StandOut 2.0

Finished May 29
StandOut 2.0: Assess Your Strengths. Find Your Edge. Win at Work by Marcus Buckingham

The book builds on two of his previous books: First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths. Here, Buckingham looks at the tools and systems inside organizations that remain stuck in old theories, preventing the now accepted ideas presented in his earlier books from being fully applied. The center for this book is the new tool to identify your strengths. A key to access one free access to the tool online is included in each copy of the book, but if you're sharing a copy, you will need to pay a small fee to use the tool.
Buckingham has analyzed the idea of strengths and boiled it down to 9 strength roles or factors. There are: advisor, connector, creator, equalizer, influencer, pioneer, provider, stimulator, and teacher. The assessment tool shows a chart with your levels for all, but concentrates on your top two factors. The information says that you will get a weekly tip, insights, information on techniques and other ongoing help with your login. So far, even though I did the assessment nearly two weeks ago, I haven't received any weekly tips and logging in only gives me access to my report. It also says that you can customize the report by adding additional information like videos, pictures, articles, and quotes to add to others' understanding of your skills, and that the resulting annotates report can be exported to any social network, although the only options I have at my login are to send the report via email or to download it as a pdf.
It also indicates that there is a check-in tool to capture weekly priorities, track your engagement, and get customized coaching advice, but I haven't seen where to access that.
The is also an option to get a corporate account, and the book says that will allow you to do additional things like create a team dashboard, with performance and survey tools available to team leaders, which sounds interesting.
A couple of important points that are emphasized. The assessment tool is designed to show how you come across to others, not how you see yourself, so your results may surprise you.
One chapter looks at how to use your assessment information to stand out, emphasizing three lessons to build on: your genius (the combination of strengths for you as an individual) is precise; remember who you are (don't get tempted to wander off into other strength challenges); and always sharpen your edge (using activities such as the love it, loathe it exercise). You should be concentrating on what you are doing rather than what is being done to you, and making sure to go back and revisit this at least twice a year.
Buckingham also reminds the reader that innovation is a practice not an idea, which means that it is connected to others and should be thought of as a best practice.
After explaining the factors briefly, the remainder of this book looks at each factor, showing you how to describe the skills identified with that factor, how to make an immediate impact at work, how to take your performance to the next level, and some pitfalls to watch out for. It then looks at how that strength can be leveraged in the areas of leadership, management, client services, and sales. It tells you what natural advantages people with this strength have. It also provides a short section that describes how to best manage someone with your strengths.

The book also includes a technical summary of the design of the assessment tool.

I liked the assessment tool and found my results hit true to home, and thus were meaningful to me. I would like to see how some of the additional features promised in this book become available and can help me and other readers to stay on track. 

Choosing Change

Finished September 19
Choosing Change: How Leaders and Organizations Drive Results One Person at a Time by Walter McFarland and Susan Goldsworthy

This book has two parts. Part I is The Change Focused Leader and Part II is The Change Focused Organization. Both have the base relationship of the 5 Ds: Disruption, Desire, Discipline, Determination, and Development.
For the individual, Disruption is the event or experience that triggers a conscious choice to change.
For the organization the Disruption is more threatening and the natural reaction can be more of a entrenchment as the disruption is usually a revolutionary change that has come about due to external forces.
The Desire is what the person or organization wants to achieve, how much it believes in the possibility, and how serious it is about making the change happen.
Discipline is applying those small, consistent and frequent steps that are required to build the momentum that delivers sustainable change. Discipline is necessary to manage the many demands and still keep the pressure on the process of change.
Determination is having the resilience to focus on and deliver change, even when faced with setbacks.
Lastly, Development covers the continuous improvement, reexamination, and learning that is needed.
There were many things that were aha moments for me here, and I found this book really useful in giving clarity to the process of change. Here are some of my ahas on the individual side:
* "We are not afraid of the unknown, because, how can we be afraid of something we have no idea about? Instead, we are afraid of letting go of the known."
* the 5 attributes of the learning person: self-knowledge, self-acceptance, self-respect, autonomy, and seeking of both solitude and company.
* the opposite of play is depression
Here are some of the ahas on the organizational side:
* make organizational change a formal part of organizational strategy, learning is correlated with performance
* integrate change into the business so that change becomes a routine part of doing business
* develop people continuously, ensuring organization-wide learning as well
* model collaboration in everything
* develop a change leadership competency and integrate it into the overall leadership model
* take time to reflect: you learn more from reflecting on your experiences than you do from the actual experiences themselves
This book gives the reader much to think about and a guide to how to make change a part of your life and a part of your organization.

