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April 10, 2025

There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift

Issue No. 643 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting offers two book options: a fascinating read about business strategy, innovation, and reinvention—or a book about a 35-year-old billionaire. Surprise! Plus, click here for recent eNews issues posted at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my recent review of Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection. And check out the 20 management buckets (core competencies). Note! Enjoy a YouTube Video for Part 2 of 2 of today's issue.

Will you pick Book #1 or Book #2 to read (or listen to)? Surprise!

Part 1 of 2: “I’m Going to Innovate Some Stuff!”

Which book will you read (or listen to) next: Book #1 or Book #2?

BOOK #1. Published just this week by Harvard Business Review Press, this book is a master class in strategy, product and program development, marketing, customer research, incremental innovation, differentiation, “Blue Ocean strategy,” the reputation-reality gap, and how to recover from a “PR dumpster fire.” (And it has more than 25 references to articles from Harvard Business Review—so you can go even deeper.)

BOOK #2. Also hot-off-the press, this page-turner explores the impact and influence of one person—“a strategic genius”—who leverages her songwriting brilliance and artistry to create a new music market niche against all odds and naysayers. You’ve probably heard of this 35-year-old sensation—the first musician to make the Forbes World's Billionaires List, with a “ranking primarily based on her songs and performances.” Who? Taylor Swift.

GOOD NEWS! You don’t need to pick between Book #1 and Book #2. It’s the same book!

There's Nothing Like This:
The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift
by Kevin Evers (April 8, 2025)

Kevin Evers, a senior editor at Harvard Business Review, says he wrote this book “with the same respect and framing I’d put to any great innovator, or creative force, or marketing genius, or strategy guru. I saw no reason to treat Taylor Swift’s success any differently than that of any business icon—Jobs or Branson or Bezos or Musk.” And get this: the author credits his wife for the book idea!

He admits: “To be sure, Taylor Swift probably isn’t tucking into Harvard Business Review for marketing strategy prior to dropping an album or reading the latest innovation literature coming out of B-schools.” He quotes Swift’s humor and transparency at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards when she was honored with the Innovator Award. Swift laughed:

“I never a single time woke up in the morning and thought,
‘You know what I’m going to do today?
I’m going to innovate some stuff.’”

The author’s big idea: to take us on a “chronological romp” through Swift’s career—her missteps, her achievements, her humanity—explaining how she “has managed to find success, sustain it, and scale it multiple times to the absurd heights it’s reached today. To give more shape to that feeling so many fans and admirers have about her—that there really is nothing like it.”

[Disclaimer! I’m an old guy—so I’ve never followed Taylor Swift’s music. But after reading the first chapter, I couldn’t put this book down. I’ll explain why.]

#1. BLIND SPOTS. In 2006, Taylor Swift, at 16, was writing country music songs for other teenagers. Yet the major labels believed “it made sense to avoid teenage female artists. It was Nashville conventional wisdom. It was accepted as gospel. They’d tried that, failed, and possessed anecdotal evidence to back up their claims.” Why risk it?

Evers reminds us about the book and the Harvard Business Review article by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, “Blue Ocean Strategy.” In a blue ocean, “a previously unknown market space . . . demand is created rather than fought over.” When organizations stick to conventional wisdom, “it can also lead to blind spots,” adds Evers, and “Swift was banking on the idea that Nashville had a blind spot—young women who write their own songs for young women.”

Extra Credit: read more from Kim and Mauborgne here.

#2. DIFFERENTIATION. Evers writes that Taylor Swift was “the queen of her own niche. And she was protecting it.” He adds, “There weren’t other artists her age who were writing their own songs that were tailored [no pun intended, apparently] for the teen to the young adult country-pop market.”

Intuitively, Swift affirmed the business savvy from Chris Zook and James Allen who wrote, “Differentiation is the essence of strategy, the prime source of competitive advantages.” Read their “pioneering” HBR article, “The Great Repeatable Business Model.” They add, “The sharper your differentiation, the greater your advantage.”

Extra Credit: Read more on competitive advantage and read Zook’s and Allen’s book, The Founder’s Mentality (watch for my review). Plus, read Bob Hisrich’s wisdom, “Don’t Be the 8th Lemonade Stand in a Row of 9,” from our book, Marketing Your Ministry: Ten Critical Principles.

#3. PREMATURE CORE ABANDONMENT. After Swift’s first album, Taylor Swift, in 2006, the obvious question comes—what to do next? But warning! “The path from first to second album is full of dangers. This phenomenon, researched for decades and feared even longer, goes by difference names. Second-album syndrome. The sophomore slump. Or simply: The Slump.”

The author notes that Swift followed a business rule-of-thumb strategy called “incremental innovation” for her second album, Fearless (a blend of country and pop). Insightfully, Swift and her innovative record company, Big Machine, avoided a common trap called “premature core abandonment.”

And yes—the author points us to another fascinating HBR article on this topic, “When Growth Stalls.” Yikes! Read this: “The record shows that if management cannot turn a company around within a few years, the odds are that it will never again see healthy top-line growth.”

Extra Credit: Ask AI to explain the stunning success (even after missteps) of Taylor Swift’s career. Did you know she won her first Album of the Year at the Grammys for Fearless?

#4. ADJACENT MARKETS. Should you follow Taylor Swift’s lead and venture into what business leaders call “adjacent markets”—or not? (Was it wise to leave country—and move to pop?) Caution! Kevin Evers points us to Target’s venture into Canada (an adjacent market)—and why they ultimately closed all 133 Canadian stores. (I feature this case study in one of my favorite PowerPoint presentations for nonprofit boards.) Read HBR’s “Why Target's Canadian Expansion Failed,” by Denise Dahlhoff.

Extra Credit: Listen to the short podcast, “Why Target’s Big Canadian Expansion Went South” from the “Knowledge at Wharton Podcast” (via the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania). And read this breaking news from April 8, 2025, in Forbes on the creative re-release of Swift albums.

#5. TAYLOR SWIFT—THE START-UP! “If Taylor Swift were a startup—and in many ways that’s what a music career is—by 2011 she had become a unicorn” (per the term used by venture capitalists). And this is LOL-funny:

According to the author, an investor pitching “SwiftCo” would spotlight the following:
• Three multiplatinum albums in a row.
• “Brand equity was high.”
• They would gush about her “product-market fit—she grew revenue while gaining new customers at a very low cost, through a canny go-to-market strategy that leveraged social media promotion and direct engagement with customer to surprise and delight them.” Evers adds, “This is really how they talk.” (LOL!)

Extra Credit: Read more about unicorns here and here.

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS (and bottom line). I won’t spoil the lifelong-learning journey for you—but I’m betting there are several key people on your team that will absolutely love this book and annoy you with quotes and innovative ideas for the next six months. This well-researched book—with a very human touch—is amazingly relevant to your organization or company. And…it’s so well-written with wonderfully creative word choices popping up to “surprise and delight” us! (How could it not be? It’s about a creative juggernaut!)

More Insights:
• Taylor Swift’s disruptive innovation per Harvard prof Clayton Christensen’s job-to-be-done theory. (Read this and the second article in my blog here.)
• Why “productive paranoia” served Swift well and why it will serve you well. (Read this and this from Morten Hansen and Jim Collins.)
• What Evers translates as “management speak for staying relevant by changing,” he discusses how “positive shocks—sudden breaks from successful collaborations” may jump-start your creativity for your next big project. According to the Academy of Management Journal, “The idea is that a stable network of collaborators is a good thing until it’s not.” (Read “New People Can Spark Creativity by Shaking Things Up.”)
• Why Elvis Costello (supposedly) said, “You have twenty years to write your first album and you have six months to write your second one.”
• How Seth Godin’s marketing savvy and “poke the box” approach aligns with Taylor Swift’s prioritization of her customers/fans.
• Why most reinventions fail. See John Kotter’s HBR article on the eight phases—with each “phase beset with potential pitfalls.” (And this.)

PART 2 OF 2! View the "Part 2 of 2 Zoom Review” of this book with color commentary by Paul Palmer and John Pearson, with special guest Malia Yim.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, by Kevin Evers. Listen on Libro (8 hours, 35 minutes). And thanks to Harvard Business Review Press for sending me a review copy. (NOTE: The book quotes various music industry execs, and Swift, who are known to use a few words rarely heard in church.)

BONUS! Listen to the podcast interview with author Kevin Evers:

Just 30 minutes, listen to “Taylor Swift's Strategic Genius: A Masterclass in Success with Kevin Evers & Charles Good” (Episode #215). See also Episode #216.

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) Here’s a Starbucks Gift Card for the first team member to volunteer! Make a list of the 20 Management Buckets and, as you read this book about Taylor Swift, find examples that align with the core competency in at least 10 of the buckets.
2) Here’s a Chick-fil-A Gift Card for the first volunteer who will create a complete list of the Harvard Business Review articles in the Notes section of the Taylor Swift book (there are more than 25 HBR endnotes)—and then inspire at least 10 lifelong learners on our staff and/or board to read one article each. (Hint: go here!)

BONUS: Read these two new HBR articles also!
• "Taylor Swift and the Strategic Genius of the Eras Tour," by Kevin Evers (Dec. 6, 2024)
• "The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift," by Kevin Evers (March–April 2025 issue of HBR)

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #13 of 99: Judgment

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring "Book" #13 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

Judgment:
How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls
by Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis

The authors quote Peter Drucker, “The most important task of an organization’s leader is to anticipate crisis . . . perhaps not avert it, but to anticipate it.” How did I miss this classic chapter from Tichy and Bennis? Must-read-again: “Chapter 10: Crisis as a Leadership Development Opportunity.”
• Read my review (Issue No. 78, March 3, 2008).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket.

Chapter 10 in Judgment spotlights David Novak, “a veteran at crisis management. He is a seasoned leader who knows that crisis judgment starts with good people judgment.” Oh, my. You’ll learn about three crises at Yum! Brands and Novak’s systematic approach to each crisis—what the authors call his “clear Teachable Point of View.”

And if you missed Novak’s 2024 book from HBR Press, read my review of How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World's Most Successful People.

Reminder: your next crisis is coming!
• Option #1: Anticipate it. (Visit the Crisis Bucket.)
• Option #2: Wing it. (Not recommended.)

Podcast via AI
Next Level Nonprofit

Click here to listen to the AI-generated podcasters (13 minutes, 57 seconds) who “review” John’s review of Next Level Nonprofit: Build A Dream Team + Increase Lasting Impact, by Chris Lambert. (Read John’s review.) For more podcasts, click here.

CONFLICT?
Set Up 5 Chairs!

I predict that the next time you’re coaching someone through a conflict, you will use the brilliant model from these former Harvard profs: Mirror Work, Chair Work, and Table Work. Read my review to learn why the physicality of using actual chairs (“set up five chairs”) may produce stunning results. Read Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In. And visit Pails in Comparison Blog for more reviews.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting is emailed free two to four times a month to subscribers. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. PRIVACY POLICY: Typepad, Inc. hosts John Pearson's Buckets Blog. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform for Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews. By clicking (above) to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy policy here. (c) Copyright 2025. John W. Pearson. All rights reserved.

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Tags: Genius, Harvard Business Review, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Kevin Evers, Strategy, Taylor Swift, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

March 28, 2025

Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection

Issue No. 642 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting asks if you’ve ever read or listened to a book on enriching your conversations and listening skills? (Me neither!) Plus, click here for recent eNews issues posted at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my recent review of The Sodfather. And check out the 20 management buckets (core competencies).

The very helpful book, Radical Listening, offers a continuum of rude to polite interruptions for your next conversation: Taking the Microphone, Stealing the Podium, Asides, Humor, Alerts, and Minimal Encouragers. Need to improve (or confess)?

Don’t Take the Microphone or Steal the Podium!

Go ahead. Ask your spouse (or your co-worker, best friend, or family member)…if you need to enrich your listening skills. (No-brainer, right?) So read this new book:

Radical Listening:
The Art of True Connection
by Christian van Nieuwerburgh
and Robert Biswas-Diener (March 25, 2025)

The authors remind us that if we live into our late 70s—“if you had only a single conversation a day, you would have about 28,000 conversations in your lifetime.” So here’s my question: Raise your hand if you’ve ever read a book, listened to a podcast, or participated in a workshop on being a better listener and conversationalist? (Yikes!)

But it’s never too late. And you just might bless the people closest to you—if you implement even 10 percent of the practical insights in Radical Listening. The authors, experienced executive coaches, researchers, and academics (one also rides a Harley!), deliver practical—and often humorous—counsel and coaching on how to have better conversations. Examples:

6 OBSTACLES TO LISTENING. By page 24, I was under conviction! Any chance you’re guilty of one or more of these six obstacles to an effective conversation?
• Comparing, Competing, Mind Reading
• Unsolicited Advice, Priority Status, Time Poverty
The half-page chart on page 24 delivers 12 ways to mitigate these conversational sins. Instead of jumping in and “comparing,” the authors suggest you “Remind yourself to be more interested in their experience than sharing your own. Get curious about their situation and ask for more information.”

Oh, my. I was in a meeting this week—and immediately wanted to jump in with my more interesting and more entertaining story (comparison!). Then I stopped mid-sentence! Radical Listening shined a spotlight on my lack-of-listening-savvy. Yikes.

STEALING THE PODIUM! In my favorite chapter, “Interjecting,” the authors launch their coaching clinic on interruptions and interjections by mentioning the “familiar marimba ringtone” that interrupted the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 back in 2012. The conductor halted the music and waited! The New York Times covered this faux pas. Some called for the clueless “culprit” to be banned from future concerts!

The book is filled with fascinating 2 x 2 graphics that illustrate the memorable bullet points and stories. (You’ll need some blank 2 x 2 quadrants for your notes.) This helpful graphic contrasts “Large” vs. “Small” interruptions with “Rude” vs. “Polite” interruptions. (Avoid the top-left quadrant!) The continuum: Taking the Microphone, Stealing the Podium, Asides, Humor, Alerts, and Minimal Encouragers. “Skillful interjection, if done thoughtfully—and not at the symphony—“is one of the most engaged forms of Radical Listening,” say the authors.

Wow. I’m tempted to photocopy page 127 and bring it to my next meeting with this warning: “Heads up! I’ve just read Radical Listening, and I have a scorecard with me. I’ll be taking names and giving each of you feedback at the end of our meeting!”

WHY I KEEP READING. Like many of my readers, most of us could probably “wing it” a bit, if asked to facilitate a one-hour workshop on effective listening. (How hard could that be?) But just a few pages into Radical Listening, I was stunned by the authors’ approach—and their clear mastery of the content. While Christian van Nieuwerburgh and Robert Biswas-Diener admit there are numerous sources on healthy listening habits, their claim is unique—that Radical Listening is something very, very different. (I was blown away by how much I didn’t know—and how much I learned. I’m grateful. My wife, Joanne, will be very grateful!)

LISTENING 101…AND MORE! The authors label the first eight chapters as “Listening 101,” but then coax us into a deep dive on “The Listening Context”—the advanced course in listening. Chapter 9, “Listening Across Cultures,” features their “crash course in culture.”
• Read why one CFO, whose company serves eight nations, has deputized “listening ambassadors” in each country’s main office. Brilliant!
• Another chart, “Facets of Cross-Cultural Communication,” will remind you that when you cross a border—you should bone up on six key areas, including “Use of Non-Verbal Behaviors.” (Hand gestures and smiles may get you into trouble. Ditto: prolonged eye contact.) And “Tolerance for Conflict” in various cultures may surprise you. (Bonus: see my recent review of Conflict Resilience.)
• This chapter reminded me of the helpful book, Leading Across Cultures, by James E. Plueddemann. Read my review.
• LOL! I could have used Radical Listening years ago in Taiwan. Read “Mistake #11” in my confessional, Mastering Mistake-Making.

By the way, co-author Christian van Nieuwerburgh serves on university faculties in both Ireland and Australia. His global executive coaching practice includes his innovative short videos, Coach on a Motorcycle. Visit his YouTube channel. (Extra credit: see his 10-part series, “Getting Unstuck when Writing.”) In 2024, Robert Biswas-Diener was named to the Thinkers50 “50 Coaches” list. Read more about this co-author here, including his keynotes and workshops in more than 30 countries.

MORE LISTENING INSIGHTS. I don’t want to spoil the self-discovery journey for you, so I’ll just tease you with a taste of what’s coming when you read (or listen to) the book:
• Learn why the authors recommend a “silent sound bath” treatment!
• In Chapter 5, “Acceptance,” discover the downside of politeness in a conversation. (On second thought—this is my favorite chapter!) Also learn about the downside of judgment.
• How many of the “10 mental biases” would your co-workers accuse you of? Does your boss or CEO suffer from “false-consensus bias”—the tendency “to believe that there is more agreement than there actually is” on your team?

SEE WHY...why the “focusing illusion” (a lesser-known cognitive bias) might torpedo your next interview with a candidate. (Oh, my. That reminded me of a bad hiring decision I made…way back!)
• Pop Quiz! What are the five types of questions to avoid in a healthy conversation? (Sneak peek: The Trojan Horse question “is just a way of giving advice.”)
• If you want to be a Radical Listener, what five questions are the most helpful? (Hint: a “future-focused” question might be my favorite.)
• One more: The authors remind us that we make mistakes, we “labor under logical fallacies,” and sometimes “we are just plain wrong.” Better communication requires shifting from our negative inner monologues and critiquing the speaker—to a learning mindset. (Not a bad reminder when listening to Sunday sermons!)

MY FAVORITE CHAPTER(S). I’ve already mentioned my favorite chapter (two, actually!). But to be honest—every chapter is my favorite chapter. This is a really, really useful book. I hope you’ll read it and order copies for others in your circle who want to enrich their listening competencies. It’s also endorsed by the author of The Coaching Habit. That’s high praise.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection, by Christian van Nieuwerburgh and Robert Biswas-Diener. Listen on Libro (5 hours, 45 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) What other resources do you recommend on being a better listener? Way back, I reviewed Breakfast with Fred, by Fred Smith, Sr. (1915-2007). Jam-packed with discernment from 50 leaders (over breakfast), you can still enjoy a weekly dose of his “Timeless Wisdom for Today’s Leaders.” Click here for the recent issue, “The Listening Leader.” He wrote, “Most leaders are adequate talkers, but inadequate listeners.”
2) Do you learn by reading or listening? If you’re a listener, click here to listen to Dick Daniels’ podcast (six minutes), “Logical Listening: The Other Half of Communication.” For more short podcasts from his book, The 365 Day Leader, click here.
3) Do you have board members who “take the microphone” or “steal the podium” during board meetings? Read the blog I wrote for ECFA, “Board Meeting Rules of Thumb: Do Not Interrupt!” It features Ruth Haley Barton’s 10 listening guidelines.
4) Any Bible verses or axioms come to mind about being a better listener? (Read James 1:19-20 in the Amplified Bible.)

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #12 of 99: I Want to Make a Difference Now

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring "Book" #12 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

I Want to Make a Difference Now:
Your Bridge to Global Impact
by Don Parrott

Don Parrott was president of Finishers Project when he wrote this book in 2011. Now known as MissionNext, this innovative ministry then merged with MissionWorks. Have you ever thought about serving outside of North America?
• Read my review (Issue No. 232, Oct. 1, 2011).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #12 of 20: The Volunteer Bucket

My “second read” of this book reminded me again of the amazing stories of men and women who have launched second careers in overseas ministry and missions work. (Warning! This is a dangerous book!)

Parrott writes with humor and insight and spotlights 50 short blurbs on Boomers who took the leap—often across an ocean. See Chapter 1: “Lord, Don’t Send Me to Africa, and Other Bold Statements of Faith.” The book includes end-of-chapter convicting questions. (Oh, my.) Example: The 12 questions in Chapter 7 feature a rating scale (1 = weak, 5 = strong) to gauge your own self-awareness. What’s your rating for this one: “I can laugh at myself.”

New AI Podcast:
Recalibrate Your Calling Every Day

Click here to listen to the AI-generated podcasters (7 minutes, 28 seconds) who “review” John’s review of Dick Daniels’ helpful book, The 365 Day Leader: Recalibrate Your Calling Every Day. For more podcasts, click here.

BONUS! Daniels has posted more than 50 “Brief Podcasts for Busy Leaders” here on his website.

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Tags: conversationalist, culture, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Radical Listening, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

March 18, 2025

The Sodfather: An Extraordinary Journey in the Shadows of Sports' Greatest Fields

Issue No. 641 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting reminds you that today is MLB opening day in Tokyo! And perfectly timed, here’s my review of the 80-year career of “The Sodfather”—a legend in MLB and the NFL. Plus, click here for recent eNews issues posted at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my recent review of Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work.

George Toma, aka "The Sodfather," writes about asking Billy Graham not to kneel on the grass during the 10-day crusade at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium in 1967. "He complied." He wanted the crowd to KEEP OFF THE GRASS also. But look what happened anyway! (Photo credit: M.A.I.D. Used by permission.)

“At my core, I’m a dirt man.”

BREAKING NEWS! Play Ball! Today is Major League Baseball’s opener, but it’s NOT in Chicago or Los Angeles. It’s in Tokyo! The Chicago Cubs (Go Cubs!) play the 2024 World Series Champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the MLB World Tour Tokyo Series. (You read that right!)

Early risers on the East Coast can enjoy Game 1 on March 18, Tuesday 6:10 a.m. ET. (And yes, that’s 3:10 a.m. PT for my West Coast friends.). Game 2 will be March 19, Wednesday at 6:10 a.m. ET. (Go Cubs!)

To commemorate Opening Day, here’s an absolutely fun book—and a pop quiz!

The Sodfather:
An Extraordinary Journey in the
Shadows of Sports' Greatest Fields
by George Toma with Craig Handel (May 18, 2024)

George Toma, now 96, grew grass and a jaw-dropping legacy in his 80-year career as the “the greatest groundskeeper of all time.” I’m so grateful he wrote this book. “Green grasses and artificial turfs were his canvases and Super Bowls his masterpieces.”

Toma manicured the field for the first Super Bowl in 1967 in Los Angeles. He was at every Super Bowl from 1967 to 2023. For much of his career, Toma was the head groundskeeper for the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City, Mo., which includes stadiums for the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs honored him with three Super Bowl rings!

Coauthor Craig Handel notes, “…in my 40 years of writing, I’ve never met anyone like him. Probably never will.” You’ll love this book—so here’s a True or False Pop Quiz to tantalize you into reading The Sodfather.

TRUE OR FALSE?

#1. TRUE OR FALSE? In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that “becoming an expert in any skill is correctly practicing one’s craft for at least 10,000 hours.” Craig Handel estimates that George Toma invested 250,000 hours in his groundskeeping craft. And even when George “retired,” he spent about 150 days away from home in his first six years as a consultant.

#2. TRUE OR FALSE? George Toma said that working on athletic fields all over the world was “something I’ve always enjoyed immensely.” Yet he names Emil Bossard who was with the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Guardians) as the “greatest groundskeeper ever.” Not Toma? “At my core, I’m a dirt man” Toma said.

#3. T or F? Toma served as either the head field supervisor or consultant for the first 57 Super Bowls, beginning with Super Bowl I in L.A. in 1967 to Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz., in 2023. (Note: the KC Chiefs played in both games.)

#4. T or F? Toma came by his profession organically, one might say. He was born on Feb. 2, 1929, aka “Groundhog Day.”

#5. T or F? Toma’s father died of Black Lung Disease at age 46 when George was just 11. Through hard work (at age 10, he worked 10 hours a day for 10 cents an hour), he reached the pinnacle of his profession. He’s been inducted into eight Halls of Fame!

#6. T or F? Toma spotlights Bill Veeck (1914-1986), who owned three MLB teams at various times, including the Chicago White Sox. Veeck said that “a good groundskeeper is worth five to seven victories a season.”

#7. T or F? For the first Super Bowl, Toma asked NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle what kind of logo he wanted at midfield. Rozelle’s response: “Put on whatever you want, George. It’s your field.” (Imagine! The CEO telling the groundskeeper to make the decision!) That reminds me of my 2006 book-of-the-year, Joy at Work, by Dennis Bakke, and his second book, The Decision Maker.

#8. T or F? Toma writes, “ESPN had me do one of its famous 30-second Sports Center commercials. Wearing a Marquis de Sod T-shirt, I started by saying, ‘Like a lot of organizations, ESPN was having trouble with its carpet. So they had me install a more natural surface.’” (Watch the hilarious video.)

#9. T or F? What? Really? It’s possible (perhaps, maybe) that MLB and NFL groundskeepers can give their home teams certain advantages. No way. Way? By the way, Toma doesn’t hold back when he has something to say. Oh, my! “That’s why I’m writing this book: to tell my side of the story so we can learn from these mistakes and hopefully prevent these situations from every happening again.” (View this video. True of False?)

#10. T or F? You’re kidding, right? Groundskeepers have their own national association? Yes! Someone needs to manage the more than one million playing fields in America! With his colleagues, Toma helped launch the Sports Field Management Association. (This was especially interesting to me since I was privileged to lead three national associations for 25 years.) Today, SFMA serves more than 2,700 members. (Want greener grass? Visit the exhibit hall at their next annual conference.)

#11. T or F? In 1967, Billy Graham had a 10-day evangelistic crusade at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium. Toma writes, “We became good friends, and during his event, I asked him if he could avoid kneeling on the grass. He complied.” But it didn’t matter, adds Toma. The growing crowd exceeded the stadiums seats, so Toma allowed them to sit on the grass in left field. Then right field. Then the infield grass! Johnny Cash and June Carter sang. “Later, Mr. Graham and Mr. Cash had a get-together at Excelsior Springs, Missouri. They invited me.”

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?
• Every MLB and NFL fan. (Go, Cubs!)
• Buildings and grounds team members at camps, campuses, churches, and companies.
• Anyone wanting a template for writing your own story. (“You should write a book!”)
• Sports nostalgia buffs—yearning for more stories about Mickey Mantle, George Brett, Len Dawson, Charles Finley, Lamar Hunt, Alvin Dark, Satchel Paige, and dozens of others.

7 DEGREES OF SEPARATION?
I’m grateful to Alan Busby, who texted me last December about The Sodfather. Alan’s father, Dan Busby (1941-2022), served as president of ECFA. Dan also knew his way around a baseball field and collected opening day tickets from every major league baseball team. He often consulted with the National Baseball Hall of Fame concerning memorabilia acquisitions. Dan wrote two baseball books:
• Before and After Jackie Robinson, A Story of the Brooklyn Dodgers Told Through the Lens of Tickets and Passes (Read my review.)
• Before and After Babe Ruth: A Story of the New York Yankees Told Through the Lens of Tickets and Passes (Read my review.)

I’m mentioning the Busby family because Alan shared the following: “I grew up in Westwood, Kansas, a few doors down from George Toma and regularly rode my bike through his grass and used his tree’s root base as a ramp!”

“Dad in his subtle competitive nature would always aspire to have the best yard but this achievement would always come short with a big-league opponent playing across the street. I recall one year Dad went as far as to have the whole yard stripped and fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod brought in, if you can imagine.” (That’s the Dan Busby I knew and loved! LOL!)

Alan recently wrote to George Toma and received a nice note back, along with a copy of The Sodfather. (Toma, by the way, writes that he still mows his own grass at age 96!)

MY GRASS?
Me? As #4 of five boys growing up, my Dad had five “apprentice groundskeepers” and one mandate, “I want this place looking like a park.” Maybe if George Toma had written his book earlier, I would have been inspired. But I’m so, so grateful for my 30-year friendship with Mario, who has been our faithful “all-things-beautiful” for our front and backyard and more. (I know when to delegate!) Here is a recent photo of Mario and his greatest cheerleader!

Mario (left) and his 30-year apprentice, John.

GROWING WEEDERS INTO LEADERS
This review would be sadly incomplete if I didn’t mention the perfect companion book to The Sodfather. In 2017, I received a signed copy from Jeff McManus of his wonderful book, Growing Weeders Into Leaders: Leadership Lessons from the Ground Level. For nearly 25 years, he transformed Ole Miss “from an overlooked campus into the most beautiful in the nation,” earning recognition from Forbes, The New York Times, and others.

In my review, I list 10 reasons why you’ll love this book, including Reason #7. McManus quotes John Maxwell: “What’s worse than training your people and losing them? Not training them and keeping them.” His bestselling book “reveals how he turned an unmotivated disorganized team into a nationally recognized powerhouse.”

Reminder: Go, Cubs, Go! (P.S. True or False? All 11 statements are true.)

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for The Sodfather: An Extraordinary Journey in the Shadows of Sports' Greatest Fields, by George Toma with Craig Handel.

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) Go Cubs! If you’re a Cubs fan and you can still picture the beauty of Chicago’s Wrigley Field, read my reviews of The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse, by Tom Verducci; and also read A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred, by George F. Will. What two teams will be in the 2025 World Series? In your opinion, what’s the most beautiful baseball field in the U.S.?
2) In Part 11, “Hall of Fame Sports Stories,” in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books, our son, Jason, and I highlight five sports stories (download the list here), including The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, by Daniel James Brown (read my review). Note: The WSJ just named this book one of “Five Best: Books on Negotiation.” Read why. What's your favorite sports story. Why?

