Actionable Books

“The key is to manage your career as if it were a start-up business: a living, breathing, growing start-up of you.” The Start-up of You, front-cover flap Reid Hoffman (cofounder and chairman of LinkedIn) and Ben Casnocha share a little secret in their book, The Start-up of You: The workforce escalator is crowded. Not so long ago that wasn’t the case. After graduation, you made your way onto the escalator from the bottom step, and slowly rode your way to the top, attaining new career heights the longer you were on for the ride. But with the death of the traditional career path, the escalator’s overcrowded and many are left feeling exasperated and directionless. But it’s far from hopeless for those who look at themselves as a start-up. “The business strategies employed by highly successful start-ups and the career strategies employed by highly successful individuals are strikingly similar,” write the authors (page 20). All human beings are entrepreneurs. Get investing in yourself. Golden Egg The Evolution of You “So which is it? Should you follow a plan or stay flexible? Should you listen to your heart or listen to the market? The answer is both.” The Start-up of You, page 51 Starbucks and Flickr. They’re two of the biggest start-up successes in recent memory. But did you know that they were both very different companies when they started out? Initially Starbucks sold coffee beans and the equipment to brew it. Flickr wasn’t even called Flickr. It was called Gaming Neverending, where photo sharing was just one component. But it was that one component that took off. Recognizing that this feature filled a marketplace need, the entrepreneurs at the helm made photo sharing their singular focus, and Flickr is the result.  Starbucks did the same, when they realized their quality beans and unique culture was their real market advantage. But for every Starbucks or Flickr who successfully (and almost seamlessly) evolved from Plan A to an unexpected Plan B, there are countless more examples of once successful companies who failed to evolve... and became extinct. One of the most obvious examples in recent years is Blockbuster. Blockbuster “just about laughed us out of their office” when a growing start-up met with them about teaming up in order to solve some of their distribution problems (page 20). That start-up was Netflix and the year was 1999. 11 years later, in 2010, Netflix made a profit of 160 million dollars, while Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy because they “failed to adapt to the Internet era” (page 20). Just as start-ups have to be adaptive, so do individual careers. Reid and Casnocha offer Sheryl Sandberg as an example. Sandberg grew up not taking her Western privileges for granted and graduated from school with the expectation that she would find a job directly helping others. And for awhile she was, working at the World Bank and later working on American policy. But her career took her to Google and most recently to Facebook where she is now the social media giant's COO. Sandberg isn’t helping others in such an obvious way, but when you look at the role social media (and Facebook in particular) has played in the Egyptian uprising, she’s still providing others with the tools to better their lives. The point is that no matter what you may think, the plan that you create for your career is bound to evolve... so long as you're open to the journey, no matter where it may take you. The two following GEMs will make it easier for you to shift your thinking now, in order adapt your career later. Because chances are you will have to. GEM # 1 Retain Your Identity “…have a professional identity that you can carry with you as you shift jobs. You own yourself. It’s the start-up of you.” The Start-up of You, page 64 We’re all our own commodities, and the faster we realize that, the better. Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor learned it when she was thirteen. When she wasn’t fired after telling off Louis B. Mayer,

