Actionable Books

"What do I want from life, anyway?" The Happiness Project, page 1 I resisted reading The Happiness Project for some time.   It seemed like I was admitting to being unhappy, which I'm not.  However, I was intrigued by the concept and finally picked it...

“We’re capable of so much more than we realize.” Opening line in forward of “Be Excellent at Anything” Do you ever feel like the proverbial hamster on the wheel? You are busy - busy “doing” - but you’re not getting anywhere! Do you ever stop to consider: What it is you really want? How you spend and renew your energy? What you need to do to work at full capacity? To maximize the height of a soufflé we know we must follow the recipe carefully. What if there was a recipe for maximizing your ability to “rise”? Tony Schwartz has that recipe. He describes, in his New York Times Bestseller “Be Excellent at Anything”, how each of us can achieve sustainable excellence at anything! Golden Egg Humans don't come with a power cord “The way we’re working isn’t working for us, for our employers, or for our families. It’s not the number of hours we work that determines how much value we create. Rather it’s the quantity and quality of energy we bring to whatever hours we work.”                                                                                     Be Excellent at Anything, Page xii I charge my iphone over night and it’s good to go for a full day. But what about you? How do you fuel your energy source? What is your energy source? Can you operate without refueling your energy? And what happens to your work and life if you don’t? Operating at our best is not just about intrinsic talent and working hard. A key element is how well we meet our four energy needs: physical (sustainability), emotional (security), mental (self-expression), and spiritual (significance). The problem is, most people think we work like a machine; plug us in and we go! However, by moving rhythmically between activity and renewal in each of the four energy needs, we can build our capacity to generate more and more value over time. GEM # 1 Plug in. Recharge. We all know them. The people that "punch in" before the sun is up and punch out like  zombies when the sun has set. Maybe you are one of them; because, like most of us, you think the best way to get things done is to “keep your nose to the grindstone”. Start early and finish late. Our computers can do it because we offer them a never-ending source of energy by plugging them in. This allows them to run multiple programs simultaneously at consistently high speeds for long periods of time. Unfortunately, we don’t have such a simple power supply. Most people leave themselves “unplugged” from an energy source for periods of time that are far too long. And our output suffers. For some unknown reason we think we can run on empty. We haven’t taught ourselves how to recharge and maximize our energy. The better we are at pulsing between expenditure and intermittent renewal of energy the more productive we will be! How often should we plug in? Schwartz tells us the best way to produce maximum output is to consciously change gears, refresh and recharge every 90 minutes. Want to produce “high def” output instead of standard? Try this: Wake up after 7-9 hours of sleep and spend 90 minutes working. Then take a break and have breakfast. Work for another 90 minutes then go for a run. Work for 90 minutes then take your lunch break. Get the picture? Can’t do it you say? What about… taking your lunch away from your desk? Or, making a habit of eating something healthy every 2 or 3 hours? Or as a baby step,.. just stepping away from the task at hand every 90 minutes to breathe deeply? Now that you know it will help you produce at a higher level you can give yourself the permission to simply step away. Refresh, refuel and recharge….what a concept! GEM # 2 Fatter, Dumber, and More Dangerous “No single behaviour, we’ve come to believe, more fundamentally influences our effectiveness in waking life than sleep.” Be Excellent at Anything, Page 57 What is the first ingredient of Schwartz’s recipe? Where does this energy renewal begin? Physical renewal.

As we get ready to say goodbye to 2011 and usher in a brand new year, we wanted to take a moment to compile our top 5 most popular business book summaries, as well as our most watched  author interview of the past year. We hope you enjoy the list as much as we enjoyed creating it. We'd also like to take a moment to thank our guest writers, in particular Parin Patel, for enriching our web site with such great content. And a special thank you to YOU, our readers, for your continued support. Happy Holidays, and all the best in 2012! - The Actionable Books Team Top Summaries of 2011 Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain by Ryan Blair, Summary by Andy Budgell The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, Summary by Parin Patel The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar, Summary by Chris Taylor Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky, Summary by Parin Patel ... and what was our most popular summary of the year?! #1 We Are All Weird by Seth Godin, Summary by Chris Taylor Top Interview of 2011 Sir Ken Robinson: Intelligence and Engagement