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #11 of 99: Leadership Prayers

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring "Book" #11 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

LEADERSHIP PRAYERS
by Richard Kriegbaum

Wait…what? You’re saying I should reread a book on PRAYER that aligns with the DONOR Bucket? (That’s right! Too obvious?) Stick with me here. This week, I reread the two-page prayer, “Budget.” It’s one of the most succinct, yet probing two pages I’ve ever read about the leader’s dilemma: “It is so hard to choose between what to do now and what to try later.”
• Read my review (Issue No. 193, Aug. 15, 2010).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #11 of 20: The Donor Bucket

After his two-page prayer, Richard Kriegbaum reflects: “The core values of an organization are the promises its members make to each other. The budget is the most comprehensive and detailed description of what the organization has promised to do in expressing those values. What makes budgeting so difficult for a future-oriented leader is that the budget is mostly about history, about keeping promises that have already been made. If the promises were made wisely, they will have created a good set of present opportunities, attracted great people, secured a strong position in the market with a positive image, and allowed for increasing net revenues."

New AI Podcast:
"You Should Write a Book"

Click here to listen to the AI-generated podcasters (13 minutes, 36 seconds) who comment on Nancy Nelson's 50 stunning stories in her book, Stories of Sheer Pure Grace. For more podcasts, click here.

Attn: Fundraisers
Read This Book!

STOP annoying your donors! Here’s help. You can dramatically reduce your fundraising costs, generate more revenue, and go home earlier if you JUST STOP doing what has never worked. Read my short review of Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI. Visit Pails in Comparison Blog for more reviews.

09:48 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Craig Handel, George Toma, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, The Sodfather, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

March 12, 2025

Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work

Issue No. 640 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features a new book that explores the issue (often heartbreaking) of “How competency checking and race collide at work.” Plus, click here for recent eNews issues posted at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my recent review of Superhabits.

Shari Dunn writes: “My intention with this book is to get us to see past ill-timed Band-Aid actions—ineffective corporate DEI initiatives, ‘color-blind’ solutions, individual mentorship, among others—and provide the hardworking antibiotic that will clean the wound that is racism in the workplace in the United States once and for all.”

Band-Aids vs. Breakthroughs

A friend asked me this week why I would want to read Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work, by Shari Dunn.

I told my friend about my new favorite quotation from Warren Buffett’s former partner, Charlie Munger (1924-2023). Munger said, “I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything unless I know the other side’s argument better than they do.” (Read more in my 2023 book-of-the-year, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results.)

That’s a very high bar. It’s much easier to coast and give in to the social media partisans and the talk show host dogmatists and let them try and persuade me on any given issue. But wait…who do I listen to? And why? And can I articulate Shari Dunn’s voice better than she can? No way. But Munger’s wisdom inspired me to try. So will you read this?

Qualified:
How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work
by Shari Dunn (Feb. 25, 2025)

Frankly, I was somewhat reluctant to do a deep dive into Qualified, but now I’m grateful that the author did some of the hard work for me. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable about racial issues that continue to divide our workplace and our country. (I can do better.) Dunn’s book, at least for me, was not a comfortable read. (Heart-breaking, at times.) But it’s an important book—and I urge leaders, readers, pastors, priests, CEOs, department heads, and HR team members to give it a try.

My very limited journey on understanding racial issues began—in earnest—during my seminary years when I met William E. Pannell at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. I read his 1968 book, My Friend, The Enemy, described by one of his friends as “a passionate corrective to a white evangelical community that he both loved and distrusted.”

In 1970, I led a Wisconsin winter retreat for high school students from 70 churches and Pannell agreed to be our speaker. Looking back now, I realize our Baptist churches were not ready for his winsome, but hard-to-hear message. And get this—all the way up to his homegoing at age 95 in 2024, he continued to challenge the status quo. That takes guts. In the 1990s, he suggested that the magazine, Christianity Today, should be rebranded, “Suburban Christianity Today.”

For more on Dr. William E. Pannell (1929-2024), read this tribute from Fuller Theological Seminary. Click here for the 2024 feature-length film, “The Gospel According to Bill Pannell,” and here for the film’s trailer. Click here for a five-minute “Message from Bill Pannell,” shown at the premiere of the film. Read this tribute in Christianity Today and this obituary in CT.

[THANKS…for allowing me to reminisce about Bill Pannell and my own journey. I wonder if author Shari Dunn and Bill Pannell ever met? And would they agree on most issues? Now…back to our regularly scheduled programming.]

COMPETENCY CHECKING. Let’s restart with this question—a key focus of Qualified. Pop Quiz: Define “competency checking.” Dunn documents and defines “the Shifting Standards Model (SSM)” which she says “can help explain . . . [why Black employees must meet a higher standard]. Simply put, you shift the requirements or ‘standards’ based on who it is.” She makes a compelling argument about this.

Dunn adds, “Because white employers frequently assume Black people are unqualified or incompetent, they competency-check them by paying more attention to any mistake made during the interview (or on the job) in writing samples, conversations, etc. The SSM could be one factor as to why employers consciously or unconsciously set the bar higher when reviewing the background and qualifications of Black and other candidates of color.”

In the chapter, “The Roots of Competency Checking,” the author’s extensive research and memorable anecdotes combine to make her case—a case that is tough to ignore. Oh, my. (The notes in the back of the book—a full 50 pages.)

BOOK’S PURPOSE. On how to “Move Past the Past,” Dunn employs an apt analogy—why an entire house is at risk when the foundation is poorly laid. She’s hopeful that we can fix the foundation. Her history lesson is helpful. (Did I also mention heartbreaking?)

She writes, “Dismantling systemic racism might require a combination of foundational fixes and ‘tear-downs,’ and the purpose of this book is to reveal a blueprint for you to follow to help you identify what you should be aware of and lay out the tools you will need as we jointly begin this work toward building a more equitable and just society that doesn’t pretend not to see race but acknowledges and accounts for its role as a destabilizing factor.”

(Note: There’s a lot of pushback on the term “systemic racism.” Have you done a deep dive on both sides of this concept?)

I CONFESS. The first half of the book was tough to read—on many levels. I kept wishing that those who hold different views on some of the issues could be invited into the conversation—right in the pages of the book. Dunn is no fan of many influential people on the other side of some of the issues. She disagrees with the stated positions of many, including the governors of Texas and Florida, several Supreme Court Justices and one TV network (guess which one).

She takes a well-deserved swipe at what the CEO of a major bank said in 2020. The CEO is quoted: “While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from.” (Must-read: her response to this alarming and incorrect statement.) See also this from the WSJ, “Big Banks Are Scrubbing Their Public Mentions of DEI Efforts.”

I kept reading—and I kept wondering: is Dunn hopeful? She shares a “Band-Aid” metaphor which is both hopeful and helpful:

“My intention with this book is to get us to see past ill-timed Band-Aid actions—ineffective corporate DEI initiatives, ‘color-blind’ solutions, individual mentorship, among others—and provide the hardworking antibiotic that will clean the wound that is racism in the workplace in the United States once and for all.”

Ironically, Qualified was published just last month—on the heels of more than a dozen major corporations (and other organizations) that are disbanding DEI initiatives. (Some are keeping it intact.) Read this and this. Perhaps she speaks to this prophetically:

Saying much of this push-back “…comes disguised as ‘anti-woke’ rage,” Dunn adds this. “These are people who have used rhetoric and obfuscation on personal and national platforms to hijack the terms, malign the methodology, and confuse the debate so that people believe diversity is the illness, inclusion is exclusion, equity is biased, and up is down.”

Yikes. Did I mention this book may challenge your strongly-held views and opinions? I will read this book twice, along with others books (including Jason Riley’s book coming May 6, 2025)—and my goal is to be able to thoughtfully articulate both sides (the many sides?) of this heartbreaking issue.

I appreciated Dunn’s “Epilogue”—just four pages. It’s also hopeful. She writes. “Here is where I leave you. I hope this book is received as it was intended: as an invitation. A call to action, not just to acknowledge the profound challenges we face, but to actively and even enthusiastically engage in the hard work of dismantling them.” I urge you to read this book.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work, by Shari Dunn. Listen on Libro (9 hours, 57 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

WANT TO GO DEEPER? Listen to the Bloomberg Businessweek podcast interview with Shari Dunn, “Challenging the Narrative that Diversity Equals a Lack of Qualifications” (11 minutes, 57 seconds).

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) Shari Dunn quotes James Baldwin, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Is our company or organization intentionally facing the issue of “competency checking” at work (or even in our volunteer arenas)?

2) Is the “Band-Aid” metaphor relevant in your company or organization? If not, what analogy or metaphor would you use to describe your aspirations for a healthy workplace where you are leading and managing with God-honoring integrity in your relationships? What Scripture verses are relevant to your HR culture? (In the “Acknowledgments” section of Qualified, the author mentions Proverbs 27:17.)

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

"Book" #10 of 99: 8 Leadership Flicks!

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring "Book" #10 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD!

Discover how your favorite books (and movies!) still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

8 LEADERSHIP FLICKS!
11½ Hours of Movies, Videos & YouTube

To celebrate the Hoopla! Bucket this week, you don’t have to read anything! Enjoy this curtain call for eight movies I featured at the start of COVID in 2020. Including comedy, these flicks address leadership issues, insights, and ideas.
• Read my mini-reviews (Issue No. 433, April 2, 2020).
• Management Bucket #10 of 20: The Hoopla! Bucket

Will your team learn more from your next boring talk—or from an afternoon of popcorn and picture shows on leadership? Ask: if this is your second viewing, what did you learn this time that you missed the first time?

#1. HARRIET (2019). You’ll want to watch it twice. I was stunned by Harriet Tubman’s attentive heart—always listening for divine direction. Memorable Line: “The hole in my head just made God’s voice more clear.”
#2. WE HAVE A POPE (2011). Memorable Line: “Not me, Lord! Not me!”

#3. THE SECRET OF SANTA VITTORIA (1969). I stumbled across this one during COVID when the WSJ recommended the novel by Robert Crichton (which I have not read). Set during WWII and directed by Stanley Kramer, and starring Anthony Quinn, a wine-producing Italian village must hide a million bottles of wine from the Germans.
#4. TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH (1949). Starring Gregory Peck, this film is often used in MBA courses (google it). Constantino Salios taught a course at Biola University’s Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program in 2007 and invited me to join the class for this powerful film.

#5. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON (2007). Memorable Line: “And of course at that time, the Atlas boosters were blowing up every other day down at Cape Canaveral. And it looked like a very, you know, a good way to have a short career.” (Jim Lovell)
#6. SESAME STREET: ERNIE PUTS DOWN THE DUCKIE (2003). Memorable Line: “Put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone.”

#7. OUR DAILY BREAD (1934). Memorable line: “Ya gonna follow me or quit like yellow dogs?” (NYT: “One of the 10 best films of 1934.”)
#8. MAKE YOUR BED (2014). Memorable Line: “If you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.”

New AI Podcast:
Miracle on a Bus!

Click here to listen to the AI-generated podcasters (13 minutes, 28 seconds) who comment on the stunning “orange” story recently featured on the God Reports website, “Retired Church Secretary’s Miracle on a Bus.” (Read the article.) For more podcasts, click here.

Your City Needs a Mary Henry!

Every major city in the nation needs an author like Mary Henry to write 50 or more tributes to the “Black People Whose Names Grace [Our City’s] Sites.” Read why in my review of Tributes: Black People Whose Names Grace Seattle Sites, by Mary T. Henry. (Note: She wrote this at age 99 and is now 101!) For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

02:51 PM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide, Shari Dunn, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

February 28, 2025

Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life

Issue No. 639 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting trumpets spotlights a phenomenal book—Superhabits—and a colorful diagram based on the virtues of St. Thomas Aquinas. And if your boss is now asking for a weekly progress report—and where did that idea come from? (LOL!), use my two-page template, “Weekly Update to My Supervisor.” Plus, click here for recent eNews issues posted at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my two-part review of Dan Heath’s new book, Reset.

DILIGENCE! In 1909, R. G. LeTourneau (1888-1969) took an automobile correspondence course and granted himself a BM Degree, "Bachelor of Motorcycles,” after he learned how to take apart and put back together his newly acquired motorcycle. He did this feat in ONE day! The rest is earth-moving history!

Exercising Your Virtues Muscles!

The author of Superhabits warns us: “A mid-air crisis is not the time to be learning many new things.” Hopefully, you’re not in crisis mode today. So it’s the perfect time to be learning from the founding dean of Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. (Dr. Abela was also a brand manager at Procter & Gamble, and a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.) You’ll love this book!

Superhabits:
The Universal System for a Successful Life
by Andrew V. Abela (Oct. 15, 2024)

But yikes! Our granddaughter, Annika, a high school senior, gave me this special book for my birthday almost four months ago—and I’m finally reviewing it! Why the delay? I read it slowly. I made over 50 notes. It’s that good. Meaty. Thought-provoking. And systematic. (I love systems, but I can’t decide if I’ll slot this in the Systems Bucket, the Culture Bucket, the Results Bucket, the Crisis Bucket, or maybe the Hoopla! Bucket!)

In this joyful book, Andrew Abela generously shares the results of his diligent deep dive into the Treatise on Virtues of St. Thomas Aquinas. He calls his project, “Anatomy of Virtue: The System of ‘Superhabits’ for Making Life Easier, Happier, and Healthier.”

And get this! The hardcover copy of Superhabits comes shrink-wrapped with a stunning 16” x 21” full-color poster, plus access to the Busch Virtue Diagnostic. (Bonus: Visit Dr. Abela’s Substack blog and you can download a PDF of the “Anatomy of Virtue” diagram.)

ANATOMY OF VIRTUE. v. 13.0 - Based on the Treatise on the Virtues of St. Thomas Aquinas. For further information, go to https://superhabit.substack.com. Email questions and comments to Dr. Abela at [email protected]. © 2024. A. V. Abela, Ph.D. Used by permission.

This business school dean is not the first to systematize virtues and/or write practical commentaries on the power of habits. (See Charles Duhigg’s bestseller.) But, if you do any coaching, teaching, preaching, or mentoring—I’m thinking your content (and your system) may be sadly incomplete without this book. And here’s another bonus: it’s a delight to read—and you’ll be sharing the dozens of stories and concepts for years to come. Promise!

Abela notes, “For thousands of years, philosophers have written about what I’m calling superhabits.” But how many “superhabits” are there? Apparently no one can agree!
• Epictetus (4)
• William Bennett (10)
• Benjamin Franklin (13)
• Romano Guardini (17)
• Positive psychology (it depends: 6 or 24)
• John Garvey (29)

St. Thomas Aquinas to the rescue! Superhabits shines a light on the system used by this 13th century philosopher monk “by offering a system of virtues, not just a list.” As you’ll discover, the book spotlights four cardinal superhabits: Practical Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and Self-Discipline. I counted 39 superhabits that are integral to the cardinal habits. (Trust me—you will enjoy this deep dive.)

LOL! “Aquinas’ approach was much like the children’s game ‘Twenty Questions.’” (Read more about this simple explanation in Chapter 9, “The Superhabits System.”) Aquinas “presented the superhabits—the virtues—systematically in a way that demonstrates completeness, and that illustrates how the superhabits all work together.” (And don’t skip the math problem—calculators allowed—on page 102.)

To explain further, Abela references “one of the most crushing criticisms you can receive” as a junior consultant at McKinsey: “Your analysis isn’t MECE” means “that you haven’t adequately separated the business problem you’re working on into its component parts.” He adds, “There had to be no overlaps among the parts, and no gaps between them: they had to be Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive, or ‘MECE.’” (Go ahead—crush someone at your next weekly staff meeting!)

And this is key: you already have the superhabit “muscles”—they just need to be exercised. Abela promises, “Whatever challenge you’re facing in life, there’s a superhabit for that.” That’s a bold claim, right? But after reading and reflecting on this powerful system, I’m a convert. The spiritual life (faith, hope, and love from 1 Corinthians 13) is not neglected in this system. Pastors and priests may also want to align the “fruits of the Spirit” from Galatians 5 into this system.

There’s no need to pick my favorite chapter (they’re all very helpful)—but if you insist—I’ve already told two granddaughters about Chapter 12, “Practical Wisdom.” Abela skillfully leverages the heart-pounding events of Jan. 15, 2009, when Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed U.S. Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York City. All 155 passengers and crew survived!

“Practical Wisdom,” writes the author, “is the superhabit of making and implementing wise decisions, whether well-deliberated, strategic decisions over extended periods of time, or near-instantaneous ones like the ones Flight 1549 faced.” He adds, “Practical Wisdom recognizes that a decision is not properly made until it is implemented.”

Practical Wisdom has eight component superhabits. Per Aquinas, there are “four for gathering the relevant information, one for reasoning, and three for implementing.” So using a minute-by-minute (actually second-by-second) view from the cockpit with Captain “Sully,” the author illustrates how each of these superhabits—learned well in advance of a crisis—enabled “Sully” and his crew to land the plane. Absolutely fascinating!

The eight superhabits that back up Practical Wisdom include: Memory, Judgment, Teachability, Creativity, Reasoning, Alertness, Foresight, and Preparedness. Abela adds, “Aquinas was writing 750 years ago; but it is remarkable how closely his framework matches, and yet goes deeper than, many contemporary decision-making processes.” (I agree. Stunning!)

For an old guy like me (“…why did I just come into the kitchen?”), the four pages with practical insights on memory include four suggestions from Aquinas for “how to remember things reliably.” So Abela suggests you make a “funny or unusual image in your mind of what you want to remember…” (So now when I need a pair of scissors, I’m picturing those scissors riding a Harley!)

Listen to Dr. Andrew Abela’s talk, “The Virtues as Super Habits,” presented at the 2024 Summer Conference of the Napa Institute (33 minutes.) And/or view this interview with Dr. Abela on the “This Is the Day” podcast (6 minutes, 24 seconds.)

Practical Wisdom includes the superhabit of Teachability. Abela appreciates Jordan Peterson’s rule nine, “Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t.” You get this, right? Imagine if everyone on your team (or in your family) devoted themselves to lifelong learning and growing in these superhabits—before the next crisis. (Yikes!) Why?

“One important way Sully demonstrated
the superhabit of Teachability was his
determination to learn from others’ mistakes.”
(See my recent blog on 16 mistake-making books.)

And talk about contrarian! While many people claim, “I’m just not creative,” Abela guarantees that the creativity muscle can be developed. At the end of those frightening four minutes and 17 seconds since takeoff, Captain Sully made an announcement to his passengers, “This is the Captain. Brace for impact.” The plane landed on the Hudson River (a very creative choice) at five minutes and 49 seconds after takeoff. Imagine!

LOL! “After reaching shore, there was a humorous moment when Sullenberger called the U.S. Airways Operations Control Center to check in with them. The duty operations manager picked up the phone and in a rushed voice said, ‘I can’t talk right now. There’s a plane down in the Hudson!’”

Is your team well-prepared for your next crisis? As Peter Drucker counseled leaders, “Fortunately or unfortunately, the one predictable thing in any organization is the crisis. That always comes.” How much exercise do you and your team members get with the Alertness muscle and the Preparedness muscle?

TEASERS #1:
• Humility: read what C.S. Lewis said about designing the best cathedral in the world.
• Diligence: learn why R. G. LeTourneau gave himself a one-man graduation ceremony for earning his B.M. degree for Bachelor of Motorcycles!
• Courage (“…like every superhabit, is the mean between two extremes”): the stunning WW2 story of the American oil tanker, SS Ohio, miraculously arriving in Grand Harbor at Malta to the cheers of 100,000 citizens! (See also my recent review of The Courage Gap.)

TEASERS #2:
• Justice: learn about the slave trader, John Newton, and his re-conversion to Christianity in 1748. Abela ties that into Newton’s hymn, “Amazing Grace,” and learn what Mahalia Jackson said to Martin Luther King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
• Perseverance: “…Donald Rumsfeld used to say, ‘Once you quit one thing, then you can quit something else, and pretty soon you’ll get good at being a quitter.’”
• Read. The. Conclusion! Don’t skip the magnificent summary. Do. Not. Skip. The. Conclusion! Abela promises, “Superhabits are contagious!

Patrick Lencioni said that Superhabits is going to be a classic. I agree. Arthur C. Brooks called it a “must-read.” I agree. And—oh, my—this book deserves at least two reviews.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life, by Andrew V. Abela.

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) What “system” have you used to enrich your life—and those around you? Steve Macchia (see “Second Reads” below) is also the author of Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Way. (Read my review.) Macchia appreciates the first century Italian monk, St. Benedict (480-547) and his classic, Little Rule for Beginners.

2) Staying on the superhighway of saints (or perhaps the Camino de Santiago), let me also recommend the wonderful book, 30 Days Unplugged: How a Catholic Priest Turned Off His iPhone and Took a Call From God, by Father Darrin Merlino, CMF. You’ll learn about the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556). Gutsy! (Read my review.) Could you unplug for 30 days? (How ‘bout one day?)

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #9 of 99: Becoming a Healthy Team

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #9 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

Becoming a Healthy Team:
5 Traits of Vital Leadership
by Stephen A. Macchia
(LTI Publications, Feb. 7, 2014, 188 pages)

Raise your hand if your team is humming along with no hiccups. (I thought so!) You can never have enough help when inspiring your team members—day after day, after day. (Just ask Elon Musk if it’s easy to keep team members focused on priority tasks!) This book will help.
• Read my original review (Issue No. 15, Dec. 4, 2006).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #9 of 20: The Team Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas: I missed this brilliant companion resource. When scanning this book again, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Steve Macchia and Justin Schell wrote a companion tool, Becoming a Healthy Team: Workbook and Exercises. This 100-page resource guides your team through collaborative exercises which reinforce the book’s themes: Trust, Empowerment, Assimilation, Management, and Service (T.E.A.M.S.). Utilizing creative team building experiences, the exercises include: Bible study, reflection, confession, lectio divina, shared practices, and fun activities.

Fun? Yes! For the “Healthy Teams Empower” exercise, group members need new names! “…make up one of the most outlandish names for yourself. Create nametags using these names and call one another by these names for the rest of your time together.” (I’d start a new study group—just to have fun with this exercise!) For more resources, including a 30-question team assessment, visit Leadership Transformations. (Note: Macchia's book, The Discerning Life, was my 2022 book-of-the-year.)

New AI Podcast:
The Best Leaders!

Welcome back to our new mini-feature, “BucketCast.” Click here to listen to the AI-generated podcasters (14 minutes, 6 seconds) who comment on my book review of Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest, by William Vanderbloemen. (Read my review.) For more podcasts, click here.

16 Books on Mistake-Making!

Really! At least once a year, you should read a book on mistake-making! So, here’s my latest blog with 16 books—one for every mistake flavor. Patrick Lencioni suggests you keep Mistakes Leaders Make on your desk all year—and read it once a year! Click here for mini-reviews of 16 books. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

10:41 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Andrew Abela, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, St. Thomas Aquinas, Superhabits, virtues, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

February 18, 2025

Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of Top Hits That Changed Rock, Pop and Soul

Issue No. 638 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting trumpets a toe-tapping book on 55 rock, pop, and soul hits (plus three more). And…this bonus: Click here for the Johnny Be Good 2025 Awards Show—honoring the guest bloggers who wrote about their favorite rock, R&B, and pop songs (plus the index to 45 songs from the book, Anatomy of a Song.)

You know you want to! View this 75-second opening scene of James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me. Factoid: Carole Bayer Sager was the first female cowriter of a 007 movie theme song.

My 7 Favorite Songs (from a list of 55)

“Alexa! Play my seven favorite songs!” (Warning! If you read this special edition of Your Weekly Staff Meeting, get ready to start toe-tapping to your own favorite songs.) Why? Once again, I’m detouring off the leadership and management grid to serve up a fun book:

Anatomy of 55 More Songs:
The Oral History of Top Hits
That Changed Rock, Pop and Soul
by Marc Myers (Dec. 5, 2023)

I’m guessing Marc Myers has seen a doctor about his incessant toe-tapping because Myers’ latest book (the 2023 paperback features 58 songs) is a rock, pop, and soul music feast. Using the same format as Anatomy of a Song (45 rock, R&B, and pop iconic hits), the author is having way too much fun!

I’m meandering through Anatomy of 55 More Songs, but I’ve already picked my seven favorite chapters—and listened to my favorite versions of these seven songs on YouTube. Enjoy!

#1. “Walk on By” (Dionne Warwick - Listen on YouTube). Written by lyricist Hal David and composer Burt Bacharach, the song was released in April 1964 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Read this lead-off chapter in Anatomy of 55 More Songs to learn why Bacharach “answered” Warwick’s “walk on by” line with two flugelhorns (not trumpets). Toe-tapper!

#11. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (Diana Ross - Listen on YouTube). Cowriter Valerie Simpson warns about what happened with her cowriter Nickolas Ashford. “I’ll just say that when you’re writing love songs all day long with someone, you can wind up falling in love. We did, and Nick and I married in 1974.” Simpson and Ashford met in church (he was homeless). This memorable “power ballad” was released in July 1970 and it reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart.

#22. “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (Roberta Flack - Listen on YouTube). Those “jot-it-down-on-a-napkin” stories that entrepreneurs like to tell? Ditto: Roberta Flack. In 1972, on a flight from NYC to LA, she hear Lori Lieberman’s version of “Killing Me Softly” perhaps four times on the American Airlines music channel loop. Leveraging her church music (organ and piano) background, she arranged the song for her style—and the rest is history. It was released in January 1973 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. It has been covered over 400 times!

Bonus Song! I can’t resist. Listen here to one of my favorite all-time versions of “Come Ye Disconsolate” by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.

#27. “Sundown” (Gordon Lightfoot - Listen on YouTube). “Jealousy isn’t healthy for a relationship, but it tends to work out pretty well when writing a song,” Gordon Lightfoot told Marc Myers in Chapter 27 of Anatomy of 55 More Songs. Read how Pops Staples, of the Staple Singers, influenced this song. (See more on “Pops” in Song #29 of 45 in Anatomy of a Song.) Released in March 1974, “Sundown” was the biggest hit for “Canada’s most revered folk singer-songwriter.”

#36. “Nobody Does It Better" (Carly Simon - Listen on YouTube). Did you know that by 1979, four of the nine James Bond films produced had themes sung by women? Yet “Nobody Does It Better,” the theme written for The Spy Who Loved Me, “marked the first time a woman was credited as the cowriter of a Bond theme.” Carole Bayer Sager was the lyricist for the song that was released in July 1977. The soundtrack album was nominated for an Oscar. View the iconic opening parachute scene from the movie.

#39. “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers - Listen on YouTube). You’ll love songwriter Don Schlitz’s commentary on the creative process for this Kenny Rogers hit. (According to author Marc Myers, Rogers had 420-plus hits across a spectrum of genres.) Schlitz dropped out of Duke University at age 20. When his bus arrived in Nashville (“Music City”), he had just $89. He credits his tenth-grade English teacher who taught him the importance of memorable titles. Hence: “The Gambler.” He wrote the lyrics on his dad’s L.C. Smith manual typewriter. Schlitz and Rogers both won Grammy Awards for this November 1978 release. (This chapter reminded me of the documentary, “It All Begins With a Song.” Read my review.)

#43. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (The Charlie Daniels Band - Listen on YouTube). LOL! Read why “The Devil Went Down to New Hampshire” doesn’t have the poetic power like “Georgia.” You’ll remember the fiddle in this classic song, but did you know Charlie Daniels never had fiddle lessons? And did you know that the classical violinist Itzhak Perlman (listen to “Fiddler on the Roof”), and his children, were big fans of Daniels? The inspiration for this song? Stephen Vincent Benet’s 1925 poem, “The Mountain Whippoorwill.”

55 SONG TITLES. Click here for a master list of the 55 songs from the original hardback. (Note: Click on “Table of Contents.”) For more on author Marc Myers and his “Jazz Wax” website and newsletter, click here.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of Top Hits That Changed Rock, Pop and Soul, by Marc Myers ("New and expanded now with 58 songs!"). Listen on Libro (9 hours, 37 minutes).

ANATOMY OF A SONG (45 HITS) INDEX &

2025 GUEST BLOGGERS 2025 AWARDS SHOW!

Congratulations to our faithful guest bloggers who added so much to our 2024 marathon through the 45 songs from the book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers. Read my review here. Order from Amazon here. Listen to the book on Libro (9 hours, 34 minutes). Each blog spotlights a song from the book and a guest blogger’s color commentary.

Click on this link to view the 2025 GUEST BLOGGERS AWARDS SHOW and learn which bloggers were recipients of the "BEST OF..." awards.

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #8 of 99: Humility

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #8 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

Humility
by Andrew Murray
Wilder Publications (April 2, 2008, 60 pages)

What’s the balance between pride and humility when we tell our organization’s story in publications, brochures, donor letters, and fundraising events?
• Read my review (Issue No. 141, May 25, 2009)
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (2 hours)
• Management Bucket #8 of 20: The Culture Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas: I missed this brilliant truth the first time I read this. “Oh, beware of the mistake so many make, who would fain be humble, but are afraid to be too humble. They have so many qualifications and limitations, so many reasonings and questionings, as to what true humility is to be and to do, that they never unreservedly yield themselves to it.”

New AI Podcast:
BucketCast

Welcome back to our new mini-feature, “BucketCast.” Click on this link to listen to the AI-generated podcasters who comment on my book review of The One Year® Book of Hymns: 365 Devotions Based on Popular Hymns (18 minutes, 49 seconds). For more podcasts, click here.