"The greater your goals, the more you'll need to change people's hearts, minds, and actions." Enchantment, page xx While some still look for the next best secret to pull heartstrings and earn a quick buck, there are those with daring ideas who know that the cycle of shallow relationships won't cut it. They know that meaningful ideas deserve to endure and flourish. And when you're armed with such ideas, traditional persuasion isn't enough: You must catalyze others to dream right along with you. In his book Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, author and former chief evangelist for Apple, Guy Kawasaki defines enchantment as "the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea." But it's ethical, genuine enchantment that tempers cynics, sways hearts, changes minds, and forges an affinity with people that lasts. The art of enchantment isn't limited to just one kind of person or organization, either. Anyone can make enchantment happen anywhere, anytime. Apple uses enchantment to sweep the market with its innovative products. Zappos uses it to reinvent customer relationships. Even a Peace Corps volunteer has used it to disarm a hostile rebel group. Capturing his experiences as both an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Guy succinctly explains his observations and tactics gained over the years. However, he presents the prerequisites and the reasons why genuine enchantment can't be faked. Golden Egg Why Enchant? "Great products, services, organizations, and ideas are enchanting; crap is not." Enchantment, page xxi So, why enchantment? When does it really count? Obviously, you can't enchant with just anything, but when you do possess an idea that will transform business, rock the status quo, or make the world a better place, than the more relevant enchantment becomes. Guy says that the stakes rise when your idea, product, or service does any of the following: Defies conventionality, conformity, and wisdom of the crowd. Aspires to lofty, idealistic results. Requires making difficult, infrequent decisions to make a switch. Requires some risk to proceed when there's delayed or nonexistent feedback. Change is hard. Guy suggests using empathy to navigate for the missing link between you and the people you wish to enchant. For example, during the 1980's when IBM had dominated the business market, Apple was actually up against the status quo. Guy admits that while Apple deeply believed in the Macintosh's power to boost productivity and creativity in this sector, Apple's actual misstep was failing to understand what their potential customers were thinking or feeling at the time. "...We underestimated the difficulty of altering corporate policies and overcoming the perception that the Macintosh was easy to use but wimpy in terms of raw computational power" (page 3). You may believe deeply in your idea, but what about those on the receiving end? What are their current circumstances? What does it really take for them to shift from one entrenched habit to something radical and different? GEM # 1 Enchantment Depends On Character "Step one is achieving likability, because jerks seldom enchant." Enchantment, page 9 Guy argues that before you enchant, your likability must answer some important questions: Are you someone people would listen to? Are you the kind of company someone would prefer and enjoy? To create and co-create with? He also presents a simple litmus test which can make, or break, your likability: Do you think of people in binary? Do you believe you're superior than someone? Do you accept people's similarities as well as their differences? Do you cut people a break? Everyone is better than someone at something. People are more similar than they are different. We all have strengths and weaknesses. And the "bad qualities" people possess could be rooted in a complex past that's beyond anyone else's understanding.

“If our brains were simple enough to be understood, we wouldn’t be smart enough to understand them.” Incognito, page 224 When you move your arm, are you aware of the movement?  Do you think about the muscles and how they’re contracting to make your f...

“People with great reputations for attracting and developing talent regard the search for brilliance as their calling. They see themselves as discoverers, protectors, and builders of an entire discipline… They are cultivating a garden, not running a toll booth.” The Rare Find, page 246 Finding the right talent for any position in any organization is a challenge. You probably have read about (or worked for) organizations that have tried personality tests, quantitative assessments, out-of-the-blue interview questions, and many other attempts to solve the problem of finding the right person to take on the open job responsibilities. Finding and keeping the right people are two of the vital strategic difference makers for any organization. When I read about The Rare Find, it sounded intriguing. Maybe in it there was something new to finally solve the hiring riddle. Although The Rare Find is very valuable, it does not necessarily spell out a new detailed formula to find the right talent. It does something much more important. The Rare Find tells stories about people and organizations and how they come together to find the right characters to help develop and further the plot. After all, everyone has a story to their career, so what better way to explore insights into hiring the right people than to use stories? Golden Egg Read Between the Lines “The process of getting to know candidates is defined far more by questions involving ‘why’ and ‘how’ – and less about ‘what’ or ‘when.’ The payoff: the mysteries of motivation, fit, and potential become much clearer.” The Rare Find, page 63 Resumes outline accomplishments achieved and job responsibilities undertaken. Some may stand out more because of what has been done or which organizations they are coming from. However, these lines of text may not tell the complete story of the person and, without a little more attention to the resume, great talent may be overlooked. There is a wonderful term highlighted in The Rare Find – jagged resumes. It refers to people who have excelled in different roles, even though their resumes did not have all the right credentials. What they did have is what Warren Buffet calls “extraordinary temperament… an ability to stay calm in a crisis; the patience to do nothing at times; the willingness to absorb new information; the confidence to stick with a plan” (page 63). It takes extra effort to really understand what a person may bring in terms of talent to an organization. Some approaches that come through in the stories are: Read resumes from the bottom up to gain insights into a person’s story and character traits. Explore those elements that may show resiliency or determination. Study yourself and determine why you have been successful. Look for similar traits in others. Examine the capacity of a person to learn and grow. As Mr. Anders points out, finding the right people may require looking beyond just experience and involve diving in deeper to determine character. It's not about finding people who are “smart.” In fact, having the right character attributes are more important, and may be the difference maker, in hiring the right talent. GEM # 1 Out of the Normal Paths “Is there a long tail of talent? Absolutely.” The Rare Find, page 128 As mentioned, there are many stories in The Rare Find, which make it very valuable. One of the stories is about Facebook and their challenge of hiring many talented people as a very young company. One of their approaches was to publish programming puzzles for engineers to solve. The thought was if someone could solve the puzzle creatively and correctly, then this would be a person to interview and, potentially, hire. Since the puzzles were widely available through the Internet, Facebook was able to tap new, unfound sources of talent. The story unfolds from there, but it highlights how taking a different approach can tap talent where you would not normally look.

