that you understand what these assumptions and estimates are because these are the numbers you use to make daily decisions on the direction of your business. Let’s look at an example that Karen and Joe share in the book: “Imagine, for instance, that you run a business that resells specialized telephone equipment to local customers. Most of your customers buy the equipment with a maintenance contract, and the whole thing is wrapped up in one financial package. Now, suppose you deliver the equipment in October, but the maintenance contract is good for the following twelve months. How much of the initial purchase price should be recorded on the books for October? After all, you haven’t yet delivered all the services that you are responsible for during the year. Your accountant can estimate the value of those services, of course, and adjust revenue for October accordingly. But this requires a big judgment call.” (pg. 12) As you can see, even seemingly simple questions like “When is a sale a sale?” require some assumptions to be made. And if you take the example above one step further and realize that you most likely pay out sales commissions and bonuses according to how and when revenue is recognized,

"You see, a champion is never something you become… ever. It starts now by acting as a champion, committing yourself to practicing the habits and ways of a champion, choosing to engage in a lifestyle that demonstrates such qualities and characteristics on a consistent daily basis.” The Way of the Champion, pg i Looking back on his experience working with championship teams and athletes, sports psychologist and international speaker Jerry Lynch shares the habits and practices that separate the would-be champions from The Champions in The Way of the Champion. At the heart of his strategy is the teaching of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and other Tao wisdom, which he explains with the contributions of Chungliang Al Huang, an internationally recognized authority on the Tao. But, The Way of the Champion does more than just share the mental habits and lifestyle of a Champion. Perhaps the greatest benefit is the personal journey you take throughout the book, as you become more self-aware by answering and reflecting on the “Questions on the Quest” at the end of every chapter. These questions are meant to not only review the lessons learned, but also help you on your journey as a champion as you become more aware of where you are now, and where you’d like to get to. And there’s one particular principle that stands out from the rest. Golden Egg Focus Your Energy On What You Can Control “Champions fully grasp the difference between what they can and can’t control in an event or life situation, and choose to focus on the former.” The Way of the Champion, page vi As you learn about the mental habits and practices of The Champion, there is one key principle to keep in mind: Focus Your Energy on What You Can Control. It’s easy to get caught up with results and outcomes. With winning or losing. With hitting that "million dollar" sales mark. But it’s crucial to understand that once you’ve set your goal, your focus needs to shift to the process of achieving that goal. Your focus needs to shift to the things you can control to help achieve that goal. “Focus away from the results and more on the process. Focusing on the results creates anxiety, stress, and a good deal of tension. Focusing on the process allows you to relax and feel confident in what you can do.” (pg 28) You truly cannot guarantee the specific outcome or result of any event in life. But you can control how you think, act and behave on a daily basis at any given moment. Here are two methods to help sharpen your focus. GEM #1 Find Your Still Point “To fulfill the advice of this Tao wisdom, I help all of my athletes and clients to practice MINDFULNESS, a way or system to help quiet the mind (meditate), calm the body, and marinate the nervous system in positive images and self-talk.” The Way of the Champion, pg 61 Knowing you should be focusing on the things you can control is one thing, and actually doing it is another. With all the distractions we have in this day and age, it’s easy to forget about what we “should be doing”; what with our constantly ringing cell phones, updating social media streams, and wanting to squeeze more out of every minute. This is where the Tao state of mind, the still point, comes in. It’s a practice that’s been used by champion athletes such as Tiger Woods and championship teams such as the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Do the following with eyes closed to find your still point: 1. Breathe in slowly through your nostrils, and as you do, feel the coolness of the air coming as it fills your lungs. Imagine the breath going to all parts of the body. 2. When your lungs are filled to capacity, hold or suspend your breath for five seconds. 3. Slowly exhale through the nostrils, and as you do, feel the warmth of the air as it exits the body. 4. Repeat this process seven or eight times, focusing on the alternating cool/warm temperatures of the breath. Notice how, with each breathe,

“In fact, they were just like you, me, and most of the people on this planet, which means that all of us are perfectly capable of cheating a little bit.” The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, page 238 We received these “Your Radio Diary” booklets in t...