The Courage Gap

“Fear is the most used word in the Bible racking up a whole 365 mentions,” writes Margie Warrell in her new book, The Courage Gap: 5 Steps to Braver Action. This book is short and important. Read my review. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: Anatomy of 55 More Songs, Awards, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Marc Myers, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

February 13, 2025

Reset: How to Change What's Not Working (Part 2 of 2)

Issue No. 637 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features the second review of a brilliant book on how to change what’s not working. Plus, click here for my 2024 Top-10 Books and Book-of-the-Year. And go here for four lists of books reviewed from 2006 to 2024. Plus, find more book reviews at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog—and click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies). Click here for Part 1 of 2 of the two-part review of Reset: How to Change What's Not Working.

FOR YOUR NEXT WEEKLY STAFF MEETING! In Chapter 9, “Tap Motivation,” of Dan Heath’s new book, Reset, he describes a staff retreat assignment. Using sticky notes, “write down one task that's on your plate today that you would pay someone to take over for you. Then…on a second sticky note, write down one task you'd be so excited to do that you'd pay for the privilege.”

The Twin Mistakes! “They undercoddle their best customers and overcoddle their worst.” (Part 2 of 2)

Since writing my Part 1 of 2 reviews of Reset, I’ve done another deep dive into this phenomenal book. I urge you—and your team and board—to read or listen to:

Reset:
How to Change What's Not Working
by Dan Heath (Jan. 21, 2025)

This bestselling author is often hilarious (see his footnotes)—yet insightful. With practical and pragmatic examples, the book also delivers contrarian counsel. Don’t skip Chapter 8, “Do Less AND More.”

In that chapter, Dan Heath spotlights a consulting firm—zealots for the Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule)—that helps clients change their operational approaches based on the 20 percent that yield 80 percent of the revenue. One problem though:

The firm had “found that his clients make twin mistakes: They undercoddle their best customers and overcoddle their worst. Often those mistakes derive from a noble desire: These companies aspire to treat customers the same.” Heath adds, “But to treat a $1 million customer the same as a $100 customer? It’s like treating your hamster the same as your daughter because they’re both mammals.”

The consultant discovered that “paradoxically,
the biggest customers are often treated worse than the smallest.”

Personal example! A colleague told me years ago about a nonprofit organization that invited every donor to give an extra $15—over and above their regular giving—to meet a special need. Sounds reasonable, right? “Dear John…Last month you gave $25. This month, please consider giving $25 + $15 = $40.”

Except…a major donor received the same ill-conceived generic one-size-fits-all appeal: “Dear Jane…Last month you gave $1 million. This month, please consider giving $1 million + $15 = $1,000,015.”

Oops!

LOL! I recently had my car serviced. When reading Chapter 2, “Consider the Goal of the Goal,” I couldn’t stop laughing! Similar to the story of Ryan, who was inundated with customer satisfaction surveys from his car dealership (Heath labels the looney practice, “the customer shakedown”), I was also the victim of way too many texts and emails—begging me to respond to their incessant surveys.

I did not complete the surveys. But I'm thinking about bringing a copy of the book (and my two reviews) over to the dealership and presenting them to the General Manager! (Too cheeky, perhaps? I think not. It’s a great dealership, but reading “How to Change What’s Not Working” will be helpful to the leader and her team.)

LISTEN TO CHAPTER 2. Dan Heath’s entertaining podcast, “What’s It Like to Be…” featured a bonus podcast last month on his new book, Reset, with the full audio of Chapter 2, “Consider the Goal of the Goal.” Listen here. (He begins with the "customer shakedown" story.)

CHAPTER 8 WILL SHOCK YOU. You may find, like one organization did, that 80 percent of their customers were costing them money! Have you applied the 80/20 test to your customers, clients, or donors? The wisdom in “Do Less AND More” is jam-packed:
• Family and Relationships: “What if we are undercoddling the most important people and overcoddling the least?” (Gut check!)
• Why a consultant skipped a client dinner to play ping-pong with his son.
• The value of a 2x2 quadrant (Stop, Start, Less, More). See also Mark Matlock’s three headers in Faith for the Curious.
• Read why—before he said yes to being CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, the candidate volunteered for the organization and made a $25 donation “to experience the organization from the outside.” (See also Chapter 1, “Go and See the Work.”) He got the job and “within a month, a third of the board and a quarter of the staff were gone.” (Sound familiar to today’s news?)

WAIT…WHAT? Are you telling me that after reading my Part 1 of 2 review of Reset, you still haven’t visited DanHeath.com for a one-page summary of the book? And you still haven’t listened to Heath’s 10-minute video summary of his book? (Do it now. I’ll wait.)

REFRESHER! Reset has two parts:
• Part 1: Find Leverage Points. (Go and see the work. Consider the goal of the goal. Study the bright spots. Target the constraint. Map the system.)
• Part 2: Restack Resources. (Start with a burst. Recycle waste. Do less AND more. Tap motivation. Let people drive. Accelerate learning.)

Don’t ask me for my favorite chapter—because every one of the 11 chapters are seminar-worthy. (Your consultant is reading this now and will be poking-you-in-the-ribs yet this quarter!) And get this: every chapter includes a "Whirlwind Review." There's even more at the author's website: end-of-chapter resource recommendations, with live links to articles and value-added resources. Brilliant!

MORE INSIGHTS:

LET PEOPLE DRIVE. When Guy Krueger was not selected for the US Olympic archery team, he switched to coaching. He wasn’t a great coach and after a humiliating experience, he enrolled in a training program for coaches. Finally—he stopped “bossing” his athletes. “Because the coach can’t shoot the arrows for them. The coach should let the athletes drive.”

My suggestion: read Chapter 10 and then post the book cover on your office wall—to remind yourself that you can’t shoot the arrows or throw the darts. “Let People Drive.”

ZINGERS:
• Cool Cats! Read about the dangerously overpopulated animal shelter in Jacksonville, Fla., and the question that the new director asked—that started a national movement. “He didn’t know what he didn’t know. But that ignorance would turn out to be genius.”
• Church “Deadtime.” In Chapter 7, “Recycle Waste,” learn how one pastor cut out “watching” and trimmed 5 to 10 minutes from the service time without cutting any of the actual worship.” (Just one of many examples of early wins—“putting points on the board in weeks or months, not quarters or years.” Plus eliminating “deadtime” gave church members “a precious head start in beating other congregations to local restaurants for Sunday lunch.” LOL!)
• “Nitpicked Every Decision!” Heath pulls a few punches from Ed Catmull’s book, Creativity, Inc. The co-founder of Pixar could see that the “oversight group” (re: budget and deadlines) was basically at war with the creative team. Solution: “They eliminated the oversight group.” Yikes! (The brilliant explanation will give you courage. Heath also recommends the “Type 1” and “Type 2” decisions at Amazon.)

FINALLY… (Finally? This is pure torture—because I still have dozens of teasers that I can’t squeeze into this review. A third review maybe?)
• In Chapter 4, “Target the Restraint,” Heath discusses the “constraints” (aka “bottlenecks”) at Chick-fil-A. Fascinating and timely. See the recent WSJ article on Chick-fil-A*.
• For more on constraints, Heath recommends the novel, The Goal, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox. Or read my review of The Goal: A Business Graphic Novel (2017, 129 pages).

*And speaking of Chick-fil-A, congrats to Orange County Rescue Mission for receiving the company's very generous "True Inspiration Award" in 2024. Bryan Crain leads the executive team at OCRM.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Reset: How to Change What's Not Working, by Dan Heath. Listen on Libro (6 hours, 17 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

BONUS! Read The Wall Street Journal review, by Daniel Freedman, of Reset. It was featured in the Feb. 14, 2024, print edition: "How to Turn Things Around. Successful leaders ‘go and see the work.’ That means factory owners on the floor with employees, principals in the halls with students."

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:

1) Lifelong learning advice: never skip a book’s concluding chapter. Dan Heath’s last chapter spotlights “Joy at Work” and how to move an enormous boulder uphill (one of Heath’s themes). A gutsy hospital nurse and director in Brazil asked team members to post “What matters to you?” and “What are the impediments to what matters?” SHOCKER: The public bulletin board was crammed with 300 Post-Its! Brilliant: the leaders focused first on “quick wins” (fix the coffee maker!) and “stone in the shoe” issues. QUESTION: Are you gutsy enough to ask this question at work?

2) “You get what you celebrate,” preached Frank Blake, the former CEO of Home Depot. His view: no one cares what your memos say! At your next weekly staff meeting, read the story in Chapter 9, “Tap Motivation,” about the Home Depot cashier who was ringing up the lumber purchases of an elderly gentleman—and then asked him about his project. He replied that “his grandson had passed away, and he had decided to build the coffin with his own hands.” QUESTION: If you were the cashier, what would you say and do next?

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #7 of 99: How to Deal with Annoying People

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #7 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

How to Deal with Annoying People:
What to Do When You Can't Avoid Them
by Bob Phillips and Kimberly Alyn
(Harvest House Publishers, March 1, 2005, 320 pages)

While this book's title is humorous, the content is extremely serious.
• Read my review (Issue No. 67, Dec. 17, 2007)
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #7 of 20: The People Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas: I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. From the first hour of the first of many all-day social styles training sessions led by Don German—I would be hard-pressed to name anything that has been more helpful to me (personally and professionally), except my Christian faith.

I’ve read and recommended numerous books about the four social styles (Analyticals, Drivers, Amiables, and Expressives)—yet I’m always looking to learn more. When I picked up Bob Phillips’ book again, I was shocked that I had not underlined anything in Chapter 15, “Dispelling Ten Stereotypical Gender Myths.” (Excellent reminders!)

I’m a Driver (see the charts on the People Bucket website), so perhaps I rushed through this book unwittingly. I also missed Chapter 16, “Mottos and Sayings of Annoying People,” especially the two pages of “Conflicted Sayings.” (Two styles affirm, “Look before you leap” and two styles believe, “He who hesitates is lost.”)

And how did I miss the page, “Quotes of Famous Leaders”—including their social styles? You’ll love the quotes from Dale Carnegie, Theodore Roosevelt, Norman Vincent Peale, Golda Meir, and others, and this from Winston Churchill: “Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.”

BONUS! View this 10-minute video, “The 4 Social Styles in the Boardroom,” I presented at the 2020 virtual conference of Christian Ministry Advancement (formerly Christian Management Australia).

New AI Podcast:
BucketCast

Welcome back to our new mini-feature, “BucketCast.” Click on this link to listen to the AI-generated podcasters who comment on my book review of A Comedian’s Prayer Book, by Frank Skinner, plus 2 additional LOL books (7 minutes). For more podcasts, click here.

Someone on Your Team Should Read This!

Is DeepSeek for real? While this book was published just 12 months ago, someone on your team and/or your board should digest Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet. The book’s not for everyone. In fact, I’m surprised I read it—I’m hardly a tech guy. Yet the author, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, hooks you into the history, the promise, and potential of the Internet and AI. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

09:20 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Dan Heath, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Reset, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

January 23, 2025

Reset: How to Change What's Not Working

Issue No. 636 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features my first of two reviews of Dan Heath's new book, Reset. Must-read! Plus, click here for my 2024 Top-10 Books and Book-of-the-Year. And go here for four lists of books reviewed from 2006 to 2024. Plus, find more book reviews at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog—and click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies). Click here for our recent review of The Purpose Code.

Why “Guess-a-thons” Don’t Work: Part 1 of 2

What’s not to like about a hot-off-the-press book by one of the Heath brothers? This one, by Dan Heath, hits the bullseye (pun intended)!

Reset:
How to Change What's Not Working
by Dan Heath (Jan. 21, 2025)

Just one chapter in, I knew it would take two reviews to adequately inspire you and your team to dive into this Very Relevant Topic. Does your organization, company, or church struggle to “escape the stifling gravity of entrenched systems?” Are these familiar phrases?
• “We’ve always done it this way!”
• “It always takes this long!” (Read the Introduction about the hospital receiving area. It took three days to dispatch incoming packages to the right department. Honest.)
• “My boss is oblivious to the real problems here.”

Learn about the “progress principle”—and why “the biggest motivator of employees is nowhere on the screen of the average boss.”

This fabulous book will hook you immediately. Heath promises: “We’ll encounter cases involving:
• military planes, music apps, radiology clinics,
• church services, car dealerships, and archery competitions.”

This bestselling author adds, “We’ll investigate mysteries: Why the middle is the roughest part of a change effort. Why inefficiency can sometimes accelerate progress. Why ‘getting buy-in’ is the wrong way to think about change.”

Chapter 1, “Go and See the Work,” is must-read. Learn why “people may think they understand the systems they depend on better than they actually do.” This is brilliant! See what an assistant principal learned from the “Shadow a Student Challenge”—and the grades she gave her own school! View the PBS News Hour video. Read the script.

Warning: When you “go and see the work”—on the frontlines of your operation—get ready for a wake-up call! “If you aren’t embarrassed by what you find, you probably aren’t looking closely enough.”

As in other books by Heath and/or Heath, you’ll want to read the funny footnotes first. Per the “embarrassment warning” above, Dan Heath footnotes this: “Note that this spirit of examination—the genuine desire to get closer to the truth—is the heart of ‘going and seeing the work.’ This is in sharp contrast to the CEO who conducts a stage-managed visit to a factory or field office for the sake of good optics: I am an enlightened leader who enjoys mingling with you common folk!”

This is the fifth book I’ve reviewed by Heath and/or Heath, including:
• The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. (I named this my 2017 book-of-the-year. Read my review.)
• Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, by Dan Heath. (Read my review.)
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. (Read my review.)
• Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers, by Chip Heath and Karla Starr. (Read my review.)

MORE TEASERS:
Don’t wait for my second review coming—just order the book or audio today so you can add value to the water cooler gripe sessions at work. (You’re back in the office, right?)
• LOL! “I went to Chick-fil-A to fetch dinner for my family, and unexpectedly, I came home with a book idea. (Also, more expectedly, some fries and nuggets.)”
• Learn how and why Dan Heath’s local Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru can serve 400 cars in an hour. (“That’s a car every nine seconds. Your kids could get through college before Hardee’s would finish 400 cars.”)
• “You’ll also learn how five million cats’ lives were saved, and perhaps most dramatically of all, how one father got his kids to clean their room. With enthusiasm.”

GUESS-A-THONS:
• “Glaring problems are sometimes the legacy of past solutions—improvisations and workarounds.” (Although, read here why some workarounds actually work.)
• Why “mapping out the flow” makes the “invisible visible. Think whiteboards and markers.” (This reminded me of Gen. McChrystal’s whiteboard in Team of Teams.”)
• Decision-making exposed! Read about “guess-a-thons,” and “substituting experience for conjecture,” and “decisions based on cognitive vapor.” (Oh, my!)

SOUND FAMILIAR?
Heath writes, “Going and seeing the work can be particularly important when things stop working. Your marriage hits a rocky patch. Your sales start drying up. Teachers leave your school faster than you can replace them.”

He adds, “Because when unexpected problems arise in our organizations, it often reveals that we didn’t know as much about our ‘system’ as we thought we did.” Heath quotes two psychologists who “asked people to assess how well they understood certain familiar devices. How well do you understand how a zipper works? A flush toilet? Go ahead—score yourself and then watch this hilarious and insightful video, “You Don't Know How Toilets Work: The Illusion Of Explanatory Depth.”

Did I mention? Stay tuned for my second review in the next issue—and learn why it pays to give “your team the autonomy to own the change effort.”

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Reset: How to Change What's Not Working, by Dan Heath. Listen on Libro (6 hours, 17 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:

1) Visit DanHeath.com for a one-page summary of Reset, plus Heath’s 10-minute video summary of his book. Who will you empower to present three key ideas from the book for your “Ten Minutes for Lifelong Learning” segment at your next staff meeting?

2) Are you giving your frontline people autonomy to improve your systems? (See Chapter 10, “Let People Drive.”) My brother, Paul (1939-2015), beautifully demonstrated this principle at a CLA (CMA) national conference in Nashville one year. Click here to read “Add Process Management to Your Resume. Mentor your people to ‘think systems’” from Chapter 18, "The Systems Bucket," in Mastering the Management Buckets.

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #6 of 99: The Power of Moments

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #6 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

The Power of Moments:
Why Certain Experiences
Have Extraordinary Impact
by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
(Simon & Schuster, Oct. 3, 2017, 320 pages)

I titled I named The Power of Moments my 2017 book-of-the-year and reviewed it twice!
• Two reviews: Issue #372, Nov. 25, 2017, and Issue #370, Oct. 11, 2017.
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (6 hours, 24 minutes).
• Management Bucket #6 of 20: The Program Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas: I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. This month, I was reminded of this New York Times bestseller when I had coffee with a friend who shares my appreciation for The Power of Moments. (He’s writing a book and is also reading Dan Heath’s new book, Reset.) So in looking at “Moments” again—I realized I have been neglecting this really Big idea about milestones. The Heaths write:

“…there are some milestones that seem to get ignored. Students get short-changed, for instance. Sure, they advance in ‘grade,’ but why not celebrate their 1000th day in the classroom, or their 50th book read? And why don’t we celebrate teachers for their 1,000th student taught?”

And I would add: while nonprofits celebrate the generosity of “major” donors, why not also recognize the milestones of all donors? “Dear Maria: We rang a bell in our office today because your faithful giving of $10 per month since November 2016 has now totaled $1,000 of lifetime giving to our camp. Thank you!”

By the way, Free Wheelchair Mission is a nonprofit leader in celebrating milestones. (Visit their website and read my review of Miracle Wheels, by Don Schoendorfer.)

New AI Podcast:
BucketCast

Welcome back to our new mini-feature, “BucketCast.” Click on this link to listen to the AI-generated podcasters who comment on my book review of Lead with Prayer: The Spiritual Habits of World-Changing Leaders, by Ryan Skoog, Peter Greer, and Cameron Doolittle. I named this my 2024 book-of-the-year. (For more podcasts, click here.)

Don’t Read
This Book When You're Hungry!

This book is so delicious—I reviewed it twice! Learn about “The Four Nevers” at In-N-Out Burger: 1) "Never give excuses. 2) Never argue with the Customer. 3) Never put the Customer on the defensive. 4) Never make a big deal of a complaint.” Click here to read my reviews of The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger, by Lynsi Snyder. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

06:51 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Dan Heath, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Reset, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

January 17, 2025

The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy

Issue No. 635 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features a new book that urges you to be goal agnostic and focus on Little P purpose. Contrarian! Plus, click here for my 2024 Top-10 Books and Book-of-the-Year. And go here for four lists of books reviewed from 2006 to 2024. Plus, find more book reviews at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog—and click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies). Click here for our recent review of Don't Say Um.

Jordan Grumet, MD, author of The Purpose Code, warns about this BIG mistake! “I thought that the bigger the purpose, the more gratifying it would be to pursue it. It took many years and quite a bit of emotional heartache to reach the conclusion that I hope to convince you of now: when it comes to purpose, bigger is not better."

Big P Purpose and
Little P Purpose

Really, Pearson? In an ocean of books about “purpose,” do we really need yet one more expert’s three-points-and-a-poem platitudes? Trust me—last week I would have agreed with you. But then…a colleague urged me to read this book—and I did a 180. Read why you’ll recommend this gem to colleagues, your kids and grandkids, and the people you’re coaching.

The Purpose Code:
How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness,
and Leave a Lasting Legacy
by Jordan Grumet, MD (Jan. 7, 2025)

10 INSIGHTS:

#1. RELIEVED AND MORTIFIED! When the author, Jordan Grumet, a physician, hospice care expert, and storyteller, realized that becoming financially independent (see his previous book) was not the end game, he experienced an epiphany about “community.” He writes:

“…I realized immediately that I felt closer to my fellow bloggers and writers within minutes than a few of my doctor 'friends' who I had known for more than a decade. I was both relieved and mortified. Relieved that there wasn't something wrong with me and mortified that I had been hiding all these years.”

He adds, “Years later, I am living a life that I could have never imagined while being an actively practicing physician.” And get this: “I am happier today than at any other time in my life—and none of it cost a single cent.”

#2. “IT’S STRESSING ME OUT!” After a weekend seminar in Julian, Calif., where he spoke on “building financial independence and living a regret-free life,” Dr. Grumet was accosted by a woman. “Her upper lip was curled into a snarl. Somehow my talk had gotten her into such a lather that she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to confront me in person. I was shocked: The purpose of the talk was to help people. Shrinking back, I braced myself. As she opened her mouth to speak, I had no idea what she was about to say.

“I’m so sick of people telling me to find my purpose. I don’t know my purpose and it’s stressing me out!” (As he listened more intentionally in the months that followed, he heard the same message from others.) “Curious, I dug into the data. It turns out that even though having a sense of purpose can increase lifespan, health, and happiness, it is also associated with anxiety in over 91% of people at some point in their lives. I was dumbfounded. How can we explain this paradox?”

#3. CRACKING THE CODE. Gratefully, Dr. Grumet is a gifted storyteller and this is not a self-focused “Here’s How I Did It” book. With dozens of real-life stories about people of all ages and backgrounds, we meet Sarah. Her story weaves in and out of many chapters to explain his big idea: Big P purpose and Little P purpose.

The author promises: “For most people, purpose has become a kind of indecipherable code, sealing away true fulfillment and lasting happiness. But the purpose code is one that can be cracked. And anyone can do it. This book will show you how.”

#4. THE FALLACY OF “BIG P” PURPOSE. Are you big on BHAGs? Warning—says the author. “I thought that the bigger the purpose, the more gratifying it would be to pursue it. It took many years and quite a bit of emotional heartache to reach the conclusion that I hope to convince you of now: when it comes to purpose, bigger is not better."

#5. THE JOYS OF “LITTLE P” PURPOSE. Dr. Grumet describes “Little P purpose” as “a process-oriented purpose that is impossible to fail. It is associated with health, longevity, and happiness.” He adds, “Little P purpose doesn't deny or detract from the joy of setting and achieving goals, it just doesn't depend on them. This type of purpose is concerned much more with the process involved and much less with the product. Those who enjoy the benefits of little P purpose immediately win because they enjoy doing an activity regardless of whether anything comes of it.”

Read more on why “Little P purpose espouses the idea of incremental change.” Dr. Grumet details the data and the anecdotes from his ongoing hospice care practice. “The ultimate outcome of focusing on little P purpose is that people have fewer regrets when they die.”

And another warning—he is a gifted debater! He writes, “The skeptic in you is undoubtedly questioning my theory.” He applauds that—but then through a series of chapters and exercises, I found myself agreeing. “This makes sense, John. Keep reading!”

Yikes! At Paradigm Community, San Clemente, Calif., on the first Sunday of the new year, every attendee received a 100-centimeter disposable paper tape measure. The speaker, Jim Glynn, instructed us to estimate our age at death—and then (gulp!) tear the tape off at that number. Next, he asked us to tear the rest of the tape off at our current age. Some of us had very short tapes (!), but we looked longingly at those in their teens, 20s, and 30s.

Glynn’s message, “Focus for the Future,” was a stark reminder about purpose. When we exited the church service, each person received a list of 25 Bible verses from Glynn’s message. My remaining “centimeters” are now taped to my home office wall with this verse from Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days…”

#6. AGNOSTIC GOALS. Chapter 6, “The Climb,” is a memorable metaphor and useful process for cultivating and enjoying your Little P purpose. We learn more about Sarah’s angst over her current job and lack of purpose—yet the joy she finds in editing humorous stories. She also loves horses. So she starts her “climb” with some guidelines from Dr. Grumet:

“There are rules on how to participate in a healthy climb. These rules will remind you of the properties that define little P purpose. First, your climb should never be goal oriented—it should be goal agnostic. If all you can concentrate on is the top of the mountain, you are bound to falter.”

#7. THE ART OF SUBTRACTION. Grumet suggests you grab an extra-sharp pencil and get ready to slash, slash, slash! “The art of subtraction is the process of removing things from your life that no longer serve you.” (LOL! I did not read this paragraph to my wife!)

He adds, “I sat down with a pen and pad of paper one day and wrote down all my rules and responsibilities as a physician. I included ever job description I had, and every title I carried.” Then he slashed/slashed/slashed. When he finished, after several days, “…the paper was totally filled with haphazard slashes except for one lonesome corner with a barely readable entry. Hospice.”

His epiphany: “Suddenly my sense of loss no longer felt so great. I would do hospice work no matter what I was paid for it. I would do it for free. I would do it because it felt like part of the purpose I was put on Earth to fulfill. Not a big audacious purpose that would change the world, but little daily activities that made me feel connected to my own abilities as well as my hospice team, and those patients that were so badly in need of help. I found my anchor.” (Read more in Chapter 3, “You Can’t Find What Isn’t Lost.”)

#8. LIFE REVIEWS. Dr. Grumet describes a “life review” process that is often used in hospice care. (Chapter 3 includes 40 questions—plus “A Purpose Prescription: Performing a Work Audit.” And note: each chapter concludes with “A Purpose Prescription” on the chapter topics—see #9.)

#9. END-OF-CHAPTER AUDIT QUESTIONS. Each chapter includes “A Purpose Prescription” audit—with numerous convicting questions for a social media, a home audit, a personal narrative audit, a time audit, a community audit (all the various communities you are part of or want to join), a generational audit, and a regret audit. Be honest now—are you gutsy enough to read this book and look in the mirror?

#10. YEARS OF SOUL-SUCKING TASKS. Dr. Grumet, in finding his “anchor”—now helps others, like Sarah, to refresh their lives and to find “the one part of her job that she truly loved throughout all those years of soul-sucking tasks.” How? “…recalling the passions of your childhood is a quick way to remind yourself of what lights you up.” He adds, “Parents tell kids that they should become doctors or lawyers, not journalists who love horses and like to edit humorous stories.”

MY FAVORITE ONE-LINERS:
• “We all want to be unique, just like everyone else.”
• “According to Zippia, at least 30% of people admit to lying, or at least ‘bending the truth,’ on their resume.”
• “As mentioned in previous chapters, I have been very clear about the toxicity of goals.”
• On Dr. Grumet’s podcast: “I would do this even if no one listened. Even if I had zero downloads per year.”
• Note: Dr. Grumet’s take on “happiness” is contrarian, yet: “My happiness has made me a better father and husband. I am also a better friend.”
• “I also reinvigorated my love of reading. Not reading that was focused or goal driven, but frivolous, joyful reading.” (My recommendation below: Gilead.)

Oops! I had planned for shorter reviews in 2025, but I can’t help myself. I hope you’ve figured it out: this is an important book.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy, by Jordan Grumet, MD. And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:

1) This week a friend, Scott Anderson, shared some insights on "community" (see above) at a Tuesday morning prayer group. He referenced Henri Nouwen's short book of talks and articles, Community. "...Henri describes how following Jesus involves the spiritual practice of creating space for God through solitude, community, and ministry." I bought the book! How does your team create space for community for each person?

2) Should you read The Purpose Code every year? My friend and mentor, George Duff (1931-2023) re-read Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive every year. Or…should you read a different book on purpose every year? What titles on “purpose” are on your resource bookshelves at work? (You do have a resource bookcase, right?) Visit Pails in Comparison Blog (PIC #92) for a short list of books on “purpose.”

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #5 of 99: Gilead

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #5 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

Gilead: A Novel
by Marilynne Robinson
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Nov. 4, 2004, 256 pages)

I titled my first review of Gilead, “Slow Down for Excellence.” Like a Rembrandt or a Gauguin, or an exquisite gourmet dinner, you will savor the writing, the language, the nuances and the hidden humor in this week’s masterpiece novel, Gilead.
• Read my original review (Oct. 1, 2007).
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (8 hours, 53 minutes).
• Management Bucket #5 of 20: The Book Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas: I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. Last week, I was reminded of this Pulitzer Prize-winning book when The Wall Street Journal’s weekly column, “Five Best,” spotlighted Gilead and four other “epistolary narratives.” Jennifer Acker writes a brief summary about the third-generation preacher John Ames, born in 1880, who “suffers from a heart condition and must say goodbye to this world.”

The book is written “as a long, elegiac letter to the preacher’s 7-year-old son.” But yikes! When I read this in 2007, I was a young 61. Back then, I pictured Pastor Ames as very old. Very old! (His first wife had died and his much younger second wife had given him a son.)

But Marilynne Robinson places him in 1956 at 76 years-old. Yikes again. Here in 2025, I’m now older than this aging and frail pastor! So I’m reading Gilead again to enjoy the extraordinary writing—but also to discern what thoughts I could or should leave behind for my son, daughter-in-law, and five grandkids—when I “must say goodbye.” Yikes.

New AI Podcast: BucketCast

Today we’re launching a new mini-feature, “BucketCast.” Click on this link to listen to the AI-generated podcasters who comment on my book review of Paradise Found: A High School Football Team's Rise from the Ashes, by L.A. Times sports writer Bill Plaschke. As you follow the devasting Southern California wildfires, you’ll be inspired by a football coach’s response to the 2018 fire in Paradise, Calif. (For more podcasts, click here.)

Pastoral Malpractice Confession

Read my review of God Loves Your Work: Discover Why He Sends You to Do What You Do, by Larry Peabody. Learn why Pastor Tom Nelson confessed his “pastoral malpractice” to his congregation. Yikes! For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

08:21 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Jordan Grumet MD, The Purpose Code, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

January 9, 2025

Don't Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life

Issue No. 634 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting launches the new year with a hot-off-the-press book on the two “buckets” of effective communication—and why your delivery is the most important. Plus, click here for my 2024 Top-10 Books and Book-of-the-Year. And go here for four lists of books reviewed from 2006 to 2024. Plus, find more book reviews at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog—and click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies). And finally: Song #45 of 45 in our fun series with commentary by Jason Pearson.

