Category Archives: Books

Are You a Linchpin?

Do you remember what a Linchpin is?

It’s a piece of hardware that keeps the wheels on.  Not on today’s cars, but on wagons many years ago.  Today, they keep all kinds of things together.  The linchpin has the highest usefulness to weight ratio of any other part.  Without one, your whole system falls apart.  It’s indispensable.

And that’s exactly what Seth Godin says you can be.

Quoted as being his “most important work ever” Seth’s latest book, Linchpin, cuts straight to the core of where making change happens: inside each individual’s brain and their ability to choose.

“This time it’s personal” he says.  Not personal for him (although it is very much so) but personal for you.  He wants you to make a personal choice.  He wants you to choose to make a difference.

When we understand that a simple decision is all that is necessary to get started, it doesn’t seem too far out of reach.  And when we believe the fact that we all have a little genius in us, capable of looking at something that others are stuck on and getting them unstuck, then we can begin to create our art – the thing that only we can do, that changes other people for the better.

I experienced linchpin-like change when I ignored my lizard brain that tries to keep me safe and in the status quo, and traveled to New York for Seth’s launch presentation of this book and to meet members of his online community that he created for his previous book, Tribes. It was a remarkable experience that needs a separate post.

Right now, I just want to say that this work of art from Seth is so packed with powerful concepts that it’s going to take a few readings and underlining to help me really understand and apply it effectively.  From my first read-through I know that I need to develop the skills of becoming indispensable to those around me. 

For me, more studying is necessary because he doesn’t provide a map, he doesn’t tell you how to do it.  He only explains the skills, abilities, and characteristics of a linchpin, and why they are so critical in today’s environment.   Without the map, the easy ‘how to’ answers, Seth makes attaining linchpin status more meaningful.  It takes real work to develop those abilities (for those who don’t already have them), but Seth makes a great case for why it is worth it.

I hope I’ve made the case for why you should read the book.

You may not have the same anticipation or excitement as I did in this video, but it makes the book so much better if you do.

 http://www.triiibes.com/video/anticipation-1#

“What Matters Now” – in Paperback by Triiibes Press

You may have seen, a few posts ago, where I mentioned the free ebook put together by Seth Godin called What Matters Now.

Well, what matters now is that you buy the paperback version created by Triiibes Press.

One reaon is that all proceeds go to Room to Read a worthwhile charity that builds schools and libraries in third world countries.

Another reason is because the paperback version is the first book created by Triiibes Press, an entity conceived by a few members of Seth Godin’s online community (of which I am a member).  And you just may be seeing more amazing things being published in the future by Triiibes Press.

Why?  Because this community is the most remarkable set of individuals gathered together in one space that I know of.  They consist of a plethora of professions and skills, and span the globe, from Australia, the Canary Islands, to London and Slovenia.  They are so remarkable that I am traveling to New York next week to meet many of them in person.

Of course, many of us are also going there to see Seth’s new book release event, The Linchpin Session, but since we have a good reason to be there, we decided to plan a Triiibes conference also.  This is serious networking.

You wait and see.  Mark my words.  (I always wanted to say that.)  There will be some big things coming out of this loose organization of committed volunteers.  Because they are the kind of people who want to change the world.

Don’t you?

Let me know if you want to join us and I’ll see what I can do to get you in.

The Anti-Resume Revolution

Do you think there are a lot of people looking for a job these days?

There’s a better way to find one.

Do you want to have confidence in doing what you love?

There’s a way to make it happen.

My friend, Angela Lussier, did just that.  She decided to do something different, to break out on her own, to do what she was passionate about, and then write a book about it.

It’s called the Anti-Resume Revolution, and it’s an inspiring guide to getting and creating the rewarding career you want. 

This book is chock full of valuable information on a varietey of topics, from building a personal branding strategy to nailing the job interview, and from excelling during the first two weeks on the job to starting your own business.  But the real draw for me was Angela’s personal story and the stories of other everyday people who made things happen.  She weaved them masterfully throughout the book with a great sense of humor and in a way that kept me wanting more.   She was so authentic and open about how she felt during the the whole process that I felt as if I was experiencing this new adventure with her.

Angela definitely has talent and a drive to be unique and successful at whatever she does, but the down to earth way she shared her story made me feel like I could do something amazing like this too.  All it takes is a willingness to stand out, be a little different, and take some intiative to make your ideas happen.