“What did the customer say no to? – nothing? – then how did you know he was done (had bought all he was going to)?” Go for No, page 28 The storyline of Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz’s Go for No is genius. It’s something we all wish was possible: get a glimpse now of what will happen in our future. We learn all of the concepts of Going for No by hearing "successful Eric" talking to "not-so-successful Eric" of 10 years ago.  Despite the fact that Eric is a salesperson, the concepts from Go for No are universally applicable.   Since the risk of rejection is what stops most of us from trying things, we all need to learn to reframe the word "No". I really loved the reminders from the book about the jobs where failing is a common occurrence – baseball players getting back up to bat, doctors serving the next patient after one died, an entrepreneur starting a restaurant, inventors. There are also examples of people in jobs who kept going after failures - Abraham Lincoln, Babe Ruth, Colonel Sanders, Thomas Edison, to name a few.  In all these cases, it's often the successes we focus on and remember, sometimes forgetting about the "failures" all together.  It's so important that we are reminded that the failures are a part of the path to success. The steps for implementing the concepts of Go for No are so succinct that after reading the book's seventy-four, large print, lots-of-white space pages, I find I don’t even have to look at my notes to rewrite them: Most people are looking for a Yes, so they stop when they get one and limit their success by taking themselves out of the game (set daily or weekly goals for how many No’s you’ll get, not how many Yes’s). When looking for people who’ll say Yes you need to fail faster so you can get on to the next person who may be the Yes (start by asking for the sale so you can move on to the next person if they say No). No just means not yet (people say No 4 times before they say Yes so keep track of the number of No’s per person and plan to go back). Next after hearing No, a failure, go onto the next person. (Of course think about and learn from what happened, but go on to the next person quickly.) You need to want to fail, not just be willing to (believing this will make you keep trying to fail and eventually you’ll not fear it/dislike it as you see that it will get you to more successes). Golden Egg The Virtues of Failing “Failure is the halfway mark on the way to success.” Go for No, page 29 How many sales have I happily made (ideas to my boss/staff/co-workers and products/services to customers) thinking that I got exactly what I wanted, a Yes?  Now I wonder, was I thinking too small in my ask?  Had I gotten some No’s (4 of them) on the way to Yes I’d know for sure I’d done my best. GEM #1 Fail Eagerly “Set goals for the number of No’s you’re going to get each week.” Go for No, page 46 Being innately competitive as a species, we have a natural desire to reach any goals we set for ourselves (or are set for us). Setting failure goals is a way to be excited about failing/hearing the word No.  Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” So go out and try, even if you may hear the word No! And crucially important for managers/companies – to help staff succeed, we need to reward failure - recognize it as an essential part of getting to yes - or no matter what, people will still work for Yes and therefore avoid No.  We work for what we get rewarded for! GEM #2 Next – The Magic Word “Failure Quotient – how many times is a person willing to fail before succeeding?”  Go for No, page 50 As I was reading I was thinking – what could make me want to implement this concept? What makes people be able to overcome decades of not wanting to hear no, to now embracing it? And then I realized that the people the authors use as examples have something in common (Colonel Sanders, Babe Ruth, Allen Breed – who?

"Conventionally, you concentrate on narrow boundaries when running a company. Not only do I find that restrictive I also think that it's dangerous." Losing My Virginity, page 409 I was astonished to discover that this 600-page book could be boiled down to a handful of business principles. A separate lesson all its own, you'll realize as you read Losing My Virginity that Richard Branson, rebel that he is, rebels in a consistent and predictable manner. Raised by parents who constantly challenged him, beaten down by teachers who were clueless about his learning disabilities, Branson's youth gave him a balance of determination and joy. His businesses have all been an extension of his personality. While it's easy to dismiss advice like "have fun, be creative, follow your dreams" as new-age nonsense, it's hard to argue with the success of the man who has launched more billion-dollar businesses than anyone in history. Because his success is, not just well-known, but the stuff of legend, I'll include more extensive quotes than usual, and keep my comments to a minimum. He can speak for himself. Golden Egg Money First . . . Not! "I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive then I believe you are better off not doing it. A business has to be involving; it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts." Losing My Virginity, page 58 Make no mistake: Branson likes money, and knows that a business which doesn't make money is a hobby. But read the accounts of how every business from Virgin Records to Virgin Rail was conceived, and you see a trail, not of money but of passion. Passion balanced by a deep understanding of the principles of good business, as GEM #1 shows. GEM #1 "It is Only by Being Bold That You Get Anywhere" "I know that it is only by being bold that you get anywhere. If you are a risk-taker, then the art is to protect the downside. It seemed to us that Tubular Bells was so good that we could promote it ourselves. I felt sure that it would sell enough copies to pay back our investment." Losing My Virginity, page 127 Virgin Records was founded on a riskier but more profitable model. The reasoning was that if they produced great music with wide appeal, everyone would win. Their confidence in artists like Mike Oldfield, Sting, The Sex Pistols, and others reflected, not just good business sense, but Branson's ongoing ability to share the glory with others. This first successful Virgin company, Branson repeats throughout the book, would have been impossible without the incisive musical sense of co-founder Simon Draper. And of course, selling millions and millions of copies of Oldfield's Tubular Bells over the years protected the downside when signing groups like The Sex Pistols. Know the risks, certainly, but don't let them deter you. Instead, recognize the slippery spots, the gaps. Put sensible precautions in place to mitigate the downside and to reduce the worst-case scenario to manageable proportions. Once you've done that, monitor those systems, but dive in with all your heart because "it is only by being bold that you get anywhere." GEM #2 There is No Formula "I don't believe it can be taught as if it were a recipe. There aren't ingredients and techniques that will guarantee success. Parameters exist that, if followed, will ensure a business can continue, but you cannot clearly define our business success and then bottle it as you would a perfume. It's not that simple: to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running; and, if you have a good team round you and more than your fair share of luck, you might make something happen. But you certainly can't guarantee it just by following someone else's formula. Business is a fluid, changing substance." Losing My Virginity, page 397 Rules are crutches for the lazy and ignorant. Educate yourself. Commit to hard work. Build a team instead of going it alone.