The author of Don’t Say Um reports that 90 percent of the people he coaches on public speaking say something like, "I have these hands that showed up on my arms that belong to someone else and I have no idea where I should put them! What should I do?”

The 2 Giant Buckets of Communication

I only made one New Year’s resolution for 2025: shorter book reviews. Then the worst possible scenario collided with my good intentions—this fabulous hot-off-the-press book!

Don't Say Um:
How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life
by Michael Chad Hoeppner (Jan. 7, 2025)

Quitter’s Day is not until Friday, but I officially quit today. (No more short reviews!) And you’ll thank me—because this extraordinary book on effective speaking (formal, informal, Zoom, and more) is jam-packed with dozens of fun and practical exercises to enrich your delivery. Examples:
• Finger Walking
• Lego Drill
• Silent Story Telling
• And my favorite: “Horn Hand.” (Try it with “In the Mood” and the Glenn Miller Orchestra!)

I love this author! He coaches executives, MBA students, presidential candidates, professional athletes, and high school students trying to get into college. Oh…I wish I’d read this book years ago—but good news for all of us—we can still get better. Honest!

Do you wonder: What should I do with my hands when I’m speaking? Michael Chad Hoeppner notes three SURPRISES about effective communication. The first surprise: “Great communication comes from being focused on the other person.” So…not my hands, huh?

The author adds, “I realize the ‘surprise’ of other-focus may sound absurdly obvious. But, as an example, I frequently work with people who are so messed up and self-conscious about what to do with their hands they could practically declare, ‘I have these hands that showed up on my arms that belong to someone else and I have no idea where I should put them! What should I do?’”

Hoeppner says he gets this question from about 90 percent of the people he coaches on public speaking. He adds, “And yet, very few of those same people would ask me, ‘When I’m out to dinner with my friends, what should I do with my hands?’ At dinner, people are focused on (1) their friends, and (2) their food. In public speaking, their focus is on (1) my hands, and (2) my nerves.”

This very creative book will patiently walk you through a major mind shift to help you become a better communicator: realizing the most important person in the room—is not you!

I’m a sucker for page 25 insights (as long-time readers know) and on page 25, the author asks readers “to do your best impression of a ventriloquist, but a monotonous ventriloquist. Say these words with as little inflection, energy, and adamance as you can, and try to hide from the world the fact that you’re even speaking: ‘Content and delivery.’”

Next, he coaches, “say those words again, but this time accompanied by a gesture.” (Next, he gives a memorable hand gesture you’ll never forget for “content” and “delivery.”)

Hoeppner labels CONTENT and DELIVERY “the two giant buckets of communication.”
• “Content is what you say—it is your actual words.”
• “Delivery is how you say it—it is everything else: eye contact, tone of voice, gestures, and so forth.”
Which matters more? Guess! (And how can you not like an author who uses “bucket” metaphors?)

What’s gone wrong with books on effective speaking and communication?
• “The improve-your-communication merry-go-round.”
• Feedback from “so-called communication experts is utterly worthless” and often “actually makes things worse.”
• Bad advice from the “General Don’t” school of coaching!

Example: You’ll often hear, “In today’s speech try not to say um so much; it undermines your credibility.” So what happens with that “don’t” coaching? “…sit back and watch the number of ums they say explode.”

And get this: the author admits that the book’s title, “Don’t Say Um,” is actually a trick to get your attention—because “DON’T” coaching does not work. The book, by the way, is often hilarious. The author’s side comments kept me laughing and turning the pages. And you’ll be shocked, but will chuckle often, at his very creative exercises.

Example: the GK Lego drill. If you don’t have Lego blocks, he urges you to rip out page 51 and create six smaller pieces of paper. (And who fills an entire page with repeated “lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum” lines? And why? Memorable!)

Now—to be clear—don’t immediately order Don’t Say UM for your pastor, priest, or professor! But if you do—they will thank you. Honest! It’s also the perfect book for your team members—anyone who opens their mouth in a meeting or presentation. Also—students, board members, kids, grandkids, and sales people. Musicians will love the book! (View the short video, “What a Piano Can Show Us About Vocal Variety.”

And by the way, do you know the Five Ps of vocal variety? Good news—you actually don’t need to know them because Hoeppner says you already “know them in your bones.” To prove his point, he offers another exercise: “a time-tested switcheroo trick” to convince a three-year-old to return a stranger’s cell phone in exchange for a ball. (You know how to do it: “Do you want this thing or this thing?”)

MORE EXERCISES (visit the website):
• The cork-in-mouth exercise—or use a toothbrush (twice a day), a pen, or a cigarette. (Page 131 includes another rip-it-out page with the “Surgeon Author’s Warning!” The author notes, “Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health. Improving your communication is good for it!”)
• “Ball Throwing.” If you don’t have a ball handy, page 113 is ready for you: “Blank page for you to rip out and crumble up into a paper ball! (C’mon, you know you want to!)”
• Pop Quiz on page 19: “Who are the best communicators in the world? (No, really. Who do you think? In fact, write it in here. I’ll wait.)” Answer: page 20.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE? Using Hamlet’s famous speech, the author humorously reminds us that in English, there are eight ways to indicate an end or pause of a sentence (period, comma, question mark, etc., and my favorite—the exclamation point!!!). His point—vocal variety “is essential and has multiple purposes,” including surprising your audience with a variety of pauses.

RECOVERING FROM MISTAKES:
I’m a big fan of mistake-making—that is, learning from mistakes—and Chapter 18 helps you recover from your mistakes with “How to Embrace Transparency (and Avoid Hiding).” Why should you do this? Admitting your mistakes—in the moment—will “engage your audience’s empathy. And if you have engaged an audience’s empathy, as a presenter you are halfway home.”

Hoeppner suggest when you make a mistake, you can “Fix it” or “Feature it.” He urges you to draft your own transparency phrase to “course correct when (not if) you make a ‘mistake.’" The book includes six transparency "playing cards" to cut out and use as visual aids. Examples:
• “Let me go back for a moment…”
• “Here’s a better way to put that…”
• “Actually, what I mean is…”

You’ll laugh again at his assignment to write your own transparency phrase. Then he adds, “Now write another two (because life has plenty of mistakes in store for you).”

WHEN COACHING OTHERS:
Most of my readers will find immediate value from this book via the exercises (many of which can be found at the author’s website, GK Training)—and many are fun!. But I’m guessing many readers will order this book for other team members and colleagues they are coaching. The format of each short chapter is perfect for a coaching session. The book features four parts including “Everything You Need to Know” and “Everything You Need to Do.”
• Chap. 2. Let’s Unlearn What You’ve Learned
• Chap. 6. Conciseness: How to Talk Less and Say More (and Learn to Pause)
• Chap. 7. Articulateness: How to Choose Your Words (and Avoid “Um”)
• Chap. 9. Vocal Variety (The author writes, “This chapter is the remedy for all the ridiculous pablum you have probably encountered on this topic before.”)
• Chapters 13-15: Three Chapters on Physical Presence, including “How to Stop Obsessing About Your Hands.”

Yes, Hoeppner actually titled his last chapter, “Last Chapter.” Hilarious! It’s just 204 words and it’s inspirational—with a warning. He urges us to be “honorable, moral communicators.” What about great presenters who are “narcissists and egomaniacs?” He won’t coach them.

And this: in the short chapter, "AI and the Future of Delivery," he asks, "If everyone has equal access to accurate and memorable content, what will distinguish you from the countless others who are also saying dazzling ideas? You guessed it: delivery."

You will love this book and will order it for others. (And stop thinking about your hands!)

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Don't Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life, by Michael Chad Hoeppner. Listen on Libro (8 hours, 54 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:

1) Does effective communication matter when a friend or family member interviews for a job? Will too many “ums” or “you know's” or “likes” torpedo an otherwise qualified candidate? Probably if Tevi Troy is interviewing you! Read his WSJ article, “‘Like’ May Attract Like, but It Puts Me Off. When interviewing job applicants, I have a simple test: Can you talk without that verbal crutch?”

2) What other book has helped you be a more effective communicator? I appreciate these three:
• 15 Minutes Including Q&A: A Plan to Save the World From Lousy Presentations, by Joey Asher. (Read my review.)
• Public Speaking Laws of Success: For Everyone and Every Occasion, by Richard J. Goossen. (Read my review.)
• You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard: The Complete Book of Speaking…in Business and in Life, by Bert Decker. (Read my review.)

PRAYING...CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES. I'm adding this note to urge friends around the world to be praying for those affected by the horrific fires in Southern California this week. As of press time, Jan. 9, 2025, there is no good news yet. (If you've been evacuated, please let me know if you need help.) I pray this song will give a moment of comfort.

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #4 of 99: A Year With Peter Drucker

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #4 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

A Year with Peter Drucker:
52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness
by Joseph A. Maciariello
(Harper Business, Dec. 2, 2014, 496 pages)

Ten years ago, in 2015, I convinced 41 friends and colleagues to select one or more of 52 favorite chapters from this book—and write a short color commentary on the leadership and management wisdom from Peter Drucker (1909-2005), the father of modern management.
• Read the weekly columns (2015) from guest writers.
• Read my original review (Jan. 7, 2015).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #4 of 20: The Drucker Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas: I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. Last week, I was reminded of Drucker’s two big ideas from his Harvard Business Review article, “Managing Oneself.” He writes: “Am I a reader or a listener? The first thing to know is whether you are a reader or a listener.” (Got it. I know that—and I preach that!)

But, somehow, I missed this: “The second thing to know about how one performs is to know how one learns. There are people, like Churchill, who learn by writing. Some people learn by taking copious notes. Beethoven, for example, left behind an enormous number of sketchbooks, yet he said he never actually looked at them when he composed. Asked why he kept them, he is reported to have replied, “If I don’t write it down immediately, I forget it right away. If I put it into a sketchbook, I never forget it and I never have to look it up again.” Some people learn by doing. Others learn by hearing themselves talk.”

What? “Others learn by hearing themselves talk?” (His example in the HBR article is memorable!) Churchill and I are on the same page (in only one way!). But…who do you know that learns by “hearing themselves talk?” Read the HBR article here.

Our Final Blog!
Song #45 of 45: "Losing My Religion"

Jason Pearson wraps up our final blog with "Losing My Religion," Song #45 of 45 in our series, Johnny Be Good. Learn why Jason picked this song for the final color commentary. (And watch for the “Johnny Be Good Guest Blogger Award Show” going live here on Feb. 9, 2025, Super Bowl Sunday!)

The Carter's 1987 book (and my 1978 "news release!")

Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter’s 1987 book, Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, is still relevant. And rereading it prompted me to recall a 1978 moment when the Seattle Times published my “news release.” Read my review and the column by the Times’ ombudsman! For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

08:04 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: communication, Don’t Say Um, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Michael Chad Hoeppner, public speaking, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

December 31, 2024

2024’s Top-10 Books & Book-of-the-Year!

Issue No. 633 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting announces my Top-10 Books of 2024 and my Book-of-the-Year. Also, Happy New Year! Plus, click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), and for more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and the Pails in Comparison Blog. Bonus! Visit the Book Bucket for the updated master lists of book reviews as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Breaking News! Here are my Top-10 Books of 2024, plus my Book-of-the-Year pick. (*Well…actually, there may be more than 10 books.)

2024’s TOP-10 BOOKS*
& Book-of-the-Year!

This blog features my favorite books from my 2024 reviews. To read all the book and film reviews, visit the archives at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and Pails in Comparison Blog.

In 2024, I published 44 issues of Your Weekly Staff Meeting and added 32 posts at Pails in Comparison. Some issues included more than one book, so I reviewed about 80 books in 2024, including two children’s books, plus several films; and I wrote tributes for four special leaders. I also had fun with AI and Google’s NotebookLM and created 14 podcasts. What did you read in 2024?

2024 BOOK-OF-THE-YEAR

LEAD WITH PRAYER: THE SPIRITUAL HABITS OF WORLD-CHANGING LEADERS, by Ryan Skoog, Peter Greer, and Cameron Doolittle. (Read my review.) The authors invested three years in research and over 100 hours of interviews with leaders across the globe. (I love the international stories.) They asked leaders about their very personal and private prayer habits. How? When? Where? Why? You’ve never read anything like this. And Ryan, Peter, and Cameron transparently share their own missteps in prayerlessness. (Amazing.) The reality: none of us are spiritual giants. And this I affirm: learning more about the spiritual habits of God-honoring leaders—it changed me.

Favorite Quote: Ryan Skoog writes about being at the National Prayer Breakfast “in a breakout session for business leaders. A French Canadian businessman stood up to pray. He was a wise and accomplished leader with thousands of employees. But what most affected the room was his prayer—more specifically, the single word he prayed.” Read more here. (Order from Amazon.)

2024 FAVORITE BOOKS:
Personal & Spiritual Development

[ ] WHEN KINGDOM LIGHT SHINES: Stories That Inspire Faith, by Mark Ellis. (Read my review.) This new book—jam-packed with 60 inspiring stories that have been featured on the God Reports website—is so, so powerful that I’ve already gifted the book to eight people!

Favorite Chapter: “How God Answered Francis Chan’s Ridiculous Prayer for a Son-in-Law.” (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] FAITH FOR THE CURIOUS: How an Era of Spiritual Openness Shapes the Way We Live and Help Others Follow Jesus, by Mark Matlock. (Read my review.) Mark Matlock is one creative guy! During the pandemic, he “…facilitated numerous workshops with church and nonprofit leaders, and one of the games we played was ‘keep it, curb it, refresh it.’ Never before has the church had an opportunity to ‘curb’ so many relics we have accumulated over time.” He suggests churches have a “massive garage sale!”

Fascinating Chart! How are we communicating to the spectrum of spiritual views today? See Matlock’s chart contrasting “Curiosity” with “Supernaturalism” and these segments: Naturalists, Curious Skeptics, Spiritually Curious, and Practicing Christians. (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] UNCOMMON GRACES: Christlike Responses to a Hostile World, by John Vawter. (Read my review.) “When ‘safe sins’ go unchallenged, something of a Christian fantasy religion is allowed to thrive—a religion that condemns alcohol and adultery, yet condones, say, arrogance and abrasiveness.”

Convicting Poke-in-the-Rib! “There should be a support group in the church for those addicted to ‘safe sins’—an AA for the arrogant and the abrasive.” (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] BECOMING A FUTURE-READY CHURCH: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders, by Daniel Yang, Adelle M. Banks, and Warren Bird. (Read my review.) Each chapter includes a “One Degree of Change” self-assessment with five to seven questions to prompt leadership conversations on the eight big shifts, “from this to that.”

Gut Check: “Most churches in North America have more in common with 1950 than with 2050.” (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] GLAD I DIDN'T KNOW: Lessons Learned Through Life’s Challenges and Unexpected Blessings, by Vonna Laue. (Read my review.) Before reading this book, you’d find me in the “I Want to Know Now” camp. Yet, 32 powerful first-person stories later, I’m a fully devoted convert to the “Glad I Didn’t Know” spiritual principles that ooze out of Vonna Laue’s life lessons book. This book may change your mind (and your heart).

Speed Bump. Jim West was grateful he didn’t know—in advance—that after seeing a throat cancer doctor in 2022, the physician would urge him to go home and prepare his will and estate. Jim writes: “I am glad I didn’t know that God had this speed bump in front of me.” (Order from Amazon.)

2024 FAVORITE BOOKS:
Leadership & Business

[ ] THE 365 DAY LEADER: Recalibrate Your Calling Every Day, by Dick Daniels. (Read my review.) Dick Daniels has done it again! Two of his earlier books captured my “book-of-the-year” honors. (I was tempted on this one also!) You will love this “daily dose of Dr. D.” Each page features a short “snapshot of what exemplary leaders consistently do.”

Day 3 is titled, “LEADERSHIP DELUSION!” The convicting question: “Have You Ever Had a Coach? The leadership delusion is to assume everyone needs a coach except you.” (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] THE PROBLEM WITH CHANGE: And the Essential Nature of Human Performance, by Ashley Goodall. (Read my review.) Page after page, learning about the unhealthy results of change foisted on previously healthy team members, I was reminded of the many missteps in my leadership years—totally missing the trauma that I unwittingly perpetrated on employees. (So sorry, friends—if we’re still friends.) My entire view of CHANGE has changed.

Favorite Quotes: Ashley Goodall is a writer’s writer. I’m on my second black felt tip pen—underlining his pokes-in-the-ribs glossary, including: “Financification of business,” “Tagline-ification,” “big shiny change levers,” and “shiny new mission statements” (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] THE ILLUSION OF INNOVATION: Escape "Efficiency" and Unleash Radical Progress, by Elliott Parker. (Read my review.) Parker writes, “Innovation efforts pursued inside corporations too often look like theater—people acting busy doing something so executives can explain to the board and investors that innovation is definitely, without a doubt, a top priority. But when reviewed after the fact, most of the effort produces little impact.”

Fascinating! The takeaway in Chapter 9, “Selecting Shots,” will be challenging for most—but critical: “Run more experiments: fast, cheap, and weird.” Fascinating: what happened when the NBA adopted the three-point line in the 1978-1979 season—a metaphor for innovation. (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] HOW LEADERS LEARN: Master the Habits of the World's Most Successful People, by David Novak with Lari Bishop. (Read my review.) This book is very, very practical and the format is brilliant: 27 short chapters (in bite-sized, 15-minute insights)—with each chapter featuring the learning habits of three to five leaders. You’ll be familiar with many of the 105 people spotlighted, including Patrick Lencioni.

Favorite Quote: Novak quotes Henry Kissinger on what you can learn from a crisis: “There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] IRREPLACEABLE: How to Create Extraordinary Places that Bring People Together, by Kevin Ervin Kelley. (Read my review.) Must-read! “Standing around for weeks on end watching people look at Harleys may not be for everyone, and it created an awkward moment when I first met my wife and told her how I spend my days in disguise as a customer. But it’s what I do.” He adds, “But I’m not just a watcher. I’m also a fixer, adjuster, tinkerer, rethinker, and experience designer.”

Favorite Quote: The author’s unusual approach, when his team is stuck on solving a client’s problem, is to “find the funny.” (Order from Amazon.)

2024 BONUS BOOKS:
Nonprofit Management

[ ] NEXT LEVEL NONPROFIT: Build A Dream Team + Increase Lasting Impact, by Chris Lambert. (Read my review.) When our son, Jason, and I published Mastering 100 Must-Read Books in 2022, this book had not yet been written—so now in 2024, we have a problem. Should we edit the title so it reads “Mastering 101 Must-Read Books?” Or…maybe I’ll go out on a limb here and add it to my Top-20 book recommendations (see Resource 5.2). Either way…if you understand the power and the importance of nonprofit organizations, this is a must-read.

CONFESSION. I confess. I read Chapter 10 in the “Disciplined Execution” section first. “The Weekly” aligns beautifully with this eNews and my Meetings Bucket—and Lambert gives away the store revealing how he and his leadership team conduct purposeful weekly meetings. They are evangelists for weekly meetings. (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] LOST IN TRANSITION: Lessons from the Most Disastrous & Successful Ministry Successions, by Steve Woodworth with James Lund. (Read my review.) The author quotes Edgar Sandoval, who followed Rich Stearns as World Vision’s CEO. “According to Edgar, every new leader should ask the former leader, at regular intervals:
• ‘How are you doing?
• How are you feeling?
• How am I making you feel?’”

GUT CHECK! “Finding the sweet spot” for outgoing leaders is not easy. Read about John (not me!) who “failed at retirement” within the first 24 hours! He confessed, “I’m a micromanager by nature. I didn’t know it would take so much energy to keep my hands off things.” (Order from Amazon.)

[ ] THE CULTURALLY CONSCIOUS BOARD: Setting the Boardroom Table for Impact, by Jennifer M. Jukanovich and Russell W. West. (Read my review.) If you thumbed through my well-worn copy of The Culturally Conscious Board, you’d likely comment, “John! You’ve underlined something on almost every page!” This book changed my thinking!

LOL! Leveraging the story of Crystal, a new board member at her first meeting of the fictitious City Farm board, the authors invite us inside this dysfunctional boardroom. (Order from Amazon.)

*UM, ER...TOP-14 BOOKS
This “Top-10 Book List for 2024” may actually add up to more than 10 books. Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. Way too many good books this year!

YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:

In my review of the 2019 book-of-the-year, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead, by Jim Mattis and Bing West, I quote General Mattis, “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, learning from others who went before you, you are functionally illiterate—you can’t coach and you can’t lead.”

Certainly not all of the Top-10 books (or the Book-of-the-Year) will have popular appeal—because all of us are at different levels of competencies and curiosities across the 20 management buckets. But perhaps someone you are coaching or mentoring will appreciate one or more of these top picks for 2024. For more options, check out my 2023 Top-10 Books.

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #3 of 99: Upstream

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #3 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

Upstream:
The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen
by Dan Heath (March 3, 2020)
Avid Reader Press, 320 pages

I titled my review, “Trial and Error, Error, Error.” Heath writes, “The way you learn is by experiment—or, as Buckminster Fuller put it, by trial and error, error, error.”
• Read my review (April 15, 2020).
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (7 hours, 47 minutes).
• Management Bucket #3 of 20: The Strategy Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas: I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. Sometimes the big idea of a book is staring right at you—but it’s so obvious you miss it. In my second walk through Upstream, I started on page 247—a graphic summary of the entire book (duh!). With memorable graphics, this one-pager features “7 Questions to Ask Yourself” and “3 Barriers to Overcome.” (Access the summary graphic here.) From the chart:
• BARRIER: “Problem Blindness: I don’t see the problem; or, it seems inevitable.”
• ASK YOURSELF: “How to know you’re succeeding?” (pre-game measures, paired measures, and ghost victories)

Breaking News! Watch for my January review of Dan Heath’s new book, Reset: How to Change What's Not Working. (Pre-order from Amazon.) Note: Reset also has a one-page summary. Brilliant!

Watch for the Final Blog!
Song #45 of 45: "Losing My Religion"

Watch for the final blog in the next issue: "Losing My Religion," Song #45 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Learn why Jason Pearson picked this song for our final color commentary. (And watch for the “Johnny Be Good Guest Blogger Award Show” going live here on Feb. 9, 2025, Super Bowl Sunday!)

AI Created 14 Podcasts for Me in 2024!

This still blows my mind! In 2024, I fed 14 book reviews into the new software from Google and out popped 14 podcasts from two chatty hosts! Click here and find one that interests you and then inspire a team member to create one for your next staff meeting! For more book (and song) reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Pails in Comparison, Top 10 Books 2024, Your Weekly Staff Meeting

December 25, 2024

His Yoke Is Easy

Issue No. 632 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features a special Christmas greeting to my faithful readers—and a 1984 color commentary on a “book” from my all-time ideal bookshelf. And watch for my December 31 eNews with my 2024 Book-of-the-Year selection and my Top-10 list.

Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of a “fun” book for your Christmas break, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War.

Turn the volume way up and imagine singing George Frideric Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” with The Tabernacle Choir (4 min., 21 sec.).

Merry Christmas!

A few years ago, I reviewed a brilliant coffee table book, My Ideal Bookshelf, which prompted me to select my own Top-10 list for my ideal bookshelf. Six readers also sent me their lists, which are posted here. One treasure on my all-time Top-10 list is:

The Messiah: An Oratorio
by G.F. Handel (composed in 1741)

I wrote this Christmas meditation in 1984:

“IS THIS SEAT TAKEN?” I asked, fumbling over his feet in the section marked “B” for basses.

“Nope. Do you sing bass, too? Have you ever done this before? I hope so, because this is my first time,” he laughed nervously.

“Mine too,” I smiled, showing him my mint condition vocal score, all 252 pages. “Good,” I thought, and then worried about who would sit on my left. Probably some pompous virtuoso with bushy raised eyebrows, who would sneer every time I missed a note.

It was almost 7:30 p.m. on this freezing Chicago Friday. The tickets were three bucks a head and over a thousand voices were clearing their throats in the Norris Cultural Arts Center auditorium in St. Charles, Illinois. On stage, the incessant whining and percussion bursts of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra tuned-up for this annual event.

The crowd hushed as polite applause began in the soprano section and then, like a football stadium wave, spread over to us basses, as we honored the arrival of the evening’s four soloists. “Good planning,” I thought, noting that the alto had a red gown and the soprano had chosen a Christmas green formal. The bass and tenor, of course, wore routine tails—with collars that accentuated their double chins, and it seemed to me, prevented full-throated swallowing.

Our celebrity conductor, Margaret Hillis, followed to the thunder of grateful applause. Two nights before, she had done similar duty at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall with a cast of thousands.

The P.A. didn’t work, but her booming voice didn’t need this temperamental technology.

“Welcome to our annual performance of the ‘Do-It-Yourself Messiah.’ How many of you are singing this for the first time?”

I looked both ways and decided I could raise my hand, up to my chin maybe. More than half of us were rookies.

A minute before, I’d learned from the bass on my left that he played the cello in the Elgin orchestra, but was sitting it out this year to enjoy the choral experience. “At least I’ll know when to come in,” I mused, leaning a little closer to his side than the former jazz band trumpet player on my right.

I had impressed the horn blower sufficiently when I recounted my stint as a church choir director in my college days. “You mean you can read music?” he asked in awe. “Yeah,” I answered, trying to sound humble, so he wouldn’t expect too much help from me during the challenging parts.

(And there are challenging parts. One reviewer recently observed, “Handel may have been making a little joke by setting lyrics about Christ’s ‘easy’ yoke to a challenging fugue!”)

Hillis rehearsed one difficult section with us for two minutes max, and before we were ready, the December 7, 1984, Norris Center whoever-is-here-sings thousand-voice audience became the performers for G.F. Handel’s The Messiah, perhaps one of the most loved and enduring musical classics of all time.

The full, strong melody of the overture to The Messiah filled the auditorium as hundreds of nervous performers tapped toes and fingers to keep pace with the orchestra. The first recitative for tenor, “Comfort Ye My People,” was both familiar and soothing.

At page 16, Hillis turned from the orchestra and motioned for us to stand. The altos, rich-sounding and bountiful, stirred our anticipation with their three-measure head start.

“And the glory,
the glory of the Lord.”

The sopranos, tenors and our bass section joined in:

“And the glory, the glory of the Lord—
shall be re-e-e-ve-e-e-e-al-ed.”

I was singing The Messiah! It did not matter that the performers were the only audience. We were continuing a musical tradition, begun by the composer in 1742. The comforting and deep meaning of the words from Isaiah, Matthew and Romans were a solace to my soul, as they had been to other performers and audiences over the last 200 years.

“Thank you, Father,” I prayed, “for granting such genius to George Frideric Handel and for preserving this masterpiece.”

The soprano’s air, “Come unto Him, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and He shall give you rest,” embroidered its message on my heart.

One thousand responded,

“His yoke is easy
and His burden is light.”

All evening, we drank deeply of both words and music.

Sometime after 10 p.m., throats weakened, we sang page 252’s final “Amen.” Our applause energized us. We smiled, eyes cheering, and called the conductor and soloists back for two curtain calls.

“Encore! Encore!” we demanded.

We needed no cue from Hillis, reminding us to remain standing. The orchestra’s introduction to the “Hallelujah!” chorus renewed us in just three measures:

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdom of this world is become
the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ:
And He shall reign for ever and ever.
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords,
HALLELUJAH!”

TO ORDER the 252-page musical score from Amazon, click on the title for The Messiah: An Oratorio for Four-Part Chorus of Mixed Voices, Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass Soli and Piano, by G. F. Handel.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) George Frideric Handel wrote this enduring Christmas oratorio in 1741 in just 24 days. If you had 24 days of uninterrupted focus, what would you enjoy creating?

2) According to Hymnary, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) “became a musician and composer despite objections from his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer.” (Attn: Parents & Grandparents! Imagine a world without the “Hallelujah Chorus”…if Handel had followed his father’s preferences.)

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #2 of 99: Duct Tape Marketing

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #1 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.

Duct Tape Marketing:
The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide
by John Jantsch (Jan. 1, 2007)
Nelson Business (285 pages)

I titled my review, “Don’t Work With Jerks!” Note this excellent definition: “Marketing is getting people who have a specific need or problem to know, like and trust you.”
• Read my review (Aug. 4, 2008).
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (7 hours, 48 minutes).
• Management Bucket #2 of 20: The Customer Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas:
I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. In the jam-packed chapter, “Earned Media Attention and Expert Status,” Jantsch shares this contrarian wisdom:

“A little understood PR approach that has worked wonders over the years is to sit back, view the current landscape, and then find a way to present a marketing argument that goes against a current fad or perception.

“This strategy can be a great way to win occasional media attention. Media folks are commonly taught to get both sides of the story. So, if everyone is preaching the merits of X, they will search high and low for someone who says Y.”

Song #44 of 45: "Nick of Time"

Listen to “Nick of Time,” sung by Bonnie Raitt, Song #44 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Our guest blogger, Dave Barton, describes a memorable moment hearing Bonnie Raitt perform at L.A.’s Greek Theater.

Christmas 1915
Celtic Thunder

Last week, I found this poignant Irish song by Celtic Thunder on YouTube. It's sad, but beautifully sung. I also included a more whimsical version of "The Friendly Beasts." Listen here and have a Merry Christmas! For more book (and song) reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: Handel, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Merry Christmas, Messiah

December 17, 2024

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

Issue No. 631 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting wonders if your family or friends think you need a “fun” book to read over the Christmas break. If so, read on! Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Glad I Didn’t Know.

