The Importance of Reading: What Is On My List

One of my favorite "reads" is the monthly newsletter of Alan Weiss called the Balancing Act. It is full of advice for life, consulting and dealing with people. It is educational and often amusing. In this most recent issue Alan makes the comment "The debate whether you're reading books in hard copy or electronically is immaterial. The question is: Are you reading books?"


I mentioned the other day that I was posting (or trying to post) five times a week and occassionally a sixth time. Another person's remark to that was "I don't know how you do it, I don't have that much to say." Well part of the way I do it is from reading. Other blogs, newspapers (the actual paper kind), online news stories and books. I actually have two stacks of books on my desk here beside me to be read of reread. Here is what is there.

• Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web 
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
• Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
• How to Acquire Clients: Powerful Techniques for the Successful Practitioner
• What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures
• The Talent Advantage: How to Attract and Retain the Best and the Brightest
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
• Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy, Second Edition
• SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
• The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
• Thrive! Stop wishing your life away
• Thinking about the Future, Guidelines for Strategic Foresight
• The Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life
• The Abs Diet 6-Minute Meals for 6-Pack Abs: More Than 150 Great-Tasting Recipes to Melt Away Fat!
• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
• Pursuit of Honor: A Novel
• Anna Karenina (I am reading this one on my IPad)
• The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
• 25 Big Ideas: The Science That's Changing Our World

Well there you have a glimpse into my mind based on my reading list. What is on yours? And more importantly if you had ONE book you would recommend I read what would it be? (other than the Bible.. got that one.)

In summary the importance of reading books is you get NEW IDEAS, NEW WAYS OF THINKING, REVISIONS OF OLD IDEAS, GUIDANCE AND ENJOYMENT. At least I do. I always think of the statement I once read LEADERS ARE READERS.

Influential books: A Personal List

I do alot of reading. I used to read books a great deal, still do, but less so with the Internet available. I am typing this from my home office, where I have decent size library,( but it does not look like Alan Weiss' library.) As I sit here looking at my books and wondering what to write about I got the brilliant idea of books! (Aren't I clever?)

I started thinking about the books that have been influential in my life. Maybe not so much influential but the ones that were memorable. And perhaps they did have an influence. Here is a list of mine:

• Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I feel this is the reason that I originally studied apes and monkeys in college. Tarzan of the Apes (Signet Classics)
• Foundation Trilogy by Issac Asimov. I can still picture that book today. It was one of the first I bought from a mail order book club. (Long before Amazon). The Foundation Trilogy
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This little book had been a gift from a teacher to my mother when she was 7. She passed it on to me along with a love of reading. Reading it each Christmas brings back pleasant memories. A Christmas Carol
• Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough. A biography of Theodore Roosevelt that launched a passion for TR. I now own about 15 TR biographies. Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt
• Megatrends by John Naisbett. I was fascinated by his view of what the world might hold. My fascination with trends and the future still holds, as you can tell from what you have read in my blog posts. Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives

I have many, many other books that I have learned from and enjoyed. The list is too long. I will confess I still love the feel of a book in my hands. A reader, while practical, especially if you travel, just doesn't do it for me. I imagine I will one day succumb. (Any company out there want to send me one? I will use it and post about it.)

What books have been influential in your life? Please share with us readers, perhaps we too will become influenced by your favorite read(s).

End of the Week Reading: Great Posts to Read

As we wrap up the workweek (at least the official one.. I almost always do a little work on the weekend) I wanted to point out to you some interesting blog posts. Something you can open on your laptop or IPad at the pool and read while sipping a cool one or a cup of coffee.

1. Alan's Blog from Alan Weiss, an extrodinary consultant and teacher. He writes On Leading and  how leaders stand their ground.
2. Suzanne Lucas, the Evil HR Lady, who also writes for BNET talks about 5 Things to Do When the Boss is Wrong. Some good advice for a tough situation.
3. The folks at Compensation Today over a brief lessons on some compensation metrics that EVERYONE should know, like Compa-ratio. So check out Compensation Metrics Defined.
4.  Alan Collins of Success in HR, writes about making some extra money in what he calls a "side hustle" and offers some ideas and suggestions for find the right one for you. He mentions teaching, which I do a lot of, but I never thought of it as a side hustle. Interesting article.
5. Frank Roche, at KnowHR,  writes Where in the Hell was HR in the Shirley Sherrod Case at the USDA. I am sure this will become a classic example of why you don't let managers file on the spot, especially when your boss is the President.
6. Barbara Hughes at Leading Engaged Companies writes about Making Tough News Inspiring. The story she relates is an excellent one. Barbara writes a smart, well thought out blog. I would put this one on "my must read" list.