She published the book herself using Lulu.com and even made an awesome video about how she did it.

What’s holding you back? 

Like the book’s mantra says: “Stop waiting.  Start creating.”

What Matters Now

Well, he’s done it again.  Seth Godin has unleashed an idea virus.

People like him have tremendous clout and power because so many people follow his every move.  But he also is able to utilize his power effectively because he doesn’t abuse it.  He doesn’t ask people to do things very often.  Most of the time he is giving out things, like wisdom, helpful hints, big ideas, links to others’ big ideas, sharing stories of amazing people, and so on.  This builds his respect and increases the number of followers.

Then, when he decides to make a real splash, he launches a request to his fans, which then become his army.

Except this time, he’s not just promoting his own book , but he’s using a multiplier of 70 major thinkers who have huge followings themselves, to promote his book and to promote their material.

He has brought them all together to publish a free e-book called “What Matters Now” and has asked everyone to spread it, tweet it, blog about it, and share it (oh yeah, and read it.)

Seth has found a way to tap into millions of people by collaborating with many leaders.

Yeah, it may look like I’m just a follower, but there is so much to learn here.  And his message is that every one of us can be a leader.  That feels good.

So what are you waiting for?

Download the free .pdf: what-matters-now

Trust Agents

One of my favorite bloggers, Chris Brogan, is releasing a new book, and I’m betting that it’ll be pretty good.  It hasn’t officially released yet (supposed to on August 24th) but it is already #30 on Amazon’s overall top seller list (passing up Twilight).  So a lot of other people think it’s going to be a good book too.

He doesn’t usually self promote, but on one day, yesterday, he made a big push.  Here’s his announcement:

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-big-push/

and here’s how to get the book:  http://bit.ly/buy-ta

I think his subject is going to be at the root of how things get done in the future – both online and off.

Trust me.  It’ll be good.

I’m your trust agent.

Peaks and Valleys

How can a person be completely devoted to a cause, committed to writing in his blog every day for instance, and then, in an instant, turn from his devotion to other interests?

Well, I don’t know for sure, but I’ve seen it done by other people in different areas of life and always wondered, “How can they do that?”  Now I know, or at least have a taste of what happens when a person turns from one thing to another, because I’ve experienced it myself. 

But I’ve experienced it many times, as probably you have too.  Whenever someone starts a diet and then doesn’t stick with it, or whenever a new workout routine is started and not continued.  People are constantly changing things about their life.

Instead of looking at these ups and downs of change during life as failures, I’ve learned to see them differently and take on a new perspective: they are all part of the normal terrain of life containing both peaks and valleys. 

Of course I gained this new perspective from a book (which is why I like books so much) with the same name: “Peaks and Valleys” by Spencer Johnson.  He was the author who wrote “Who Moved My Cheese?” which was very popular a few years ago and so has been read or heard of by almost everyone.  His latest book has a similar style, it is a short parable that teaches deep principles about life.  Another highly recommended book, because it is so quick and easy to read, yet it contains deep messages if you are looking for them.

For example, here are some of the main messages:

Peaks Are Moments When You Appreciate What You Have.

Valleys Are Moments When You Long For What Is Missing.

Peaks and valleys are not just the good and bad times that happpen to you, but they are also how you feel inside and respond to outside events.

The Path Out of The Valley Appears When You Choose To See Things Differently.

And since I’ve read the book, I am starting to see things differently.  So I must be on my way up to a peak.

Hope to see you there!

Building Communities

I finally found what I’m looking for.  This is my newest favorite blog, along with this one running a close second.

They’re about building communities, and more about the personal side of it than the technical side.  The posts are short and to the point and provide great insight.

It turns out that community building is now a whole new industry with many available jobs, consultants, books, and communities.  Who knew?

Of course I knew it was a hot topic and something that many people were talking about, but I never dug deep enough to find the actual experts on it.  And I still think I’ve just scratched the surface.

Call me naive or disconnected or out of the loop, but it’s still true: the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.

The world is one big place, with a lot of stuff happening.  And just watching TV only makes you think you know what is happening.

Citizen Marketers

A while ago I posted about a group I joined where we were getting our Personal MBA.  It amounts to reading a bunch of the latest business books and having discussions about them, even sometimes having the authors speak to us in an online forum.