“The groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.” Groundswell, page 9 Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, principal analysts at top research firm Forrester Research, have written an invaluable how-to guide for organizations and businesspeople on how to approach social media. Grounded in meticulous research, Groundswell is written clearly and simply. Each chapter opens with a personal story and contains multiple case studies, making it incredibly easy for readers to understand and absorb the book’s insights. Although Groundswell was published in 2008 – and three years can seem like three lifetimes in this fast-paced technology world we live in – the book remains highly relevant for anyone seeking to make sense of “this social media thing.” Golden Egg Relationships Are King “Concentrate on the relationships, not the technologies. In the groundswell, relationships are everything. The way people connect with each other – the community that is created – determines how the power shifts.” Groundswell, page 18 Li and Bernoff make it very clear from the beginning: it’s about relationships, not technology. The technology changes faster than we can keep up with. Take social networks, for example. First, we had Friendster and MySpace, and now we have Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Regardless of the technology, one common thread remains: people want to connect; they want to maintain and build relationships. The book describes many instances when these powerful groundswell connections and relationships have successfully challenged the status quo. New Line Cinema had to include a new line in the movie Snakes on a Plane for its star, Samuel L. Jackson because online fans demanded it. Fans of the NBC show Jericho postponed the TV series’ cancellation by banding together online and coordinating the delivery of $50,000 worth of peanuts (that’s 20 tons!) to the producers of the show. There are hundreds of these stories being created and distributed, and they cannot be ignored. To do so would be at your organization’s peril. GEM # 1 Shift Your Thinking “Marketers tell us they define and manage brands. […] Bull. Your brand is whatever your customers say it is. And in the groundswell where they communicate with each other, they decide.” Groundswell, page 78 The groundswell gains its power from its community, its users. Your organization can say they make the best luggage in the world, but if customer reviews complain about the zippers breaking and the exterior plastic cracking, then your marketing is as good as nonexistent. Why? Because the rise of the internet and free flow of information has enabled and encouraged consumers to obtain information from each other, which they view as more trustworthy than the information they receive from companies trying to sell them products in the first place! The groundswell is happening, whether you want it to or not. To embrace the groundswell, your organization needs to undergo a significant mental and oftentimes, strategic shift. Particularly for your marketing department, it means a shift from simply shouting (traditional advertising) to listening, talking, and engaging (groundswell marketing). Becoming a part of the groundswell may mean hearing things about your brand that you might not want to hear. It may mean having to admit you’re wrong or having to respond to customer complaints. But it can also mean gaining strategic insight to improve your product or create marketing that resonates with your target audience. Your organization needs to be ready and willing to accept both outcomes. Your customers are talking about your company, brand, and products, whether you’re present or not. Wouldn’t you rather be there to listen, be a part of the conversation, and act when necessary? GEM #2 P.O.S.T. “I saw that Sears has started [an online] community,

