Fountain of Wisdom

Rose & Robert Skillman Library in Detroit has engraving “The Fountain of Wisdom Flows Through the Books“. To drink from this fountain, I continue to read books and here are some that I have completed recently and would like to share with my subscribers and visitors.  I have more detail posted here.

These 3 books are totally unique but fit in for a balanced approach towards any leadership or managerial role that you play in your life.

1. Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down - John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Press, 2010
2. Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t - Jeffrey Pfeffer, HarperBusiness, 2010
3. It’s Not Just Who You Know: Transform Your Life (and Your Organization) by Turning Colleagues and Contacts into Lasting, Genuine Relationships - Tommy Spaulding, Crown Business, 2010

Why Should You Read These 3 Books?

Buy-In:  A leader or manager has to sell the idea, proposal or get an agreement.  Getting people buy-into is the critical task.  You will learn two things – first, how to protect your good ideas from being shot down and second, how to win the support of stakeholders when it really matters.  Naysayers will use 4 strategies of fear mongering, delay tactics, confusion and/or ridicule to derail the idea.

As we all know that good idea alone will not survive. This book offers 24 major attacks or objections (that people use time and time again) and how to handle them properly. Link provides 24 responses to these attacks.

Skillman Library in Detroit Courtesy: Wikimedia

Power:  For a leader or manager, being power less is not an option. If you can influence any decision, you got some power. Projects and initiatives of people who are associated with people of authority gets their way in any organization.  Some might have the different opinion of the use of power (i.e. Machiavellian style), but lets use the perspective that if you have power, you can do more good to your cause, organization and society. I will add quote from Baltasar Gracian:

The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good.  The Art of Worldly Wisdom, 1647

This book contains excellent advice and analysis about gaining power in corporations and politics.  You may not agree with all that is said like perception is reality (but for how long?), but its a good read and use what you feel appropriate with good intentions.

It’s Not Just Who You Know: Leaders and managers accomplish a lot by building rapport at all the levels, they are resourceful and get the work done for greater good.  This book fits right where both other left.  If you believe that great relationship in life make all the difference, you will enjoy it. Author does not give out any specific formula but shares his own experiences and then elaborates on how one should apply them in life. I used this book to learn from someone’s life how genuine interaction helps build great relationships.

This book is not you scratch my back and I scratch you back type but follows Carnegie’s classic How to Win Friends…

Author shares many inspiring stories and all underscore that relationship building begins with your genuine and sincere attention on the others and it’s not about you. Do not push for the things that you want, figure out what they need.  Also, author stresses that exploiting relationships for quick personal gains or favors will eventually ruin the foundation and it soon becomes transactional business relationship.

As a leader, you do not want to accomplish a lot in business but also would like to have strong relationships similar to great balance sheet or super annual report.  If you miss out building genuine and sincere relationships at all sectors of life, work and business included, you will be alone at top.

References:

1. http://www.kotterinternational.com/KotterPrinciples/BuyIn/AttacksAndResponses.aspx

Change : Three Fish Story

Change is inevitable.  In every person’s life, opportunities for change come and go.  If person avoids change, nature creates circumstances in one way or the other, and change becomes unavoidable.  As per human nature, some will embrace the change and act positively, some will accept reluctantly and some will  completely deny the fact.  I hope you remember the classic fable on change by Dr. Spencer Johnson ‘Who Moved My Cheese?‘. 

Here is one similar story* by Rumi, draw the conclusion yourself.

In a lake somewhere, there lived three big fish.  One of them was intelligent, another half-intelligent, and the third, stupid.

One day, some fishermen came to the lake with their nets and the three fish noticed them.  The intelligent fish decided at once to leave, to make the long, difficult trip to the ocean.  He thought, “I won’t consult with these two on this.  They will only weaken my resolve, because they love this place so.  They call it home.  Their ignorance will keep them here.”

The wise fish saw the men and their nets and said, “I am leaving.”  So the intelligent fish left and suffered greatly on its way, but finally made it to the edgeless safety of the sea.

Now about the half-intelligent fish thought, “My guide has gone, I ought to have gone with him, but I didn’t, and now I’ve lost my chance to escape.  I wish I’d gone with him.”

Second fish mourns the absence of his guide for a while,  and then thinks, “What can I do to save myself from these men and their nets?  Perhaps if I pretend to be already dead!”  I’ll belly up o n the surface and float like weeds float, just giving myself totally to the water.  So he did that.  He bobbed up and down, helpless, within arm’s reach of the fishermen.

“Look at this! The best and biggest fish is dead.”  One of the men lifted him by the tail, spat on him, and threw him up on the group.  He rolled over and over and slid secretly near the water and then, back in.

Meanwhile, the third fish, the dumb one, was agitatedly jumping about, trying to escape with his agility and cleverness.  The net, of course, finally closed around him, and as he lay in the terrible frying-pan bed, he thought, “If I get out of this, I’ll never live again in the limits of a lake.  Next time, the ocean!  I’ll make the infinite my home.”

Thank you for reading.  Everyone handles the situation in a unique way and that makes our world interesting. *paraphrased

Source: The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks, 2004

Fast, Cheap AND Good

Can’t pick any two? You also need all three – fast, cheap and good? 