Well, we’ve actually called our version the Alt-MBA (for Alternative) and have been going gangbusters.  We’ve picked our own list of 25 books that we’re reading in 25 weeks, and our only graduation requirement is that we have to teach someone else something we learned.

Now, I’ll admit, I haven’t been keeping up with reading every book (actually the first few were ones I’ve already read) but I’ve still learned a lot from the summary presentations and the discussions, and will be catching up by purchasing a few tomorrow.

So what I really wanted to share today is this latest book presentation on Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba.  The presentation is by Cassie Pruett and is best viewed in full screen mode. (She does an awesome job.)  Check it out, it’s only 22 slides and will take you 2 minutes.

By the way, all our presentations are located on SlideShare and all of our podcasts are on iTunes.  A good idea would have been for me to share these presentations once a week when they come out, but since I just thought of it, I’ll try and catch up (we’re only on week 7.)

Anyway, Citizen Marketers is a good one about the new influencers and how it’s all about the online community and (digital) word of mouth these days.

Now go tell someone about it.

Changing the World

What happens when you write a blog post every day for two months and then all of a sudden stop?

Well, both of your readers get upset.

Or, nobody notices.

I’m hoping the later.

But here’s something that might be interesting.

Seth Godin doesn’t promote too many books from other people, only when it’s something he completely believes in.  And let me tell you that Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of the Acumen Fund, is one of his favorite people.  So when she releases her first book, The Blue Sweater, you know he is going to promote it as best as he can.

Here is his explanation of why you should buy her book.  (I wouldn’t doubt that he is the anonymous donor.)

I think this is interesting because we’re learning how possible it really is to change the world.  Maybe because there are so many parts of the world that have a lot of room for improvement, and we’re able to more easily connect those who can help with those who need the help.

I’m guessing that is what The Blue Sweater is about since the subtitle is “Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World”.

That looks like a good book to own.  Plus, by buying it, you are doing your part to change the world.

Your Next Presentation

There are lots of books and web sites and people who give advice on how to give good presentations.  And if you give presentations (who doesn’t) it’s probably a good idea to learn as much as you can.

But even though there may be timeless principles on presenting a message, I think you’ll find that there are some new ideas that are challenging some of the old ones that have been around a while.

Check out this great post I found recently from Chris Brogan .  It seems to match some of the other concepts I’ve heard from successful presenters lately.

For the interested student, other current masters of presentations are:

 

Learn something different and make your next presentation a smash hit.

Fear of Failure?

Fear of failure is overrated.

You’re likely not going to get fired over trying something new and radical.  So it’s not really failure that people are afraid of, it’s blame, criticism.

This is another great topic that Seth Godin elaborates on in his book Tribes.

He says that we’re afraid to launch that new idea or product or presentation because we’re worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it.  “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” “What a waste of money.” “Who’s responsible for this?”

Sometimes the criticism doesn’t have to be that obvious.  The fear of hearing “I’m surprised you launched this without doing more research” is enough to get many people to do a lot more research, to study something to death, and then kill it.  Hey, at least you didn’t get criticized.

Seth admits, getting a bad book review hurts his feelings, and it is about enough to ruin his day.  But it’s not enough.  It’s not enough to ruin his day because his book got noticed.   He realizes that a bad review is a badge of honor because it means that he confounded expectations – he did something worth remarking on.

So the challenge, as you contemplate your next opportunity to be boring or remarkable, is to answer these two questions:

1.  If I get criticized for this, will I suffer any measurable impact other than feeling bad about the criticism?  If so, how does that feeling compare with the benefits from actually doing something worth doing?  Being remarkable is exciting, fun, profitable, and great for your career.  Feeling bad wears off.  If you’ve decided to take the remarkable path, answer this one:

2.  How can I create something that critics will criticize?

The Meeting Canoe (Part 1)

One of my favorite consultants I had the opportunity of working very closely with is Dick Axelrod.  He was basically the father of the Engagement movement with his books, Terms of Engagement and You Don’t Have to Do It Alone.  He taught me a lot about consulting, putting on workshops, and working with groups.  His books contain simple, yet powerful concepts, with his latest free e-book  as a perfect example, a short read with timeless lessons.  In fact, his whole Everyday Engagement effort was developed when working with our team, so I’ll take a little credit here (but no where else.)