"A lot of people starting out in business would prefer to have a step-by-step formula or a specific set of rules they could use to achieve their goals. The problem is, there aren’t any. Rather, there’s a way of thinking that allows someone to deal with many different situations and take advantage of many different opportunities as they arise.” The Knack, page 3   To say Norm Brodsky is an experienced entrepreneur would be an understatement. Over the course of three decades, the Inc. Magazine columnist has started more than eight different companies, including a messenger business which was on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies three straight years in a row, and a records storage company which he sold for $110 million. Oh, and of course, as Norm recalls, we can’t forget his “greatest business failure” (and lesson) – taking his messenger business through bankruptcy in 1988. It’s this wealth of experience that Norm shares in The Knack, as he recalls his most important business lessons: from being embarrassed for being unprepared on his first day in court as a rookie lawyer, to a lesson in customer service after a memorable meeting with King Hussein of Jordan in the mid-1990s. At the heart of Norm’s entrepreneurial success philosophy is not a “step-by-step formula or a specific set of rules”. Rather, it’s a set of mental habits – “a way of thinking that allows someone to deal with many different situations and take advantage of many different opportunities as they arise.” So what’s the most important habit an entrepreneur should learn? Follow the Numbers. Golden Egg Follow the Numbers “After all, to be successful in any business, you need to develop a feel for the numbers. You need to get a sense of the relationship between them, see the connections, figure out which ones are especially critical and have to be monitored accordingly.” The Knack, page 74 You’ve probably heard the saying, “The numbers don’t lie.” Well, I’d hazard a bet that it’s a saying Norm believes in whole-heartedly. “Numbers run businesses. They tell you how you can make the most money in the least time and with the least effort – which is, or should be, the goal of every entrepreneur. What you choose to do with the money after you’ve made it is another matter. You can give it all away if you want to. But you first have to earn it, and the numbers can tell you how to do that as efficiently as possible, provided you understand their language.” The Knack, page 74 So how do you learn their language? The following two GEMs explore how to do just that. (And no, it doesn’t involve meeting with your Accountant.) GEM # 1 Track Your Numbers By Hand. No Computers Allowed. “Here's the best advice I can give to anyone starting a business: from day one, keep track of your monthly sales and gross margins by hand! Don't use a computer. Write down the numbers, broken out by product category or service type by customer, and do the math yourself, using nothing more sophisticated than a calculator.” The Knack, page 74 Yes, in this technologically advanced world, with the Business Intelligence and Analytics industry offering businesses innovative tools to gain better insight into their businesses; Norm puts it plainly, “With pencil and paper. No Computers allowed.” Why? Writing down your numbers (actual/projected revenue, expenses, gross profit, etc.) by hand, at the very start of your business, gives you a feel for your business that you wouldn’t get if you relied on a computer to produce these numbers for you. You get a chance to really focus on your numbers, instead of simply reviewing them; especially key numbers such as gross profit (not only sales). “You have to write the numbers out by hand and calculate the percentages yourself. If you let a computer do the work, the numbers become abstract. They start to blend together. You don’t focus on them. You don’t absorb them.

"You don't need an MBA, a certificate, a fancy suit, a briefcase, or an above-average tolerance for risk. You just need an idea, a touch of confidence, and a push to get started."   Rework, pg 28 What if everything you thought about creating a business was outdated? That's the premise behind the book Rework, written by 37Signals's Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. 37Signals is responsible for the profitable web applications Basecamp, Backpack, Highrise, and Campfire. The company also created Ruby on Rails, a web application framework which is the backbone for most of the web 2.0 world. But they're not like any other business. They say plenty of things which both inspire and anger, especially when it comes to starting a business. They say things like: You don't need to obsess about planning. You need less than you think. Workaholics aren't heroes. Meetings can poison. Emulate chefs and drug dealers. Forget estimates. Forget the competition. Avoid seed money. Avoid traditional marketing. Forgo the reliance on resumes and formal education. Make something that truly matters and don't be another carbon copy. Rework is fearless. It's conversational without any mundane "biz-speak," and it's backed by Fried and Heinemeier Hansson's own successes during their 10+ years in business. This book reaches out to both starting entrepreneurs and seasoned ones. It also reaches out to those who are "thinking about it," and to those still haunted by the myths of what it really takes to succeed in business... any business. This isn't limited to tech companies. Rework is an alternative take to starting anything in the business world. Using 37Signals and other successful companies as case studies, Rework examines what happens when you rethink and rework the way a business is born and built.  The authors' opinion is strong:  Anyone can start. First, get rid of the myths and excuses. Golden Egg Ignore the Real World "The real world isn't a place, it's an excuse. It's a justification for not trying."   Rework, page 14 There's a new business paradigm, admits 37Signals. They thrive because they did what many people were afraid to do: Ignore the real world. This sole conviction is the most powerful takedown from which the rest of book springs forth. What is the "real world?" It's the common ailment that many business starters hear from business dinosaurs, or even friends and family. It's the realm of automatic doubt against any new idea. Yours included. 37Signals wastes no time in defining "the real world" as a place where "new ideas, unfamiliar approaches, and foreign concepts always lose." How do you start a business today? You first start by not believing this place called the real world. "The real world may be real for them, but it doesn't mean you have to live in it."   Rework, page 13 37Signals have defied the real world by doing many things that can scare traditional businesses: They've intentionally stayed lean and small. They've attracted millions of customers without salespeople or advertising. They've forgone long-term planning and estimates. They've preferred to out-teach competitors, rather than outsell or outspend. They've lived by their own anti-real world advice and still remain profitable today. GEM # 1 Enough with the Excuses "What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan"   Rework, pg 38 When you can bravely ignore the real world, you can ditch the assumptions: Do you really need a long-term plan? Do you really need outside money? Do you really need people with a formal education? Do you really need to "find the time?" Do you really need to wait for inspiration? If this is really your life's work, what's wrong with starting, creating, and co-creating with what you have, right now? Can't you start small and grow along the way? What 37Signals advocates is casting away excuses: What's good enough so that you can simply get started, or even launch?