My wife, Joanne, urges me to read a few “fun” books occasionally—something outside my too-narrow niche of leadership and management. She APPROVED this one: The Spy and the Traitor. Yet…LOL!

Christmas Gift Idea #3:
John le Carré: “The best true spy story I have ever read.”

If your family and colleagues are bugging you incessantly that you read too many leadership and management books—and that you should lighten up!—then here you go. Ask them to give you Christmas Gift Idea #3:

The Spy and the Traitor:
The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
by Ben Macintyre (Sept. 18, 2018)

It’s possible that, perhaps…maybe, my wife may have urged me recently to “read something fun for a change.” So…I did. If you like spy novels, you’ll love this 368-page blockbuster. John le Carré called it, “The best true spy story I have ever read.”

This New York Times bestseller is the classic page-turner. I read it on vacation last month. I couldn’t put it down! If you’ve enjoyed this genre over the years, I guarantee you’ll rank this true spy story high on your all-time best-reads list.
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• If you're a reader...continue reading!
• If you're a listener...enjoy this AI-generated podcast created by Google's NotebookLM. Listen to AI’s “review” of my review here (16 minutes, 36 seconds). For more AI-generated "reviews" of my reviews, visit here.
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There’s only one spoiler alert in this review—because I don’t want you to miss the fun of reading the harrowing twists and turns. (Will he make it?) I’ll just give you this 2.5-minute video blurb by the author. Ben Macintyre introduces us to Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB officer who ultimately agrees to spy for London’s MI6 during the Cold War.

View author Ben Macintyre talk about the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB officer who spies for London’s MI6 during the Cold War (2 minutes, 30 seconds).

BY THE WAY…to one of my faithful readers who recommended this book, thank you! (I failed to note your name. Sorry.) I first discovered Ben Macintyre when I read another true story he documented, Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory. (I named this Book #78 of 100 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.)

I titled my review of Operation Mincemeat, “The Twin Frailties of Wishfulness and Yesmanship.” It was also a “fun” book to read—but I couldn’t help myself. I noted dozens of brilliant leadership lessons and management missteps! You might also enjoy the movie, starring Colin Firth, which premiered in 2022. Click here to view the movie trailer for Operation Mincemeat (rated PG-13).

In The Spy and the Traitor, Ben Macintyre’s deep dive into the nature of spies and traitors is a graduate level semester in Psychology and Theology. Examples:
• “The KGB used the acronym MICE to identify the four mainsprings of spying: Money, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego.”
• “Malcolm Muggeridge, former MI6 officer and journalist, wrote: “Intelligence agents, in my experience, are even bigger liars than journalists.”
• The author describes an Oxford grad, a Catholic, who was recruited by MI5 (and later converted to Marxism): “…a man with a considerable sense of inferiority and insecurity.” And this: “Raging insecurity is not an ideal quality in an officer of the Security Service…” The traitor was also noted for his “air of superiority and bumptiousness.” (Attn: Psych Majors, Pastors, and Priests: You’ll love this book!)
• “In a craven and hierarchical organization, the only thing more dangerous than revealing your own ignorance is to draw attention to the stupidity of the boss.”

MORE “FUN” STUFF:

KGB: frowned on inebriation. “Unlike other branches of government, secret services tend to recruit imaginative people who have what Winston Churchill called ‘corkscrew minds.’” The author adds, “If the marks of potential treachery are being clever, eccentric, and inclined to have a few too many drinks, then half the wartime and postwar spies in Britain and America would have been suspect. But in this respect the KGB was different, since it officially frowned on both inebriation and individuality.”

“Church leaders and top bankers!” You won’t believe this. A KGB top-secret document instructed their agents and spies in NATO countries to watch for signs that a nuclear-missile attack on the USSR was imminent. Various indicators to be reported: lights on in government buildings late at night; number of cars in government parking lots at night, and close surveillance of “key nuclear decision-makers” including, “bizarrely, church leaders and top bankers.”

“Two all-beef patties, special sauce…” Even more bizarre (my opinion)—the KGB monitored cattle slaughterhouses. “If the number of cattle killed…increased sharply, that might indicate that the West was stockpiling hamburgers prior to Armageddon.”

SPOILER ALERT! I would urge you NOT to watch the video below, but—per the editorial policies of this publication—we’re here to inform leaders and readers and let them decide what’s best for themselves. Do you want to know how the book ends?

[ ] Option #1: VIEW this heart-pounding video...“The Gripping Tale of Britain's Greatest Spy,” from “True Life Spy Stories” (43 minutes). SPOILER ALERT!

[ ] Option #2. DO NOT VIEW THIS VIDEO…until you’ve read the entire book and learned why MI6 officers brought along a cassette tape of “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius. (Also used as the tune for “Be Still My Soul.”)

Need More Fun? Just last week, The Wall Street Journal reviewed a book, Counterfeit Spies: How World War II Intelligence Operations Shaped Cold War Spy Fiction, by Oliver Buckton (Oct. 1, 2024). Read the WSJ review, “‘Counterfeit Spies’ Review: Craftier Than Fiction. Before he created James Bond, Ian Fleming helped devise a plan to mislead the Germans about the Allied invasion of Sicily.”

And LOL—for the record—the book, The Life of Ian Fleming, by John Pearson, was written by some other guy using my name!

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre. Listen on Libro (13 hours, 19 minutes).

BONUS BOOK! AND SPEAKING OF WARS…when I reviewed the book by the founder of Trader Joe’s, Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys, I noted how the book checked all 20 of my management buckets. Example: in the Book Bucket...

Joe Coulombe praises the book, The Guns of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About the Outbreak of World War I, by Barbara Tuchman. He writes, “It’s the best book on management—and, especially, mismanagement—I’ve ever read.” So far, I’m at page 197 of this 640-page gem. (I can’t stop underlining the good stuff!) Watch for my review in 2025. Elon Musk recommends the audiobook (19 hours, 9 minutes).

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) What genre of books or audiobooks do you enjoy when you need to kick back and have some “fun?” Even when you’re thoroughly enjoying a “fun” book, do you sometimes look for the leadership, management, and/or spiritual lessons—perhaps something you might use in your next coaching session or weekly staff meeting? Be honest!

2) True or False? No way! I would never ask AI to suggest “10 Leadership and Management Lessons from the book, The Spy and the Traitor,” by Ben Macintyre. (LOL! See my response here!)

SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!

Book #1 of 99: Turning Goals Into Results

Turning Goals Into Results:
The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms
by Jim Collins (Feb. 7, 2017)
Harvard Business Review Press, 96 pages

Jim Collins created two catalytic mechanisms to limit his consulting work—so he could concentrate on research, writing, and teaching. The first: “The come to Boulder, Colorado, rule.” The second: Collins allocates a maximum of four days to any one organization per year. Read why time is more valuable to CEOs than money and why “invoices just don’t hurt."
• Read my review (May 25, 2019).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #1 of 20: The Results Bucket

My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas:
I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. Jim Collins writes, “Consider also the highly effective catalytic mechanism that a colleague of mine has been using for the past three years to attain her BHAG: to lead a full and active life as a mother, wife, professional writer, and church volunteer, without going crazy.”

“One day, my colleague was lamenting her situation to her sister, who came up with an effective catalytic mechanism. Every time the woman took on work beyond a certain level of revenue—a comfortable annual salary, in essence—she would pay her sister a $200-a-day-penalty fee.”

Are you using catalytic mechanisms in your organization—and your own life?

Song #43 of 45: “Time After Time"

Listen to “Time After Time,” sung by Cyndi Lauper, Song #43 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Our guest blogger, Callista Dawson, adds her personal reflections to this song. She notes that there are currently 177 songs that cover or sample this track!

10 Leadership Lessons from a Spy book!

I couldn’t help myself! I asked ChatGPT to suggest 10 leadership lessons from the book, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre. Next, I asked AI to “review” those leadership insights in a podcast. Read and listen here. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: Ben Macintyre, Cold War, espionage, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, leadership lessons, The Spy and the Traitor

December 11, 2024

Glad I Didn’t Know: Lessons Learned Through Life’s Challenges and Unexpected Blessings

Issue No. 630 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting suggests a powerful book with 32 of my favorite stories—a perfect gift book for Christmas. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of When Kingdom Light Shines: Stories That Inspire Faith.

In one of my favorite chapters in Glad I Didn’t Know, this Mother Teresa billboard prompted Larry Probus to call his wife on the way to work. “I give up,” he told her!

Christmas Gift Idea #2:
Speed Bumps & Life Lessons

Can I be honest with you? I was so pumped about the 60 stories from Mark Ellis in my most recent eNews that I’m wondering: How can I now move on to another book that also requires high praise? Perhaps you have two friends and need two Christmas gift books? If so, here’s my Christmas Gift Idea #2:

Glad I Didn’t Know:
Lessons Learned Through Life’s Challenges
and Unexpected Blessings
by Vonna Laue (Dec. 3, 2024)

What’s not to like about a “lessons” book? By my count, I have reviewed dozens of books with "lessons" in the title or subtitle. (Examples: Maxwell, Drucker, San Quentin, Pope John Paul II, Panera, Mayo Clinic, and many more.)

Ready for more life lessons? Where do you land on this continuum?

I WANT TO KNOW NOW..........................GLAD I DIDN'T KNOW

Before this week…you’d find me in the “I Want to Know Now” camp. Now 32 powerful first-person stories later, I’m a fully devoted convert to the “Glad I Didn’t Know” spiritual principles that ooze out of Vonna Laue’s life lessons book. This book may change your mind (and your heart).

JIM WEST(Chapter 22), cofounder of The Barnabas Group, was grateful he didn’t know—in advance—that after seeing a throat cancer doctor in 2022, the physician would urge him to go home and prepare his will and estate. “I am glad I didn’t know that God had this speed bump in front of me,”Jim writes in this stunning chapter.

West says he prayed Joshua 1:9 hundreds of times each week—“a Bible verse I had often heard came alive for me”—while lying in the radiation tube about 45 minutes per session for 35 sessions (not a typo!). He lists four life lessons, including this: “…when people ask me what I could have done to better prepare myself for the battle,” he responds, “Memorize Scripture ahead of time.”

The book’s format is brilliant—and each short chapter is perfect for spotlighting at your weekly staff meetings in 2025. Leverage the simple outline: a first-person account, followed by “Glad I Didn’t Know” thoughts, then “Life Lessons,” then three “Questions to Consider,” and a Bible verse. (The Scriptures are powerful.)

LARRY PROBUS (Chapter 9) describes being a new Christian and wrestling with the Lord about leaving his business career to become the CFO at World Vision US. He had read a biography about Mother Teresa and in the mid-90s while on a business trip in India, he met Mother Teresa. She asked him, “Tell me why you are in my country?”

Probus sheepishly responded with a very general “we are here on business.” (He did not want to reveal his purpose: to find a distributor for his company’s whiskey brand!) But the contrast of his agenda versus Mother Teresa’s calling was stark. (This is one of my 32 favorite chapters!)

Fast forward. Rich Stearns, president of WVUS at the time, invited Probus to become their CFO. Still wrestling one morning—even though his wife was onboard with the opportunity—he finally said yes. Why? When commuting to work that day, “a new billboard appeared on my daily route with a picture of Mother Teresa—and the words, ‘Reaching Beyond Yourself. Compassion. Pass it On.” He called his wife and said, “I give up. I think God is telling us we should do this.” (And LOL: Some years back, Larry Probus told me he suspected that Rich Stearns had put up that billboard!)

GLAD I DIDN’T KNOW features 16 riveting stories from women and men who have faced incredible challenges—yet unexpected blessings. Plus, author Vonna Laue, a CPA and consultant who specializes in the nonprofit space, weaves her own 16 stunning stories (stunning!) into this soul-grabbing book.

Rich Stearns, also the author of The Hole in Our Gospel, endorses this book: “Glad I Didn’t Know will lift your spirits, make you laugh, and encourage to let go of your fears and entrust them to Jesus. You’ll want to read it at least twice—and maybe twice a year.” I agree! This is also the perfect book to read unhurriedly on weekends (two or three chapters every weekend).

What? LAUGH about life challenges? Yes! Vonna Laue, somehow, sees the humor in her challenging personal stories and God’s touch (Chapter 1: “Quit a Job, Flood a House, Lose a Parent,” and Chapter 21, “You’re Fired!”). Her transparency is as memorable as her humor.
• While caring for her mother in the hospital for a month, she also cared for her mom’s five chickens, four horses, three cats, and two dogs. “Though, by the time I was done, there were only four chickens. Don’t ask.”
• When Vonna and her husband informed their two daughters (eight and four at the time), they were moving from Colorado to California, the oldest was upset and “left a note on our pillow that we were not allowed to move her to California and signed it, ‘The FBI.’” The four-year-old’s response? She started packing!

“LOST, LONELY, BROKE!” Edgar Sandoval Sr.’s story is featured in Chapter 3. You’ll see how his background prepared him uniquely for his current day job: president and CEO of World Vision US. “His own experience with hardship came at age 18, when he returned alone to the U.S. with only $50 in his pocket.” The verse for this story: Proverbs 3:5-6.

FRANCIS CHAN’S ROPE. In Chapter 15, “Gone Too Soon,” Laue shares the very sad story about her brother-in-law’s passing at age 42. She writes, “I’m glad I didn’t know that planning a funeral is like planning a wedding in four days…” One of her “lessons learned” features the poignant Francis Chan video with a long rope (aka “eternity”). View the video here:

Vonna Laue suggests you view this picture of today versus eternity in this sermon clip from Francis Chan (3.5 minutes).

CHIP WATKINS. In Chapter 19, Chip Watkins shares that he’s glad he didn’t know that his son, Mark, would die unexpectedly in 2015. If he had known, he reflects, “How you might dread the passing of each day, knowing you are one day closer to the death of your beloved!?” He adds, “With that in mind, I believe God is gracious and merciful in withholding this kind of exact knowledge from us. He gives us grace to walk with Him each day, day after day.”

One lesson learned: “Grieve well.” Watkins writes about remembering. “We have a leather jacket he once wore and that I occasionally wear. His brother now owns the car that once belonged to Mark.” This prompted me to remember the clip at the end of the documentary, “It All Begins With a Song” (start at 1 hour, 6 minutes in) on the writing of “I Drive Your Truck.”

MORE FAVORITE STORIES. Did I mention…my 32 favorite stories? Oh, my.

• LAURA WHITLEY’s story in Chapter 28, “Caring for Family,” prompted an out-loud “WOW!” when I read her soul-touching narrative about her father, a Marine, who shared the Marine motto: “The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.” You will not forget this story or the verse: Deuteronomy 31:8. (Note: Several very meaningful song lyrics are featured in these stories. Chapter 28 sent me back to a favorite of mine: “When I Go Home.”)

• HEY, DAD! Follow JOHN REYNOLDS in his fast-rising career in South Africa, “with a macho roar, a sporty new Porsche convertible pulled up next to us.” His six-year-old son then asked, “Is that your next company car, Dad?” Read how that question changed the trajectory of his life.

• “HERO COMPLEX.” One of two “name withheld” chapters, “Painful Realizations” recounts how a public health researcher living abroad has learned to “lay aside pride and the role I thought I should play in the Kingdom.” She faced down her “hero complex,” but notes, “It was surely an exhausting way to learn humility, but I am so much better off for it.”

• JERRY WHITE writes in “From Military to Missions,” Chapter 24, “I am glad I did not fully know the tensions in the work that I would face.”White served as president of The Navigators for 15 years. “Part of not knowing opened an avenue of trust and faith that no strategic plan could achieve.” Read why, “Suddenly, I was not a PhD, general, and president. I was a broken, hurting parent and follower of Jesus. A friend, not just their leader.” (Read Mary White’s account of the tragedy they faced.)

• BOARD SERVICE? I especially appreciate Vonna Laue’s chapter on being invited to serve on the board of World Vision US. She wondered if she would fit in. Around the table “there was a former governor, a CFO of a major US corporation, leaders of national and international ministries, PhDs and MDs, and, and . . . you get the picture.” Today she serves as board chair!

She asks readers this question: “Is there any place you are holding back because you don’t believe you are _____ enough?” (Fill in the blank: good enough, smart enough, connected enough…)

WHEW! I don’t have room to share Stan Reiff’s story (“God Will Never…”) or the two questions his girlfriend (now his wife) asked him. This is my favorite chapter (along with the 31 other stories!) Order two books: one for you and one for a special friend or family member.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Glad I Didn’t Know: Lessons Learned Through Life’s Challenges and Unexpected Blessings, by Vonna Laue. And thanks to the author for sending me a review copy.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) Vonna Laue urges you to create your own “Glad I Didn’t Know” list that highlights your challenges and unexpected blessings. I’d suggest you title this, “Chapter 33” and list a favorite Bible verse that gives you comfort in the hard times. See also my review of When Kingdom Light Shines with this suggestion: After you’ve read all 60 short stories (or featured four or five stories at future weekly staff meetings), then host a gathering and call it, “Chapter 61.”

2) Review the Scripture verses highlighted in each chapter and keep them handy (see Jim West's story above). You, or a friend or family member, may need them. Memorize this one: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

UP NEXT! Watch for my review of “Christmas Gift Idea #3”—The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre. “The best true spy story I have ever read,” wrote John Le Carré.

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 18: The Final Four

Book #100 of 100: Experiencing God

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #100 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books. (Yes! This is the final book in the series. Stay tuned for a new series in the next issue of Your Weekly Staff Meeting.)

Experiencing God (2021 Edition):
Knowing and Doing the Will of God
by Henry Blackaby (1935-2024),
Richard Blackaby, and Claude King

Books #97 through #100 spotlight “the final four” books in this recommended volume of 100 must-read books. The authors write, “If Balaam lived in our formula-driven day, perhaps he would have written a book, Donkeys for Dummies…”
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (11 hours, 3 minutes). Note: This audio version is from the 2009 book revision.
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

“Please Cancel My Request!” In Mark 2, when the four entrepreneurial friends of the paraplegic man brought their friend to Jesus for healing, Jesus—instead—forgave the man’s sins. Meditating on that passage prompted Henry Blackaby to weep and pray, “O God, if I ever give You a request and You have more to give me than I am asking, please cancel my request!”

Song #40 of 45: “London Calling"

Read Jason Pearson's guest blog on "London Calling," Song #40 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Jason notes that unlike John Lennon's famous "more popular than Jesus" declaration, The Clash rejected messianic status with this: "Now don't look to us/Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust." Read the blog.

My Favorite Hal Lindsey Story

Back in the late 1970s, Hal Lindsey (1929-2024), the author of the bestseller, The Late Great Planet Earth, was the featured speaker at SAMBICA’s first-ever “faith promise” dinner at the Olympic Hotel in Seattle. Our camp staff and board, perhaps, had more nerve than faith! Read the story here. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: Glad I Didn’t Know, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Lessons Learned, Vonna Laue

December 3, 2024

When Kingdom Light Shines: Stories That Inspire Faith

Issue No. 629 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting recommends an inspirational book—with 60 true stories—for your Christmas gift-giving. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent conversation with our son, Jason, about his new documentary film, “Spares: Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos” (view it for free here).

Yikes! Yow! Oh, My! Amazing! Amen! Those were my out-loud exclamations when I read When Kingdom Light Shines—with 60 unbelievable true stories!

Christmas Gift Idea #1:
60 Inspiring Stories!

OH, MY! This new book—jam-packed with 60 inspiring stories—is so, so powerful that I’ve already gifted the book to seven people and it’s not even Christmas! Here’s my Christmas Gift Idea #1:

When Kingdom Light Shines:
Stories That Inspire Faith
by Mark Ellis (2024)

YIKES! When Mark Ellis generously gave me this book on Nov. 3, 2024, I had a brilliant reading plan: 60 stories/60 days. But after reading the first inspiring story—I couldn’t stop! I averaged three chapters every day and completed this unbelievable book in 21 days!

AMAZING! I started with Chapter 20, “How God Answered Francis Chan’s Ridiculous Prayer for a Son-in-Law.” (Did I mention, amazing?) You’ll read about this daring prayer (just three pages) by author and speaker Francis Chan, “who lifted up a bold, audacious matchmaking prayer, and God answered in a way that confounded Francis himself.” (Have you ever prayed a “ridiculous” prayer?)

The 60 short stories feature the author’s favorite “God reports” from the last 25 years. Mark Ellis believes that “God’s stories are the best stories, and that He is doing even greater things in the world today than he did in the first century.” So Ellis launched the God Reports website “with a mission to support and encourage Christian missions, by sharing stories and testimonies from believers around the world.”

YOW! There are two powerful bookends in When Kingdom Light Shines: Stories That Inspire Faith. Chapter 1, “Dream Led to Hidden Tribe,” begins with this: “In 2013, Caleb Byerly woke up with a start and began to furiously write in his journal everything he saw in a rather unusual dream.” This missionary had sensed that “God had spoken to Caleb through dreams previously, so he meticulously recorded” the dream details.

“I feel like when God speaks to you, it’s an invitation to partner and walk with God,” Byerly said. (This reminded me of Henry Blackaby’s wisdom, “When God speaks, it is important to write it down.”) What follows will shock you (in a really good way!)—and you’ll retell the story to family and friends.

Chapter 60, “Dying Farmer Left Civil War Bible Behind for New Age Homebuyer,” is another breathtaking story that concludes this marathon of miracles. Dale Walker reports that he “graduated from Wesleyan University without knowing who John Wesley was, or who Jesus Christ was. And I never really met a single person that knew God or could tell me about God.”

At age 31, he practiced Eastern meditation, but “his inner emptiness wouldn’t go away.” He notes, “At the same time, my personal life was tangled into a series of knots which I didn’t know how to untie.” (This reminded me of a recent "Hidden Streams" podcast and the original song, “Tied Down,” at the end of the podcast.)

Read why after his first-ever prayer on his knees to “ANYBODY UP THERE,” Walker sprinted (no pun intended) across a farmer’s field to a farm house he had recently purchased—and found the previous owner’s 1865 family Bible in the attic. (Yes. It was dusty!) He read “The Lord is my shepherd” from the 23rd Psalm—and it changed his life!

There’s more! Read how that same night Walker randomly views a TV program about Roy Campanella. The program depicted the famous Brooklyn Dodgers catcher in the emergency room after a paralyzing injury from a car accident. The program flashed back to a young Campanella who remembers a Scripture his mother had taught him. (Guess which one?)

AMEN! I generally read silently—but dozens and dozens of times when reading this stunning book, I heard myself audibly respond: Amen! Wow! Yikes! Amazing! Praise the Lord! Examples:
• Chapter 34, “Lost Forty-Seven Days at Sea,” spotlights Louis Zamperini, the USC track star, 1936 Olympics runner, and WW2 POW. Read about the event that rid him of his extreme PTSD.
• Chapter 32, “Vincent Van Gogh’s Unappreciated Journey with Christ,” will prompt your own “Amen!” You’ll never look the same way again at “The Starry Night” or other Van Gogh masterpieces.
• Chapter 58, “He Preached the Gospel as Hijacked Plane Hit the Water,” is an excellent God story to share with the seatmate on your next plane ride. Andy Meakins, “a gentle giant of the faith,” was airborne on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 from Addis Ababa to Abidjan—when “three hijackers stormed the cabin and demanded to be flown to Australia." (No way!) When the plane ran out of fuel, it hit the water, yet 50 people miraculously survived—but all 175 passengers and crew heard the Gospel story during those fateful final minutes. Must-read!
• Chapter 10, “Missionary Died Thinking He Was a Failure,” describes the 17-year ministry, beginning in 1912, of a doctor’s work among tribal people in a remote corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Failure? You decide.

All of these God stories reminded me that writer David Sedaris called Tobias Wolff “America’s greatest short-story writer.” (See my review of My Ideal Bookshelf—also a Christmas gift option.) Sedaris notes:

“Sometimes I meet ministers, and I always say to them, ’If I had a church, I’d read a Tobias Wolff story every week, and then I’d say to people, “Go home.”’ There’s nothing else you would need to say. Every story is a manual on how to be a good person, but without ever being preachy. They’re deeply moral stories; the best of them read like parables.”

Ditto these 60 God stories. I envision a surge in storytelling at weekly staff meetings—and hopefully—in pulpits across the globe. Thank you, Mark Ellis!

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for When Kingdom Light Shines: Stories That Inspire Faith, by Mark Ellis.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) Read Chapter 20, “How God Answered Francis Chan’s Ridiculous Prayer for a Son-in-Law,” and then ask this question: “Have you ever asked the Lord for something that others might consider a ridiculous prayer request?” What’s your “ridiculous” prayer request for 2025?

2) After you’ve read all 60 short stories (or featured four or five stories at future weekly staff meetings), then host a gathering and call it, “Chapter 61.” Invite staff members, board members, and key volunteers to nominate God stories from your organization that are so remarkable they could become Chapter 61 in When Kingdom Light Shines.

UP NEXT! Watch for my review of “Christmas Gift Idea #2”—a new book just released today, Dec. 3, 2024. Read Glad I Didn’t Know: Lessons Learned Through Life’s Challenges and Unexpected Blessings, by Vonna Laue.

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 18: The Final Four

Book #99 of 100: Leadership Core

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #99 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

Leadership Core:
Character, Competence, Capacity
(Leadership Multipliers)
by Dick Daniels

Books #97 through #100 spotlight “the final four” books in this recommended volume of 100 must-read books. Daniels writes: “Every leader will face at least one impossible situation during their leadership tenure. That time is described as having your back against the wall, with no way out, completely alone, and the feeling of gloom you have when it seems like the end is near.”
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon.
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

Did you know that “people lie more on Monday and Friday than Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday?” Daniels notes research indicating “people lie two to four times a day.” So the author discusses five times when your staff might lie: 1) Lying to land a job, 2) Lying to get ahead, 3) Lying to achieve work-life balance, 4) Lying with feedback, and 5) Lying during the exit interview.

BONUS! Read my review of the latest book from Dick Daniels, The 365 Day Leader: Recalibrate Your Calling Every Day. (Another Christmas gift book option for leaders and managers!)

Song #39 of 45: “Another Brick in the Wall”

Listen to “Another Brick in the Wall,” by Pink Floyd, Song #39 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Marc Myers notes that the song “has long been viewed as an anti-education mantra, a mischaracterization that still rattles Roger Waters.”

A Berkeley Frat House & Josh McDowell’s Book!

Mark Ellis, the author of When Kingdom Light Shines (see above), wrote a very personal narrative in 2021, The House at Channing and Moonsail (read my review). Read what prompted Ellis, who said "God was not on my radar," to read Josh McDowell’s book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Mark Ellis, Stories That Inspire Faith

November 26, 2024

Spares: Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos (free film)

Issue No. 628 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting spotlights a new and powerful documentary film from Jason Pearson, “Spares: Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos.” Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Uncommon Graces: Christlike Responses to a Hostile World. And...Happy Thanksgiving to our U.S. readers!

View the movie trailer for the new documentary, “Spares: Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos.”

My Interview With Jason Pearson on His New Documentary Film, “Spares: Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos”

Editor’s Note: I’m blessed to recommend a new documentary film in this issue, created and directed by our son, Jason. Here’s a “Son & Pearson” interview about the film. (For more “Son & Pearson” conversations, read the introductions to our two recent books on mistake-making and 100 must-read books.)

JOHN: Happy Thanksgiving, Jason! I’m so thankful for you and Melinda and our five grandchildren. And…WOW! This 20-minute documentary you created, “Spares,” is sobering, stunning, and poignant. I’ve viewed it four times already! It’s personal, isn’t it?

JASON: It is personal. About two percent of U.S. births are now from in vitro fertilization (IVF). That was the path that Melinda and I discerned—and God blessed us with five children. Yet—few people realize that in this age of advancing reproductive technology, thousands of American families face an unexpected moral quandary: what to do with their remaining frozen embryos after completing IVF.

JOHN: I had no idea. Your documentary, which just premiered last week in Washington, D.C., and is also featured on Real Clear Politics, is subtitled, “Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos.” Explain.

JASON: “Spares” spotlights four couples and their ethical dilemma of what to do with their frozen embryos. Today, over 1.6 million frozen embryos remain in storage across the United States. And many believe they are human lives.

JOHN: You had told me, a few years back, about this movement—that couples can “adopt” frozen embryos and be blessed when these yet unborn children become part of their families. The four couples you interviewed for your film—oh, my! These are complex issues. How do they navigate this challenging intersection of faith, ethics, and modern medicine?

JASON: Travis and Tara, one of the couples featured in the documentary, faced this decision after successfully having three children through IVF. They found themselves with 11 remaining embryos! They had three options: discard them, donate them to science, or pursue embryo adoption.

JOHN: Oh, my! You mean they could potentially have had 11 more children?

JASON: That’s unlikely, but "Spares" presents a unique solution gaining traction among pro-life families: embryo adoption, also known as "snowflake adoption." While still relatively rare, these adoptions have grown dramatically—by 420% over seven years, with a notable 29% surge in 2023 alone.

JOHN: So this movement is championing the idea of “snowflake adoption.” What a great name for it—the uniqueness of every snowflake and the uniqueness of every child. It reminds me of Psalm 139:

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!”

