Sharpen your saw with THINKBook

A while back, I bought a THINKBook, which was developed by my old friend Rajesh Setty.  The problem?  I got busy and forgot I had it, so I just got around to using it a few weeks ago.  I am very impressed with this unassuming little notebook.

What the heck is a THINKBook?

In simple terms, a THINKBook is a hard-bound red notebook, about the size of a Moleskine notebook.  But it's way more than that; sure, it has ruled paged you can use for writing, but it is more than just a general purpose notebook.. This is a thinking person's journal, for challenging your thinking.  

The thinking challenges are framed by "prompters" on various topics interspersed throughout the THINKBook (see the example on the right).  There are a bunch of topics relevant to both business and personal introspection, and I like them very much.  Full disclosure, I didn't think I'd like them at first, but I surrendered to the process, tried a couple and found that they were very useful.

The structure of the prompter exercises in the book really pushes you to think at a fairly deep level, and definitely promotes "out of the box thinking."  It feels very soothing to follow this process and begin writing journal entries in the THINKBook - this is all about crystallizing your thoughts and devoting some time for your own improvement.  That's something a lot us us don't take time out to do, and I think we'd all be better off with some periodic deep thinking.

Spread the Thinking

I really like one of the suggestions from the THINKBook web site, which is to use the THINKBook as a personal and professional gift.  I particularly like the thought of giving it as a business gift, and I just may try that to see how people react.

I like the framing of the "why" behind the THINKBook, according to Rajesh:

THINKBook makes it easy to pull your people’s own best advice out of them. It can be used to super-charge group brainstorming sessions or as a trusted advisor to help you improve the brilliant idea keeping you awake at 3am.

Pretty cool, don't you think?

If you could use some time working on your own creativity and mental health, I encourage you to  grab a THINKBook and give the process a chance.  And, if you like it why not give one as a gift to someone you like (a new one, not your old used one)?

"Brand Real" - does your brand pass the test?

Laurence Vincent's book, "Brand Real," is all about brands and brand loyalty.  At first, I was wondering how much of it would apply to me - after all, I'm more of a technical guy, and I'm not in charge of a big brand.  I found that there were actually a lot of relevant take-aways from this book that I could apply in my daily life.

"Brand Real" not only helped me understand what it takes to build a good brand, it also helped me think differently about some of the brands I have a fondness for (and some that I don't), in that it has a deep discussion about why leading brands create loyalty within its customer base.  In essence, this book spends a lot of time on analyzing brands that have become "sticky" based on what they do and not just whether they have a cool name or an exciting logo.

At its core, this book's discussion of "brand" reminds me of the maxim, "You become know for that which you consistently do."

Lots of case studies

I love learning by examples and through story-telling, so I was pleased to see that this book has a lot of real-world examples to illustrate some of its concepts.  These stories range from the personal, such as a discussion between the author and his son illustrating how superficially we think of the notion of a "brand;" and corporate-oriented stories, such as how The Gap triggered a huge backlash amongst its customers when it tried to change its logo.

Other examples feature Apple, Starbucks, and other household names, as well as case studies about lesser-known (but perhaps even more informative) organizations like Washington Federal.

Thinking of brands as living things

One thing that stuck with me in this book was discussed in a chapter called, "Expressing the Promise."  The author describes how researchers Robert McRae and Paul T. Costa, Jr. found that all people could be measured based on the degree to which they possessed 5 key characteristics:

• Neuroticism
• Extroversion
• Openness
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness

Likewise, Vincent posits that brands can be measured along 5 similar axes - think of them as the "personality of the brand":

• Sincerity
• Excitement
• Competence
• Sophistication
• Ruggedness

These attributes play a key role in measuring, defining, and even redefining your brand.  In "Brand Real," Vincent discusses how to use these to develop your messaging strategy, as well as how to "test" your messages to determine whether they are congruent with how your brand behaves.  Then, you can use these anchors to map what you say, what your brand does, and who you're talking to (your audience or customers) to make sure things all hang together in a credible way.