"Sometimes the simplest act will have cosmic repercussions a hundred years later.  On other occasions, the most cataclysmic events will finally lead to ordinary, even humdrum results." The Pinball Effect, page 3 There's a certain satisfaction in learning pieces of historical trivia, particularly when they relate to your little corner of the world.  If you're interested in business structure, for example, you may be find it curious that it was the United States Railway system that was responsible for creating modern corporate structure; introducing professional managers and departments based on expertise, rather than simply geography.  For someone interested in employee engagement, you may like to know that the first study in employee motivation was in 1924.  And, marketers may be fascinated by the story of Henry P. Crowell who, in 1881 invented virtually every aspect of the advertising industry as he attempted to make a success of his fledgling company, Quaker Oats. In the vein of Freakonomics, (though written 10 years prior), The Pinball Effect is truly a book like no other.  In addition to its brisk pace and relentless onslaught of interwoven fact and story, The Pinball Effect has the added element of "portals", scattered throughout the book.  The concept behind a portal being that if you like the theme that author James Burke just touched on, you can follow the annotation in the margin and continue learning on that specific subject, rather than being whisked away into yet another tangent. I say "tangent" because that's truly how the book reads for the first 50 or 60 pages:  Interesting, albeit fairly unrelated tid-bits from history.  Burke's gift is in tying those hundreds of strands together as the book progresses.  We start to see how the sewing machine and the musket are forever linked in history.  How the renaissance water garden made the carburetor possible.  And so on.  We begin to see how virtually everything is inter-related if you're willing to look hard enough. Golden Egg Our Greatest Teacher "Being aware of change and how it operates is halfway to second-guessing it.  And second-guessing change is good for survival and success in life." The Pinball Effect, page 4 Perhaps what makes The Pinball Effect stand out from other "history" books is not so much the satisfying "click" of understanding that takes place when a new puzzle piece of history falls into place, but rather in how those puzzle pieces fit together to tell a story previously unimagined.  As Burke marvels repeatedly through the book, there's no way that the characters of the time could possibly have understood the eventual impact of their work.  Only in hindsight can we see just how monumental their accomplishments were and, in such, we're reminded of how history truly is our greatest teacher. In virtually all cases explored in The Pinball Effect we can see two truths being confirmed: (1) that change is constant, and (2) that the individuals who leave their mark on history are those who capitalize on the changes of their era. GEM # 1 Pepper Power "Spices were so valuable that in the fifth century A.D., one Roman city under siege by barbarians bought them off with three thousand pounds of pepper." The Pinball Effect, page 65 It's important to remind ourselves that just because something is valuable now doesn't mean it always will be, and likewise, something seen as a household item today could be extremely valuable in the future. At one point in The Pinball Effect, Burke discusses sugar being more expensive than gasoline today in comparable dollars. (p58)  In the quote above, a city was worth less than today's equivalent of $3000 worth of black pepper.  The lesson here is not (hopefully) that we should be investing in household spices.  Instead, I believe there is real value on reflecting on the perception of value as it evolves through time.  I would imagine that, a thousand years from now,

