Rothacker Reviews

Good Vibrations

At some point over the last few years I lost the desire to camp out at the local post office in sweet anticipation of my next Fast Company magazine.  I cannot wax lyrical articulation as to why.  I can only say that maybe, just maybe, they lost a little bit of their soul.

A Westerly wind blew into my life a couple of years ago and gently nudged me into the prevailing trade winds of Design.  I've read many books on the subject and subscribe to at least four different design magazines.  An appreciation for design has allowed for a finer appreciation of culture and deeper tie-ins to the art of communication.  The ability to look through a different lens at one's favorite subjects is most exhilarating!

Sailing at sea with my four design magazines, I always seem to notice when other design magazines float by.  It was about a year ago when I picked up Good.  Aesthetically, it has off the chart design appeal.  I love it.  But it is Good's content that has me remembering Fast Company's good old days.  Creators say Good is for people who give a damn.  They say it's an entertaining magazine about things that matter.  I agree.  Troll through their Website a bit and you'll get a feel.

When one subscribes to Good, one-hundred percent of that payment goes to one of its twelve nonprofit partners.  My proceeds go to Room to Read. 

"Perhaps, sir, you will someday come back with books."

While visiting a remote mountainous area in Nepal, John Wood, founder of Room to Read, came upon a school in horrific condition.  It did however, have a library.  The problem - it contained fewer than twenty books. 

John did go back...with books.  Room to Read grew from the seeds of John's gestures.

We construct force fields to survive the daily onslaught of advertising overload.  (unless, like me, you crave the stuff. I'll explain this sickness in a future post).  Sometimes however, a message pierces your armor and lodges in your heart.  The second that I heard about John's mission was the second right before Room to Read's message landed in my heart.  There will most definitely be some sort of dave-involvement with this organization in the future!

Thanks for coming into my life Good!

Remarkable Leadership

Remarkable Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry

Do you work for a living?  Buy Remarkable Leadership now!  Next.

"Jeepers Dave, we're not sure we got our money's worth with that review."

"Let me get this straight, you're paying me for this review?"

"Well, errr, uhhh..........no, but could you tell us a little more?"

Dave is a softy, he relents.

After reading Remarkable Leadership the first time, I closed the book and the first word that popped into my mind was prolific.  Remarkable Leadership is not just a book, it is a work.  Kevin focuses on thirteen core competencies.  They constitute Remarkable Leadership.  Each competency gets a chapter and Kevin weaves within each chapter components that entice you to participate.

"Participate Dave?"

Yes.  Kevin begins each chapter with a self-assessment.  This technique sets the stage for the book to become a conversation.  Then he provides in depth content on topics like continuous learning.  Kevin sculpts out each chapter with:

• Skill areas
• Your now steps
• Bonus Bytes
• Your Remarkable Principles
• Remarkable Resources

Bonus Bytes and Remarkable Resources direct you to an accompanying Web site that is packed with extra information.

If you are a teacher, mentor, manager, boss, coach, executive or otherwise bigwig, this book is for you NO QUESTIONS ASKED!  Jack Welch could benefit from reading Remarkable Leadership. 

"Daaaaave, we're feelin' a twist in the road ahead"

Do you know why Jack Welch could benefit from reading Kevin's book?  Because he isn't a bigwig anymore.  If you work, you need this book as much or even more than your manager does!!  Two reasons:

1. By understanding how your manager is trying to lead you, you'll become more effective.
2. You can become more effective.

Do you know that little guy who is dressed in white and sits on your shoulder?

"Now Dave, keep it together.  Don't loose it buddy."

Well, he kept asking me one question as I read the book.  He said, "Dave, what if you dropped the word leadership?"   I knew exactly what he meant.  I had the same thought myself.

"Your toast."

If  you approach reading Remarkable Leadership with the intent to become more effective, you will.   Nearly everything that Kevin talks about, can be instructive learning for every working person out there.  For instance, Kevin devotes time to the act of Listening.  Now, as much as you hope they would, do you think only leaders could benefit from advice on listening?  How about learning, dealing with change, communicating, telling stories, building relationships, networking, customer service, building values, creativity, innovation, collaboration, teamwork, problem solving, making decisions, responsibility, accountability, projects, processes and goal achievement?? 