JASON: Exactly. When people view the film, they are so taken by these hopeful and loving parents, like Gabbi and her husband, on their decision to pursue embryo adoption. She tells us, "The more I researched it, the more I wanted to be a part of this new frontier of saving these little lives, these lives in these almost frozen orphanages, just waiting for a chance."

JOHN: “Frozen orphanages!” As you know, Jason, when writing my eNews, I’m always looking for a title for each issue. I almost titled this issue, “Frozen Orphanages!”

JASON: Trust me—there are so many poignant comments. The creative process in filmmaking takes many twists and turns—and it pushed me to pray more. Much more. This project was very emotional and very challenging—yet deeply rewarding. I felt like I was a steward of these very personal stories.

JOHN: You’ve worked on over 70 films, right? How did this one affect you?

JASON: Memorable storytelling, obviously, must have great stories. These amazing couples were so willing to share their stories. Here’s what Travis told us about their remaining embryos: "Every embryo mattered to me. I still feel like I'm the father of those embryos. I still feel like I'm responsible for those and make the best decisions I can."

JOHN: Wow. I’m urging people to view the film. But some, perhaps, might push back on the whole concept of IVF, right?

JASON: Many Christians, particularly those in the Southern Baptist and Catholic traditions, believe those 1.6 million frozen embryos are much more than just statistics—they represent human lives at their earliest stage of development.

JOHN: I believe that. But didn’t the Southern Baptist Convention highlight their concerns about IVF and the subsequent potential for embryo destruction—per a “resolution” at their June 2024 convention? (Note: That news report also said the SBC was in favor of “adopting frozen embryos to rescue those who may otherwise be destroyed.”)

JASON: Right. Their position reflects a growing awareness within Christian circles about the moral implications of reproductive technology. For example, the Catholic Church has long maintained that IVF raises serious ethical concerns, particularly regarding the creation and potential destruction of genetically-tested human embryos. In the film, Paige shares this:

"To even have this idea about eradicating a type of person because you don't view them as enough. Yeah. To me, is a form of evil. Or because it's inconvenient—where do you draw the line on that?"

JOHN: That’s a huge issue, right? The “potential destruction of human embryos.” If we believe in the sanctity of human life from conception on—then that consequently requires us to grapple with the complex reality of frozen embryos already in existence.

JASON: Some Catholic bioethicists argue that while the Church opposes IVF, the adoption of existing embryos could be seen as a life-affirming response to an already existing ethical dilemma. This perspective aligns with the Church's emphasis on the dignity of human life while acknowledging the complex realities families face.

JOHN: So…I see this documentary then, perhaps, as a crucial conversation starter for the Christian community. It challenges us to think deeply about how we can uphold the sanctity of human life while compassionately supporting families struggling with infertility. As more couples face decisions about remaining embryos, the need for ethical guidance and practical solutions becomes increasingly urgent.

JASON: Yes, and for anyone considering embryo adoption, the process involves careful screening and matching. Prospective adoptive parents create detailed profiles of their lives and values, similar to traditional adoption processes. The genetic parents then have the opportunity to choose a family whose values align with their own.

JOHN: That's amazing. Where can someone go for more information?

JASON: For more information about embryo adoption and to watch the full documentary (free), visit SparesDocumentary.com.

JOHN: Great website, Jason, as usual. The resources section is amazing, as well as the “10 Things to Know About Embryo Adoption in 2024.” This movement is so hopeful. While viewing “Spares,” I was struck with what Ali said—when someone first told her about embryo adoption. "I think at that moment, it was a new spark of light and a new spark of hope that we could carry a baby and bring a baby into this world."

And LOL. According to a Wall Street Journal article I read this past weekend, parents are not supposed to “humblebrag” about their brilliant offspring! But how could I not help you spread the word about this powerful movement?

JASON: Powerful is right. Thank you. We believe it is close to God’s heart.

Visit SparesDocumentary.com for more information about embryo adoption and to watch the full documentary (20 minutes). It’s free.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) Frozen Orphanges! In the “Spares” film, Gabbi notes, "The more I researched it, the more I wanted to be a part of this new frontier of saving these little lives, these lives in these almost frozen orphanages, just waiting for a chance.” Does your organization have a two-word phrase that arrests the attention of customers, donors, and volunteers?

2) What’s your organization’s story? How do you communicate it so it touches hearts? Aristotle said, “The soul never thinks without a picture.” After watching this 20-minute documentary, what did you appreciate about the storytelling approach?

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 18: The Final Four

Book #98 of 100: The Discerning Life

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #98 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

The Discerning Life:
An Invitation to Notice God in Everything
by Stephen Macchia

Books #97 through #100 spotlight “the final four” books in this recommended volume of 100 must-read books. Steve Macchia asks, “But are we aware of his presence? He’s tapping on the shoulder of our hearts all the time: tap, tap, tap . . . tap, tap, tap.”
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen to The Discerning Leader Podcast.
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

Steve Macchia writes, “Far too often, spiritual discernment has been pigeon-holed into the exclusive realm of decision-making, learning how to make good choices and know God’s will methodically and predictably. We want a simple system to follow: set up the room, put people in place, consider the right options, add a prayer, and then press the button of discernment.”

And this: “Without a prayer closet, we are destined to live an inch deep and a mile wide. For any number of reasons, we are highly allergic to spiritual depth.”

7 Songs to Go!

We hope you’re enjoying this blog series, Johnny Be Good, featuring the 45 songs in the book, Anatomy of a Song, by Marc Myers. Stay tuned for the final seven songs—in the next seven issues. What’s your favorite song, so far, in this series?

ChatGPT and the Future of AI

“Will I lose my job?” That’s just one of dozens of fascinating topics in this new book, ChatGPT and the Future of AI: The Deep Language Revolution, by Terrence J. Sejnowski. It’s humorous and humble. Read my review. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: in vitro fertilization, IVF, Jason Pearson, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Spares

November 19, 2024

Uncommon Graces: Christlike Responses to a Hostile World

Issue No. 627 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting highlights seven “uncommon graces” that need front-row seats today. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders.

John Vawter writes: “When ‘safe sins’ go unchallenged, something of a Christian fantasy religion is allowed to thrive—a religion that condemns alcohol and adultery, yet condones, say, arrogance and abrasiveness. There should be a support group in the church for those addicted to ‘safe sins’—an AA for the arrogant and the abrasive.”

AA for the Arrogant and Abrasive

Yikes! John Vawter writes about one of his best friends who considered “leaving his extremely stressful job. He reached this conclusion one night when he went to tell his daughter goodnight. As he sat beside her, he said, ‘I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’ve had a bad day at work.’ She looked up at him and said, ‘Dad, you have a lot of bad days at work.’”

Vawter adds, “His daughter acted as a circuit breaker. With that one sentence, she gave him the opportunity to set aside his excuses and take an honest look at how the stress of his job was affecting him.” Read more about “circuit breakers” in this powerful book:

Uncommon Graces:
Christlike Responses to a Hostile World
by John Vawter

Written in 1998 by this discerning pastor, former seminary president, golfer, and golf ball hawker (see below!), this NavPress book is as current as today’s headlines—and needed now more than ever. In his chapter, “Establishing Circuit Breakers,” Vawter asks, “Why is it that so many people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ live lives that are so offensive?”

And before you cheer, “Yes! A book I can give to some of my friends”—I’d encourage you to read Uncommon Graces prayerfully yourself. And keep a big mirror handy.

Vawter says that “Just as circuit breakers in our homes break the flow of electricity when there is a power surge or another electrical problem, personal circuit breakers are those people who God uses to break the flow of destructive behaviors in our lives.” He adds, “Each of us needs circuit breakfast in our lives. And God has called us to be circuit breakers in the lives of others.”

The author lists five reasons we need circuit breakers (I love the metaphor!):
#1. To help us look at ourselves.
#2. To help us see how our weaknesses cause us to behave. (You’ll appreciate his insights on the four social styles. Vawter is a “Driver”—and yes, that gets him in trouble sometimes!) I have no idea why that might be.
#3. To help us take responsibility for ourselves. (Read his wife’s funny poke!)
#4. To show us how we are hurting others. (Yikes! Read what his daughter and son told him.)
#5. To help us grow. (Read why a leader told him, “You honor the leader you have.” See the blurb below for A Tale of Three Kings.)

This chapter is meaty enough for weeks of reflection—and I haven’t even mentioned the author’s list of seven “uncommon graces.” (What seven would you list?) Vawter recommends these “simple courtesies of grace” to our hostile world: Gentleness, Attentiveness, Loyalty, Candor, Mercy, Kindness, and Repentance.

GENTLENESS. Vawter quotes a professional counselor: “Some of the smartest people who come to see me are the best liars. They pay money to sit there for sixty minutes and lie.” And read this:

“When ‘safe sins’ go unchallenged, something of a Christian fantasy religion is allowed to thrive—a religion that condemns alcohol and adultery, yet condones, say, arrogance and abrasiveness. There should be a support group in the church for those addicted to ‘safe sins’—an AA for the arrogant and the abrasive.”

ATTENTIVENESS. Read why a friend declined to speak at a conference—until the conference leaders changed their arrogant theological postures!

LOYALTY. “You’ve all heard about the Norwegian who loved his wife so much that he almost told her.”

CANDOR. “One college board chairman told an administrator, ‘I don’t want you going out and conducting any more conflict-resolution seminars. You haven’t resolved a single conflict in your own institution.’” (See also the HBR article on candor in the boardroom and the Peacemakers website.)

MERCY. “In contrast to the darkness that selfishness and insensitivity bring with them, mercy walks into a room and brightens everything.” (Enjoy this song.)

KINDNESS. The author quotes Charles L. Allen, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”

REPENTANCE. What about people who refuse to look in the mirror? Vawter mentions Hale Irwin’s comments on golfing great Jack Nicklaus. (Really interesting!) Then addressing those in the church who are rarely, if ever, repentant, Vawter writes, “But isn’t it true that far too many people who say they are followers of Christ who have to be hit over the head with a nine iron before they will admit the truth?”

And speaking of golf—after you look in the mirror at these uncommon graces—take a swing at another book by John Vawter, Anything for a Golf Ball: The Art of Finding Lost Golf Balls. While learning about “ball hawking” is laugh-out-loud funny, you’ll also find it redemptive. “Billy Graham [was] a ball hawker. He says it is a direct practical carryover from his life's spiritual mission ‘to seek and save that which is lost.’”

Uncommon Graces will preach! Whether you rotate the leadership (one person per week sharing one of the seven uncommon graces at staff meetings), or your church launches a sermon series—you’ll find treasure in every chapter:
• Dozens (maybe hundreds) of practical stories—punctuating the points.
• Memorable anecdotes including Football Coach Frosty Westering’s inspirational goal for an out-of-shape middle-aged man, who started out as “a one-tree man” and placed a tiny tree in his office every time he reached a new “tree” goal. (In six weeks, he became a 43-tree man.) Brilliant!
• In a project for Murdock Trust, the author collaborated on a phone survey to 420 people that asked, “What is the number-one quality you’re looking for in your pastor?” (The #1 response: “compassion.” What would #1 be now in 2024? Must-read chapter, “Building Community.”)
• Learn how “Living the Golden Rule” (Chapter 10), prompted frequent letters from custodians at other universities. See how Coach John Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams practiced the golden rule at their away games! Stunning.

FORE! In 2007, I was the fourth guy in a golf foursome in Palm Desert, Calif. I didn’t know the other golfers, but I mentioned a new Ken Blanchard book I had heard about. Everyone laughed and pointed to Bob Jewell, the marketing brains behind the book that also became a movie. Small world! Jewell gave me a copy of The Mulligan—Everyone Needs a Second Chance in Golf and in Life, by Wally Armstrong and Ken Blanchard. (Read my review. I named it Book #64 of 100 on my must-read list.)

Had The Mulligan been written before 1998, I’m sure John Vawter would have included it in Uncommon Graces. Over the years since Vawter and I were in seminary together, we met only once in 1986 at a Leadership Network retreat with Peter Drucker in Estes Park, Colo. (Read more about Peter Drucker here and click here for the memorable story Drucker shared.)

NO EAGLES! Just this month—38 years since connecting with John Vawter in person—we golfed together and I was able to thank him personally for writing this powerful and convicting book. And no…I’m not revealing my golf score, but I did lose (not find) two new golf balls in the water!

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Uncommon Graces: Christlike Responses to a Hostile World, by John Vawter.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) John Vawter quotes Harry Evans, former president of Trinity Seminary, who was asked by a denominational executive, “Evans, why does your board hate me?” Harry Evans responded, “I think it’s because they think you’re two-faced.” Yikes! QUESTION: Does being a “circuit breaker” for colleagues sometimes require a proverbial two-by-four—or even more?

2) Vawter writes, “Too often we duck such confrontations. We ‘enable’ our friends in their wrong behavior and attitudes in the name of mercy or tolerance. But mercy, tolerance, and enabling are distinct from each other. POP QUIZ! Define each word (answers: pages 165-166).

BONUS! For more on the power of grace, read my review of Grace Ambassador: Bringing Heaven to Earth, by John Jackson.

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 18: The Final Four

Book #97 of 100: A Tale of Three Kings

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #97 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

A Tale of Three Kings:
A Study in Brokenness
by Gene Edwards

Books #97 through #100 spotlight “the final four” books in this recommended volume of 100 must-read books. My suggestion: give this book to someone who’s just been fired! (Really.)
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (1 hour, 42 minutes)
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

David complained to the Lord that King Saul was hardly God-honoring—so why should he honor and respect this tyrant king? Sound familiar? “Why did I get fired? My boss is the jerk, not me. Lord, this isn’t fair!”

Gene Edwards is a master storyteller and this classic unwraps the relationships between David, Saul and Absalom. His conclusions may astound you. It’s a great book to mention at your weekly staff meeting.

BONUS! Read why Bob Lonac has read this book three times!

Song #38 of 45: "Heart of Glass"

Listen to “Heart of Glass,” by Blondie, Song #38 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. LOL! Our guest blogger, aka “Production Guy,” gets a little carried away on this blog—and seems to favor machinery over music.

Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

Corporate Boards vs. Church Boards

“Perhaps the most important difference between corporate governance and church board leadership is the task of discernment.” That’s from Book #3 of 3, in the Transforming Church Boards series, by Dennis Baker, David C. Fisher, and John Vawter (also author of Uncommon Graces above). Read my review. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

12:20 PM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: AA, arrogance, dishonesty cult, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, John Vawter, Uncommon Graces

November 1, 2024

Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders

Issue No. 626 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting spotlights eight major shifts for the “future-ready” church—and eight case studies. Brilliant! Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Next Level Nonprofit.

“Most churches in North America have more in common with 1950 than with 2050.” The authors of Becoming a Future-Ready Church wonder if you’re more like Leave It to Beaver or Modern Family?

• If you're a reader...continue reading!
• If you're a listener...enjoy this AI-generated podcast created by Google's NotebookLM. Listen to AI’s “review” of my review here (12 minutes, 31 seconds). For more AI-generated "reviews" of my reviews, visit here.

Church 1950 or Church 2050?

Brilliant! Eight paradigm-crushing churches are spotlighted in this critical book for church leaders. And just imagine this: What if…your church on U.S. Election Day 2024 followed Mosaic Church’s example from 2020? “While tens of millions watched their broadcast news outlet of choice as the votes in the 2020 presidential election were being cast, Mosaic Church held a daytime Communion service in downtown Dayton, Ohio.”

I urge you and your local church leaders to read the powerful and hopeful message of this new book—and then discern next steps.

Becoming a Future-Ready Church:
8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower
the Next Generation of Leaders
by Daniel Yang, Adelle M. Banks, and Warren Bird
Oct. 22, 2024

The authors of this well-researched (and well fact-checked) book are prayerful, yet appropriately pushy! They write, “Most churches in North America have more in common with 1950 than with 2050.” (Gulp!)

Using a memorable “from this…to that” format, Yang, Banks, and Bird make the case for creating space for the next generation of church leaders—but, gratefully, they don’t pontificate for a one-size-fits-all methodology. But first, they urge you to pray and self-assess your current ministry:
• Are you still in the Leave It to Beaver era (1950s)?
• Or…the Modern Family era (2009-2020)?
• Or…something else?

The authors poke church leaders with eight dramatic “from this to that” shifts. Here are just three of the eight that tweaked my soul:

SHIFT: "From Church Refugees to Church as Refuge. Why True Hospitality Is Essential for Congregations to Thrive.” Each chapter lists a “dated” question (1950s maybe?) and a “better” question—plus the trend. Chapter 5:
• Dated Question: “How can we stay a ‘big happy family’ by reaching more people like us?”
• Better Question: “How can a culture of irresistible hospitality unify our congregation’s increasing diversity?”
• The Trend: “Mitigating division not by avoiding conflict but by creating truly hospitable places that allow people to be seen and heard.”

The authors address church conflicts and warn, “As society becomes more diverse, fracturing and splintering in churches will sadly become more common.” (“Pearson—I thought you said this was a ‘hopeful’ book?” It is. Keep reading. And by the way, you'll love reading Acts 16:15 in The Message.)

They add, “Every week in America, people who researchers call church refugees shuffle in and out of various congregations—sometimes discreetly but at times loudly (usually online by posting or blogging about it)—hoping to find a new spiritual safe house to rest and heal.”

What’s needed? The book highlights churches that seek to address conflict with “a more robust and practical theology of hospitality.” They add, “A culture of hospitality leads the church to be preoccupied with caring for people’s real needs more than curating its public image.” The case study on Mosaic Church in Beavercreek, Ohio, is both inspirational and instructive. (See more on boardroom hospitality here.)

Rosario “Roz” Picaro says his church models the 70/30 philosophy. “Seventy percent of what we say and do, you’re going to love, but you’re going to hate 30 percent. But your 30 percent is someone else’s 70 percent and vice versa.”

You’ll appreciate the graphic on page 104, based on co-author Daniel Yang’s church consulting work. He believes there are “four dynamics that people need to experience within a church.” Four V’s: Visibility, Voice, Value, and Volition. The descriptors for each are memorable and you will borrow them! Yards, Porches, Couches, and Tables. Read how the future-ready church must be competent in these “places and spaces” to effectively prepare for future conflict—because it will come.

SHIFT: “From Nuclear Families to Forged Families. Why Churches Need to Serve a Wider Range of Households.”
• Dated Question: “How can we get more people to volunteer so that we can strengthen ministry to the families in our church?”
• Better Question: “How can our church’s family ministries build health and increased capacity in people so that they can be more available to those who are lonely, struggling, or feeling that they don’t fit in?”

Discussing the “modern American family,” the authors note, “If there’s anything worth learning for churches from sitcoms such as Modern Family, the key takeaway is that they have been too myopic on the nuclear family for their ministry programming.”

Each chapter includes a “One Degree of Change” self-assessment with five to seven questions to prompt leadership conversations on the big shifts, “from this to that.” With five response options (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree), I immediately pictured church leaders wresting with these questions in a series of robust leadership meetings (with strong coffee, of course).

OOPS! If you’re flying from Seattle to Madrid, and you’re one degree off—you’ll end up in the Sahara Desert!

Why “one degree of change?” Heed the authors’ wake-up call! “When you’re traveling somewhere, if you’re off course by just one degree, after a mile you’ll miss your target by 92.2 feet. On a long journey, that difference will take you to a different city! Suppose you’re flying from Seattle, Washington, to Madrid, Spain. If your flight path is off by just one degree, you’ll end up instead in the middle of Africa’s Sahara Desert!”

Here's the good news: “That one degree of change can also move you in the direction you should have been heading in the first place.” (Pastors: this will preach!)

SHIFT: “From Physical Only to Healthy Hybrid. Why More Church Life Will Happen Virtually.”
• Dated Question: “How do we do in-person church better so that people will want to spend less time online?”
• Better Question: “How can we discern God’s work everywhere people spend time, especially in the growing digital world?”
• The Trend: “Embracing technology not by valuing its convenience but by pioneering spaces for Christ to be worshipped and proclaimed.”

Don’t skip Chapter 8! COVID maximized online church—and some folks are still viewing services in their Sunday morning PJs. Good thing or bad thing? The authors will challenge your preconceived notions (maybe your 1950 notions?) with a deep dive section, “Is Digital Ministry a Theological Advancement?” (When is the last time you thought about technology and the incarnation?)

Here's the first agree/disagree statement in the ”One Degree of Change” section: “Today’s exploding world of digital media is likely to be as world-changing as the impact of the printing press or the shift from agrarian life to urban life.” (If you’ve checked out the AI-generated podcasts I’ve created recently—you’ll have to join me in checking the “Strongly Agree” box.)

The case study is eye-opening! Read about Imagine Church in Gilbert, Ariz., “A Digital Congregation Creates Onscreen Face-to-Face Community.” The co-lead pastors, Janae and Justin Klatt, are leading what one researcher calls “a digital church using a digital-micro strategy as their primary gathering.” Learn why they’ve found that a “Brady Bunch” size (nine boxes/people on the screen) is optimal for a digital “community.”

Oh, my…there is so much more meat in this important book. I’m praying that hundreds and hundreds of astute and discerning “Leaders Are Readers Champions" will generously order this book for their pastors and elders. Imagine this scenario: a pastor prays, “Lord, what’s next for our congregation?” And then Amazon arrives with this powerful book!

When you read this book, be sure to note:
• “Why the future is birthing a new apologetic” in the shift, “From Mind to Soul.” Listen on Libro to the first three minutes of this chapter. (And read my review of Faith for the Curious.)
• The shift “From Attendance to Attachment” (Why church membership is losing its appeal and what’s replacing it.)
• Why “shaming a generation for being less religious is a surefire way to create greater disaffiliation and hostility toward the church.”
• The summary on page 200, “Eight Shifts to Start Becoming a Future-Ready Church,” with eight “dated” questions and eight “better” questions. (And thanks to the publisher, Zondervan, for granting fee-free reprints of this page. Generous!)

AND THIS:
• In the shift “From Racial Tension to Community Blessing,” see the very helpful list (pages 145-146) of 12 “church diversity” terms and their meaning. (Example: the difference between a “Multiracial Church” and a “Multiethnic Church.”)
• Why wise church leaders “will follow the model of those who led God’s people in the past, ‘who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do’ (1 Chron. 12:32).”
• And—so helpful—a “Scripture Index” (2+ pages) with verses referenced in the book from 28 books of the Bible.
• And this “blunt” question: “Will the young people in your church, when given the reins at the proper time, want and be able to lead what you’re passing on to them?”

This book has already made the cut for my Top-10 books of 2024.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders, by Daniel Yang, Adelle M. Banks, and Warren Bird. Listen on Libro (5 hours, 41 minutes).

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) Co-author Warren Bird is also the editor of Wisdom from Lyle E. Schaller: The Elder Statesman of Church Leadership (read my review). Schaller noted that when changes are made when following a long-term leader, “A common result of this changing of the guard is the creating of the AAOEL group. ...The initials of this informal, ad hoc, unrecognized group stand for alienated, angry, older ex-leaders.” Who should read this book?

2) Warren Bird and William Vanderbloemen, co-authors of NEXT: Pastoral Succession That Works, begin their book with this profound alert: “Every pastor is an interim pastor.” Read more on succession in the ECFA Governance Toolbox Series No. 4, “Succession Planning: 11 Principles for Successful Successions.” If our pastor (or CEO) were to be hit by the proverbial bus, what’s our succession plan? (Note: See also my review of Vanderbloemen’s new workbook for Be the Unicorn.)

3) Warren Bird and Elmer Towns will prompt about 21 LOLs if you read their piece, "When the Horse Is Dead, Dismount,” from their book, Into the Future: Turning Today’s Church Trends Into Tomorrow’s Opportunities. Download the one-pager from the Results Bucket. My favorite: “Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.” What’s your favorite response to a dead horse (program)?

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 17: “Nonprofit” Is a Tax Designation, Not a Management Philosophy!

Book #96 of 100: The 80/20 Principle

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #96 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

The 80/20 Principle:
The Secret to Achieving More With Less
by Richard Koch

Books #92 through #96 spotlight five helpful books for nonprofit CEOs, senior staff, and board members. In 2008, Richard Koch wrote a new and updated edition of his 10-year-old business classic. Will you read it—or delegate the reading to a team member?
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon.
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

The 80/20 principle is all around us:
• 20 percent of your donors give 80 percent of the budget
• 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your customers
• One-fifth of your time (equivalent to one day a week) produces 80 percent of your important work
• 80 percent of your people problems come from 20 percent of your staff!
• 20 percent of your volunteers do 80 percent of the work
And how about your wardrobe—you likely wear 20 percent of your clothes about 80 percent of the time, right?

BONUS BOOK!
Just published on Oct. 8, 2024, check out 80/20 Daily: Your Day-by-Day Guide to Happier, Healthier, Wealthier, and More Successful Living Using the 80/20 Principle, by Richard Koch.
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (11 hours, 58 minutes)

Song #37 of 45: “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes”

Listen to “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes,” sung by Elvis Costello, Song #37 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Costello wrote this song in just 10 minutes!

Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

5-Star Workbook on 12 Leadership Habits!

As I paged through this beautifully designed WORKBOOK, a follow-up to the Be the Unicorn book by William Vanderbloemen, I had this overpowering urge to organize a discussion group! You'll love it—including the free assessment on the "12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders From the Rest." Read my review. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

02:45 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Adelle M. Banks, Daniel Yang, Future-Ready Church, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Warren Bird

October 24, 2024

Next Level Nonprofit: Build A Dream Team + Increase Lasting Impact

Issue No. 625 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting warns you that Next Level Nonprofit might create some angst initially—but it will be well worth the read. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my short reviews of four leadership books and my favorite niche chapters. BONUS! Read Skye Matlock’s color commentary on “Deacon Blues,” by Steely Dan.

Reading Next Level Nonprofit prompted me to rethink my Top-20 books of all time. This is a MUST-READ. Tell me what you think!

• If you're a reader...continue reading!
• If you're a listener...enjoy this AI-generated podcast created by Google's NotebookLM. Listen to AI’s “review” of my review here (13 minutes, 57 seconds). For more AI-generated "reviews" of my reviews, visit here.

Warning! This 20-Question Assessment Might Be Risky!

When our son, Jason, and I published Mastering 100 Must-Read Books in 2022, today’s book had not yet been written—so now in 2024, we have a problem. Should we edit the title so it reads “Mastering 101 Must-Read Books?” Or…maybe I’ll go out on a limb here and add it to my Top-20 book recommendations (see Resource 5.2). Either way…if you understand the power and the importance of nonprofit organizations, this is a must-read:

Next Level Nonprofit:
Build A Dream Team + Increase Lasting Impact
by Chris Lambert (June 2, 2023)

This book is a complete package—and packed with practical next steps. How practical? The author recommends you ask your “Direct Supports” (his term for “direct reports”) this question from Kim Scott, “What could I do or stop doing that would make it easier to work with me.” (Warning! Don’t ask this question at home!)

You’ll find even more gut-checks in this compact book—including a 20-question organizational assessment. (Warning to all inflated egos.) For each question, rank where you are as a team on a scale of 1 to 5:
1 = Yea, we really need help on that.
2 = We’re not good at this one.
3 = It could go either way.
4 = We’re doin’ pretty good on this one.
5 = We are rockin’ this!

Go ahead—rank your organization:
• Q6. “Everyone in our organization knows the most important things we need to accomplish over the next quarter to be on track to achieve our one-year goals.”
• Q7. “Every team member has access to a simplified version of our storytelling strategy, and they understand how we are communicating with our core audience(s).”
• Q9. “We are excellent at attracting and retaining the most talented team members.”

Are you gutsy enough to answer all 20 questions in this organizational assessment? If so, click here—and good luck!

I could have—and would have—used this brilliant book in my nonprofit leadership years and also in my consulting/coaching years—had it been written back then. Now today? My best suggestion: order enough copies for your “direct supports” and your board chair.

The “operating system” is organized into four complementary components:
1. Team Unity
2. Compelling Vision
3. Right Strategy
4. Disciplined Execution

I confess. I read Chapter 10 in the “Disciplined Execution” section first. “The Weekly” aligns beautifully with this eNews and my Meetings Bucket—and Lambert gives away the store revealing how he and his leadership team conduct purposeful weekly meetings. They are evangelists for weekly meetings. (Preach it, friends!)

“The Weekly is the backbone of implementing the Next Level Nonprofit system,” Lambert writes. “We created the term ‘The Weekly’ for this critical, 90-minute meeting with your Executive Leadership Team, because it MUST take place on the same day and time every single week. Every leader must be present, without any distractions (no emailing, texting, or doing other work during The Weekly). Always start on time. Always end on time. As the expression goes, ‘Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!’”

With a nod to Patrick Lencioni’s Death by Meeting wisdom, the Next Level Nonprofit system details how to conduct weekly, quarterly, and yearly meetings and off-sites, plus info on leveraging “The State of the Organization Gatherings.” (You do all this, right?) Here’s their 10-minute video detailing the agenda for the 90-minute weekly meeting:

View this 10-minute video on “How to Run the Weekly” and learn how key team members describe each segment (and the time allotted): Highs & Lows, Focus Time, Scoreboard Review, The W3s (What, Who, When), Quarterly Priorities, Opportunities/Next Steps, and Wrap-Up.

Lambert suggests you use the final five minutes of your 90-minute weekly meeting to summarize three things:
• Recap the W3s (What, Who, When)
• What info needs to leave the room?
• How did we do as a team today?