“The more you’re able to tolerate ambiguity and lean into the unknown, the more likely you’ll be able to dance with it long enough to come up with better solutions, ideas, and creations.” Uncertainty, page 19   If there is one thing for certain, it’s uncertainty.  And, in many cases, how we handle that uncertainty means the difference between success and failure.   Success, as it turns out, is about more than just “handling” uncertainty.  The book – Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance – serves as a guide on how to use inexact times to gain greater knowledge, capability, and movement in moving ideas and initiatives forward. As author Jonathan Fields explains, thriving in times of uncertainty involved finding, and leveraging “crux moves".  The term "Crux move" comes from rock climbing; they are the critical times when you need to make the most challenging and complex moves to propel yourself up the mountain.  In rock climbing, as in life, getting the most from these crux times requires many smaller moves ahead of time. The point is this: successfully navigating uncertainty relies on our ability to (a) complete seemingly mundane daily tasks in times of calm, and (b) think strategically and leverage our prep work during times of uncertainty. This combination of effort is enabling, enlightening, and empowering. Although "Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance" may sound like a lofty and idealistic subtitle, Uncertainty offers a set of concrete practices to move your ideas forward in a meaningful way. It is about embracing uncertainty by providing context and meaning to your daily efforts and engaging others in your pursuits. Golden Egg: Step In, Step Back, Step Forward “When you are called to create, the psychology of the endeavor also changes. Experiencing a calling creates a sense of deeper conviction, of purpose that often you, even as the creator or vision leader, don’t fully understand. It’s not religious, though it can be, but there is a sense that ‘in this moment, this is what I must do.’” Uncertainty, page 154 There is good news and bad news. The good news is when we engage in work that is our soulful calling, we are highly motivated and dig in with a fervor and passion rarely experienced elsewhere. The bad news is that we can get sucked in too deep and lose sight of where we are on the path to achieving our calling. This is a two-part challenge: finding that moment of alignment and knowing when you need to pull back and refresh your view. Challenge 1. When that moment hits you, you feel inspired about what you need to do. Staying on track with the work required is equally vital to understanding when you are most productive. As Jonathan Fields points out, you need to find your “rhythm” of work – this will allow you to prioritize based on the task’s level of importance and urgency compared to your energy and inspiration levels at the time. It is easy to bury yourself in the work to be done, so it is essential to find the right times to do the work and then use the remaining time in your "other" practices (e.g. interacting with your hive, training your brain - two activities we'll discuss momentarily). Challenge 2.  You also need to know when to pull back; to set checks and balances to ensure you are not overwhelming yourself with the work or simply doing the work for work’s sake. Equilibrium is necessary to prevent yourself from being over-absorbed and losing sight of doing what you were called to create. In other words, sometimes you need to step back to ensure you are working on the right things and gaining the right perspective on where you are in the creation process. GEM #1:  Find Your Energized Hive The quicker you can get honest feedback, the more quickly you can adapt. As Jonathan Fields points out in a lesson learned from Pixar – “The core skill of innovators is not failure avoidance, it’s error recovery.”  (p. 79)

“It’s time to innovate the way you innovate.” - Best Practices Are Stupid, front cover flap Innovation and people are the air that author Stephen Shapiro breathes. In Personality Poker, he ingeniously integrated a card game into his book, creating a ...

"10X leaders can be bland or colorful, uncharismatic or magnetic, understated or flamboyant, normal to the point of dull, or just flat-out weird - none of this really matters, as long as they're passionately driven for a cause beyond themselves." Grea...