Help the Helper

Finished April 21
Help the Helper: building a culture of extreme teamwork by Kevin Pritchard and John Eliot

The authors of this book are Kevin Pritchard, the GM for the Indian Pacers, who has managed other basketball teams and played for five NBA teams, and John Eliot, a university professor and consultant to pro atheletes and athletic coaches, as well as a consultant to a variety of businesses and medical centers. Because of their background a lot of the experiences here, and the examples illustrating those experiences are from the sports world, specifically the basketball world. As I am not a watcher of sports in general or basketball in particular, I found some of this hard to follow.
Despite that, this book was very interesting in how it talked about teamwork. Every chapter did have at least one business example as well, as followup instructions on implementation within the reader's circumstances.
The first chapter explains the Help the Helper philosophy, the second is about creating at atmosphere of unselfishness within your team, the third is about hiring for what is best for the team rather than individual excellence, the fourth about moving away from the carrot and stick method of motivation to a motivation based on spirit, the fifth about managing the energy of the team as opposed to the people individually, the sixth about avoiding distracting communication, the seventh about real toughness involving resiliency and authenticity, the eighth about a 3D approach to measuring: observing, listening, and statistics, not relying on numbers as the driver, and finally, the ninth about being an unleader, a leader who carries the load so the team can do what they are out there to do, who looks for ways to make the team's work the team's work and not a task assigned by the leader.
I liked the idea of looking to the sources of success for your team, finding out what drives the team, and then finding team members who are good at those things, and then working to develop and enhance those skills in all team members. Lots of great ideas here to make teams work as real teams not just a bunch of people who work in the same place.

The Advantage

Finished February 20
The Advantage: why organizational health trumps everything else in business by Patrick Lencioni

The Globe and Mail said this was one of the top business books of 2012, and since I am interested in continuously improving our organizational health, I was interested.
Lencioni lays out the process clearly here, giving short examples where appropriate and referring to his own experiences, good and bad. The process uses a mode with four disciplines, each building on the one before. They are: Build a Cohesive Leadership Team; Create Clarity; Overcommunicate Clarity; and Reinforce Clarity. Interestingly, we had already been doing some of the steps in each discipline at my work, and have been particularly finding ourselves beginning to gel as a management team. I took copious notes while reading and shared a detailed summary with the team, hoping to initiate discussion. The book also includes a great chapter on meetings, some of which I can definitely use (harder in an environment such as mine where there is shift work). In short, I can definitely see why this made the top ten and look forward to applying the things I learned from it.

Great Book for Success

Finished May 24
The Power of Pause: how to be more effective in a demanding, 24/7 world by Nance Guilmartin
This book has got to be one of the most insightful business books I've ever read. The advice given here is simple, they have a good plan to get you going, and I can see how it will really help.
I'm always looking for ways to communicate better, and be a better manager, and this book has got stuff I can take and work with right away. It will take practice (as she tells the reader) to make this stuff a habit, but I can see how you can get better at it.
Essentially, it is about not reacting to statements, actions, etc. right away, but taking a "pause" to think about what you don't know about the situation, the people involved, or the background, and asking yourself how to find out more about those things before reacting. The question to ask yourself is "What don't I know that I don't know" which sounds a bit Zen, but when you think about makes so much sense.
There are additional steps to this system involving rephrasing, seeing the big picture, and knowing your triggers that are also very sensible. This is some advice I can really work with.

Interesting Theories

Finished February 16
The Design of Business: why design thinking is the next competitive advantage by Roger Martin
This is a fascinating look at business success written by the Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Martin has been involved in business strategy for years, directly in businesses, as a consultant, and as a board member. Therefore he knows whereof he speaks. He gives solid examples of businesses that use design thinking, as well as a good overview of what design thinking really is and how to keep it from devolving into the reliable standard way of doing business.
The examples include both health care and consumer products and show how management can either lead design thinking themselves or create the environment to foster it. The last chapter gives ways to help all in business to move towards this successful way of doing business.
This will definitely get you thinking out of the box.