A final observation for the week. There have been numerous examples in the news that all HR managers and business leaders can take a lesson from. The Sherrod firing as knee-jerk reaction being the biggest. But last night I was struck by something President Obama said about setting an example. In talking about the Unemployment Compensation bill being passed he said that (I paraphrase here) "Unemployed Americans who have been without help have had to cut budgets, cut corners and manage their money in order to survive. They should expect nothing less from their Government." I don't quibble that people need that money, but how does passing a $34 BILLION measure without finding a way to pay for it demonstrate the governmental fiscal leadership he spoke of?

Book Review: Thrive! by Alan Weiss

I have made it clear in past posts that I am a big fan of Alan Weiss of the Summit Consulting Group. He is the consultant's guru, thought leader and my role model. He can be found on Twitter @BentleyGTCSpeed if you wish to follow him. He has written a superb series of books for consultants. I recommend them. Most recently however, he has written a book that has applicability to many people. I think it has particular application to those in the HR profession. Thrive! Stop wishing your life away is a guide book for success in life that will have a major impact on how well you do in your profession. This book is about achieving success through smart work and smart use of time, money and your brains. It is NOT a book about wishing for success. It is a guidebook for gaining confidence, gaining competence and gaining success. It is straight forward in its advice, and as is his approach Weiss' is direct and pointed in his comments. As an example he says "You can't live your life by daintily stepping around the eggshells of others' inadequacies."

Weiss in his writing is very quotable. Some of my favorites include:

• Wallflowers are not chosen as centerpieces.
• We are not here to stick our toes on the water. We are here to make waves. The water doesn't matter. You should.
• Speed is "not of the essence" it IS the essence.
• Life is about quid pro quo. Mastering your life entails helping others master theirs.
• We should never put ourselves in a position of sacrificing our own needs to satisfy those of another. Even in a marriage.
• We all grow by exploiting strengths not correcting weaknesses.

Chapter 9 discusses the Five Traits of The Masters of Their Own Fates. An excellent chapter. These traits include:

• Trait 1- Resiliance. This means you do not the support or input of others to sustain yourself. Ture resiliance does not require the validation of others. It is a behavior, not a competency.
• Trait 2- Eternal learning. NEVER "dumb down" your abilities, competencies or brilliance.
• Trait 3- Self-esteem. (more about this in a minute.)
• Trait 4- Perseverance. You win some, you loss some, some get rained out. But you have to "suit up" for all of them.
• Trait 5- Love. Masters of their own fates feel free to love, and do so repeatedly and continually.

His Self-Esteem builders are excellent. They are:

• Acquire and hone skills.
• Apply positive "self-talk." (My comment: this is as close as he comes to "self-help")
• Walk with the Lions. Enter tough debats, take on the "experts", question what you find to be suspicious.
• Build on Strengths. Identify your strengths and exploit them. You don't grow on improving weaknesses.
• Articulate your values. Be cognizant of what you stand for and be able to explain it to others.

Before I go on to repeat the other book I will stop here. All I can say is I got jazzed by reading this book. I took notes and I reread the notes on a fairly consistent basis. I suggest you do the same thing. You can get the book here. It will be worth you time and money.

Human Resources Should Be About Improving What Works

In HR we quite often get caught up in discussions about the disciplinary process. What to do with poor or marginal performers? Sometimes we even discuss firing "adequate" performers, see The HR Capitalist's discussion entitled More than Jack Welch: Should We Fire Everyone Who's Doing an "Adequate" Job? Typically in HR we advise supervisors to counsel, warn and then terminate because the employees have not abided by the rules or are not producing at the level we expect or require. We sit down and tell them what they are doing wrong and then tell them to correct it. Often they don't and so we terminate their employment. Sometimes we work on a PIP, a performance improvement plan, and detail the steps we want to see change. Most often these things do not work and termination results.