One of my favorite concepts I learned from Dick was the meeting canoe.  He really keyed in on meetings and said to me, “If you want to find out about the culture of a company, just attend one of their meetings.”  How people interact with each other is truly surfaced in meetings, so his take was that if you wanted to change the culture of a company or organization, just start by changing their meetings.  Meetings are what people seem to hate the most, therefore, they are the greatest source and have the greatest potential for changing the organization’s culture.

Getting Things Done

It’s a phrase that makes people feel good, one that generates confidence, accomplishment.  It’s something we all want to do.  However we define ‘things’, we want them finished, complete, closed, accomplished.

David Allen was a management consultant that began to see the DNA of how things got done and then developed a method, a step by step process, even an entire philosophy around personal productivity and the business of ‘getting things done’.  His books continue to grow in popularity and he is now (and has been for a while) one of the most recognized names in the personal productivity arena.  He basically owns the phrase due to his first book, “Getting Things Done“, and his methodology is now referred as GTD. 

His second book focused more on the philosophy and principles behind the method and is a collection of short essays called “Ready for Anything“.  I actually read that one first and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I’ve also come back to that one quite a few times for re-reading and study, to help me get back on track.

His latest book, just recently released, “Making it All Work” is supposed to provide new perspectives and help you reach new levels of productivity.  I haven’t read it yet, but probably will at some point.

His core premise is that one’s ability to be productive is directly proportional to one’s ability to relax.  He uses the “mind like water” analogy where water responds with total appropriateness to a pebble being thrown in it.  It doesn’t overreact or underreact, it simply interacts with whatever comes to it and returns to its natural state. 

He defines 4 main areas of productive behavior:

  1. Capturing and corralling all our internal and external “open loops” to regain clarity and energy.
  2. Consciously managing our focus within the multiple levels of outcomes and responsibilities to which we are committed.
  3. Creating trusted structures and consistent usage of them to trigger the appropriate focus and reminders as necessary.
  4. Grounding it all with flexible, forward motion at the physical-action level.

 

People don’t need more discipline as such – they need a more discipined approach.  It’s not about working harder or getting your priorites straight, it’s about defining your work better at multiple levels of detail and staying focused on all of them simultaneously.

I highly recommend investgating David Allen’s work.  I have not mastered his method perfectly yet, but his concepts help me to understand all the things I have to do in a different way, and therefore helps reduce my stress.

The Posture of a Leader

I like this section of Seth Godin’s book, Tribes.

“If you hear my idea but don’t believe it, that’s not your fault; it’s mine.

If you see my new product but don’t buy it, that’s my failure, not yours.

If you attend my presentation and you’re bored, that’s my fault too.

If I fail to persuade you to implement a policy that supports my tribe, that’s due to my lack of passion or skill, not your shortsightedness.

If you are a student in my class and you don’t learn what I’m teaching, I’ve let you down.

It’s really easy to insist that people read the manual.  It’s really easy to blame the user/student/prospect/customer for not trying hard, for being too stupid to get it, or for not caring enough to pay attention.  It might even be tempting to blame those in your tribe who aren’t working as hard at following as you are at leading.  But none of this is helpful.

What’s helpful is to realize that you have  a choice when you communicate.  You can design your products to be easy to use.  You can write so your audience hears you.  You can present in a place and in a way that guarantees that the people you want to listen will hear you.  Most of all, you get to choose who will understand (and who won’t).”

That piece of advice would go a long way to improving attitudes by encouraging people to take responsibility for what happens and not immediately blame others.  That’s true leadership, which is why it is still scarce.

The Career Renegade

When you’re connected with well connected people, then you’re well, connected.

Another one of my friends who I’ve met through Seth Godin’s tribe is Johnathon Fields.  He was gracious enough to send me an advanced copy of his new book called Career Renegade. 

And let me tell you, it is fantastic. 

There are a lot of career books out there that say, “Just do what you love and the money will follow.” But most of the time that just ends up being an empty promise.  Jonathan’s book actually shows you the strategies and details on how you can find new marketing angles related to the topic of what you love to do that you might have not considered, and which can generate some serious money.  He talks about the latest online tools and markets that just didn’t exist a couple of years ago. 

He also teaches you how to do it without abandoning your current method of earning an income.  But it’s not one of those quick money making schemes, it is more principle based, along with “how to’s” that can be applied to any type of entreprenurial endeavor.

So check it out.  He’s another smart guy with something to say.

Man, there are so many of those out there.