Great Business Book

Finished September 16
The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work by Jon Gordon
This short but good book talks about ways to deal with negative energy and attitudes, not just in the workplace, but also in life in general.
Using a fictional situation, the book follows an HR director of a company dealing with problems that can be traced back to negative attitudes at work. The company must find a way of dealing with the current situation and ensuring that the employees engage in more positive actions and attitudes.
In her personal life the HR director, aptly named Hope, is also dealing with a long period of negative energy that has resulted in poor relationships with her family and an unhappy life.
She not only uses the tools she learns from an encounter in her personal life at work, but also with her family. She does her research as well and comes up with a plan to get rid of the energy-sapping complaining that goes on. By focusing on only those complaints that have real substance and looking at the solutions for those, she can ensure the employees at her company are engaging with each other in a more positive way.
The book provides tools and a website to assist with resources to help implement the ideas in the book in your own situation.
A useful tool for every manager's bookshelf.

Humour in the Workplace

Finished April 25
The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up by Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher
This book promotes having fun and work, and offers up the research to support its platform. The authors show how the right kind of levity can increase productivity, improve communication, foster creativity, increase trust, have a positive effect on health, and better the bottom line. To get you started down the road to fun, the authors also provide some ideas on ideas that have worked. The ideas come from real-life examples and while not all are appropriate for all workplaces, there should be something that you can comfortably try in yours. They help you with arguments in favour of fun, citing the research that has already been done. They also urge you to take this fun attitude home to improve the environment there as well as relations with your family. Some great ideas are given, but the best part is the consolidation of the research on this aspect of the workplace. So get out there and lighten up at work!

One for work

Finished October 11
The Hands-Off Manager: How to Mentor People and Allow Them to Be Successful by Steve Chandler
I enjoyed this book and learned some techniques that I will hopefully put into practice. The management philosophy espoused here is very similar to what comes naturally to me, and validated some of my own behaviours. I believe that a good manager tries to remove the barriers from her staff in order that they can excel. I also believe that you should encourage your staff to move upward whereever appropriate and not be competitive with them. I am lucky to have skilled staff to begin with, that I can use many of the ideas given here in terms of mentoring and coaching and encouraging them to make their own decisions and try new things. I hope I can use the ideas here to give my team even more success in the future.

Books read so far in 2007

Finished January 24th

Before I Wake by Robert J. Wiersema
This first novel by this B.C. writer is a winner. It starts off as a realistic tale of a couple, Karen and Simon, who have been growing apart, and whose daughter, Sherry, is badly injured in a hit-and-run accident. However, when the couple make the difficult decision to take her off life-support she does not die. They hire a day-nurse, Ruth, and bring her home. The marriage deteriorates further, but a twist is added when it would seem that Sherry has a special gift.
Meanwhile, the driver and hit Sherry, Henry Denton, has been wandering the city trying to deal with his guilt. Why can't he die, and who else is involved as this turns into a struggle between good and evil?

Finished January 23rd

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (Release 2.0) by Thomas L. Friendman
I listened to an abridged version of this and while many bits were interesting in their view of the world as more interconnected and "flatter", many of the observations from the American view also had more of an pro-American slant than I thought realistic. The future of India and China rang more true, and some of the interpretations of the post-9/11 world were more objective than some of the earlier sections.
The reading by Oliver Wyman included unnecessary accents for a non-fiction book.
There is nothing really newsworthy here.

Finished January 22nd

Naked to the Hangman by Andrew Taylor
The latest in the series featuring Inspector Richard Thornhill and journalist Jill Francis, this story gives a larger role to Richard's wife Edith and daughter Elizabeth.
Richard's secondment to the police in Palestine after the Second World War has come back to haunt him. What happened there and how will it intrude on his life in Lydmouth?
This story features many interesting character including newcomer's to town, Patrick Raven and his daughter Gwen and son Walter; newcomers Gina Marini and her mother, and the local dance instructor Miss Awre and her partner. As the annual dance approaches, the tension builds.

Finished January 20th

Being Caribou by Karsten Heuer
Karsten Heuer and his new wife, Leanne Allison, a filmmaker, spend months following and relating to caribou. They follow the Porcupine caribou herd in the spring from their wintering areas to the birthing grounds and back out. They encounter natives on both sides of the oil/environmental refuge question, grizzly bears, birds of all types, wolves, mosquitos and other life. They almost starve, have trouble keeping up sometimes and have moving experiences. An amazing and moving book.
They have a website: http://www.beingcaribou.com
and the film has won many awards.
Definitely worthwhile.