"Luck is not a magical ability or a gift from the gods. Instead, it is a state of mind―a way of thinking and behaving." The Luck Factor, page 165 We all know someone whose card is always drawn in the raffle, who gets tickets to the hot show, whose car never breaks down and whose marriage is bliss. And we know their opposites, too. Whether superstitious or not, most folks believe that luck is a mysterious force of the universe. Either mostly good things happen to you as you go through life, or mostly bad things happen. That's true, as far as it goes. But most of us believe there's nothing we can do about it. And Dr. Richard Wiseman is here to tell you that's wrong. Luck, it turns out, can be changed. It can be controlled. Luck is a skill you can learn and a tool you can apply in business, in life. Golden Egg Luck is Not a Mysterious Force of the Universe But a Characteristic You Can Develop "[T]his book presents that most elusive of holy grails―a scientifically proven way to understand, control, and increase our luck." The Luck Factor, page xiii In a fantastic experiment using the UK National Lottery and following rigorous scientific process, Wiseman and his team proved to the satisfaction of the British government that in truly random events, luck is truly random. Proven. Scientifically. Luck, as a mysterious force of the universe, bestowing blessings and curses on pre-chosen winners and losers does not exist. Well, h'ray. What is it, then? One response on the questionnaire used in the lottery experiment intrigued the team, leading to a brilliant insight: though "lucky" people didn't win more than others, their expectation of winning was more than twice that of unlucky people. Perhaps, Wiseman thought, how people think affects their luck? Now, some of you are thinking, yeah, obviously. Bear in mind, this is not anecdotal evidence. This is the first serious scientific research into something we've had no scientific evidence for prior to Wiseman's work. Some of us assumed luck was just our own intelligence and hard work. Wiseman set out to prove it, conclusively. After years of research through thousands of case studies, he verified 4 principles which are fundamental indicators of luck. GEM # 1 The Four Principles of Luck "[O]ver the next few years I concentrated my research efforts on understanding the different ways in which lucky and unlucky people thought and behaved." The Luck Factor, page 26 Once you accept that luck is a skill, the next step is to get an overview of its characteristics. Moving immediately from abstract to concrete, Wiseman describes four principles (with 12 sub-principles) which we can observe in our own lives and in the people around us. Descriptions of his research and anecdotal examples take the mystery out of luck. Prove to yourself that luck is determined by our actions. As you read these, notice that they're neither ethereal nor mysterious. Consider your own luck, or that friend who's a classic example of luck, good or bad. Doesn't their personality reflect these characteristics—or their lack? Principle One: Maximize Your Chance Opportunities Lucky people create, notice and act upon the chance opportunities in their lives. They're relaxed, open to new things, and maintain contact with a broad network of friends and associates. Principle Two: Listen To Your Lucky Hunches Lucky people not only trust their intuition, those gut hunches, they work to boost their intuition. Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune Expectations drive our actions. Lucky people persevere when things are tough, so they're more likely to succeed. They create better relationships by expecting good from those they interact with. Principle Four: Turn Your Bad Luck Into Good Bad things happen to lucky people, too. They react by expecting, and working toward, a positive outcome. They don't dwell on the negative, but find something positive in any situation.