"Dave!  You rebounded son!!"

Remarkable Leadership is a prolific book.  I would bind it with good, hearty stock, cover it in leather and cherish it for a lifetime.  But that's just me.

Remarkable Leadership was Smoked-n-Signed.

You, Inc. The Art of Selling Yourself

You, Inc. by Harry and Christine Beckwith

How can I tell you what I think with brevity and crystal clear clarity?  How can I make it interesting enough so you will tell others?  How can I get you to come back?

I think deeply about the above questions.  Personally however, I have a huge problem.  Picture yourself wanting to build a new home.  The most important part of a home is its foundation and basic structure.  This is where you need to start.  But your mind cannot choose a foundation so it drifts toward the floor plan and interior design.  Both important components but each will not amount to a hill of beans without the correct foundation.  And so it is with me.  My mind drifts toward bright and engaging communication, when it should be thinking about foundation.  What is your core idea dave?  What is that word that when people speak, associate it with you? 

I thought I might have a bit of fun here with this idea.  So I am going to list my fellow JJLN authors and then list the first word or phrase that comes to mind about them.  For the authors that I do not know that well I am going to visit their Web site and insert the first thing that comes to mind.  I encourage my colleagues to copy and past this list and then create their own associations.  Even if you are not a JJLN author, feel free to contribute.  Heck, add more names if you choose.

Angela Maiers - education, teach, passion.

April Groves - internal spiritual intelligence.

Ariane Benefit - organized.

Benjamin Bach - learning, networking, sharing, improving.

Blaine Collins - relationships, networking.

Chris Owen - Aussie, pink, relationships.

Dan Ward - intellectual, radical.

David Zinger - positive life outlook, educator, learning.

Dean Boyer - teacher, educator, learning.

Dwayne Melancon - sharing, growing, evolving, relationships, spirit.

EM Sky - spiritual, openness, giving, smart.

Greg Balanko-Dickson - biz coach, vast resources, teaching, learning.

Joanna Young - wordsmith, writing, giving, caring, clarity.

John Richardson - productivity, leadership.

Karen Wallace - serenity, learning, giving.

Kevin Eikenberry - relate, learn-from-life, positive, energy.

Phil Gerbyshak - relationship geek, networker-on-steroids, smile, learner.

Rosa Say - management coach, writer, value-anchored, managing with aloha, sister.

Steve Sherlock - learner, hitchhiker, observer-of-life, caring, sharing.

Terry Starbucker - women, uber-positive-life-outlook, leadership, caring, smart.

Tim Draayer - personal development, networker.

Tim Milburn - graphic artist, college-leadership, giving, sharing, learning.

Toni Howard - coach, caring.

Ok, I got a little carried away.  I couldn't list just one thing that came to mind about these folks.  These are my perceptions.  And one perception I must expand upon before it is taken out of context.  Terry Starbucker - women.  To begin with, Terry is one of my most favorite writers.  His insight into business and life is as crystal clear as Rocky Mountain water.  Add in the essence-of-Terry, the glass-half-full philosophy of life, and we're talkin' life after service company exec here.  Here's the women connection (and it ain't deep); I've noticed that more women link to Terry's site than other business-life writers.

"dave, I thought you were going to review Harry and Christine's book here?"

The Beckwiths weave life tales and experiences around advice that navigates us through the narrow and shallow channels of business. 

You are the CEO of you.  If you have established a core idea for your Web site or are on the journey of discovering one, you'll need a copy of You, Inc., to help clarify your communications.  And, if you want to create a word or phrase that you'd like folks to associate with you, do so.  Then repeat that word before and after you read each of Harry and Christine's two hundred and seventy six chapters and you'll be on your way!

Design: Do You Love Your City?

Ben lived in a rather small city of 15,000 people.  He spoke of it as wonderfully designed.  He liked the large streets that made up a perfect grid.  Ben cared about where he lived.  So when the unpaved streets became muddy and wreaked havoc on the merchants, he worked to get the community involved and the streets paved.  But dried mud on the paved streets was also a problem.  So Ben created and distributed a pamphlet that stated the advantages of hiring a street sweeper.  A few days later when he canvassed the neighborhoods, Ben discovered unanimous support.

