Weekly Bookmarks
76th Edition – July 19, 2020
I started fresh out of college, with no experience. Ever since, my business has been my life, my education, and my struggle.
Paul Downs, Business Owner and Author
1. A Different Kind of CEO
Most of us have read Shoe Dog along with other great books by CEOs who share their origin stories, their frustrations, and obstacles to success. These books share another common thread – they all eventually succeeded.
Paul Downs has been running a cabinetmaking shop focusing on conference tables for more than 30 years. A quick look at this portfolio creates an immediate bias that he’s the Herman Miller of wood products. Not so fast, Bob Vila.
I just finished his hard-to-put-down, tell-all book about being a CEO during an up and down year in 2012. Parts of the book are repetitious – shrinking customer orders, drops in customer leads, family challenges with a special-needs child, employee frustrations, and not enough time to focus on the business. Yet, I wanted to keep reading to see if he’d make the right changes to his company.
The book is Boss Life: Surviving My Own Small Business (published 2015, 4.8 rating on 190 reviews).
2. Rebound Books for Boys in the Boat
If I had to list my favorite 10 non-fiction books, Boys in the Boat would be at least in the top 8.
What next? What’s a good rebound book after making an emotional investment with 9 young men who overcame overwhelming odds given their upbringings?
Roll the clock 5 years forward, and I finally found the perfect follow-up books, and both are by the same author. The first one is entitled The Red Rose Crew focused on a number of women athletes who battled male prejudices in a sport that shunned women. The next one is Kelly: A Father, A Son, An American Quest. Remember the Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly? That was her father and brother.
Don’t have time to read the books? I’m interviewing Daniel Boyne for a future podcast episode this week where he’s a full-time rowing instructor and coach at Harvard University. During that conversation, we’ll talk about the books and the strength, endurance, and mental stamina required to become a great rower.
3. One of the Greatest Marketing Books Ever
My ancient iPod has cancer as it’s losing battery life when I’m always at a great part of a book while I’m driving my truck. Accordingly, I’ve started listening to books on CD again that I bought back in the 1950s – okay, it seems like that long ago.
I finished Made to Stick for the umpteenth time, and it’s a book I recommend for any FP&A professional. CEOs should read this too to start building their market muscles.
There’s one story I forgot about, and it’s pure gold. Floyd Lee fed soldiers at the Pegasus chow hall during the Iraq war. Lee did not see himself as a chef but as the person in charge of morale. According to one soldier, “The time you are in here {Pegasus), you forget you’re in Iraq.”
How do you see yourself in the job you hold right now?
4. Why We Study Widely
I’ve been told by more than one CEO that I have a knack for unpacking nearly any problem and getting to the heart of the issue. Yet, I rarely read books written by authors in my field (exceptions include focused and deep learning on issues I’m trying to solve). Perhaps I find such books boring or lacking in original thought. Mainly by accident, I became aware years ago that my little analytical brain grows by reading and studying outside my domain of expertise.
And that reminds me of the greatest fighter pilot who ever lived.
When John Boyd was working on another degree in 1961 at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he had a major epiphany while studying thermodynamics. His insights led to the Energy-Maneuverability (E-M) Theory. All you need to know that is that E-M Theory was a game-changer in the Air Force and made the F-15 and F-16 the finest air machines in the world.
Ideas and innovation come from the strangest of places. If this concept intrigues you, I recommend the 30-minute read by James Webb Young entitled A Technique for Producing Ideas: A Simple Five Step Formula for Producing Ideas. A big honorable mention goes to Robert Hagstrom’s, Investing: The Last Liberal Art.
5. August Book of the Month
Regarding that thinking warrior pilot mentioned above, CFO Bookshelf’s first Book of the Month selection starts in August. The book is Boyd, The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War.
On the podcast, we’ll have one show where we cover some of the high points of the book, and CFO Bookshelf will release its first Master Class with this book selection. A new book will be rolled out monthly thereafter, and that list is nearly complete for the following 12 months – stay tuned.
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