For years I, like many people, have been fascinated with the FBI. So I was excited to sit down and read Pick Up Your Own Brass and learn more about the leadership qualities of the people at the head of one of the world’s most respected law enforcement ...

"Camila and I have both been shaped by dyslexia.  I've never regarded it as a disability, but as something that has forced me to engage with the world in a special way." Screw Business As Usual, page 147 Serial entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson (founder of all things 'Virgin' branded), knows a thing or two about telling stories.  His first business venture, Student (a magazine, which he launched at age 17), was about collecting and sharing stories.  His four books are loaded with stories of people exemplifying his messages.  Perhaps it was his dyslexia that first put him down the path of collecting stories (versus facts).  Perhaps he's always just had a knack for engaging hearts and minds through story.  Whatever the impetus, one of Branson's many gifts is his ability to tell a good tale. His latest work, Screw Business As Usual is no exception.  The message is simple - "that every single business person has the responsibility for taking care of the people and planet that make up our global village, all 24,902 circumferential miles of it" (page 19).  Branson expounds that message through story after story after story - of people, companies and organizations that are living and breathing it every day. Golden Egg It's all about the story "The science behind global warming is solid - but it's the stories of ordinary people which engage your attention when you're half an ear to the radio and you're racing to pack your kids off to school.  It's their stories that stick in your mind clearly enough that you can deliver them with confidence over a drink with a friend." Screw Business As Usual, page 218 Branson believes (as I do) that there's a global shift occurring in the way we do business.  His latest book is littered with examples of business leaders turning conventional capitalist wisdom on its head; companies and people that are doing good first, and making a tidy profit as a result. Possibly one of my favorite examples (buried in the back of the book under the cheeky title "I Rest My Case Studies") is of Blake Mycoskie and his "Shoes for Tomorrow" project, more commonly known as TOMS shoes. Blake tells a good story.  When you buy a pair of TOMS shoes, an identical pair is donated to a child in need.  Their website tells the story brilliantly.  They use video, photos and testimonials.  TOMS' story is integrated into their marketing, but more than that, it's firmly integrated into their business model.  TOMS "one-for-one" model isn't a marketing gimmick; it's at the core of who they are and why they exist as a company. For me, TOMS is a quintessential success case of a 21st century business; what Branson refers to as a shining example of "Capitalism 24902".  They have a purpose larger than simply generating a profit, and they explain that purpose through story - story after story after story.  Their shoes aren't the cheapest, and they're not the most well made.  But they come with an important story - one that's easy to share, and easy to feel good about. GEM # 1 Stories can't be boring For those who think business exists to make a profit, I suggest they think again.  Business makes a profit to exist.  Surely it must exist for some higher, nobler purpose than that." - Ray Anderson, founder of Interface Inc. as quoted in Screw Business As Usual, page 99 If you’ve ever sat (or likely stood) through a dry, never ending story that never seems to end (often at a cocktail party, for some reason), you know what I mean when I say a story can’t be impactful and boring.  They simply can’t co-exist.  Good stories engage our hearts and minds.  A well told story captures the imagination.  It allows us to feel something, and to imagine the world as a better place. How many times have you asked what someone “does”, and immediately felt your eyes glazing over as you realize the answer is dry, dull and typical?  How many times have you been the one telling the boring story?