Finished January 19th

The Photograph by Penelope Lively
Lively has long been a favourite author and this book does not disappoint.
Years after his wife, Katherine's death, Glyn Peters finds a compromising photograph of her with her sister's husband, Nick. Disturbed and anxious for an explanation, he approaches her sister, Elaine, who is also surprised by the picture. Their search for the truth of the past and their rediscovery of Katherine as a person leads them to a new loss to be reconciled.

Finished January 17th

Dream Wheels by Richard Wagamese
This story deals with the growth and maturing of more than one character. There are many themes present here and it would be a good choice for a book club.
Joe Willie Wolfchild is about to become a World Champion rodeo cowboy when he is severely injured by a bull he is riding. As he comes to terms with the way his life has changed as a result of the injury, he is supported by his close family.
Claire Hartley and her son Aiden have lived a nomadic life as Claire has moved from one unsuitable man to another. After Aiden is arrested as a result of a botched robbery, an Edmonton policeman helps them find a new beginning, but they both must still face their past and choose their futures for themselves.
A wonderful book.

Finished January 11th

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
I listened to this unabridged on audio and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've always liked the quirkiness of Fforde and this book lives up to that reputation.
Jack Sprat and Mary Mary, officers with the Nursery Crime Division in Reading, England run into difficulties with support from the force when a Red Riding Hood investigation goes wrong. They and their fellow officer, the alien Ashley, are not assigned the investigation of the escapted Gingerbread Man, and yet keep running into him. They investigate the disappearance of Goldilocks, and the attack on some bears. What has this all got to do with the new theme park SommeWorld? Hmm.
As usual there is more than one level of humour here, and that only adds to the fun.
The reader of this story, Simon Vance, does wonderful things to make the story come alive.

Finished January 7th

Rock Varnish by Barry Kennedy
This novel is set around a widower novelist who is known for his novel following his wife's death and his long-time best friend. When the friend's mother dies, the two go down to a gated community in California to stay at the mother's house. From here the story really deteriorates, and I had to force myself through it. The plot jumps around a lot, doesn't hang together in spots and is generally forced. Yuck.

Sundog Season by John Geddes
This coming-of-age story is on the White Pine list for 2007. It is set in a small mining town in Northern Ontario and is told from the point of view of a young man, looking back on a particular year in his life. He lives there with his older sister, pharmacist father and stay-at-home mother. He is athletic, a fast runner, and a fast hockey player. When a new OPP officer comes to town, the community is affected in many ways.

Finished January 6th

The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell
One of her best books. This tale of two sisters, one of whom suspects the other of a dark secret, is engrossing. Told from various points of view, at first the one sister seems the stronger character, but that impression changes as the story progresses.
The sisters live on one floor of a house together, while their mother and aunt live on the other. Their mother is mentally ill, and the aunt holds the family together while mourning the loss of her own relationship. The story revolves around what really happened between the girls and their stepfather, and how the stepfather actually died. It is a story of manipulation and forgiveness.

Finished January 5th

Manager Mechanics: People Skills for the First-Time Manager by Eric P. Bloom
Nice concise book with short chapters on different people skills for managers to learn with summaries at the end of each chapter.

The World of the Polar Bear by Norbert Rosing
This amazing coffee-table style book has wonderful pictures of polar bears, their environment, and the other wildlife that share it. The book follows the bears through a year of their lives and the accompanying text talks about the world they live in, the difficulties they face and the outlook for the future. Highly recommended.

Finished January 4th


Secret Father by James Carroll
This book set around the Cold War just before the building of the Berlin wall, with a followup years later when the Berlin wall comes down, is a gripping story. Paul Montgomery, an American banker working in Germany, and his son Michael are still recovering from the accidental death of Paul's wife and Michael's mother, Evie. Michael has been enrolled in an American school for the children of military personnel and his friendship with Ulrich (whose stepfather is high up in the American military) and Katherine leads the three young people to danger in East Berlin. Paul and Ulrich's mother, Charlotte, are eager to rescue the three, but many roadblocks are in their way. A gripping tale.

I started the year with a picture book Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
This engaging book is about a lion who wanders into the library and decides to stay. He listens to storytimes and helps library staff with dusting and other tasks. But when he breaks library rules he is told to leave. In the end, even the strict assistant librarian realizes and sometimes there is a good reason to break the rules. The illustrations are lovely and as a librarian who loves cats, I couldn't resist this one.