It has been very commonly used set of options in I.T. when offering an alternative or usually when dealing with issues from outsourced service.  Someone will come and say – “Pick any two!” 

Sometime ago I was involved in a project where we had to pick any two options and it was very hard to leave out the third one.  Many times we had to leave ‘cheap’ and other times ‘fast’,  for us ’good’ was essential and paid the price accordingly.  We had to compensate for third left out option through continuous improvement.  I kind of thought that this is the  dilemma every one will be facing.  But it is not the case as I am finding out.  Things are getting better.

Practical Wisdom – three types of people

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar @ Detroit

I attended “Practical Wisdom For Getting the Most Out of Life” seminar by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Detroit on July 9th.  It was good to see and listen him in person.

His way of talking is like giving sutras (formula) for something.  I know condensing some information and giving it in the short form is not easy.  Some people enjoy detailed discourses and some enjoy condensed info i.e. sutras.  Remember, different strokes for different folks.  His daily sutras (link) are available in many languages.

On the lighter side, when someone asked the secret of happy married life – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar summed up for men - “nurture the emotion of woman” and hint to women – “pump the ego of man”.  We did some breathing exercise, learned about Surdarshan Kriya (a form of yoga) as well.

Here is a short paragraph from one of the books that I picked up “Celebrating Love“; -

“There are three types of people – the wise, the crooked and the immature.  The wise man continues doing good work whether he is scolded or praised.  Crooked people need to be praised to get them to do good work.  And from time to time immature people need to be both praised and scolded for them to do something good.”

(isn’t it a good management tip from a spiritual guru?).   Here are some links if you want to explore more -

Official website – http://www.srisri.org/
More info          - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Sri_Ravi_Shankar
His initiative     – http://www.artofliving.org/

Thanks for reading and have a good day!

The 7 Habits For Managers

Stephen R Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is classic and most of us have read and learned from it. 

 This week, I listened to his another audio book The 7 Habits for Managers: Managing Yourself, Leading Others, Unleashing Potential. Its based on ‘classic 7 habits’ and with focus on management. 

I would recommend to listen to this audio book to refresh 7 habits and learn how managers can apply these habits.  If this is new to you,  here are classic 7 habits and start with reading ’The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’

Habit 1 – Be proactive
Habit 2 – Begin with the end in mind
Habit 3 – Put first things first
Habit 4 – Think win-win
Habit 5 – Seek first to understand, then to be understood
Habit 6 – Synergize
Habit 7 – Sharpen the saw

These habits are to be used as pointers for our actions.  We got to make sure that our employees understand the value of these habits and learn from these. 

Thanks.

DiSC model – Management Styles

I completed DiSC (stands for Dominance, influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness) training last week and fount it interesting.   DiSC confirms one thing, different strokes for different folks.

DiSC is a system to help you find out similar and unique characteristics among people.  It also shows person’s behavioural preferences and helps to identify different management styles that can lead to obtain better results through interaction. 

According to the DiSC model, there are four management styles – by Dominance, by influence, by Steadiness, and by Conscientiousness.

Series of questions lead to a specific DiSC profile, that tells you what is your score and what is you dominant style of management and what are your supportive styles. 

D – Dominant : these people are active and questioning; these are direct and competitive in nature.  These people want to ‘get it done’.

i - Influence : these people are active and accepting; motivated, enthusiastic, sociable and lively. 

S - Steadiness : these people are thoughtful and accepting; patient and even tempered, accommodating. 

C- Conscientiousness : these people are thoughtful and questioning; kind of private with analytical abilities and task oriented.  Main objective is to ‘get it right’.

As we know everyone is unique and all have different ways of interacting.  Imagine, I interact with a person who has dominant  style of ‘Conscientiousness‘ (private and task oriented).  I pretend to be of ‘influence‘ (sociable and enthusiastic) dominant style; my interaction with that person can not be productive as I may not be providing the specific instructions that other person needs. 

Why is that?  Because people with dominant ‘infulence’ style mix personal talk with business discussions, becoming informal and emotionally expressive leaving the ‘Conscientiousness’ style person unclear or confuse as Max requires specific task oriented info and does not express himself emotionally.

How it will help me?  It lists what are key strengths, what things are overused, what could be the limitations and what changes should be made in management style that make one more effective.

Have you ever taken DiSC and Meyers-Briggs assessment?  What are your thoughts? Did you benefit from it?  Please share your thoughts.  Thank you for reading. 

More info -

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment 
2. One of the best books on the application of DiSC is by Keith Ayers titled “Engagement is Not Enough.”

Lao-tzu on Leader

I attended Wayne Dyer’s presentation in Toronto on 28th April 2008.  He spoke about his book  Living the Wisdom of  the Tao. 

I am quoting from this book.  Lets see what a philosopher, Lao-tzu, said in the 17th verse of Tao Te Ching  some 2500 year ago about the Leaders.

With the greatest leader above then, people barely know one exists.
Next comes one whom they love and praise.
Next comes one whom they fear.
Next comes one whom they despise and defy.