 “How do you convince someone to do what you want, in a way that leaves both of you feeling good about it?” Persuasion, opening line, page 1 Is ‘Persuasion’ a bad word? Arlene Dickinson (of Dragon's Den fame) doesn’t think so. In fact she equates persuasion with connecting and caring. In her book Persuasion: A New Approach to Changing Minds she shares her stories, trials and tribulations that led to her understanding of persuasion as a partnership. Arlene had a less than ideal beginning to her business success. At thirty-one she found herself fighting the battle of her life – for custody of her 4 young children, with only a high school diploma, no savings and no clue of what to do. She climbed from despair to incredible influence and success. When asked “How did you do it?”, her short answer is “I figured out how and why principled persuasion works.” And she admits it is easy! By the end of her book, you not only feel you too can be persuasive but you can’t wait to apply her lessons! Golden Egg Care and Listen “It’s astonishing how often people go into critically important meetings armed with spreadsheets, an impressive track record, and lofty-sounding mission statements and promises, yet with no clue what the other party actually wants.” Persuasion, page 124 And how do you figure out what they want? Simply put: caring and listening. If you put them first, are interested in them and ask questions such that you listen more than you talk, you are sure to discover it! Persuasion, Dickinson says, is about connecting; not only wanting what is best for the other party but caring enough to find out what it is. This way, you achieve an outcome that benefits others while simultaneously attaining your goal. The key to this path is caring and listening. “…at least half of what makes you persuasive occurs before you ever even open your mouth.”  (Page 123) When was the last time you started your effort to persuade with a question? Perhaps it’s time to stop telling and start engaging. Find out what is important to them and what they want. Make persuasion an interaction, a dialogue not a monologue. GEM # 1 Trustworthiness “Trust is the bedrock of ethical persuasion; the other party has to believe completely that you have told and always will tell the truth, even when it’s difficult.” Persuasion, page 62 Do you ever feel tempted to shade the truth or lie by omission? (Think "first date"!) Arlene urges us to resist at all cost. She describes how your reputation is your most valuable asset to persuading others. Think about it. You often are asking the other party to deviate from a preconceived notion and take a different path, maybe even take a leap of faith. That leap is possible only when they feel they can rely on you completely. Even one small indiscretion could irreparably damage that trust. Arlene shows us that successful persuasion comes from a place of honesty, authenticity and reciprocity. Long term, honesty is not only the best policy it is also the most persuasive one. GEM # 2 Failure “Mistakes are an inevitable part of the equation of achievement.” Persuasion, page 229 An overarching theme throughout Persuasion is the benefit of failure. Dickinson writes about her mistakes because they are the most memorable, with the greatest learning opportunities, she ruminates. How you think about mistakes impacts your success. Dickinson helps us think of mistakes as learning opportunities to gain the powerful “growth mindset”. When we have this mindset, we believe that intelligence can be transformed through effort. We are more likely to keep trying until we succeed. For example, while she is arming us with the right attitude and focus to persuade, she warns us there will still be failure. The changing dynamics and infinite variables when dealing with people make it impossible to create a guaranteed successful influential plan. The story you tell yourself about mistakes is key. Try to think like:

“A company’s worst enemy is not always the competition. Sometimes it’s the fear that lives within its own walls.” Breaking the Fear Barrier, back cover Have you ever asked yourself what would happen if company departments worked together for the comm...

