ReaditFor.me | Disciplined Dreaming

In a world that is ever changing, creativity and innovation is critical to your success (and even your survival).

In Disciplined Dreaming, Josh Linkner teaches us a method we can use to make sure we are hitting the mark with our new products and services.

Today I read a summary of the book Disciplined Dreaming by Josh Linkner.

I learned that creativity and innovation is a process, and that we can all be more creative when looking for solutions to our biggest challenges.

Here is an idea and an exercise to consider this week, inspired by the book:

Idea:  Igniting new ideas

One of the most common stumbling blocks is the feeling that you need to imagine and perfectly design the entire creative solution before beginning. The best way to get started is to literally direct your mind to think in ways you normally wouldn’t think.

Exercise:  Linkner suggests you think about the following to kickstart your ideation process:

How would you answer your creative challenge if you didn’t start from the beginning?

What if you tried to find the wrong answer instead of the right one? What if you tried to solve the problem 50 years ago? What if you tried to solve the problem 50 years into the future?

How would you answer your creative challenge if you were a villain? If you were your favourite musician?

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | Great by Choice

How would you like to create (or work at) a company that outperforms your competitors by at least 10x?

Jim Collins and his team concluded was that there are 4 main attributes of a 10x company – fanatical discipline, empirical creativity, productive paranoia and Level 5 ambition.

Today I read a summary of the book Great by Choice.

I learned the specific attributes that the world’s most successful companies follow to outperform their competition by at least 10 times.

Here is an idea and an exercise to consider this week, inspired by the book:

Idea: Fire bullets, then cannonballs

The idea is that if you were down to your last bit of gun powder, and had an enemy ship bearing down on you, you’d need to be judicious in your use of last reserves. Take it all and fire a cannonball, and the chances are that you are going to miss, and perish. But fire bullets first instead, and sooner or later you are going to find the right trajectory for your shots. Then, and only then should you load up the cannonball and go for broke.

Collins defines a bullet in the business context to be something that is:

1. Low cost – it shouldn’t cost you a lot of money to fire a bullet.

2. Low risk – the result, one way or another, shouldn’t have a major impact on your business.

3. Low distraction – it shouldn’t take much time away from the other major priorities the company has at the moment.

Exercise:

This week, come up with a “bullet” you can fire in an area of your business that is critical to your success. If you make sure it’s low cost/risk/distraction, you should be able to test a major hypothesis by the end of the month.

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | Happy Hour is 9 to 5

Here’s an interesting finding from a study at the University of Warwick: happy people are 12% more productive than the average worker.

In his book Happy Hour is 9 to 5, Alexander Kjerulf gives us some ideas on how to bring more happiness into our own workplaces, so that we can ultimately get better results.

Today I read a summary of the book Happy Hour is 9 to 5.

I learned happier people are more productive people. It seems like a win-win if there ever was one.

Here is an idea and an exercise to consider this week, inspired by the book:

Idea: Happiness is a choice we can influence

Happy people are more productive people. This means that one of the drivers of success of your team is how happy they are. Happiness is a leading indicator of success.

In other areas of our business we are taught to reward the behaviours that correlate with leading indicators of success. For instance, a leading indicator in sales is the size of a pipeline, which is influenced by the number of prospect calls that get made. So, we reward salespeople who make a lot of prospect calls. Simple, right?

So why don’t we do the same for happiness levels?

Exercises:

First, the easiest way to get the behvaviour you are looking for is to model it yourself. So, for the next week, make a decision to be happy at work, and make sure your team notices.

Second, think of at least three ways you can reward your staff for being happy at work. Here’s an easy one to get you started. In your next team meeting, acknowledge at least one member of your team who brings happiness into the workplace every day. This will feel awkward, but remember…your bottom line (or bonus) depends on you getting this right.

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | The Challenger Sale

It’s a fact that seems to get lost these days – how you sell is just as important as what you sell.

The authors of The Challenger Sale tell us that the top performers sell differently than the average or mediocre performers, and it has nothing to do with building relationships or working the phone harder.

Today I read a summary of the book The Challenger Sale.

I learned that the world’s top salespeople do things differently than the average or mediocre ones.

Here is an idea and an exercise to consider this week, inspired by the book:

Idea: Challenging your customer’s assumptions

Sales engagements often start with visits to find out what customers want. But what if customers don’t know what they need? What if a customer’s greatest need is actually to figure out what they need? In that case, rather than asking customers, a better technique might be to tell/teach customers.

That’s what Challengers do. They win not by understanding their customers’ world as well as the customer know it themselves, but by actually knowing their customers’ world better than their customers know it themselves…teaching them what they don’t know but should.

Exercise:

Pick one potential customer for your business, and come up with one insight about their business that they should know, but don’t. It could be the way an emerging trend is going to shape their marketplace, a new idea that they could apply to an exiting problem, or anything else that will make them pause and think differently about their current situation.

Then, show them how your product/service can help them address this new challenge they didn’t know they had.

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | Now, Discover Your Strengths

Most people focus on shoring up weaknesses rather than exploiting strengths.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton in Now, Discover Your Strengths, we’ve got it all wrong.

Today I read a summary of the book Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham.

I learned that while most of us focus on improving our weaknesses, we should be focused on exploiting our strengths.

Here is an idea and an exercise to consider this week, inspired by the book:

Strengths = Talent + Knowledge + Skill

Strengths are a combination of talent (what you are naturally good at), knowledge (knowing how to use that talent), and skill (a repeatable series of steps and actions).

It’s important to note that this combination cannot exist without enjoying the task itself. Being naturally good at something alone does not make it a strength, because without enjoying it you won’t stick with it long enough to acquire the knowledge and skill to complete the formula.