When a leader trusts no one, no one trusts him.

The great leader speaks little.
He never speaks carelessly.
He works without self-interest and leaves no trace.
When all is finished, the people say, “We did it ourselves.”

In the case of this post, we got to keep in mind that verse talks about ’greatest leader’. I think- there are still people who exhibit such qualities and making people’s life better.  What you think?  What did your interpretation of this verse?

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

My Reading List for coming days

• Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.  ~James Russell Lowell 
• You’re the same today as you’ll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read. ~ Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
• No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance. ~ Confucius
• It is better to read a little and ponder a lot than to read a lot and ponder a little. ~ Denis Parsons Burkitt

Here are 13 books that I plan to read in coming days…

1. True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership(J-B Warren Bennis Series) (Hardcover) by Bill George
2. ME, INC.How to Master the Business of Being You: A Personalized Program for Exceptional Living (Hardcover) by Scott W. Ventrella
3. Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking (Hardcover) by Tim Hurson
4. The Manager’s Book of Decencies (Hardcover) by Steve Harrison (Author)
5. Why Should the Boss Listen to You: The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor (Hardcover) by James E. Lukaszewski
6. The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy: Classic Concepts and New Perspectives (Hardcover) by Carl W. Stern, Michael S. Deimler
7. 60 Seconds & You’re Hired (Paperback) by Robin Ryan
8. A Dream With a Deadline: Turning Strategy Into Action (Hardcover) by Jacques Horovitz & Anne-Valerie Ohlsson-Corboz
9. Love Is Letting Go of Fear(Paperback) by Gerald G. Jampolsky
10. Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life (Hardcover) by Sandra Aamodt & Sam Wang
11. How Come That Idiot’s Rich and I’m Not?(Hardcover) by Robert Shemin
12. The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (Hardcover) by Parag Khanna
13. Awakening the Entrepreneur Within: How Ordinary People Can Create Extraordinary Companies (Hardcover) by Michael E. Gerber

I enjoy reading magazines and books on leadership, management, personal development, life, etc.  Have you read any of 12 books?  Do you suggest any other?

What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There

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I read many books in 2007 and one of the best that I want to mention here is What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith.This book is all about how successful people become even more successful.  There are tons of books on leadership and management out there but this is something.  In my case, book had very good title that got my attention plus it had Ford CEO Alan Mullaly‘s recommendation on the dust jacket, I decided to give it a try. The book was a wonderful read, I read it very slowly enjoying each page filled with new insights and examples – just like I am sipping tea in early spring morning.

Sometimes people get to almost at top by dedication, integrity and excellent work, and then do not get there (to the real topand achieve greatness and may be fame as well). There are many factors contributing to get there but author has identified 20 habits that hold person from getting there. These are very common bad habits that cost a lot in long run such as – not listening, beginning conversation with ‘but‘, speaking when angry, playing favorites, etc.

Visit author’s website www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com  for more info and free resources. 

Here is link to the list of 20 bad habits identified in the book.

The beauty is the way author has explained these common habits and their impacts on others in organization is just like a sage speaking to you.  I have heard from many of my peers and seniors who read the book on my recommendations,  came to me and thanked me. I hope I get a chance to meet him personally and I would pass all those thanks to Marshall for writing such a nice book. If we are getting such an advice compiled in a book, its the best deal for your career.

I am glad that I read it and would recommend to all leaders, aspiring leaders and managers to read it with open mind and make our organizations more successful and in return we also grow with others.  Let me know what you find out.

Thank you and have a great day!

The Dip – When to Quit and When to Stick

It was my first book from Seth Godin, and he talks about strategic quitting in this book.  Here is my own interpretation of

What is a dip – its a temporary situation when you feel like stuck, the results are not convincing and success seems impossible.  Dip can also be considered as  a situation similar to a dead-end assignment with no progress and feel like wasting time and energy.

Strategic quitting is good – when we know things won’t work out in our favor or input exceeds far beyond the value of output; quitting can be right choice. Its similar to cancelling the project or closing a business when things are not working out the way expected (no profit).

When to stick- is this goal worth pursuing or not?  Are you having fun doing this work, learning some new skills and also extracting some future benefits?  Can you treat it as sharpening your saw (skill) for the next move? Can you treat it as launch pad?  Yes, then sticking is good.

Is it possible to know if its right time to quit – personally, I do not think so.  One has to take chances.  The point is, if you quit- quit without guilt.  If you plan to stick and later find out that you are going nowhere; do not make it an issue of pride; if quitting is the right thing; just do it.  If you have some clue that you can get out of the dip and it will be great reward at the end – hang in there.

My Take - Strategic quitting is just like a well thought out Exit Plan.  Every opportunity has at least some risks involved and an exit plan is always needed.  Dip is a risk if we are not equipped and inspired to get out of it.  Risk planning tells us that we should have some contingency plan in place and build plans to avoid and react to the risk.  One size does not fit all in this case and Seth Godin does not claim to offer any formula; but gives a perspective, another option to consider.

What you think?  Did I get it right?  I am open for your suggestions.  You can find more info on Phil Windley’s Technometrial page on The Dip here.

 Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!