In Jim Collins’ prequel to his blockbuster Good to Great, he and Porras explore the characteristics of visionary companies – companies that not only made the leap from good to great, but also sustained remarkable success over a significant period of time. Founded in rigorous research and analysis (6 years’ worth, to be exact), Built to Last stands out from other general business books that comprise of mostly jargon and platitudes. By matching each “visionary” company (e.g. General Electric) with a “comparison” company (e.g. Westinghouse) – companies that were founded around the same time, in a similar industry, with access to similar resources and opportunities – Collins and Porras discovered the fundamental principles that make “visionary” companies so unique. Furthermore, they demonstrate how these elite companies shattered 12 common, widely held business myths to achieve and sustain their “visionary” status. Golden Egg Start With Why “Visionary companies do not ask, “What should we value?” They ask, “What do we actually value deep down to our toes?” Built to Last, page 8 Visionary companies live and breathe their ideology – a set of core values and a sense of purpose. By clearly defining their “why,” visionary companies are then able to produce the right “what” (products and services), attract the right “who” (employees and leaders), and develop the right “how” (policies and processes) to create an environment that breeds the kind of success that outlasts and outperforms their competition. What’s interesting to note is that the visionary companies explored in Built to Last each had a different “why” and yet they all achieved resounding success. Collins and Porras discovered that the key commonality was their relentless commitment to their ideologies. Ideology spans decades, endures through leadership changes, provides direction when faced with difficult decisions, and prevails despite being unpopular or unprofitable at the time. In short, ideology is king. “What,” “who,” and “how” lack purpose, direction, and clarity without “why.” Careful articulation and consistent application of “why” form the foundation of visionary companies. GEM # 1 What's On Your Banner? “If we’re not going to live by it, let’s tear it off the wall… We either ought to commit to it or get rid of it.” former CEO Jim Burke, on Merck’s ideology as quoted in Built to Last, page 72 A visionary company’s relentless commitment to its ideology can be applied to a more personal level – to an individual and her personal manifesto. Why is having a personal manifesto important? It acts as a filter through the noise. Making decisions is made easier because it automatically eliminates any possibilities that aren’t aligned with your core values. We all have limited time, energy, and resources, which makes a high level of self-awareness important for determining which activities and goals to pursue in order to maximize happiness and fulfillment. Your personal manifesto says, “This is who I am, and this is what I stand for. Take it or leave it.” It goes beyond simply a list of things that you think are important. It embodies your core values and beliefs ­– things that you feel so strongly about that you would fly them on a banner above your head. These values and beliefs help define you as a person and play a significant role in what makes you unique. I challenge you to create your personal manifesto. Start by writing down a list of 20 values. Remember that not all values are created equally, so you should review the list and rank them from 1 through 20. Then run the list by a close friend or family member who knows you well and is not afraid to be bluntly honest with you, as we all suffer from varying levels of self-awareness. The top 3 to 6 values will form your personal manifesto. This exercise in self-reflection is key to finding happiness and fulfillment –in your personal and professional life. GEM # 2 Walk the Talk