This is important to note in your team as well – just because somebody on your team shows promise in a certain area, does not mean that they should be doing it.

Exercise:

For yourself and for each person on your team, list your areas of responsibility and determine whether or not it utilizes your strengths. Are there helpful strengths that you have that are not being utilized?

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | Extreme Productivity

Robert Pozen is one of those rare individuals who truly seem to have more hours in the day than the rest of us.

For instance, he would teach a full course load at Harvard Business School while serving as the full-time chairman of a global financial-services firm.

He wrote Extreme Productivity to teach us how he did it, and how we can squeeze a little more out of our day too.

Today I read a summary of the book Extreme Productivity by Robert Pozen.

I learned that the world’s most productive people focus on doing the right things instead of doing more things.

Here is an idea and an exercise to consider this week, inspired by the book:

The Two Column Calendar
Most people fill their calendars with meetings and other tasks without thinking about whether or not they are the most impactful things they can do to get closer to their long-term goals.

To combat this, the world’s most productive people use a two column calendar – with the events and todos listed on the left hand side, and the justification for each activity on the right.

Eventually, events and todos that don’t serve your long-term goals will start disappearing from your calendar, and you’ll become much more productive.

Exercise:
For one or two days this week use the two column calendar. After you’ve done that, make note of how many of your events and todos you struggled to connect to your long-term goals. Then, come up with a game plan for how you’ll deal with these events in the future.

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is a timeless classic.

Which of the Laws will make the biggest difference for you and your business?

There are 5 that may move the needle for you.

Today I read a summary of the book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell.

I learned that our leadership levels are directly correlated to the results we are able to produce with our teams.

Here is an idea and an exercise to consider this week, inspired by the book:

The Law of The Lid.
According to Maxwell, leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. What does he mean? In a nutshell, the lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid on their potential.

Exercise:
To find out where your leadership level is right now, reach out to people who know you best and ask them to rate you on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) in each of the following areas:

People skills;
Planning;
Strategic thinking;
Vision; and
Results.

Then, average the scores, and compare them to your own assessment.

Where are the gaps in the assessment? What can you learn and apply over the next month to close that gap?

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd

Understanding and communicating how you are different from your competition is critical to your long-term success. The tricky part is how to do it.

Youngme Moon (a Harvard business school professor) wrote the book Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd to help us consider specific ways we can stand out in a crowded marketplace, using successful case studies as her starting point.

Today I read a summary of the book Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon.

I learned some very specific techniques for making sure we stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Here are three of them from the book to consider this week:

Reversal. Eliminate most/all of the features our competitors have been using to compete. Like Jet Blue getting rid of first class and free meals. Or IKEA forcing you to assemble your own furniture.

Breakaway. Replace one mental model with another. Like Kimberly-Clark creating the “Pull Up”, which completely eliminates the stigma of wearing a diaper beyond age 2. Or Swatch, which asked it’s marketplace to consider a watch to be an everyday fashion accessory instead of an expensive piece of jewelry.

Hostility. Instead of laying down a welcome mat, you lay down a gauntlet. Like Mini, who turns a perceived weakness (their cars are super small), and turning it into the focal point of their marketing program.

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | Breakthrough Rapid Reading

How to manage to read a book a day and still have time to run your business and spend time with your family.

One of the secret weapons is Breakthrough Rapid Reading by Peter Kump. You might not end up reading a book a day, or even a book a week. But whatever you do decide to read, you’ll read it faster and understand it better.

Today I read a summary of the book Breakthrough Rapid Reading by Peter Kump.

I learned a bunch of techniques for reading faster, and I thought you’d enjoy some of them too.

Here are a few of the principles from the book:

Scanning (Part 1). Most business books are written in a logical structure with a new idea per chapter. Read the table of contents, and then the first paragraph or two of every chapter, and you’ll have a good idea of what the main message of the book is.

Scanning (Part II). Most authors will put the main point of their paragraph in the first sentence. Read the first sentence of every paragraph, and again, you’ll get the main point.

Underlining. You’ll read faster if you move your finger across the page as you do. To get faster, simply start moving your finger faster. Move your finger slightly faster than you feel comfortable, and over time you’ll dramatically increase your reading speed.

Dusting. If you want to get even faster, start moving your entire hand across the page as you read as if you are dusting the book.

Mindmaps. To comprehend what you are reading, create a mindmap with one concept in the middle of a page, and then start branching off the sub-ideas as appropriate, and making sure to keep related materials together.

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


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ReaditFor.me | Influence

Imagine what could you accomplish if you could get people to say yes to every request you make.

In Influence, Robert Cialdini teaches us the principles we need to apply if we want to get closer to that reality.

Today I read a summary of the book Influence by Robert Cialdini.

I learned that there are universal principles that we can use to get more of what we want out of others.

The next time you are making a request of others, check-in and see if you are using these principles:

Social Proof. Are you using an example of somebody else who has done something similar in the past?

Reciprocity. People tend to return favours, so do something for the person before you make your request, even if it’s a small gesture.

Authority. People obey other people they believe have authority. What authority can you bring to the situation?

Scarcity. By making something seem scarce, people tend to want it more.

Liking. People prefer to say yes to those they know and like. They like people who give them compliments, even if they suspect the compliment has an ulterior motive. It’s not hard to find something you can compliment genuinely though.

Commitment and Consistency. People strive for consistency in their commitments, and act in according to existing values and attitudes. Remind them how your request would be consistent with their values.

One last thing: remember to use the principles ethically.

If you want more, you can read a summary of this book here today (you’ll need to create a free account first):  https://readitfor.me/read-rothbard


This link offers you a free Readitfor.me Membership (daily summary by text only), which is regularly $9.99/month.