That last question reminded me of the short feedback exercise I learned from a client a few years back, “Five-Finger Feedback.” See Tool #4 in ECFA Tools and Templates for Effective Board Governance: Time-Saving Solutions for Your Board.

ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATING SYSTEM. When you read Lambert’s story, you’ll discover that—like many inexperienced CEOs—he couldn’t keep up with the needs and the growth of Life Remodeled, the nonprofit he founded in 2010 in Detroit. He intuitively knew he needed an “organizational operating system”—but one designed for nonprofits. Thus—Next Level Nonprofit was born (the book and consulting) with three audiences in mind:
• Nonprofit leaders
• Future nonprofit founders
• Generous givers and raving fans of nonprofits

When other nonprofit leaders asked Lambert about his “secret sauce”—how Life Remodeled had grown from 2010 to overseeing more than $43.5 million invested in Detroit neighborhoods between 2014-2022—he realized there was an opportunity and a responsibility to share the applicable principles of his “operating system.” (View his 2015 TEDx Talk here and a recent interview here.)

This book is so, so encouraging. It will give you hope! With little background for taking on a massive and ongoing project in Detroit, Chris Lambert launched Life Remodeled after serving as a community organizer in Liberia, and pastoring a church in Detroit. He writes, “…at the time, our church had only $8,000 in the bank, fewer than 200 members, and no connections to people of influence.”

Lambert's faith journey is remarkable and he enjoys telling colleagues: “I intentionally founded Life Remodeled as a non-religious organization; however, as a person of deep faith, my first response is usually to give all the credit to God. When this response is met with eye rolls or follow-up questions, I share about our ‘no-so-secret sauce.’” (He then talks about their organizational operating system—specifically designed for a nonprofit.)

I urge you to buy at least five copies of this book—to go deeper on:
• Why Lambert uses a “3 strikes” approach with team members. (And speaking of strikes, Go Dodgers!)
• Why many 360 review attempts fail miserably (Hint: lack of humility at the senior team level).
• The 38 questions on the Annual 360 CEO Review! (Warning! Will your CEO dare share this with your board and staff?)
• “For Coaches and Direct Supports, I stand by the principle of praising publicly and critiquing privately. The only exception to this rule are the CEO and COO.” Read why he urges all team members to give him “constructive criticism on the spot”—even when others are in the room. (I warned you, right?!)
• (Did I mention he gives away the store?) See pages 88-89 for a sample job description for their Chief Development Officer.
• Core Value Trophy. Read how Lambert keeps core values top-of-mind with quarterly awards to team members, nominated by the senior team, demonstrating—with a compelling story—how that team member exhibited the core value.
• Book-of-the-Quarter. Imagine—a team that values reading and listening to that quarter’s assigned book. They do this! (Some awards include $50 Amazon gift cards.)
• Ideal Balance of Affirmation and Challenge. See the 2x2 on page 101: High and Low Affirmation and High and Low Challenge. The “high/high” is labeled, “Thriving Culture.” But maybe…your people are in the “Stressed Culture” quadrant?
• Hoopla! Bucket. I thought I had already included all the good ideas in my Hoopla! Bucket. I was wrong! Lambert lists six fabulous ideas in the section, “Trust-Building Activities.” My new favorite: “The Book About Me.”

“You are supernaturally informed
that you’re going to die in the next 24 hours, and you’re given the opportunity to come up with the title of a book that will be written about your life. What do you want the title of this book to be, and how do you want the Amazon description to read?”

ONE OR TWO PAGES?
• 2-Page Strategy Document. David Schmidt, my consultant friend, mentored me on the power of a one-page strategic plan placement. Chris Lambert prefers two pages and I’ll allow that (as if he needs my ok!). See Chapter 8, for his page one, “Where Are We Going?” and view his strategy document here, including his page two, “How Do We Get There?”

What else do I love about this book? The alignment. Next Level Nonprofit aligns beautifully with the business literature and gurus—but also adapts that wisdom to the in-the-trenches messy world of nonprofits. You’ll appreciate numerous references to Jim Collins, SMART Goals, the priority of execution, Lencioni’s work, organizational charts, Scaling Up, and The Power of Moments.

Listen to the final chapter, “Conclusion” (3 minutes, 44 seconds), on Libro. And remember—I warned you!

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Next Level Nonprofit: Build A Dream Team + Increase Lasting Impact, by Chris Lambert. Listen on Libro (4 hours, 9 minutes). And thanks to the author for sending me a review copy.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

One of the 20 questions in the Next Level Nonprofit assessment includes three sub-questions. Rank each on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is high): “If I asked everyone in our organization these three simple questions, I would receive nearly the same responses from each team member.”
#1. What does our organization do?
#2. Why do we do it?
#3. How do we do it?

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 17: “Nonprofit” Is a Tax Designation, Not a Management Philosophy!

Book #95 of 100: Managing Transitions

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #95 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

Managing Transitions:
Making the Most of Change
by William Bridges

Books #92 through #96 spotlight five helpful books for nonprofit CEOs, senior staff, and board members. When this book was first published in 1991, it was recognized as the definitive guide to dealing with change. Now one million books sold later, it still holds that position. If it’s not in your organization’s resource library, it should be.
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon.
• Listen on Libro (6 hours, 15 minutes)
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

William Bridges identifies three critical steps in managing transitions. Step 2: Enter the neutral zone (the no man’s land between the old reality and the new). Some will abort in this zone, not wanting the pain. But it’s also the place where creativity, renewal and development will often occur. “The neutral zone is thus a dangerous and opportune place, and it is the very core of the transition process.”

Song #36 of 45: “Deacon Blues”

Listen to “Deacon Blues,” by Steely Dan, Song #36 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Learn how guest blogger Skye Matlock discovered the song while listening to Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

Really! Pearson Did a Podcast (kinda)!

This is crazy! I fed my review of Mindshift: Transform Leadership, Drive Innovation, and Reshape the Future, into Google’s new “podcaster maker” (my term)—and this 10-minute podcast popped out. Must-listen! (Or must-read!) And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: Chris Lambert, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Life Remodeled, Next Level Nonprofit

October 10, 2024

4 Leadership Books and 48 Niche Chapters

Issue No. 624 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting hopes to inspire you to mentor your team members with niche chapters from four leadership books. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Restoring Our Sanity Online.

Really! The bylaws of Your Weekly Staff Meeting require us to feature this cartoon at least once a year.

4 Books & 48 Niche Chapters!

NEW PODCAST FEATURE! To listen to an AI-generated podcast summarizing this issue of Your Weekly Staff Meeting enews, click here. This is crazy! I created this 12-minute podcast using the new free tool from Google, NotebookLM. I just cut and pasted the content (below) into NotebookLM and in about five minutes this "chatty" podcast between two people bounced out! Read the blog first and then compare my content to the conversation between the two podcasts hosts. (Note: I intentionally did not include my name or the name of this blog.) For more, read the WSJ article about NotebookLM.

Shocker! You don’t need to read every chapter of every book! Instead, mentor your team members with niche books and leverage their strengths with thoughtfully selected chapters.

The late Zig Ziglar wrote, “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” Ditto—leadership books! As Dick Daniels urges, “Recalibrate your calling every day.” Or…as then 99-year-old Charlie Munger (1924-2023) told the WSJ last year, “I don’t know how to get smart without reading a lot.”

Your leadership and management challenges never plateau. The obstacles and thorny issues change and grow constantly. And learning leadership is not a one-and-done seminar. The leadership book you read last year may not address those keep-you-up-all-night issues that crowded your inbox yesterday.

So here you go—4 leadership books with niche chapters for what may be coming around the bend. Delegate your reading to your direct reports. Ask them to report on a “niche chapter” relevant to their biggest challenges this quarter.

#1. The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out, by Dana Maor, Hans-Werner Kaas, Kurt Strovink, and Ramesh Srinivasan (Senior Partners at McKinsey & Company, Sept. 10, 2024). Order from Amazon. Listen on Libro (7 hours, 51 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending a review copy.

Best Niche Chapter: “Everyone Keeps Things From the Boss.” Using in-the-trenches examples from McKinsey’s Bower Forum, the authors mention a CEO who “complained that the people in his organization no longer told him what was really going on. Since he became the boss, he no longer had any peers, and those frank conversations he used to have with his colleagues disappeared. He felt lost and worried that some bad news would eventually blindside him.”

To “Encourage Truth Telling,” the authors give very specific and practical suggestions including how to “foster dissent by actively seeking it.” They mention the classic example from 2006 when Alan Mulally became Ford’s new CEO. He introduced a weekly meeting with red/yellow/green scorecards. In the first meeting, 16 execs reported that every project was green! “Incredulous, Mulally challenged the executives, asking how all the projects could be going well if the company was losing money” (more than $17 billion!). What happened? View “Alan Mulally: The Ford Traffic Light” (7 minutes).

The authors pack wisdom and wit into this chapter. “After one executive retired, she said the best thing about retirement was she no longer had to walk down the halls and when someone said good morning have to think about what they really meant.” LOL!

Bonus Niche Chapter: “Practice Making Mistakes.” What team member needs to read Chapter 11 on adopting fearless learning? “Teams that avoid failure miss the point, because people learn as much, if not more, from mistakes as from successes.” (Amen!)

Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired), author of Make Your Bed, is mentioned in this chapter, as is the “Plan B” culture of Navy Seals. Example: the raid on Osama bin Ladin’s compound—and why you sometimes need to “fall out of love with the primary plan and shift to a backup plan or develop a new one.”

#2. Leading People from the Middle: The Universal Mission of Heart and Mind, by William P. Robinson (Jan. 20, 2010). Order from Amazon. And thanks to Jim Canning for recommending this book.

Best Niche Chapter: “Driven and Rhythmic Leadership.” (Oh, my. This assignment I gave myself is hard work! There are way too many “best niche chapters” in Bill Robinson’s powerful book.) Chapter 7 begins, “Leading is hard work—a lot harder than just being in charge.” I’ve never read such a compelling chapter on the leader’s rhythm.

The author was the president of Whitworth University (1993 to 2010) and concludes his seven-page chapter with this: “I’m not all that sappy, but once in a while the smallest thing will just overwhelm me.” He adds, “Sometimes I wonder if God made me for the singular purpose of hanging around with collegians. I don’t know, but here’s what I do know beyond any doubt: our students have made me a better leader than I was every meant to be.”

Bonus! Honest—the preface and introduction are meaty. Learn why this 2010 update of his 2000 book is both shorter and better. He defines “leading from the middle” and uses a memorable three-point outline: “Can’t, Can, Must.” He writes, “First, you can’t lead the way I lead. You wouldn’t want to and the people you lead wouldn’t want you to either. The best leaders lead from their strengths.”

#3. Lead Bigger: The Transformative Power of Inclusion, by Anne Chow (Sept. 10, 2024). Order from Amazon. Listen on Libro (7 hours, 56 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending a review copy.

Best Niche Chapter: Check out the three “Bigger Conversations."
• Gen. Stanley McChrystal: “If You Want to Win”
• Arianna Huffington: “Taking a Whole-Human Approach to Well-Being”
• Adam Grant: “If You’re Not Inclusive, You’re Not a Leader”

With endorsements from Stephen M. R. Covey and Liz Wiseman, this book has niche chapters on “Beyond the Daily Grind,” “Deliver Results and Impact,” and “Dimensionality: Expand Your Understanding of People.”

In the author’s conversation with Gen. McChrystal, author of Leaders: Myth and Reality and Team of Teams, McChrystal said that, as a major, he had three different U.S. Army bosses in three years. Boss #1: fairly inclusive. Boss #2: more elitist. When the “cool guys” were in the room, McChrystal was not invited. Boss #3: “incredibly inclusive.” McChrystal notes that those three years were a “…whipsaw effect, but it was a great way to remind me how someone in my role feels when it’s good and when it’s not good. That variable changed my outlook on the job completely.”

#4. Attentive Church Leadership: Listening and Leading in a World We've Never Known, by Kevin G. Ford and Jim Singleton (Foreword by Ed Stetzer, April 2, 2024). Order from Amazon. Listen on Libro (10 hours, 6 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending a review copy.

Best Niche Chapter: “How Do We Create Community in a Narcissistic World?” If the co-pastors of our home church asked me to recommend one chapter from this important book—I’d urge them to read the whole book, but affirm that they are doing many things well, especially: 1) creating community, and 2) serving with humility. Yet this reminder:

The authors quote Tom Nelson, author of The Flourishing Pastor. “The crowd need not be big nor the stage prominent for the celebrity pastor to emerge. Celebrity is not necessarily tied to the size of the audience, but rather the size of the ego to be stroked.” Ford and Singleton add, “An inflated ego is not only found in megachurch contexts; it can reside in any human heart.” (See also The Leader’s Palette and Let Us Prey.)

By the way, my “Page 25 Rule-of-Thumb” played out again. Jim Singleton describes on page 25 the insurmountable barrier that faced Whitworth University in 1991-1992. Then he relates how the “identify of Whitworth was revived” when Bill Robinson arrived (see Book #2 above).

4 BOOKS…and 48 niche chapters. Watch for additional reviews of these four books and more of my favorite niche chapters.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) What’s the most helpful leadership or management book you’ve ever read? Why?
2) What are two or three of your “Reading 101 Principles” for getting the most out of a book?
3) Name a “niche chapter” you have recently recommended to someone. Why?

Note: These questions are included in “The Book Bucket” chapter of Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit.

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 17: “Nonprofit” Is a Tax Designation, Not a Management Philosophy!

Book #94 of 100: Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom (2nd Edition)

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #94 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

Mastering the Management Buckets:
20 Critical Competencies
for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit
by John Pearson

Books #92 through #96 spotlight five helpful books for nonprofit CEOs, senior staff, and board members. Shocker! You don’t need to read every chapter of every book! Instead, mentor your team members with niche books and leverage their strengths with thoughtfully selected chapters.
• Read reviews from others here and here.
• Order from Amazon.
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

OK, I’ll confess again to hyping one of my books—but please keep reading. How would you coach a team member on the following?
• A rookie manager needs to learn the importance of affirming team members.
• A senior leader has a faulty “sequential” view of priorities (God first, family second, church third, career fourth).
• Due to continued workplace dysfunction, trust has been broken in the finance department.
• A board member has workaholic tendencies and an imbalanced life.
• A department head is a “reader,” but her direct reports are all “listeners.”

Read the core competency in Chapter 5,“The Book Bucket,” and then explore how to mentor team members with niche books and niche chapters. (You do have a massive management library and purposeful book culture, right?)

See also: Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook: Management Tools, Templates and Tips from John Pearson, with commentary by Jason Pearson (2nd Edition, 2018) - Order from Amazon.

Song #35 of 45: "Love's in Need of Love Today"

Listen to "Love's in Need of Love Today," by Stevie Wonder, Song #35 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Read why Stevie Wonder said, "I think most songwriters are inspired by an inner voice and spirit. God gave me this gift, and this particular song was a message I was supposed to deliver.”

Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

12 Niche Chapters on Influence

Good luck landing on your favorite niche chapter in this book. It's impossible. Bill Butterworth delivers 12 nominees on the theme of "The Secret Sauce for Greater Influential Effectiveness." Perfect topics for your next 12 weekly staff meetings. Read my review. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

Join John Pearson on Oct. 18, 2024
The 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board
While space remains, The Barnabas Group/Orange County invites nonprofit CEOs and board members to their board governance seminar, led by John Pearson, Oct. 18, 2024 (Friday 7:30 - 11:30 a.m.) in Irvine, Calif. The complimentary seminar includes a continental breakfast and the 100-page workbook, The 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board (3rd Edition): How Leaders Enrich Their Ministry Results Through God-Honoring Governance. More info here.

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Tags: church leadership, John Pearson's Buckets Blog, lead bigger, leadership, leading people from the middle, the journey of leadership

October 5, 2024

Restoring Our Sanity Online: A Revolutionary Social Framework

Issue No. 623 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting suggests a funny and scary book—just in time for Halloween. “The Woz” says it’s a must-read. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Faith for the Curious. BONUS! Read Melinda Schmidt’s color commentary on the song, “Walk This Way,” by Aerosmith.

Commenting on “Big Tech’s Overarching Dark Side,” Mark Weinstein writes in Restoring Our Sanity Online, “…Big Tech has a dark side that would make Darth Vader blush.”

Big Tech’s Dark Side

Leaders and readers who know me will immediately recognize that, by reviewing this book, I’m well beyond my pay grade. Forgive (or skip) my feeble commentary—but please read this book:

Restoring Our Sanity Online:
A Revolutionary Social Framework
by Mark Weinstein (Sept. 24, 2024)

Tech entrepreneur Mark Weinstein makes a fascinating comparison (he calls them “uncanny parallels”) between Big Ag, Big Energy, and Big Tech. We need them—but he warns: “…Big Tech has a dark side that would make Darth Vader blush.”

I always look for the meat and potatoes of a book on page 25—and the author did not disappoint. On page 24, he whacks Meta noting that “The Wall Street Journal revealed an internal Meta report showing that 64% of users who joined an extremist group on Facebook did so because Facebook’s algorithms recommend it to them.” His opinion: “That’s crazy.”

On page 25, the author documents the dark sides of Big Energy, Big Tech, and Big Agriculture. Amidst the doom and gloom, however, Mark Weinstein, will still make you laugh-out-loud. Noting that the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) were fined $50 million in 2016 “due to allegations it conspired to limit competition and manipulate prices,” the DFA willingly paid the fine because “net sales that year were $13.5 billion.” He chuckles, “…you won’t see DFA members crying over spilled milk.”

Weinstein is fearless in documenting the online insanity today—but he doesn’t stop there. He proposes a new approach—a creative solution—“Restoration Networking” and “Restoration Networks.” And attention all skeptics: “In the wake of Sam Bankman-Fried and his misappropriation of ‘Effective Altruism,’ we are correct to be wary of catchy buzzwords.”

Here's why I kept reading and reflecting on Mark Weinstein’s big idea:

#1. THE WOZ. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, calls this a “must-read.” (I agree.)

#2. SHORT-AND-SWEET. While the book is 256 pages, the short-and-sweet 21 chapters are only 148 pages. (One chapter is just two pages.) That’s doable—and someone on your team could read it this week and report on it next week at your weekly staff meeting. Teasers:
• Chapter 4: “Web3 Is Here: What the Heck Is It?”
• Chapter 6: “Meet Your New Boss, Same as the Old Boss”
• Chapter 12: “User ID Verification: Friend or Foe?”
• Chapter 15: “Is AI the High-Tech Tattletale in Your Social Experience?”
• Chapter 18: “Facts, Opinions, Lies: Who Decides?”
• Chapter 20: “Welcome to Web4: The Restoration of Sanity”

#3. BOTS & TROLLS. There are four robust appendices including “Advice to Legislators” (more on that below) and the author’s “Seven-Point Prescription to Vanquish Bots and Trolls.”

#4. CLIFF NOTES-SAVVY. The writing is non-technical (“Let me give you the quick-and-dirty Cliff Notes”). The warnings are scary-important. Chapter 13 (ironic!), “Saving Our Kids from the Abyss,” is must-must-reading. Weinstein’s “commonsense punch list” features 12 bullet points on “How Parents Can Protect Their Kids Right Now.” Spoiler alert: adults need to “set a good example.”

#5. LOL! The humor and one-liners will keep you laughing as you reflect on the author’s concept for a “revolutionary social framework.” Examples:
• On current policymakers’ approach to privacy and anonymity, he pushes back: “Can you say ‘Adios, encryption, hello, Big Brother’?”
• On Big Ag’s animal abuse in factory farms: “Holy cow!” And on Big Energy hiring the same researchers and consultants that Big Tobacco used to deceive the public on the dangers of smoking: “Holy smokes!”
• The history of what he calls Web1, Web2, and Web3 (Web4 is coming) is fascinating. Weinstein notes an 1890 Harvard Law Review article on the right to privacy and adds: “Just making sure this sinks in: 130+ years ago, photos on the fly and posts (in newspapers) were already giving people the creeps.”

#6. WHO SHOULD READ THIS? Weinstein recommends,“This book is for all of the curious [there’s that word “curious” again] and uninitiated, to casual and heavy users of social media, to parents and teachers, to techies and entrepreneurs, to investors and elected officials.” He adds, “Everyone is affected by Big Tech, and everyone is part of the solution.”

#7. AUTHOR'S STREET CRED. With an avalanche of techie books, podcasts, bots, trolls, social media, and (dare I say) book reviews—why should you read or listen to Restoring Our Sanity Online, and can you trust the author?
• The book is also endorsed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web.
• Mark Weinstein’s informative 2020 TED Talk, “The Rise of Surveillance Capitalism,” has over 200,000 views (just 9 minutes).
• The author is frequently featured in the national media, including this WSJ article announcing he had changed his views on Facebook being a monopoly.
• Learn more at the author’s website.

#8. SECTION 230. Did I mention these tech topics are way above my pay grade? Yet, I’ve noticed an increase in conversations about Section 230 (the U.S. Communications Decency Act, per 1996 legislation). I’m trying to educate myself. Here’s Weinstein in the WSJ in 2021 and one of my favorite columnists, Andy Kessler, in the WSJ on Sept. 22, 2024. What’s your opinion?

#9. KA-POW! While Weinstein’s vision for “Restoration Networks” is lofty—he blends those aspirations with pragmatism. LOL! On protecting kids, “Slapping warning labels on social media platforms without significant protective actions is akin to putting icing on an exploding cake.” (I was tempted to ask AI to create that scene for my graphic!)

So…when trick-or-treaters arrive at your door on Oct. 31 for Halloween, will you give them Snickers bars (my favorite!)—or a copy of George Orwell's 1984 (written in 1949!). Or…will you wear your Darth Vader costume and treat those 13-year-old TikTok influencers to a one-pager with all your personal information? (Or…do those kids already have your private info?)

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Restoring Our Sanity Online: A Revolutionary Social Framework, by Mark Weinstein. And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) As you’re updating your “Rolling 3-Year Strategic Plan Placemat” (see Tool #14 in ECFA Tools and Templates for Effective Board Governance), have any of your assumptions about social media changed? (Read more about assumptions.) Will Facebook, TikTok, and other options remain viable in 2025, 2026, or 2027? Will our customers continue to use social media? Who should read Restoring Our Sanity Online this week?

2) Oh, my! How do we keep up with the changing tech world? Richard Foster said, “If you are too busy to read, you are too busy.” Delegate your reading and check out these recent book reviews:
• Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI (View the Zoom review with Dr. John Reynolds, David Schmidt, and John Pearson)
• Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet (read my review)
• Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future (read my review)
• Church IT: Using Information Technology for the Mission of the Church (3rd Edition) – Order from Amazon. (Read my review of the second edition.)

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 17: “Nonprofit” Is a Tax Designation, Not a Management Philosophy!
Book #93 of 100: Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom (2nd Edition)

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #93 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom:
40 Insights for Better Board Meetings (2nd Ed.)
by Dan Busby and John Pearson

Books #92 through #96 spotlight five helpful books for nonprofit CEOs, senior staff, and board members. Would you trust a surgeon who stopped learning? An airline pilot who was not a lifelong learner? How about a board member who stopped learning?
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon.*
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

I confess! Recommending a book I co-authored might seem a tad promotional—but only half-promotional, maybe? Dan Busby (1941-2022) wrote 20 of the 40 lessons in this book, so I can guarantee that at least half of the book (Dan’s half) will serve you well.

Example: Lesson 35, “Is Your Board Color-Blind to Hazardous Conditions? What color is your boardroom flag?” was written by Dan, who notes that he lived near Indianapolis for several years. He writes, “I occasionally stopped by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also known as the Brickyard, to experience the pre-race time trials.”

Dan notes the racetrack flags and adds, “In every board meeting, there are flags that fly—green, yellow, or red—corresponding to the current atmosphere in the boardroom.” He asks, “How would you rate the sensitivity of your board to observing the colors of flags in the boardroom?” (Another keen observation and question from Dan.) Read Lesson 35 on ECFA’s website and for more insights, read the blog by Danny de Armas.

*Note: The Lessons book is currently unavailable from Amazon, so consider reading More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom.

Song #34 of 45: “Walk This Way"

Listen to “Walk This Way,” by Aerosmith, Song #34 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. And LOL! Read what happened (and didn’t happen!) when guest blogger Melinda Schmidt—way back when—met Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

Documentary Movie!
The Stories of Nashville Song Writers

“It All Begins with a Song: The Story of the Nashville Songwriter” is a feel-good documentary with great country music—and the stories behind more than 50 Nashville songwriters. It’s fast-moving, but slows down enough so you’ll enjoy the music. Read my short review. And for more book and movie reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

07:38 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Mark Weinstein, Restoring Our Sanity Online, social framework

September 28, 2024

Faith for the Curious

Issue No. 622 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting predicts that the hot-off-the-press book, Faith for the Curious, will be a Very. Important. Book. Curious? Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Dynamic Drive: The Purpose-Fueled Formula for Sustainable Success. BONUS! Read Scott Anderson’s color commentary on the song, “Rock the Boat,” by The Hues Corporation.

Mark Matlock, author of the new book, Faith for the Curious, writes, “The institutional church has needed an update: the pandemic offered an opportunity to have a massive garage sale."

Massive Garage Sale Needed at Your Church?

Mark Matlock doesn’t hold back! Whew! He writes, “COVID-19 gave the church an opportunity that we likely haven’t fully leaned into. I conducted hundreds of hours of webinars during the pandemic, many with concerned church leaders wanting to know when we would get ‘back to normal.’ I implored leaders to take advantage of the moment.”

He adds, “The institutional church has needed an update: the pandemic offered an opportunity to have a massive garage sale. Instead of ‘getting back to normal,’ I argued that this was a chance to create a much-needed new normal—one better equipped to meet the challenges of today.” This is a must-read:

Faith for the Curious:
How an Era of Spiritual Openness Shapes the Way We Live and Help Others Follow Jesus
by Mark Matlock (Sept. 24, 2024)

OLD WINESKINS GAME! Mark Matlock is one creative guy! During the pandemic, he “…facilitated numerous workshops with church and nonprofit leaders, and one of the games we played was ‘keep it, curb it, refresh it.’ Never before has the church had an opportunity to ‘curb’ so many relics we have accumulated over time.”

“Enough with putting new wine into old wineskins. Let’s start thinking about what new things God is interested in doing through us.”

You could just stop reading—right here—and facilitate an entire day with your team using the Mark Matlock exercise on your products, programs, and services:
• KEEP IT!
• CURB IT!
• REFRESH IT!

(Or, if you prefer a few more instructions, try the “Stars, Hearts, Money Tree, and Stop Sign” exercise from the book, Nonprofit Sustainability. See the mini-review below.)

But back to the big idea of Faith for the Curious. Matlock has two aims for his book:
1) “The first is to help us understand who the Spiritually Curious are in a deeper way.” He adds, “These people differ from each other in many ways, but curiosity is always a distinguishing factor that draws them together.”
2) “The second goal is to help us make a shift in the way we are personally and collectively practicing Christianity. We have a lot to gain from becoming more curious ourselves, from realizing there may be something we are missing in our own spiritual life that needs tending to, and from embracing the idea that we can’t take people somewhere we haven’t been.”

He adds, “Spiritual curiosity isn’t a fire to be extinguished; it’s a garden to be cultivated.”

How effective are you at communicating across the wide spectrum of spiritual views? Matlock leverages Barna’s research and identifies important segments that your church and your own observations may be missing. One helpful chart, “Supernaturalism x Curiosity” illustrates the “Curiosity” continuum (Low to High) with the “Supernaturalism” continuum (No Belief to Strong Belief), and features these segments: Naturalists, Curious Skeptics, Spiritually Curious, and Practicing Christians. Examples:

The Spiritually Curious: “These are adults who are not part of the Christian church (meaning, they are non-Christians or Nonpracticing Christians), yet they believe there is a real spiritual dimension and show high levels of curiosity.”

The Curious Skeptics: “These non-Christians and Nonpracticing Christians also show high levels of curiosity. When it comes to spirituality, big questions loom; they are uncertain if there is a spiritual dimension, or they believe there is no way to know for sure.”

While reading Faith for the Curious, I sensed that this is a Very. Important. Book. David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group, writes in the foreword, “Get this: approximately three-quarters of adults in America say they believe in a higher power, and a majority say they’re interested in exploring spirituality.”

Describing Matlock’s expertise as a “data storyteller,” Kinnaman notes that “Mark authored this book under the Barna brand, which means he included reliable charts, infographics, and statistics, and he unpacks them for those who share our love of a good data story.” (The charts and stats are both eye-opening and soul-opening.)

Kinnaman assures us, “But this isn’t your typical quantitative Barna research book.” So he urges readers and leaders to “…pause for a moment and ask God to meet you where you are in your own faith life: to humbly ask him to soften your heart so it will be open and receptive to what you’re about to experience in the pages that follow here.” (Who writes a foreword—with humility—and asks you to pray before reading the book? Who does that? Oh, my.)

Kinnaman, by the way, is the coauthor with Matlock, of Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon (read my review). That book provided “hopeful news and handrails to help guide our own kids and other young adults on how to cultivate a resilient faith.” Matlock builds on that research and Faith for the Curious focuses on “this current cultural moment.” Kinnaman writes: “Massive receptivity to the possibility of God exists today.” He adds, “We’re living in a cultural moment full of enormous evangelistic opportunities.”

