Weekly Bookmarks
36th Edition — October 13, 2019
What’s the difference between an Iowa mom and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.
Chris Voss, the author of Never Split the Difference
1. Are You Effective?
Tell me the truth. Do you skip the introduction in most books? The Effective Executive is the best business book I’ve ever read. I try to read it a couple of times annually. If you haven’t read it, don’t skip the introduction.
When I work with COOs, early in our relationship, we go through Drucker’s observations of an effective leader (that’s you):
+ they ask what needs to be done
+ they ask what needs to be done for the enterprise
+ they develop action plans
+ they take responsibility for decisions
+ they take responsibility for communicating
+ they are focused on opportunities rather than problems
+ they run productive meetings
+ they think and say ‘we’ rather than ‘I’
I never tire of reading this list. Remember, don’t skip the introduction.
2. How are Your Negotiating Skills?
There are two books I’ve read twice this year. One of those titles is Never Split the Difference. I have no idea why Chris Voss’s book resonates, it just does. For every company that requires their employees to read How to Win Friends and Influence Others, Never Split the Difference should be the necessary follow-up read.
If you don’t have time to read it, my favorite video which includes many of the key points in his book is a Talks at Google interview.
3. On vs. In
I perceive that Micheal Gerber is a far better marketer and salesman than he is a writer or business person. “Working on the business, not just in it,” is possibly the most quoted and universal business phrase since The E-Myth Revisited was published.
But is that term wholly true? I told a good man this week that he should work on the business so that he can ultimately work in the parts of his business where he performs uncommonly well. Over the past 10 years, I’ve never gotten push back with that line. When I share that advice, it’s typically in the context of, “What is the best use of my time?”
Speaking of time management …
4. Do We Need Another Time Management Book?
When I heard a retired Disney executive talking customer service on a podcast interview, I immediately bought and listened to Lee Cockerell’s book, Creating Magic with two thumbs up from start to finish.
But another book on time management? This summer, Cockerell released Time Management Magic. I’m sure it’s good, but there is so much competition in this crowded book space. Do we have TIME for another such title?
Circling back to Drucker, Know Thy Time (chapter 2) from the Effective Executive is the best commentary I’ve ever read on time management although the legendary business guru would have never used that term.
5. What if Tina Fey Wrote a Book About Living on the Farm?
My home state is Missouri, so when a writer from the Show Me State publishes a book, my literary antennae go up. Elisha Wells Stroupe is the author of Desperate Farmwives which was released last month. It’s Tina Fey funny yet an honest and pure look at living and working on a small, rural Missouri farm.
If you follow me on LinkedIn, I’ll be releasing an interview with her in my 5in5 series on Tuesday – by far my favorite in this series.
Recent Bookmarks – 35 | 34 | 33
Thank You For Reading
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Take care and have a great week. Always be learning.
Title Photo by Jeff McNeill [CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
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