Few people seem to have a zest for what they do, or life for that matter as this man. If you ever need a smile, just give this a viewing. Inspiration at its best.
Also, my wife made a Grooveshark playlist of all Chopin music. She is awesome…
I recently found the documentary section of netflix, watch instantly category. It has been a somewhat nerdy few days, but it has been a nice break from the typical TV shows that are normally streaming at the berg house.
My favorite part of a documentary is that you feel like you just read a book, and it only took you about 90 minutes to do so. Instant intellectual gratification is very rare in today’s world… outside of Shark Week anyways.
So, here they are, some of the highlights and trailers from the past week.
Food Inc. – 10/10
This movie will change the way you eat. That is a bold statement.
Beer Wars – 8/10
Very thought provoking. Changed my thoughts and opinions, but not sure that it will change my actions. Big difference.
WalMart – The High Cost of Low Price -5/10
Interesting, but they go a little overboard. Successful corporations aren’t always bad people. These guys might be, but don’t try to demonize business in general.
Helvetica – 8/10
Saw this the first time thanks to the guys at Matchstic. This is just a beautiful movie. I promise this will open your eyes to how much you stare at Helvetica everyday.
7/10
Elevator Pitch -
If you lead the HR department, or are a small enough company to where as a business owner, you lead the people, then you must read this book.
Favorite Quotes -
“…remove any extra features and complexity, while simultaneously trying to add value into each to make the practices more effective.”
“There seems to be a gap between our knowledge of how to develop talent and our ability to actually do it.”
“Few managers enjoy having tough conversations with their employees. Giving feedback about subpar performance or explaining that a career goal will never be achieved significantly increases most managers’ heart rates. But transparent conversations like these drive higher performance.”
Overview:
This is a very good book, that tries to make one compelling argument, make your employee development systems fit on page. If it is longer or more complicated than that, then it won’t be effective. If you are in the people managing business, you should read this. If not, it might not be very applicable to what you do.
Without giving anything away, the book’s overall thought process is three steps:
1. Start with the science (facts)
2. Eliminate the complexity while adding value
3. Create transparency and accountability
That is great framework for just about any part of running a business, but especially when creating a system that will be reproduced throughout a company. Make sure it is backed up with the facts, make it simple but effective, and then track it honestly.
In our company we talk a lot about a scoreboard and a clock, and try to create one for every person. People are more likely to hit there goal if they know what they are aiming at. This book takes it a step further and adds that if you can’t fit the goal on one page, then it is too much.
Keep it simple stupid. So true. Hurts my feelings every time.
6/10
Elevator Pitch – A call for Washington to stop playing games and lead. Written in 2007.
Overall: This might be the most interesting book that I won’t ever recommend to anyone. There are some great stories and lessons to learn from his obviously very interesting career and relationships. It is an extremely political book, so if you are at all a fan of George W, then you will be offended. Majorly. I was a little disappointed by how much time he spent bashing people.
That said, it was very interesting, and had it moments of grandeur. I didn’t have any favorite quotes, but the whole conversation about whether or not capitalism/democracy is actually working, and his trips to Cuba to spend time with Castro were my favorites. Very interesting to hear a man of his stature tell the story of his very casual, yet impacting conversations with the former leader of the closest communist country to our own.
Not a bad summer read, which is what is was for me. Not sure that it will be what you are looking for, but if you like political, and you like listening to old men talk about the way it was, and they way it should be, then this is about as good as it gets.
If you remember my “I’m not a mutltitasker” post. I tried to read more than one at a time, and this is what happened. It took me too long to finish books. So here is my update. From the past month of reading or so…
Supefreakonomics
9/10 – Remarkable book really. That is the best thing to say about it. As a man that loves to throw out random info to make me sound smart, this is the perfect book for that.
A Whole New Mind
7/10 – Great academic read about how the brain works. One of the best takes on right brain left brain that I have found. Love how much it ties in with what I do for a living.
Culture Making
8/10 – Great Christian/Business Book. I put the disclaimer on it, because I was naive to the fact that it was a Christian book. That said, it is easily the best “Business” style book that I have read that is Christian. Andy Crouch is leading the thought on what Culture is, and more importantly, how culture is influenced. This is ground zero for understanding and managing a culture.
Other notable books in the past month:
-Well Being – Tom Rath
-Small is the new big – Seth Godin
-One Page Talent Management – Effron – More on this one soon…
I had a wild idea earlier today that I should do a review of 2010. Well, what has happened so far anyways. It was a random thought, but now that I think about it, it really is a good idea if I do say so myself.
If you want to actually get some things done, it is good to constantly evaluate along the way, and not wait till Christmas to look back and see what you didn’t do.
Once your initial momentum starts to fade, it takes a kick in the pants to get a new batch.
So thank you… Thanks for being my kick in the pants.
I have a hard time telling people what I do for a living.
Some of my work passions are very different. I mean, I am passionate about great branding and have helped people with branding and marketing strategies before. I am also passionate about Leadership, “Architecting” the Culture of an Organization, an individual’s strengths and wiring, with a little bit of recruiting and talent management sprinkled in there…
Confused? Well to be honest, so am I from time to time. I think this video makes it all make a little more sense. The WHAT that I do is a lot less important to me, and my boss, than the WHO I work for, and equally important the WHY that we do it.
I am passionate about a lot of the aspects of my job, but only because I care about the WHY we do it. We help people, and if we didn’t, I don’t know that I could show up everyday.
I realize that I am lucky, so I write to communicate two things… Appreciation for all the people that let me do what I do, and to encourage to find something that you really love to do. If you can’t do that, at least find a company that is doing the WHY that you care about. Nobody likes budgets, but if your budgets are a result from doing something that you believe in then it is a lot easier to wake up every morning.
Why do you wake up in the morning? Is it for a paycheck or because you believe in the WHY that you are doing?
So I obviously haven’t posted in a while… My main reason for this is the fact that I haven’t finished a book completely since Rework. (which was very good) I thought about it further and realized that I have been dividing my efforts, trying to read 6 books at the same time, instead of focusing and finishing one a week. (See pic above for list of current reading material)
Since you are my accountability, here is my plan to finish these and get back on my 52 books in 52 weeks schedule… With focus I will finish in the following order:
-Whole New Mind – (so far fantastic, very interesting left brain/ right brain stuff…)
-Culture Making – (Very applicable at work)
-Radical – (New book from my pastor)
-Unfashionable – (Book by someone who would be my pastor if I lived in S. FL)
-SuperFreakONomics – (Just plain fun)
-Small is the New Big – (Great daily reminders from Seth)
Come to think of it, Small is the New Big might remain my bed side reading before I go to bed for a couple of months… It is that good.
9/10
Jason Fried & David Hansson
Disclaimer :: I finished this book a few weeks ago but haven’t written a blog review yet because I can’t figure a way to do a better job describing this book than FAST COMPANY did in this blog. (Of course it does help to have the original images from the authors, but whatever…)
Favorite Quotes:
“Workaholics aren’t heroes. They don’t save the day, they just use it up. The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.”