The third rail of brand

In much the same way that the third rail on a subway system provides the power that enables the train to move, Vincent talks about what it takes to connect your brand to the heart - the emotional side - of you customers, which is really the key in making a brand that customers feel passionate about (and loyal to).  These are the brands that go beyond functional products and capabilities, and move into something that makes embeds itself in the lives of its customers to create strong, emotional loyalty.  I think of brands like Apple, Nike, and Coca Cola when I think of this kind of brand.

I'm just touching the surface of the depth of this book, as it relates to brand.  I think all of the concepts apply to anyone involved in branding and company reputation, but I was surprised at how many of the concepts can apply to our personal brands.  I can see how many of these concepts could be used to improve your perceived value at work, home, organizations in which you're involved, etc.

So, if you have any interest in branding and reputation management, check out "Brand Real" -- it is well worth your time.

Seeing the Big Picture

Last week, I got a copy of Kevin Cope's new book, "Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company." This is a great primer on how to figure out the real way your business works - I'm talking about money and profitability.

I wish I'd had this book a year ago. I work for a company that was purchased by a private equity firm last year, and I've had to learn a lot of new things about the financial aspects of business, as they were thrown at me. A lot of what I learned e hard way is presented very clearly in this book - along with some additional information I'm sure I'll need in the near future. Do yourself a favor and learn about it before you need to apply it.

You see, a lot of us know the basics - "A business should bring in more than it costs to run the business." But there is a lot more beyond that to help us use real data to not only run our businesses, but improve them and make them sustainable and profitable in the long term.

Knowing the key elements

Kevin Cope does a great job of explaining aspects of the business in a very understandable way, whether you've got a financial background or not. The sections include:

• Cash
• Profit
• Assets
• Growth
• People

Each of them is detailed in a way that unfolds very well - each section builds on the last, so you can better understand the relationships between these key elements of a business. He also does a great job of linking them so you can understand the interplay between these 5 elements.

Furthermore, Cope explains how to use and interpret some of the "artifacts" you'll encounter as you dig into the financials of a business, including how to read a balance sheet, how to interpret an income statement, and how to get real meaning out of financial reports.

One of the concepts I've had to learn about through hard knocks is EBITDA (Earnings Before Income Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization) which is a key indicator tracked by the private equity firm that owns my company. Cope explains this very succinctly in the book and relates it to the 5 elements, above.

Not just for managers

One of the things I love about this book is how relevant it is for anyone who wants to add value to the business they are involved in. This will add a lot of value for managers, but it will also help any individual contributor better understand how they can contribute to making the business more effective. In other words, if you want to figure out how and where you can add value to your company's success, this is a great book for you.

Cope also talks a lot about how you can use all of this information to make better decisions about your business - such as how you can make pod decisions about when to save earnings, when to reinvest them in the business, how to look after both short-term and long-term horizons for your business.

If you want to brush up on your financial acumen and learn some techniques to help you add more value to your business, grab a copy of "Seeing the Big Picture" - it's like a crash course MBA.

Enjoy Every Sandwich - a powerful book

I just finished reading Dr. Lee Lipsenthal's book, "Enjoy Every Sandwich." Wow - what a book.  The author wrote this book to share his experiences and new-found perspective after he was diagnosed with esophogeal cancer in 2009, and it is a very powerful and touching book.

Lipsenthal takes you through some very touching realizations of the precious nature of our time here on earth, and provides guidance on how we can take better care of the relationships and truly important parts of our lives - whether we know we're near death or not.

For me, the most "connecting" parts of the book were when the author takes us through the journey of accepting the inevitability of death.  It was interesting to read how he dealt with his mortality, but even more interesting to learn how he took his family through the journey.  Dr. Lipsenthal's wife was truly his soul mate, and I recognized the relationship I have with my wife in this book.

Appreciate what you have

As some of you who've been with me since I've been blogging know, I had my own bout with cancer (I wrote a little about my experience here).  This was a very sobering experience, and it brought my wife and I closer.  Luckily, I made it through - I've been cancer-free for almost 13 years.  But I know the feeling of helplessness very well.

