Weekly Bookmarks –
127th Edition – July 11, 2021
Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
1. Inside the Head of an Entrepreneur
Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach is the king of patois and maxims for business owners around the globe.
He describes entrepreneurs as those who make it up, make it real, and make it recurring. Making it up. That’s the lightning I want to catch in a bottle.
I’m reminded of one such entrepreneur who was a genius at making it up:
Say we are going to buy a certain part for the automobile instead of making it for ourselves, maybe the distributor head, and assembled part made up of many pieces. The samples come in. The production men, the engineers and the technicians spend days going over them, taking them apart, testing one against another, making notes and typing labels to them. Then they are all spread out on a table, maybe thirty of them, ready for Ford. He comes in looks at them for two or three minutes with his squinted eyes, says, ‘That one,’ and walks out. It’s that one, sure enough. But how does he do it?
Burton Folsom, Jr., Empire Builders
2. Revisiting The Art of War
If I could sum up Pressfield’s book in one word, it would be resistance. Whether you are a financial leader or run/own a business, it’s a word we must embrace, tame and learn from. Then we nuke it.
In case you have not read it, Pressfield states we live two lives–the life we live and the one we want to live. Place the word and barrier ‘resistance’ in the middle, and now we have a story where we’re the main character.
Regarding those offsite strategic planning sessions … pitch the agenda and use Pressfield’s terminology above to figure out how to start chipping away at the resistance that keeps the business from experiencing the unlived life.
3. Is Culture Overrated?
Two hours remain of Zero Fail by a Pulitzer-winning author, Carol Leonnig.
Someone call Patrick Lencioni or Liz Wiseman. I always assumed the Secret Service was the cream of the crop in law enforcement.
Leonnig paints a different story of misdeeds and misconduct through multiple administrations, from the lowest levels to senior leaders at that overworked and under-budgeted agency.
I read Many Unhappy Returns by Charles Rosetti, who turned around the IRS during a five-year period. He attacked the gremlins that resisted a kinder and gentler organization. He took culture seriously. Culture counts. When it doesn’t, just read Leonnig’s book’s pages to see the results.
4. Books for Entrepreneurial Kids
When the investment extraordinaire Brent Beshore asks a question on Twitter, I’m all in if I have an opinion.
Brent sought book ideas for a friend’s 14-year-old son interested in business and investing. Do you agree with my shortlist?
- Anything You Want by Sivers
- The $100 Startup by Guillebeau
- Cadence by Williams
- Millionaire Teacher by Hallam
5. Tom Peters is Back
These days, good luck in finding an interview with Tom Peters. He’s been scaling back his appearances for years.
However, he has a free course on Udemy on Excellence. Note especially Hard is Soft, Soft is Hard, Things to Do Now which is the second lesson. Those of us working with numbers and the science of business need to understand and embrace this concept.
It appears he’ll be releasing a series of courses at $199 a pop. Be patient. Sometimes those Udemy courses drop over time. To stay updated, you can subscribe to news on his website.
Recent Bookmarks – 126 | 125 | 124
Deep in the Archives – The Startup Journey with Brett Fox – If you want to learn more about Rachleff’s Law mentioned above, this is a great starting point.
Thank You For Reading. Thank you for making this a successful newsletter.
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Always be learning and growing.
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