Dick Grote, consultant and author of Discipline Without Punishment, has advocated for an approach which he says will turn poor performers into superior performers. He uses a "responsibility" based system with the employee himself "owning" his improvement or lack there of, as the case may be.

Two things I have just read made me think along a different line of thought about discipline and the role of HR. Neither reading dealt with HR or discipline. Rather they dealt with either personal or organization improvement. Alan Weiss, in Thrive! talks about personal growth and development, but he makes the statement that "We all grow by exploiting strengths, not by correcting weakness..." (pg. 125). In  the February 2010 issue of Fast Company Chip Heath and Dan Heath publish an adaption of their book Switch, called Find A Bright Spot and Clone It.  They discuss successfully dealing with change by focusing not on a problem but by focusing on what works. They state that we have a tendency to focus on a problem, whether it is in our business life or our personal life. We don't look at the A's and B's on our report card, but instead focus on the D's and F's. They state that "We need to ask ourselves a question that sounds simple but is, in fact, deeply unnatural: What's working and how can we do more of it?"

I think these two approaches are a good way to think of improving employee performance. Focus on what they do well, what is working about them, and try to improve that. The Heaths do point out that "knowledge does not change behavior." And as Weiss states "...the strengths need to be identified, codified, and replicated. Unless we know why we're good, it's very hard to replicate the behavior." Thus a counseling session with a "problem" employee must go beyond pointing out the failing behavior. It must point out to the employee what they do well and focus on getting more of that behavior. And Grote's program points out that the employee must accept the personal responsibility for that improvement.

Will it work? Does it work? Probably, but like anything else it will require change and work on behalf of the organization and management and HR. Are you willing to do it? Is there a payoff? The Heaths state "If you are a manager, ask yourself, What is the ratio of the time you spend on solving problems versus scaling successes?" The answer to that may come down to the 80/20 rule. So the reversal of that may end up paying big dividends, such as improved performance, improved morale, improved retention, and lowered costs.

Just my $0.02 worth. Who is working this successfully? Anyone? Bueller...

Get Out of the Rut and Make the Day More Interesting

There is comfort in routine. You know exactly how the day is going to go. No suprises, no worries. The problem is, suprises occur and because you have been dulled by the routine you are not then prepared to handle them. My favorite guru, Alan Weiss, writes in his August newsletter that a lack of exercise results in you being fat and that a lack of mental exercise results in your brain and thought processes being "fat" as well. As he says "The bad news here is that the same phenomena apply to your mind. There are people who arise, travel the same way to the same job, return home, have dinner, watch TV, and retire, in preparation for the same lemming path the next day. There are also those so immersed in a specialty or passion that their minds turn into tiny black holes of specialized focus, sucking in and destroying all other learning (my favorites are the cyberspace crowd, who will soon forget how to create eye contact and shake hands—they are busy sending email to a colleague 20 yards away). "

Mental exercise is just as important as physical exercise. Just as the "burn" of muscles show that you are performing physically Weiss says "Your mind is doing best when you are debating, considering other viewpoints, attempting things you haven't ever done, building both your creative and logical capacity, and "sore" from the work of invigoration and inspiration." He asks the following "Are you reading a wide variety of books, particularly outside of your comfort zone? Are you entering into lively and controversial debates? Do you express yourself in writing? Have you tried to figure out new ways to accomplish old tasks, and create new paths for the future?"

I personally dislike routine. I drive different ways to work, I listen to different radio stations. I try to visit different blogs and sample different points of view. I have tried different forms of exercise, though I still need to get to a yoga class. I make sure I pick up different magazines and read them for a difference (I read the womens magazines waiting to have my hair cut.) I have even been missing my Sunday morning paper and coffee. I think it makes my life a bit more interesting and in turn also makes me a bit more interesting to my friends and collegues. I may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier but I try to shed a bit of light around me.

So if you are stuck in an HR routine try to do something different this week. Shake it up a bit, you might find the week goes by a bit quicker and a little more interestingly.