“Successful, growing organizations often focus on driving out the operational inefficiencies they maintained during their start-up phase, and unintentionally erect barriers to innovation as they become ever more efficient and profitable.” Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, pg 1 Braden Kelley, author of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, is no stranger to innovation. He was the founder of Blogging Innovation, the internet’s fastest growing innovation community. He has recently teamed up with another innovating authority Rowan Gibson (who penned the forward to this book), who have collaborated on InnovationExcellence.com. Stoking Your Innovation Bonfireis a distillation of his original blog, and is an invaluable resource for managers looking to break down the barriers that prevent innovation in their companies and organizations. Golden Egg Move Innovation to the Centre “You have to make sure that stakeholders know not only that innovation is important to the organization, but also what innovation means in their organization and how they can participate.” Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, pg 10 Is innovation at the centre - the heart - of your company? If it isn’t, it should be. Your employees must recognize that innovation is not only valued, but is a priority in your organization. “Otherwise,” as Kelley writes, “how can stakeholders be expected to make any significant changes?” (10) As most of us know, humans are naturally resistant to change (doubly so in business, where failure can mean termination). To circumvent this fear, a clear innovation vision must be articulated (complete with a plan) by the senior leaders. As Kelly explains, “An effort to move innovation to the center is best led by the CEO, but it requires the support and involvement of the senior leadership to tell the stories to employees and customers about what the organization is trying to achieve, what innovation means to their organization, and how the employees and other stakeholders can participate.” (10) An innovation vision is fluid and always changing, depending upon the marketplace’s needs at any given time.  That said, there are a few places we can start in creating our own. GEM # 1 Innovate for the Future Present “The ideal is to design a product based on customer insights appropriate to the time of the product launch to maximize the useful life of the customer insights.” Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, pg 57 In researching Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, Kelley spoke with ethnographer Cynthia DuVal who advised ethnographers and researchers involved in innovation “to consider the timeline of the development process when extracting insights.” (56) This is critical to success because “if you’ve got a 12- to 18-month product or service development process to go from insight to in-market, then you should be looking not to identify the insights that are most relevant today, but the insights that will be most relevant 12 to 18 months from now.” (56) This is innovating for the future present, anticipating what your consumers will need at the time when you plan to launch your product or service. This kind of innovation isn’t easy, and necessitates flexibility in case the insights you have predicted are a little off the mark. But almost all of the leaders in any particular field (Apple, for instance) have mastered this. Those who haven’t have fallen behind, many irretrievably so. The trick for innovating for the present future is to get to know your customer well and learn to think one step ahead of them. What is your customer asking for?  What can you extrapolate from that to identify what they mightwant in the future? GEM #2 Accessing the Voice of the Customer “The man or woman stitching up your clothing has no idea whether the stitching method worked well for you, or if you were happy with the product. They only know whether they made their daily quota and how much failed Quality Control.

"At some point Sports Illustrated concluded: 'There has never been a finer coach in American sports. Nor a finer man.' It's the last part – ‘nor a finer man’ – that makes John Wooden JOHN WOODEN.” The Wisdom of Wooden, Page 1 If you were to tell me that there was a picture of Coach John Wooden in the dictionary under "Success," I wouldn't be surprised. Born on October 14, 1910, Coach John Wooden was one of the most successful NCAA Basketball coaches in history; leading UCLA to 10 NCAA Championships in a 12-year span from 1963 to 1975, including four perfect 30-0 seasons, a record 88 game win streak, and, at one point, winning 7 straight championships. ESPN ranks him as the greatest coach of all time - in all sports - and he is the first person to be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach. But what made "Coach" - as he's affectionately known - so successful, was more than basketball. His legacy went beyond the basketball court. He was more than a Coach. More than a Teacher. More than a Mentor. He was a person with a genuine interest in bringing out greatness in everyone: be it the players he coached, students he taught, children he raised, or lives he touched. "From the first days of my first week as a teacher and coach, I loved my job because of the great opportunity it gave me to change the lives of youngsters in a positive way.” The Wisdom of Wooden, Page 19   Coach inspired and motivated everyone around him through a simple, yet profound, philosophy. Golden Egg Make Each Day Your Masterpiece “You cannot change yesterday, and a better tomorrow will be the result of what you do today. If you do your best, angels can do no better. And this present moment – right now – is when you have that opportunity.” The Wisdom of Wooden, Page 8 Make Each Day Your Masterpiece. Read the previous sentence again: Make. Each Day. Your Masterpiece! If there's one piece of advice Coach wanted us to learn and apply fully, it was this:  Imagine not only the possibilities, but progress and experience you would have if each day was truly your masterpiece. “Thus, if I may offer you one piece of advice that I hope you'll apply after reading our book, it is this suggestion from my father: ‘Make each day your masterpiece.’ When you do that as the weeks and months and years (and, for me, century) unfold behind you, you'll have the deepest self-satisfaction knowing your life has really meant something.” The Wisdom of Wooden, Page 2 GEM # 1 Redefine Success “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.” The Wisdom of Wooden, Page 54 As a high school English teacher and basketball coach, Coach didn't agree with the traditional definition of success everyone had at the time; the belief that success should be strictly measured by outcome.  He believed it was “grossly invalid and unfair” to judge success by the number of victories a team had or the number of A’s a student had. Coach believed success was about much more than just the end result. More than another "A". More than another win. And more than another trophy. That's not to say Coach didn't care about winning and losing. He did. He just felt there was something more important than winning and losing. “I want to be clear about something: Winning or losing matters. Why else would we keep score? When you win it usually feels good. Losing hurts, and it should. But my belief is that winning and losing are a by-product, offshoot, consequence of something more important. That's why in my early years of teaching, I sought to figure out what that ‘something’ was.” The Wisdom of Wooden, Page 60 So in 1932, he created his own definition of success. A definition which he shared in his memorable TEDTalk in 2001. A definition he felt was “a more realistic and honest appraisal of success”: “My definition of success,