"Bull has become the language of business." Why Business People Speak Like Idiots, page 2 Every single one of us can tell the difference between human communication and business communication—when we're reading. For some reason, when we're writing, we lose our minds. The best books on change are written, not by folks who never had to learn, but by those who've "been there" and wish they hadn't done that.  Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway and Jon Warshawsky - authors of Why Business People Speak Like Idiots - all worked at Deloitte Consulting, committing the very crimes outlined in this book when one day they woke up and smelled the, er, aroma of what they were saying in their professional writing. After creating software (called Bullfighter) to help them monitor their own writing, they gathered what they learned, verified their thinking with a little informal research, and identified the four main reasons business people speak like idiots—and how not to. Fugere and company describe four "traps" that business people can fall into with their writing.  In each case, they speak to how someone falls into the trap, give examples, and offer clear advice on how to avoid the trap in the future. In case the title of the book doesn't make this obvious, every lesson is delivered with humour in clear, simple language. Why business people speak like idiots is a fun read; educational without being too dense. Golden Egg Plain Speaking is Valued but Scarce "Entire careers can be built on straight talk—precisely because it is so rare."   Why Business People Speak Like Idiots, page 6 The four traps (covered in detail in GEM #1) are hard to escape. Business writing and speaking is widely damaged by obscure, personality-less, pushy, boring prose. The rare examples stand out.  And, in a world overrun by messaging, that means that rare plain speaking has very real financial value to your business.   We admire, even revere, plain speakers who aren't afraid to be human. Billionaire Warren Buffet's 2002 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders included the sentence "I was dead wrong." Walter Cronkite, in the most moving and historic passage in broadcasting history, nearly gave way to tears while announcing the assassination of President Kennedy. Or this snippet by a chap named Churchill: "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." (Winston Churchill's speech to the House of Commons, June 4, 1940) Can you even imagine a politician today speaking so plainly? Straight talk is scarce and valuable. Those who excel at it will stand out. So what are these "traps" to avoid exactly, and how do we do that?  Well, I thought you'd never ask. GEM # 1 Avoid the Four Traps "Great business leaders live life outside the four traps."   Why Business People Speak Like Idiots, page 6 In your professional writing (and speaking) avoid - at all costs - the four traps: The Obscurity Trap — Jargon, wordiness, and evasiveness obscure your message. Use common language. Where unfamiliar terms are the most appropriate choice, define them. Tell the truth directly. Be brief. (On November 19, 1863, noted orator Edward Everett gave a 2-hour speech which was 13,500 words long. You're probable more familiar with the 5-minute 270-word opening act, which began "Four score and seven years ago . . . ”) The Anonymity Trap — Bring your personality to work with you. Avoid the lazy safety of templates. Don't polish every point to predictability. Use humour, fer cryin' out loud! Folks will go out of their way to listen to someone who's funny. Sometimes an email just won't do.

"Knowledge work is fundamentally different:  workers are expected not so much to perform standard roles but to generate creative, innovative results that surprise and delight customers and colleagues." Gamestorming, page xv If you've read Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind or Seth Godin's Linchpin, you're likely already aware that there's a new skill set required for professional success in the 21st century.  The days of following a step by step job description are dead, and the future belongs to those who can innovate; those who can "surprise and delight their customers and colleagues".  Which, of course, is easier said than done.  Imagine my delight then when I came across a slim book called Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers. Fully living up to its (sub)title, Gamestorming is an easy-to-comprehend-and-apply guidebook to a new method of brainstorming; a world in which we use the basic foundations of games (yes, games) to think through challenging or sophisticated problems.  The book provides not only 80 some-odd pre-built games (games that you can use immediately to take your brainstorming/meetings sessions to a whole new level), but also provides a comprehensive explanation of how games are designed and best utilized, allowing the reader to start to visualize their own potential games to use with colleagues and/or clients. For those of us who were hardwired through our education to identify a process for solving a problem, Gamestorming offers a refreshing look at the real world we live in, and how we can navigate the challenges of our daily professional lives in a fun and productive manner. Golden Egg Get Fuzzy "A fuzzy goal is one that 'motivates the general direction of the work, without blinding the team to opportunities along the journey.'" Gamestorming, page 7 Like Chris Columbus, Magellan and other explorers of old, we need to be ok with having only a vague sense of where we're going.  (India, anyone?)  Gamestorming co-authors, Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo suggest that, as leaders, it's ok to be unsure of the exact specifics of how we're going to get to where we want to go... or even if where we think we want to go is, in fact, our best bet.  The name of the game is keeping an open mind, and maintaining a willingness to explore a multitude of potential avenues before committing to one course of action.  You don't need to "know it all" to be a strong leader in the 21st century.  Instead, your role should really be to identify the objective, and then be able to motivate your team to work towards a solution.  As an example... In a conversation with Roger Martin (Dean of Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto), Roger outlined to me an exercise he had his MBA students work through as a part of their course.  The situation was Toronto traffic, and the challenge was to identify better systems for managing the flow of people in an average day.  Now, you don't need to know Toronto to understand the magnitude of this challenge.  Imagine any city of 6 million people and you'll start to get the picture.  Roger's objective was not to define the ideal solution and have his team build it.  Instead, his role was (a) to define the problem, fuzzy though it was (improve Toronto traffic), and (b) to engage his "team" in creating a solution.  In Gamestorming, we explore the engagement aspect of the leadership role.  How, exactly, do you get people actively involved in creating a solution to a problem this large, and this fuzzy? In the following two GEMs, we look at two tools that Gray, Brown and Macanufo suggest for getting people engaged. GEM # 1 Embrace Artifacts "An artifact can be anything from a piece of paper to a sticky note or index card.  Artifacts make it easier to keep track of information by making it a part of the environment." Gamestorming, page 17 By their very nature, complex problems are, well, complex.