BTW, I am starting up the newspaper and coffee again. There are somethings you just can't change!

Enthusiasm: A Key Hiring Requirement

Enthusiasm! Do you hire for it? You should, at least according to Alan Weiss, of Summit Consulting. In his most recent newsletter he relates the story of an exceptional waiter named Mike, who as Alan says "...generally led us through dinner the way Toscanini led the orchestra through Beethoven's Fifth." In Alan's opinion "You can't teach what Mike has, which is sheer zeal and talent for the job." This experience, and others like it, have lead Alan to offer the following advice to his many clients "... hire enthusiasm and teach the content of their business, not to hire content experts who aren't naturally enthusiastic, thinking either they can be taught enthusiasm or the content expertise will suffice."

Alan's experience mirrors my own. Interactions with employees are enthusiastic about their jobs makes the experience all that much more pleasant, regardless of the business. I have met and interacted with employees who are enthusiastic about serving burgers, changing tires, helping me figure out a mobile phone problem, sell me furniture, help me select the lighting fixtures for my new house, and launder my shirts. It is a key attribute. Now I might like to hire a combination of enthusiasm and content expertise, but I would be inclined to take enthusiasm first.

I think enthusiasm comes from someone viewing their job as important and relevant. I used to have an employee in my plant who cleaned the floors and mowed the grass. He was always whistling and working hard. I asked him why one day and he told me he had the most important job in the company. I asked how he figured that and he told me "No one could work if the place was not clean and the neighbors would be unhappy if he did not mow." Is this what we are discussing when we talk about employee engagement. Perhaps so...

Alan concludes with this.."Enthusiasm is infectious. Are you the kind of person whom others want to be around because you generate excitement and interest, no matter what your job or your calling? After working with you, would I want to work with you again, let alone give the equivalent of a $300 tip?" I will echo that. Are you? Do you hire people that generate excitment? If not, why not.

BTW, if you want a great monthly read from a great writer, speaker and consultant then subscribe (for free) to Alan's monthly newsletter The Balancing Act, which shows up in your mailbox on the first of every month without fail.

Proud Employees or Victims?

I have mentioned before that I am a big fan of Alan Weiss, consultant and author. I got his February newsletter, The Balancing Act, today and, as usual, it is thought provoking and informative. In this issue he talks about his experience of riding a train where the crew of the dining car had obvious pride in their jobs and, as a result, how pleasant the trip was for him. His observation on this was "I think this individual pride, and its ability to transform work and relationships, is a crucial consideration in terms of who we hire, who we become friendly with, and with whom we decide to surround ourselves. If we hang out with people who hate the work, hate the customers, hate life, and feel constantly oppressed, we'll find ourselves subsumed in that quagmire." He further muses "But if we surround ourselves with people who merely believe that they have the power and responsibility to do the best they can, so will we."

This has always been my personal philosophy. I don't work with or associate with "downers." There is no need to. And you should not either! If you have control over the hiring in your organization make sure you are only recruiting and hiring people who have pride in themselves and their work. It will make your life more pleasant and productive and as Weiss' story shows it will make the experience of your customer much better.

To me this is especially critical of the people you have working in your HR department. Do they have pride? Are they upbeat? There is nothing worse than having the "gatekeepers" of your organization be a "downer"! Oh by the way, this goes for the operator and receptionists in your company.

If you do not have the control of the hiring and you are surrounded by prideless "downers" don't allow yourself to become a "victim." Remove yourself from that situation as quickly as possible before you get used to it and become a "downer" yourself. If this is you, find another job and start by smiling today!

Enjoying Your Work? A Quick Thought.

My favorite newsletter writer, Alan Weiss of Summit Consulting, sent his December newsletter to me. I love reading it. He is witty, informative and a pleasure to read. He is a fabulous book author and the consultant's consultant. As you can tell I am a fan. Anyway, in the December newsletter he made a comment that struck me as a great approach to viewing your work. When you are thinking about work ask yourself "Do I enjoy my work as much as a dog enjoys chasing a ball?" If you are not getting that kind of pleasure from what you do maybe it is time to look for a "new ball" to chase!