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.

Practical Genius

The other day, I read Gina Amaro Rudan's book, "Practical Genius: The Real Smarts You Need to Get Your Talents and Passions Working for You." I found this book to be a very down-to-earth approach to unlocking your creative juices, through a well-ordered method.  In other words, it made sense, was prescriptive enough that you can apply it immediately, and it feels like an approach that will actually work for most people.

In "Practical Genius," the author takes us though a 5-step plan for figuring out what your best skills are, and coming up with a plan to leverage those skills.  The steps are:

• Identify Your Genius,
• Express Your Genius,
• Surround Yourself With Genius,
• Sustain Your Genius, and
• Market Your Genius

Throughout the book, the author shares her perspective, techniques, and a lot of personal stories that bring things down to a tangible level. The stories helped make it real for me.

What struck me as most powerful in this book were the two sections on "Surrounding Yourself With Genius," and "Sustaining Your Genius."  What I liked about these sections is that they help you change your circumstances in a way that reinforces and amplifies your strengths, rather than draining or sabotaging them.  I have seen very creative people who gave up on their gifts because they didn't think they were good enough, or were hanging around with people who didn't support or appreciate their gifts.  In this book, you'll learn some techniques and new habits that will help you find people who add energy to your gifts, instead of taking it away.

You'll also find sensible guidance on when to seek the help of others -- I like the section on finding a "Yoda for hire," enlisting the help of "ambassadors," and building your "tribe."

I got a lot out of the section on "Sustaining..." because I found some techniques to help me re-start some of the fun and creative things I've drifted away from, due to some parts of my life getting a bit too busy.  Throughout the book, the author shares little tips labelled as "Playboooks," and I found the "Sustaining" playbooks to be the most useful for me.

If you feel like you're stuck, have writer's block, or your creative juices just aren't flowing the way they used to be, I think "Practical Genius" can help.

Then, once you've gotten things unstuck, take advantage of the ideas in "Marketing Your Genius," to increase your value. You can apply the marketing tips for "getting famous" kinds of things, or just to increase your impact in your job and community - it's up to you.