About this time the townspeople wanted to light their city.  Ben took note of John Clifton's house.  John simply kept a lit lamp outside of his front door at night.  Ben and John purchased a few lamps from overseas.  Ben noticed a flaw in the oil lamp's design.  There were no provisions to draw air from the bottom which would prevent a buildup of smoke and soot.  Ben redesigned the lamp to allow air to move freely through the lamp. 

Wisdom quickly became a byproduct of Ben's life.  He used the street paving and lamp stories to tell folks about happiness and attention to small matters.  He said that dust (or soot) blown into the eyes of a single person or merchant was not much of a problem.  But when dust was blown into the eyes of an entire city, it could shut down the city.  A simple plan to sweep the streets or a small design change to the lamps were examples of paying attention to seemingly small matters.  Ben said human happiness is not so much a result of lucky events that rarely come our way.  Rather, happiness is more often a result of the little advantages that accumulate every day.

He went on to say that if you want to make the world a better place, do something as basic as teaching a poor young man how to shave himself and keep his razor in good shape.  In doing this, you may contribute more to his happiness in life than by giving him a lump sum of money.  He said, money easily gained is often foolishly spent and latter regretted, but a good skill pays dividends for a lifetime.

A few small incidents from Ben's life here demonstrate a remarkable ability to market, to be creative, to design, to pursue happiness and to teach. 

Ben was a pretty smart guy and yes, Benjamin Franklin loved Philadelphia, his city.  Do you love yours?

This story of Benjamin Franklin can be found in Benjamin Franklin by Blaine McCormick.

Independents Hall: Co-working and Beyond

Here is a link to one of the best About pages I've ever seen.  Alex Hillman explains what co-working is, what  Independents Hall is, how it originated, who is involved, where they are going and what has inspired them.  Masterfully succinct.

My first reaction to Independents Hall was, "young, hip, freelance-type-computer-dudes gathered together in a cave grooving with a pict."  For the sake of accurate disclosure, that truly was my very first thought, but only for a second.  Then I thought this is a brilliant idea and fruits of the cross pollinating type of atmosphere have yet to even be imagined. 

Then, at the fifteen second interval of my thinking, I thought of my dad...

My dad is seventy-seven years old and has been a Wally-Mart Greeter for twelve years.  Prior to that he spent forty years in large grocery store management and worked in that business for over fifty years.  He is a gold mine of retail store management.  Early on at Wally-Mart he tried to offer advice but got the what-does-that-old-man know vibes.  So he shut it down and did something for the very first time in his life.  He punched in and he punched out - with no value given in between other than to hand out carts and to be friendly.

How many folks are out there in our workforce today like my dad?  Walking gold mines just waiting to be harvested.

So, at the forty-second interval I thought, wouldn't it be cool if some old dudes could hang out with some young dudes at places like Independents Hall?

I've had this story in the stable for over a month.  After reading Lost Knowledge by Dave Simanoff of the Tampa Tribune I had to open the barn door and let it out.

One Laptop Per Child

I wonder if...

If folks who are...

Are passionate...

About:

• Helping children
• Sharing knowledge
• Learning
• Collaborating with others
• Writing

I wonder if...

If there wouldn't be a way for these folks to collaborate and help children obtain and share knowledge?

Once upon a time there was a woman who touched the lives of a few people around the world.  Intention gave way to design which gave way to action.  Appreciation bore the strokes of pen down upon her manifesto as it traveled across the planet.   It eventually arrived at her door step.  It touched all involved.

Here lies intent in search of design in search of action in search of touching all involved.

OLPC

Dinosaur Tipping

The dinosaur stood in the middle of the road - fast asleep...

"Hey Jimmy, do you think you could read my book?  And if you like it, could you write about it at our forum?"

"Sure thing Billy."

Jimmy began to read Billy's book, which was really a marketing program in the form of a story.  Within ten minutes he knew that it was more different than anything he'd seen in his industry.  He devoured the book and wrote a passionate review.  In fact, Jimmy's review was so strong, those riding the status-quo scooter could feel Jimmy grab them by the ears and shout, "wake up!"