"there are libraries of books, reams of articles, and endless videos and tapes on how to create a motivated workforce, but if you want to see examples of businesses that have cracked the code, so to speak, you need look no further than the small giants." Small Giants, page 96 There's a point in every small business's lifespan when, so long as they survive, they are faced with the decision of how fast to grow, and to what end.  For some entrepreneurs, the idea of an IPO or Acquisition is the reason for starting the business in the first place.  Small Giants is not a book for these entrepreneurs. In the words of The Washington Post's, Steve Pearlstein, "Bo Burlingham's done for private companies what Jim Collins did for public companies in Good to Great."  Which is to say that from atop his perch as Editor at Large of Inc. Magazine, Burlingham set out to codify what makes certain small businesses (less than $350 million) exceptional, virtually in every way.  The companies, these "small giants", as Burlingham has labelled them, provide exceptional quality.  They engage exceptional employees who, in turn, provide exceptional customer service.  These companies have particularly strong ties to their communities, rabidly loyal employees and customers that rave about them. And while every one of the companies studied can be safely labelled "successful", many of them are actively avoiding growth, whether that entails turning down new clients, or refusing to expand geographically. Small Giants is a book about questioning the "growth for growth's sake" mentality in business, and examining what really makes a privately held company "great". Golden Egg The Three Imperatives "The difference between the small giants and everyone else lies in their refusal to let go of the passion and their success in keeping it alive." Small Giants, page 199 Perhaps one of the benefits of easing up on the "growth for growth's sake" mentality, is that it opens your mind to other methods of measuring success.  For the 14 companies in Burlingham's case study set, the measuring stick became quality.  All 14 of these companies have become synonymous with excellence. As far as Burlingham has been able to identify, there are three broad "imperatives" that were unanimously true within the culture of each organization; imperatives that, when adhered to, allowed for that exceptionally high standard.  Tellingly, all three of those imperatives have to do with employee interaction. Imperative One:              Share a Higher Purpose.  The leaders of these "Small Giant" companies constantly and consistently remind their employees of their overarching mission; their purpose for being.  The mission is different for each organization, of course, but in all cases it rises above and beyond profits.  Profits become a way to fuel the mission, not the ultimate end objective. Imperative Two:              Remind people in unexpected ways how much the company cares for them.  Whether it's through education funds, exceptionally generous benefits, or allowing single moms to bring their kids to work, the companies studied in Small Giants go out of their way to make it known to their employees how much they (a) appreciate them, and (b) respect them.  Keep in mind these are small businesses.  They don't have limitless cash.  They do, however, understand the importance of their people... and they let them know. Imperative Three:           Build a culture of collegiality.  As Burlingham is quick to admit, at first glance it may not seem that you as a leader have much control over how well your employees get along.  And yet, the leaders of these small giants have been able to do just that.  Whether it's creating policies that help people feel more secure in their roles, creating opportunities for growth within the organization, or simply making sure everyone feels heard, the small giant leaders keep their finger on the pulse, so to speak,