What I love about Dr. Lipsenthal's book and the journey he shares with us is that he's managed to translate his cancer journey into a set of concrete recommendations for all of us - and does it in a very inspiring way.  In this book, you'll appreciate the opportunities we have to share ourselves now with the ones we love.

Learn from the journey of others

If you find yourself in the midst of your own struggle with cancer, this book will help you, as well.  Not only will you gain some wisdom and ideas for how to make the most of your relationships during your struggle, you'll also find strength in the way Dr. Lipsenthal dealt with his cancer.  As a medical Doctor, I found his thoughts to be very powerful - both in what you can do for yourself, and what you can't.

I love this paragraph from the book:

"You get to choose the world you want to live in.  It can be a house of fear and constriction or a house of mystery and creativity.  Do you choose honor and compassion about your frailties and the frailties of others? In your world, will it be the fear of death, or the joy of life?  It is that simple."

This framing of your options, beliefs, and realities is your choice.  And Dr. Lipsenthal's reminder that we can all decide is very empowering.

You may be wondering how Dr. Lipsenthal fared in all of this.  Well, he lost his fight with cancer in Septemer 2011.  But in this book, I think he took full advantage of his "knowing" time to make sure the important people in his life felt his love for them.

This book is both sad and uplifting; about death and about life.  And it is an amazing legacy for Dr. Lipsenthal.  I highly recommend "Enjoy Every Sandwich."

Business at the Speed of Now

I just finished reading "Business at the Speed of Now," by John Bernard. Wow, this is a good book.

I know of John because I worked with him on a small project about a year ago, and I saw a lot of the things he writes about first-hand.  Needless to say, when I heard he was writing a book, I could hardly wait to read it.  Now that it's available, I recommend you pick up a copy right away.

This book is designed to help you create an environment or culture within your business that aligns people for execution, then empowers people to make a difference.  There are some great stories in here comparing and contrasting "Now" cultures with much slower, more bureaucratic ones - some of those really hit the mark for me, and will stick with me.

The book also includes a number of tools to help you assess where your business's thinking is currently, as well as tools to help you take deliberate action to move toward a Now way of doing business.

According to this book, management must provide the rest of the company with 5 critical pieces of information for them to function in the now:

1. Context ("Where are we going?")
2. Accountability ("What role do I play?")
3. Skills ("What abilities must I possess?")
4. Facts ("What data must I access to make decisions?")
5. Authority ("Do I have the freedom to act without fear of reprisal?")

From my experience, #'s 4 and 5 are the hardest transition for control freak organizations.  Fear not, there are some good tips & tools in this book to help in all of these areas.

Guidance when you need it

I read the book all the way through, and it went quickly.  Going forward, I plan to use this as a reference guide to help me focus on what I believe is the "hottest fire" in whatever situation I'm experiencing.  If you scan this list, it not only helps you pinpoint specific challenges, it also guides you to the right chapters to find the help you need.

If you're anything like me, examples and stories are among the best ways to learn. Not only does John share stories he's learned through working with companies, he also uses a ficticious company known as "BearPaw" to show you how some of these ideas work in practice, as well as show you how to create a tracking and alignment system that keeps everyone in the business on the same page about what is important.

The most important thing?

Want to get something done? Use this book to create your "Breakthrough Plan."

I got a taste of this while working with John, and he tells you how to create one in this book.  A breakthrough plan keeps you focused on a specific objective and provides triggers to ensure that resources & dependencies are identified and dealt with,  This is one of the highest-leverage activities in this process, in my opinion (and it isn't as hard as you think).

My favorite part

Yes, I liked the part about Breakthrough Plans.  But I must admit, my favorite chapter in the book was Chapter 8, in which we're exposed to the "Seven-Step Problem Solving" approach.  This is a fantastic model to guide you through a data-driven process to get everyone on the same page about the problem, the desired outcomes, the approach you'll take, and how success will be measured along the way.  Of course, a big part of the formula is accountability, which is well-handled.

If you want a taste of the book, they are offering a sample chapter of Business at the Speed of Now at the author's site. If you really want to jump into the Now, you can click one of the following links to order it on Amazon in either hardcover, or Kindle formats.