It's been a while since I've read a sales book.  In reflecting on that, I found this quote from Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play to be incredibly apt: "Many business development methodologies tend to emphasize completeness and thoroughness over ease o...

To improve your life and enable you to have greater career and financial success by helping you to make better hiring decisions! Who, Excerpt from Seminar Do you own a small business and seek someone to help your business grow?  Are you on the board ...

“…I invite you to embark on that journey of understanding who you are as a leader, who you want to be, and how you would like to get there. You are going to define your entire leadership philosophy—on one piece of paper.” One Piece of Paper, pg 14 As...

“People want to live deeply satisfying lives both professionally and personally.” Off Balance, Introduction New York Times bestselling author Matthew Kelly gives us much to think about in his new book Off Balance. From the beginning, and all the way through, Kelly challenges us with questions, tools and techniques that encourage us to go deep into what it is we want from our lives. If you are like many - myself included - who are running around trying to achieve that nirvana of work-life balance then this book is a must-read. With fact-based research he turns this notion - that what we really want is work-life balance - on its head. Truth is, when given the choice, what we really want is satisfaction, not balance. The true beauty of this book is that the author asks that we not hold ourselves hostage to a quick-fix. With old habits to break and new ones to incorporate he recommends to “give yourself a decade.” Permanent, positive and inspiring change does not happen overnight. So, with a few practical and simple tools and techniques, as well as a few examples from his own life, Matthew Kelly provides a step-by-step process, one that will guide you on a path to an achievable strategy, one that will ultimately change your life. Golden Egg Clarity Through Dissatisfaction “You can stumble into a moderately satisfying life, but to sustain and increase that satisfaction requires a strategic approach and some real work.” Off Balance, page 8 We all live our lives differently. Some of us live our lives randomly and without much thought, while others stick closely to a plan, one that guides their choices. The problem with both is when "the plan" stops working and we begin to feel like we are not accomplishing anything in our lives. All of us have had the unfortunate feeling (typically after a day of running around) that we did not get to one thing on our to-do list. What we fail to realize, and what Matthew Kelly highlights throughout his book, is that our lives are a product of our choices. That if we do not pay attention to the choices we make, then we could end up exactly where we do not want to be, in a life filled with dissatisfaction. Matthew Kelly encourages us to get in touch with our dissatisfaction. By getting clear on what we do not want, we are able to achieve clarity on the things we do want. And filling our life with the things that we do want can only bring more personal and professional satisfaction in to our lives. GEM # 1 The Power of Priority “...you can experience incredible levels of satisfaction both personally and professionally if you take the time to work out what matters most to you.” Off Balance, page 81 Learning to make good choices is one of the critical factors to uncovering what it is that brings us the most satisfaction. The other is to figure out what matters most to us. In an inspiring speech given by a senior executive, and shared by the author, we are told how one man almost lost everything because he had not figured out what mattered most in his life. So to get his life back on track he decided to make a “priority list,” a list that outlined exactly what it was in his life that gave him the most satisfaction. After much thought, consideration and elimination, he had five things on his list, five priority items that never wavered, no matter what urgent matter happened to him. Matthew Kelly was so inspired by this man’s approach to priority management that he developed his own priority list. Then wanting to share it, he created a systematic approach that will help you develop your own priority list. Once completed, this list will give you a quick check list so you are not “kidnapped by the urgent” details of our daily lives. You will only give attention and energy to those things that move you toward a life of personal and professional satisfaction. You can start with the simple (but not necessarily easy!) task of building your own priority list.  For bonus points,