"A store manager's job is not to oversee millions of customer transactions a week, but one transaction millions of times a week." Onward, page 201 It's been a long time since a business biography resonated with me as much as Onward did.  In fact, I can't remember the last time. Full of prudent advice, emotionally engaging stories and a testament to the power of executing on a clear vision, Onward is a story about Starbucks' ceo (they lower case all titles) Howard Shultz's return from retirement, and his mission to return the coffee giant into the passion-driven company he'd once envisioned. Golden Egg The Most Important Number "Success is not sustainable if it's defined by how big you become.  Large numbers that once captivated me - 40,000 stores! - are not what matter.  The only number that matters is "one".  One cup.  One customer. One partner.  One experience at a time.  We had to get back to what mattered most." Onward, page 156 In 2007, Howard Shultz returned from retirement to once again sit atop the world's most prominent coffee company.  As Howard recounts, Starbucks had become a victim of its own success, focusing on growth for growth's sake, rather than staying focused to the core values of celebrating coffee in a way that embraced its inherent social element. Regardless of the size of our businesses, the lesson from Onward is applicable to us all: when our focus shifts from providing value (and growing as a result) to growing for growth's sake, we make an almost invisible shift away from the soul of our business - a shift that can easily lead to capitulation and death. Now, more than ever, the customer is expecting a wonderful, personal experience when they interact with their product or service companies.  When you start seeing them as "yet another transaction," you disappoint that expectation; a disappointment that they likely won't tolerate for long. GEM # 1 Transcending Transaction "Our partners' attitude and actions have such great potential to make our customers feel something." Onward, page 117 What do your customer interactions look like?  Are you sharing a moment, or simply completing a transaction?  When someone gives you money - be it $5 or $5000 - you have an opportunity for connection.  That person has decided that something you offer is worth them parting with their hard earned dollars.  You've already won the sale, but have you won the relationship?  Have you captured the consumer's imagination and affirmed for them that this was absolutely a great use of their money? Great companies (Starbucks included) use the moments that already exist in their businesses to build real connections; to interact with the customer in a way that gives them what they expected and a positive feeling from the experience. What moments already exist in your business that could be better harnessed to truly connect with the customer? GEM # 2 Fixing Moments or Solving Problems? "We are spending so much of our time fixing moments, but not actually solving problems.  But fixing moments, like mopping a dirty floor, only provides short-term satisfaction.  But take the time to understand the cause of the problem - like how to keep a floor from getting so dirty in the first place - solves, and maybe eliminates, a problem for the long run." ~ Kristen Driscoll, Starbucks Regional Director as quoted in Onward, page 285   At Starbucks, they call it "fixing moments".  I call them "putting out fires". One of the biggest challenges facing Shultz upon his return to the ceo seat was to not plug the leaking holes, but to actually overhaul the boat so that the holes wouldn't leak again.  So often, we perceive ourselves as too time starved to really solve a problem.   Sure, we slap a fix together and make the pain go away, but before we properly address the true nature of the problem, our time is demanded elsewhere and we're off to battle another fire. Time is scarce.  We get that.

“I often wonder why we have the kinds of responses we have.” Paul Garrity, as quoted in Annoying, page 237 When I was little, my sister and I would fight over how much space we each got in the back seat of the car.  You know the scene...one sister sl...