Later, Billy called Jimmy and told him how he sold fifteen of the one-hundred and thirty dollar books and had leads for twenty more immediately following the review.  Billy was so happy and thankful that he could hardly contain himself.  Jimmy, eight-hundred miles away in a quiet basement, began to cry after hanging up with Billy.

It wasn't so much Billy's thanks.  It was the emotion that surrounded it.  Jimmy knew he'd made a difference in Billy's business and life...and tipped a dinosaur from his path.

Karen Wallace, at Joyful Jubilant Learning, talks about the ability to make a difference in the lives of others and whether or not you believe that you can.   Karen bares her inner self in eloquent and beautiful fashion to demonstrate her own learning journey.

Note to Karen:

Karen,

The above story is true.  Jimmy told me so.  He also said that for the rest of his life, whether or not he receives such an emotion packed response again, he knows that he has the ability to make a difference in people's lives.

I cannot imagine that participant in your class not delivering his feedback without some emotion.  Allow yourself to feel that emotion.  And allow it to tenderly take hold of your heart and tickle tears from your eyes.  You can make a difference in the lives of others and tip dinosaurs from their path.
 

The Starfish and the Spider

The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom

I wrote a short overview on this book over at Joyful Jubilant Learning last month.  I thought I'd explore a little more today.  What tickles my imagination more than anything else in The Starfish and the Spider is the explanation that there is no hierarchy or structure in a starfish organization.  When taking notes in this book, I can't tell you how many times I wrote Starship instead of Starfish.  In my sub-c they must be one in the same.

Ori and Rod explain that a decentralized organization is built on a foundation of five legs:

• Circles
• The Catalyst
• Ideology
• The Preexisting Network
• The Champion

Circles consist of folks who buy into the organizations ideology.  Norms are a circles backbone.  Whereas rules are someone else's idea of what you should do.  Norms are the ideology that you joined the organization for in the first place.  As the norms of a circle mature, trust develops.

My concept of a circle is that everyone involved knows what they gotta do.  If a person doesn't buy in they are collectively eased out.  This type of environment is wildly liberating. 

The Catalyst is someone who forms a circle then quietly fades into the background.  The lads say the catalyst lets go of the leadership role and transfers leadership to the circle.   Ori and Rod say that a catalyst has the following tools.

• Genuine interest in others
• Loose connections
• Mapping
• Desire to help
• Passion
• Meet people where they are
• Emotional intelligence
• Trust
• Inspiration
• Tolerance for ambiguity
• Hands off approach
• Receding

You'll notice in the comment section of my post at Joyful Jubilant Learning, Rosa Say, the ultimate and consummate manager raises an eyebrow to all this decentralized, non-hierarchy type of talk.   As someone who has logged twenty eight or nine years as a manager, I need to articulate to Rosa and myself why I am enamored with the Starfish gig.

First and foremost we all buy into the same ideology, the same mission.  Perhaps just as important, there is no bureaucracy to weigh you down.  I perfected the craft of protecting my staff from bureaucratic meddlers - my bosses.  I hated doing it and it wore me down.  But I love the concept of channeling strengths and letting folks do what they do best. 

In my vision of a circle within a decentralized organization, there is no dilution.  One part water to a straight up whiskey is dilution.  One part slacker to a circle dilutes the circle.   I do not like dilution.

The Starfish and the Spider is a most excellent book!  It gently guides one to the fringe, to think outside of their norm and this is the environment where great things always happen.

In true Starfish form, Ori and Rod open up information for us in the form of a wiki.

Juicing The Orange

Juicing The Orange by Pat Fallon & Fred Penn

Andrea Learned turned me onto this book in her 9 Minds on Marketing book...which by the way I originally paid for but you can download it free via this link.  When I read a book I try to get my mind around one or two general themes.  I try to establish my own opinion in regard to a book's meaning.  This is a challenge sometimes as I usually have the person's opinion who referred the book dancing about my brain.  I tried to wall out Andrea's review but in the end came to the same conclusion as her.

