Today a Reader – Tomorrow a Leader
“Today a reader. Tomorrow a leader.” W. Fusselman
Recent Reads:
Great at Work: How Top Performers Work Less and Achieve More by Morten Hansen.
Hansen describes seven strategies that enable readers to adopt a growth mindset and find ways to work smarter rather than harder. I’ve listed the first four below.
#1. Do Less, Then Obsess.
Don’t spread yourself thin. Make a few commitments and obsess over them.
Hansen says we should obsess over, … “very beneficial contributions to others, including your customers and other departments in your company.”
“… obsession is only possible if you do focus on a tiny set of priorities.”
#2. Redesign Your Work.
Don’t work excessively long hours. Anything beyond 65 hours/week won’t enhance performance or expand results.
Invest time in bringing maximum value. Eliminate low-value work.
Top performers aren’t working excessively long hours.
#3. Don’t Just Learn, Loop.
Don’t wait for 10,000 hours of practice to make you an expert. Intentionally practice the learning loop. Make small adjustments to daily work practices. Assess. Seek feedback. Repeat.
When was the last time you tweaked the way you run meetings, for example?
#4. P-Squared (Passion and Purpose).
Connect passion with purpose to perform at a much higher level. Focus on something you love to do AND that adds value to others.
General note: Each chapter contains questions and insights that enable performance assessment so you can be Great at Work.
More recommendations from recent reads:
The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.
The Power of a Positive No by William Ury.
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams (Creator of Dilbert).
A perennial recommendation:
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
What reading recommendations would you make based on the books you’ve recently read?
Dan,
Recently read “Hit Refresh” by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, truly a story of a persons life’s ups and downs, with a courage and passion to reveal how others meet life’s challenges and shares his story. Satya’s vision of the future with “AI” ,Artificial intelligence, and a myriad of complex issues facing his company is a mind stretching exploration. Satya addresses many of the team approaches that challenges Microsoft,how they nurture partnerships to build a complex network of supporting devices, software programs to help each other grow the “IOT” and the worlds thirst for greater communications.
Thanks for the recommendation, Tim.
I have been reading “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” by John Maxwell. It is really helping me to take ideas that have been in my head and turn them into action. It has also helped reinforce that I am doing the right thing in taking jobs that are pushing me and stretching me even though I doubt myself at times and it would have been easier to stay in my old job.
Thanks Patrick. You have my respect for stretching yourself. A good book helps me think my own thoughts.
President Harry S. Truman said, “Not all readers become leaders. But all leaders must be readers.”
Truth. Thanks Sam.
A favorite of mine is “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” by Chip and Dan Heath. Change management can be difficult and this book, with its short “clinics” is a game-changer. I highly recommend it to everyone.
Thanks for sharing what you are reading. Have you always loved to read? I didn’t. But a 3rd grade teacher, college requirements, and now reading to my children have produced a deep love for reading.
I am setting a goal… I know It should been set at the first of the year… but I’m setting it now. I’m going to try to read one book every week! Thanks for the motivation Dan!
65+ hrs/week is ‘excessive long hours’. Where does normal (not excessive) ‘long hours’ start? I’m curious why 65 hours. And how much benefit is there between anything more than 40 and less than 65 …
I recently read the book “Shoe Dog“, a memoir on Nike by its founder, Phil Knight. The whole chain of struggles, victories and Phil’s reaction to these situations as and when they arise is truly eye-opening. His origins and way of thinking show that if one has solid belief in one’s ideas and is surrounded by the right kind of people, one stands a chance to reap the ultimate benefit of hard work – reaching one’s dreams. I recommend any one who is on their journey – or is thinking of embarking on one – to read this captivating, surprising and inspiring memoir on Nike – the shoe company that overtook the giant, Adidas.
Thanks Man…. I appreciate the recommendation.