Fallon and Penn along with a couple other folks founded what is now Fallon Worldwide in 1981.  They built their agency on these principles:

• The single-minded devotion to, and the belief in, the power of creativity
• The belief in family as a business model
• Seeing risk taking as a friend
• Success as a business imperative
• The importance of remaining humble
• The necessity of having fun

From the authors...

Our goal was to help our clients outsmart rather than outspend their competitors, to leverage brains over budgets, to juice the orange rather than drain our client's wallets.  We labeled this fledgling idea creative leverage, the daily practice of making creativity actionable and accountable for changing consumer behavior.

Fallon & Penn weave and describe the creative leverage concept in and out of ten client stories.    While the stories depict the challenges, opportunities and success of the agency, I kept being pulled toward how Fallon Worldwide treats its employees.  That and the company's ability to follow a moral and ethical compass throughout its history. 

Taking into account the on board talent at Fallon, if I were a decision maker in a large company looking for an ad agency, I would choose Fallon simply for this reason...(and for me, this is the book's WOW factor)

Fallon had secured a gig with Domino's Pizza.  It would be their largest account.  The only thing that Fallon had to do was drop their pro bono work for the Children's Defense Fund to seal the deal.  Apparently Domino's owner Tom Monaghan did not approve of this association and their mission to protect the rights of children.  Fallon dropped Domino's.  To be honest, I think I'd vomit if I ever tasted pizza from this company again.

As with Andrea, I am impressed with how Fallon cultivates its work environment and culture.

By the way, did you know it was Fallon Worldwide that came up with the Holiday Inn Express commercials..."No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."  These commercials came out eight years ago.  Man, where has the time gone?

 

Design: What it Means to me

Bruce Nussbaum writes an enlightening article on design and designers over at Business Week Online.  David Armano takes the post and deftly illustrates it.  I was drawn into expressing an opinion on design by both my infatuation with the raw concept and something that Bruce said:

But how do people who've spent a lifetime using their left-brain, suddenly shift to using both their left and their right?

Well Bruce, this was me at the dawn of my experience with the Internet in 1996.   I was a complete stranger to my right brain with one brief exception over thirty years ago when Rosemary and I began to date.  She was a prolific poet.   I gave it a try, wrote a couple of poems and quickly scurried back to the comfy confines of my left brain...until the Internet.  For two years I wrote stories and engaged in conversation on other folk's websites.  I didn't think of myself as a writer, only as someone who wanted to express an opinion and ventured to the land beyond delight when others engaged back in conversation.  And then Rick Levine and the boys rode into town on a glorious white stallion:  The Cluetrain Manifesto

I was not alone in the universe.  I reveled in the mutual thoughts of others who also signed the 95 Thesis statement.  So for me, I became acquainted with my right brain through conversation online with others.  The Cluetrain Manifesto validated my beliefs.  Not to mention it stirred emotional thoughts of revolution, thoughts of slaying the ivory tower dwelling ole coot beasts of status-quo business, but that's another story...

So I continued to write, by this time on my own site.  Each comment gave me a toe hold to move up higher and inspired confidence on my climb towards the peak of the cliff side of clear articulation.  No longer did I scurry back to my left brain.  Instead, I lingered around and drank the sweet wine of folks like Roy Williams.  Roy, through his Wizard of Ads trilogy, inspired me to Free the Beagle, get to better know my right brain and while there, play.  Although dormant to my conscious at the time, Roy also introduced me to the concept of design.  The illustration, texture and design of his books created an emotional bond for me to his content.  It created an experience.

Dan Pink said I could be a designer.  God, did this liberate my soul!  I have the artistic ability of a pile of dirt.  But I have the deep appreciation for design as a collector of fine art does for his gallery.  Dan suggests creating a design notebook, capturing samples of both good and bad design.  The more I tuned into design, the more I craved.  I believe that this practice helps to build texture into my writing.  For me to reach that level of emotional bonding that Roy Williams effuses though, I'll need to connect with an illustrator, whose inevitable partnership lies within my future.

For me, design is a way to broaden my universe.  I can weave disparate concepts and ideas into my thought patterns and expand my way of thinking.  Design also presents an opportunity to broaden my being through connections that emotionalize and bring life to inanimate stuff.