I can’t possibly showcase the depth, width, and wisdom of Faith for the Curious in one review. I hope you’ll read it—or at least delegate your reading to someone on your team. More teasers:

INSIGHTFUL. Matlock’s commentary on “post-Christian culture” is so, so helpful as he unpacks “A Christmas Sermon for Pagans,” by C.S. Lewis (1898-1963). Lewis, author of more than 30 books including The Screwtape Letters, wrote that “there are three kinds of people in the world.” Lewis described them: “(1) Those who are sick and don’t know it (the post-Christians). (2) Those who are sick and know it (Pagans). (3) Those who have found the cure.”

JOY. Matlock: “To journey with a Curious Skeptic is one of the greatest joys we can have as a believer. This unique type of skeptic can often help us deepen our own faith, because we find we have to trust Jesus as we help them do the same.”

LESSONS LEARNED. Matlock is pretty transparent in his final chapter, “Lessons Learned.” Here are two of his six lessons:
• “God is at work in places where I don’t think to look.”
• “There are fewer people hostile to Christianity than I thought.”

Did I mention? This is a Very. Important. Book. Now...do you need a garage sale at your church or organization? Keep it? Curb it? Refresh it?

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Faith for the Curious: How an Era of Spiritual Openness Shapes the Way We Live and Help Others Follow Jesus, by Mark Matlock. Listen on Libro (5 hours, 22 minutes).

GENEROUS! Wes Taber, Global Ambassador for Life in Messiah, emailed me last week. He had just forwarded Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews to a team member—with a very generous offer. Wes said he would cover the cost of any book recommended in my eNews—if that staff member, or any other “LIFEr,” would commit to two requirements:
1) Read the book.
2) “Report back…with two things they found helpful and one thing they are putting into practice immediately.”
That’s both brilliant and generous! Wes Taber also noted that the book reviews in Your Weekly Staff Meeting “are more than worth the cost of subscribing (it’s free!).” (Thanks, Wes! LOL!)

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) Have you reflected deeply on “curiosity” in our culture? Molly Fletcher writes an entire chapter on “curiosity” in her book, Dynamic Drive (read my review). I’m also curious—wondering how much fun it would be to host Mark Matlock and Mark Ellis for dinner at the San Clemente Pier! (I explain my dinner offer in my review of the book by Mark Ellis, The House at Channing and Moonsail. Ellis describes how a friend piqued his curiosity to read a book by Josh McDowell.)

2) In the Customer Bucket, we highlight “The Engel Scale,” named by an appreciative grad student who studied under Prof. Jim Engel. (Read What's Gone Wrong With the Harvest? by James F. Engel and Wilbert Norton.) The scale begins with a -8 (a person with an awareness of a supreme being, but no effective knowledge of the gospel). It moves down to a -1 (repentance and faith in Christ), and then to a +1, +2, +3, +4, +5 and beyond (demonstrating growth in being a Christ-follower). QUESTION: How are we communicating to the spectrum of spiritual views? See Matlock’s chart contrasting “Curiosity” with “Supernaturalism” and these segments: Naturalists, Curious Skeptics, Spiritually Curious, and Practicing Christians.

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books
Part 17: “Nonprofit” Is a Tax Designation, Not a Management Philosophy!
Book #92 of 100: Nonprofit Sustainability

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #92 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

Nonprofit Sustainability:
Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability
by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka, and Steve Zimmerman

Books #92 through #96 spotlight five helpful books for nonprofit CEOs, senior staff, and board members. Nonprofit Sustainability’s “Dual Bottom Line” matrix map addresses mission impact and financial sustainability—with four easy-to-remember icons.
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: Nonprofit Sustainability
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

Use the matrix in the book and plot your products, programs, and services in the appropriate quadrant:
• Stars: High Mission Impact, High Profitability
• Hearts: High Mission Impact, Low Profitability
• Money Tree: Low Mission Impact, High Profitability
• Stop Sign: Low Mission Impact, Low Profitability
Gut check! What are you going to do this month about those programs in the “Stop Sign” category?

For more, read “Focus on Mission Impact and Sustainability. The ‘dual bottom line’ equips boards to address dead horses and sacred cows (or goats).” Lesson 23 is featured in the book, Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: 40 Insights for Better Board Meetings (2nd Edition), by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Order from Amazon. Read the blog by Steve Moore. Read the lesson on ECFA’s website.

Song #33 of 45: “Rock the Boat”

Listen to "Rock the Boat,” by The Hues Corporation, Song #33 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Learn why the song was so "memorable" to a 16-year-old Scott Anderson, “The Disco Dishwasher!”

Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

“God Was Not on My Radar”

While reading Faith for the Curious, by Mark Matlock (see above), I also read a gutsy and transparent autobiographical look-in-the-mirror, The House at Channing and Moonsail, by Mark Ellis. I’d like to host both Marks for dinner at the San Clemente Pier sometime. The conversation would be fascinating. (Read both books and join us!) And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

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Tags: evangelism, Faith for the Curious, Jesus, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Mark Matlock, spiritual openness, spiritual skeptics

September 20, 2024

Dynamic Drive: The Purpose-Fueled Formula for Sustainable Success

Issue No. 621 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting spotlights seven keys to personal growth: “Mindset, Energy, Discipline, Curiosity, Resilience, Connection, and Confidence.” (What are your keys?) Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of The Culturally Conscious Board. BONUS! Read Gary Rea’s color commentary on "Ramblin' Man."

That’s right: “Wow!” That’s what currently unmotivated team members, colleagues, and family members will tell you after they’ve read Dynamic Drive and applied it to their lives. “Wow!”

Energizers, Drainers, and Neutrals!

When leadership and motivational guru John Maxwell recommends a book—it gets my attention. (Can you imagine the endorsement requests he receives?) And speaking of recommendations, I often mention Maxwell’s book, Leadership Gold, which he postponed writing until he was 60. My favorite chapter: “The Secret to a Good Meeting Is the Meeting Before the Meeting” (just $1.99 on Kindle!).

John Maxwell inspired me to read this new book:

Dynamic Drive:
The Purpose-Fueled Formula for Sustainable Success
by Molly Fletcher (Sept. 3, 2024)

For almost 20 years, the author was a sports agent—representing over 300 of the biggest names in sports. Also known as “the female Jerry McGuire,” Molly Fletcher’s TED Talk has more than a million views. She has a podcast, and this new book is just one of many she’s written. (So is her book a “Ho hum…blah, blah, blah?” Or…is it “Oh, my!”)

Oh, My! and Wow! Molly Fletcher hooked me by page 22 with her “What’s Important?” four-column chart and the story of “Dave, the 6-foot-2-inch guy with biceps the size of my thighs.” Along with 25 other leaders in the room, Dave had just completed the author’s exercise, “The Alignment Audit.”

Dave started to cry and Fletcher “quietly walked over and handed him some Kleenex.” She writes, “This wasn’t uncommon at all. Dave clearly saw the significant misalignment with what he holds most dear in his life and how much time and energy he gives to it.” (My guarantee: read pages 21 to 25 first and you’ll read the whole book.)

Fletcher recommends you “Use Failure as Fuel.” Fast forward to Chapter 13, “The Work Is Never Done” and you’ll appreciate the wisdom—and summary chart—of the author’s seven keys: “Mindset, Energy, Discipline, Curiosity, Resilience, Connection, and Confidence.” (Do I get curiosity points for reading the “curiosity” chapter first?)

The author warns, “Complacency can sneak up on you, so it’s essential to recognize the signs so you can take steps to address it and continue growing. Ask yourself these [seven] questions to assess and adjust, so that when you lose your spark—and you will—you know what to do.” The “curiosity” example:
• IF YOU SAY…“I know what I need to know.”
• Then to be more curious, GO AND… “Cold call people who are where you want to be and ask them questions.”

And oh, my—I’m already trying to avoid the author’s “bad” questions! Example:
• BAD QUESTION: “Who is your ideal client?”
• GOOD QUESTION: “I saw you just started working with Target and CVS—congrats; what is it about those clients that make them ideal for you?”

She urges readers to do their homework—before asking questions. “There are stupid questions,” she reminds us. “You can lose people really fast when you’re lazy and unprepared. Demonstrate a level of knowledge, of preparation, then ask questions.”

Also in the “curiosity” chapter—you’ll learn how Fletcher positioned John Smoltz, the longtime Atlanta Braves pitcher, for a sports broadcasting career. To give him some “reps with a mic,” she lined up video interviews with five rookies—one at a time. Learn why the interviews were conducted as far away from the elevator as possible. (Brilliant!)

STOP FOR A MINUTE! Who in your circle has become complacent? Who is lacking in motivation? Who has stopped growing? A team member? A son or daughter? A grandchild? A board member? A leader at your church or someone in your small group? You? (Better order two copies!)

View this CBS Mornings interview with Molly Fletcher (4.5 minutes).

A leader told me last week he doesn’t read the books I recommend—he just reads my reviews. Trust me—you need the whole book on this one. The meat and potatoes are bountiful. Here’s a taste of “The Seven Keys to Unlock Your Dynamic Drive.”

Key #1: MINDSET. “A mindset is like software: it runs on a script.” Brilliant: How a young Molly Fletcher convinced a pizza joint to give her 15 free pizzas every month!

Key #2: ENERGY. “Choose where your energy goes, before the world chooses for you.” Bonus! Click here to download the 19-page guide (PDF), “Auditing Your Energy.”
• Maximize Your Energizers
• Eliminate or Manage Your Drainers
• Be More Efficient with Your Neutrals
(Note: See also Patrick Lencioni’s book and assessment, The 6 Types of Working Genius.)

Key #3: DISCIPLINE. “Most people overestimate talent and underestimate discipline.” Read what a young Tom Brady wrote on his whiteboard and how a former Navy Seal leverages an “Accountability Mirror.” Plus this: “Discipline eats motivation for breakfast.”

Key #4: CURIOSITY. Molly Fletcher has logged more than 1,000 speaking engagements—and her 30-minute “pre-call” to every keynote organizer is pure genius! She asks questions like:
• “What are the three behavior changes you want to see from the people in the room? In other words, if we connect again in six months, what will people be doing differently?” (Pastors: try this!)
• “What are they worried about? Excited about?”

Key #5: RESILIENCE. “The difference between good and great is the ability to recover from adversity faster.”

Key #6: CONNECTION. Two of five “no” reminders: “Say no to attending a client dinner to say yes to attending your kid’s game that night.” And, “Say no to picking up your phone in a meeting so you can say yes to being fully present.” (See also “10 Best Practices for Having Tough Conversations.”)

Key #7: CONFIDENCE. Where do you spend your time? Comfort Zone? Stretch Zone? Panic or Stress Zone? Where is the ideal place for your growth? Fletcher says that the comfort zone has no surprises. “…there’s very little reflection or learning in the comfort zone, so you remain unchallenged. As a result, you can become unmotivated, complacent, and disengaged. Confidence doesn’t come from your comfort zone.”

Wow! In the chapter, “Deep Purpose,” you will read the story—and the perfect weekly staff meeting question—about the proverbial plank between two New York City high-rise buildings. There’s a 20 percent chance you’d die if you tried to walk the plank. Would you do it for $1 million? $3 million? $5 million? Read what prompts every person to volunteer for the task! (You’ll borrow this story—guaranteed!)

Who, in your circle of influence, needs to read or listen to this book?

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Dynamic Drive: The Purpose-Fueled Formula for Sustainable Success, by Molly Fletcher. Listen on Libro (9 hours, 5 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

BONUS! Listen to the podcast, “Game Changers with Molly Fletcher,” and her interview with John Maxwell on “The One Question Every Leader Should Ask.” (Don’t skip their conversation about “curiosity.”)

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) Molly Fletcher writes, “Dynamic Drive is a practice, a muscle that can be strengthened through regular engagement with the Seven Keys…in this book.” She adds, “It’s not about perfect. Dynamic Drive means you’ve never arrived. You’re constantly seeking to improve.” And this: “It’s not about going from point A to point B. It’s about who you become along the way.” Question: Are you practicing? How are your muscles? Says who?

2) David Novak, author of How Leaders Learn, also recommends you read Dynamic Drive, by Molly Fletcher. (Read my review of Novak’s book to learn how to “master the habits of the world’s most successful people.”) Question: How, when, and where are you investing your time this month—on your lifelong journey of improvement? (Read Fletcher’s chapter, “The Complacency Epidemic”—and why “achievement often leads to complacency.” Yikes!)

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 16: Keys to Memorable Speaking and Writing
Book #91 of 100: Gilead

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #91 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

Gilead
by Marilynne Robinson

Books #87 through #91 spotlight five memorable books to enrich your speaking and writing competencies. Why read Gilead? It’s a masterpiece of writing, words, and ideas. It will inspire your vision for excellence. It’s not a leadership or management book, but it is. This is a five-star recommendation.
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: Gilead
• Listen on Libro (8 hours, 53 minutes)
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

Like a Rembrandt or a Gauguin, or an exquisite gourmet dinner, you will savor the writing, the language, the nuances, and the hidden humor in this masterpiece novel, Gilead. Marilynne Robinson’s treasure was highly acclaimed by critics and received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2004 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. And…Oprah’s Book Club Pick.

Warning. You’ll also weep as you journey with John Ames, the 76-year-old still-in-the-pulpit Congregational minister in Gilead, Iowa. It’s 1956 and Pastor Ames is journaling a life letter to his seven-year-old son, an extraordinary blessing from his second and younger wife.

Warning #2. It will slow you down. Way down. Gilead will prick your emotions, then trigger snickers that balloon to belly laughs.

Song #32 of 45: “Ramblin’ Man”

Listen to "Ramblin' Man,” by The Allman Brothers, Song #32 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Learn why this song was #1 on guest blogger Gary Rea’s playlist—when this singer/songwriter and worship pastor ran the beach trails overlooking the Pacific Ocean in San Clemente, Calif.

Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

Photo: Gaither Vocal Band sings “Little is Much When God is in It” (YouTube screenshot, courtesy of God Reports.)

“I have never experienced anything like that then or since.”

One hundred years ago in 1924, Kittie Suffield, wrote a song, “Little Is Much When God Is in It.” My next-door neighbor, Pastor “Mac” met Kittie in 1957—and recently he told me “the rest of the story.” You’re not gonna believe it! And for more book, song, and movie reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

Join John Pearson on Oct. 18, 2024
The 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid with Your Nonprofit Board
While space remains, The Barnabas Group/Orange County invites nonprofit CEOs and board members to their board governance seminar, led by John Pearson, Oct. 18, 2024 (Friday 7:30 - 11:30 a.m.) in Irvine, Calif. The complimentary seminar includes a continental breakfast and the 100-page workbook, The 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board (3rd Edition): How Leaders Enrich Their Ministry Results Through God-Honoring Governance. More info here.

08:17 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Dynamic Drive, John Maxwell, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Molly Fletcher, Sustainable Success

September 9, 2024

The Culturally Conscious Board: Setting the Boardroom Table for Impact

Issue No. 620 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features a hot-off-the-press book on board governance that CHANGED my thinking. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Leadership and Self-Deception. BONUS! Read Paul Palmer’s color commentary on the toe-tapping song, “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

I love this book—and it changed my thinking. But, really, the publisher should have sent along yellow highlighters. Or just to save us the time—they could have highlighted every sentence!

“Bylaws, Schmylaws!”

If you thumbed through my well-worn copy of The Culturally Conscious Board, you’d likely comment, “John! You’ve underlined something on almost every page!”

That’s right. The publisher should have packaged a highlighter and a pen with each book. With just 134 pages (no filler!), this book absolutely changed my thinking about board governance. Really. If you serve on a board, or plan to, this is a must-read:

The Culturally Conscious Board:
Setting the Boardroom Table for Impact
by Jennifer M. Jukanovich and Russell W. West

(Sept. 3, 2024)

Leveraging the story of Crystal, a new board member at her first meeting of the fictitious City Farm board, the authors invite us inside this dysfunctional boardroom. (What? There are dysfunctional boards?) Every chapter begins with this continuing story of boardroom confusion, chaos, and a commonplace culture. Along the way, the authors poke, prod, and coach using real-life boardroom conflicts.
• “How dare she? Doesn’t she know you aren’t supposed to speak at your first board meeting?”
• The City Farm board’s cardinal rule was even more rigid: “Thou shalt not speak as a new board member for at least six meetings.”
• “When your table culture can be reduced to the sum of all the minutes, roll calls, old business and seconded motions, then that is the only level of consciousness your board expects of itself.”
• “Routine lulls into inattention. The trivial and critical get equal time.”

At one disastrous board meeting, Phil, the board chair, shockingly orders Crystal: “Calm down!” The authors add, “Phil had picked the wrong night to go parental on her. As he continued to mansplain the merits of the deal and what so-and-so said and to whom, Crystal retreated internally to have a meeting with both her tongue and her temper.”

The storytelling and the writing is superb—exceeded only by the depth of this important topic: the culturally conscious board. Jukanovich and West, both experienced leaders and board coaches, write, “We think of consciousness as a heightened focus provoked by our surroundings and experiences, enabling us to predict and participate with integrity in the world around us.”

This week, I emailed several experienced nonprofit leaders and consultants—and confessed that had I read this book years ago, my standard response on questions about “boardroom diversity” would have been dramatically different. This book changed my thinking. It’s never too late to change, right?

Bruce McNicol recommended I read The Culturally Conscious Board. I trust his judgment, but I wondered if this was just one more book on all things DEI. (Companies are now rethinking diversity, equity, and inclusion.) But then I was reminded about my favorite quote from Charlie Munger (1924-2023), “I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything unless I know the other side’s argument better than they do.”

The authors—gently and persuasively—enriched my thinking and my worldview on what they call “Conscious Culture,” what’s ON the table (agenda, minutes, budget, and strategy) versus “Unconscious Culture,” what’s OFF the table (dependencies, triangles, groupthink, and gatekeeping).

What’s at stake? “Boards operate at half capacity when only at the transactional level that conscious culture tends to provide…” The authors note, “Boards operate at deep capacity governance, driven by a view of integrity that includes all that is conscious (mentionable) and unconscious (unmentionable).”

Who should read this book? Jukanovich and West describe their audience: “So, whether you:
• are a fumbling, eagle-eyed start-up,
• said yes but are unsure where to start,
• will ever get the chance to attend a board training event,
• are a seasoned board member suddenly in the hot seat,
• wonder if you are doing any good by sitting in late-night meetings, bickering over a dollar,
• are tired of constantly being the guest in a story that doesn’t appreciate yours,
we say, this book is written for you.”

With wisdom and wit, the authors describe the problem of boardroom dysfunction and mediocre outcomes—but they don’t leave us hanging. Crystal’s story leads us into “The Board Placemat”—a very helpful one-pager focused on “Five Essential Conversations” and fleshed out over five meaty chapters on Identity, Intention, Impact, Invitation, and Investment. (Click here to download the placemat.)

Download “The Board Placemat” tool from the authors’ website and discern when and how to use these convicting 25 true-or-false questions at future board meetings and board retreats.

“The Board Placemat” features five true-or-false questions for each of the five must-have conversations at your boardroom table. Each chapter dives deeper. Examples:

IDENTITY:
• “We make time to hear board members’ personal stories.” (True or false?)
• “What are the marks of heroes your organization celebrates?”
• “Who does your board turn to during hard conversations?"

INTENTION
• “We are convinced our theory of change makes a difference." (True or false?)
• “Could you draw your theory of change on a napkin…?”
• “…is everyone clear about what must be measured and why?”

INVITATION
• “We glean stakeholder feedback to lift our cultural blindfolds.” (True or false?)
• “How is the executive session used to ensure everyone has an opportunity to use their voice?”
• “How do you understand ‘diverse’ candidate pools? What voices are missing from the table?”

INVESTMENT
• “We model our missional engagement by participating financially.” (True or false?)
• “A board that has 100% member giving is the gold standard. How does your board encourage this?”

IMPACT
• “We harvest learning after events, milestones, fails and wins.” (True or false?)
• “Notice what your board celebrates and when.”
• “What are the feedback loops in the strategic planning process, as well as in board meetings?”

One of the more engaging conflicts in the book centered on a board assignment. “In this story, there were rumblings from the community about how decisions were really made. The leader forced an uncomfortable conversation on a divided board. He put the matter on the table by requiring all board members to read a book together. All would be invited to respond. This is where things got a bit messy.” (You’ll need to read this yourself, so no spoiler alert.)

Jukanovich and West note, “…it’s not the mentionable that cause the most problems. It’s rather the unmentionable aspects of unconscious culture that strengthen and weaken in their influence as long as they remain unnamed.” They add, “Wouldn’t you want to know where denial or negligence has caused culture to be a liability?”

I’ve always sought to inspire boards to be lifelong learners and to delegate their reading by inviting one board member per meeting to spotlight a board governance book. So…I loved that board chair’s assignment (but not the conflict that ensured!).

Now I have a problem! For ECFA’s governance blog, I wrote short reviews of “18 Best Board Books.” Now, I should probably edit those with two options:
• Option #1: Read 18 “Best Board Books” and add #19, The Culturally Conscious Board.
• Option #2: Skip the first 18 and just read The Culturally Conscious Board.

You’ll find practical alignment between The Culturally Conscious Board and other board books and training experiences. Examples:
• “Humility’s path requires attention and courage. It requires conflict even. Humility anticipates it can be wrong.” (See Book #18).
• On the critical role of the board chair, “These instances can sometimes resemble hostage situations, where the emotional tone of the group is dictated by the angriest or saddest person present. In these moments, true leadership is required." (See Book #12.)
• Note: Bob Andringa endorsed this book and his governance books also align with The Culturally Conscious Board. (See Book #10.)
• And…what a delight, as part of the color commentary on integrating values, to read of the authors’ appreciation for the values in Joy at Work, by Dennis Bakke (Book #21 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books and my 2006 book-of-the-year).

In 134 pages, there’s not much space for theoretical musings. You’ll appreciate that and much more. The authors comment, “We learned of a board chair who remarked, ‘bylaws, schmylaws’ upon being questioned about financial discrepancies in staff reports.” Hence, they recommend helpful tools for what they call the board’s only job: to make decisions.

I know my friend and coauthor, Dan Busby (1941-2022) would have loved The Culturally Conscious Board. Our book, ECFA Tools and Templates for Effective Board Governance: Time-Saving Solutions for Your Board, will also be helpful when you’re ready to focus on putting the “unmentionables” on the table. Examples:
• Tool #2: Board Nominee Suggestion Form (Avoid the “Friend of a Friend of Cousin Eddie Syndrome”)
• Tool #5: The Board’s Annual Self-Assessment Survey (Look in the Mirror!)

Did I mention that this book changed my thinking? You won’t forget the metaphors, the helpful charts, and the zingers: mama’s bread, spinach, mirrors, parking lot politicking, revolving-door recruitment stories, tokenized checklists, and this: “As the saying goes, people do not quit jobs; they quit managers. We would add: they quit cultures too.”

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for The Culturally Conscious Board: Setting the Boardroom Table for Impact, by Jennifer M. Jukanovich and Russell W. West. And thanks to the authors for sending me a review copy.

BONUS: Click here to listen to (or read) the “On Board Podcast” interview with Jennifer Jukanovich. And click here for several short videos with co-author Russell West (on LinkedIn).

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) The authors of The Culturally Conscious Board write that “A board that has 100% member giving is the gold standard.” (I agree…but I encourage boards to inspire board members with a platinum standard: “Generous Giving.” Here, a board member affirms he or she has prioritized their giving so the organization is one of the “Top-3” recipients for the board member's annual giving. For more details, download “Tool #21: Board Member Annual Affirmation Statement.” (Note: It's not about wealth. Board members of any income bracket can do this.) What's our board's policy on board member generosity?

2) Here’s a link to short reviews of “18 Best Board Books.” What’s the best book your board has read—together—in the last 12 months? Is lifelong learning a staff and board priority? Here’s an idea: “Invest ‘10 Minutes for Governance’ in Every Board Meeting.” (Read Lesson 39, Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom.”)

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 16: Keys to Memorable Speaking and Writing
Book #90 of 100: Keys to Great Writing

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #90 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

Keys to Great Writing:
(Revised and Expanded)
Mastering the Elements of Composition and Revision
by Stephen Wilbers

Books #87 through #91 spotlight five memorable books to enrich your speaking and writing competencies. According to Stephen Wilbers, “Level 4” writing (the best) is “to write with such extraordinary insight and beauty that people will be reading what I have written one hundred years from now.” (How about…a week from now?)
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: Keys to Great Writing
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

The author's five keys to great writing will surprise you: Economy, Precision, Action, Music, and Personality. Hum along: “One of the most important things you can do to sharpen your style is to reawaken yourself to the sound of your words, to tune your ears to the rhythm and cadence and flow of your language. It is in this context that you should ask, How can I make this music more pleasing to my readers? What techniques can I learn from accomplished writers? What techniques can I discover on my own?”

Song #31 of 45: “Midnight Train to Georgia"

Listen to "Midnight Train to Georgia," sung by Gladys Knight and the Pips, Song #31 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Read Paul Palmer's guest commentary on why the song title was changed! LOL! Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

Difficult Board Member: A Problem or a Project?

Have you segmented your board challenges into two groups? Is the difficult person on your church board a "problem or a project?" And this: “Perhaps the most important difference between corporate governance and church board leadership is the task of discernment.” Read my review of Book #3 in this church boardroom series. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

07:34 AM in Your Weekly Staff Meeting | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: board governance, boardroom, culture, Jennifer Jukanovich, John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, Russell West

September 3, 2024

Leadership and Self-Deception (4th Ed.): The Secret to Transforming Relationships and Unleashing Results

Issue No. 619 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting spotlights a book that has sold more than three million copies and is still going strong. Must-read! Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of The Power and The Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry.

Me! That's right...it's all about ME. (Or maybe...not?) Read on...

Drop Everything...and Read This!

Back in 2018, I read and reviewed the second edition of this profound book. Here’s what I wrote:

“Maybe…this might be my most important book recommendation for you this year. The title…timely. The contents…convicting.” Now in its fourth edition—with over three million copies sold—what am I thinking now, six years later?

Leadership and Self-Deception:
The Secret to Transforming Relationships and Unleashing Results
by The Arbinger Institute (Aug. 27, 2024) - Fourth Edition!

Published last week (with new material), I just read it again—but I can’t improve on my April 18, 2018, review. Enjoy:

Last week, while reflecting on issues of leadership character and humility, I found not one, but two copies on my bookshelf of Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box. I had never read the book (to my chagrin).

So my wife, Joanne, read it first this weekend—and her praise was effusive. Then I read it. (Am I the only leader that missed this gem?) I should have read it years ago (and my family and former staff teams would agree). If you haven’t read the book—or leveraged the insights for your organization or family—drop everything and read Leadership and Self-Deception. Here’s why:

Reason #1: Self-deception is rampant. You don’t need this book to recognize how other leaders are blind to their own self-deception—but it will give you handles (and a practical metaphor) for understanding the blindness.

Reason #2: I am blind to my own blindness. Whew. (Did I mention “convicting” and serious gut-checking?) While trying to figure out the sin and self-deception in other leaders, I wondered, how did the authors insert mirrors on every convicting page?

And as Scott Rodin reminds us in The Steward Leader, “If I could put one Bible verse on the desk of every pastor and every Christian leader in the world, it would be this: ‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us’ (1 John 1:8).”

Reason #3: The “box” metaphor. Powerful. Trust me—read and study this book with your team (and family) and you’ll be using the “box” metaphor within an hour. The second edition [ditto the fourth edition] of Leadership and Self-Deception includes a short section on how to maximize the book’s impact. The authors list stunning (stunning!) examples of how the principles have transformed organizations (nonprofit and for-profit) and even police departments. In Japan, a word-of-mouth movement has launched “out-of-the-box” clubs. [Note: The 4th Edition uses different language for "the box," but the story is still very effective and you'll remember it.]

The business novel/fable/story format makes for an easy read (about six hours) with memorable characters, but—warning—it’s not a comfortable read.

Reason #4: Faith-based alignment. While the principles of Leadership and Self-Deception are not faith-based per se—they actually are. For my readers who are Christ-followers, you’ll salivate at the opportunity to integrate Leadership and Self-Deception with biblical wisdom.

Listen to the four-minute preface to the third edition. You’ll appreciate the brief analogy of an infant learning to crawl. (It’s almost biblical!)

And speaking of alignment, you’ll also appreciate how Leadership and Self-Deception enhances the insights, especially, of The Cure, The Advantage, Leaders Eat Last, Broken and Whole, Leading Me, Serve Strong, and What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There (to name just a few).

Reason #5: Refreshing humility—no author names! Really! Published by The Arbinger Institute, these leaders practice what they preach—and share the credit for this book with all of their team members, including non-writers. Hence—author names are not revealed. [And note: the book has now sold over three million copies.]

So, could this book help you and your leadership team? Yes! From the authors: “…the myriad ways in which people have used this book and its ideas fall within five broad areas of application: “1) applicant screening and hiring, 2) leadership and team building, 3) conflict resolution, 4) accountability transformation, and 5) personal growth and development.”

The fourth edition includes this endorsement from Verne Harnish, author of Scaling Up (my 2018 book-of-the-year). "...it's one of those rare books that touches both the personal as well as the professional lives of...leaders."

BONUS! The fourth edition includes a new section, “Research about Self-Deception in Organizations” and the Arbinger Mindset Assessment—available free of charge. The 20-question instrument takes less than five minutes to complete and you’ll receive an automated response. Click here.

TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Leadership and Self-Deception, Fourth Edition: The Secret to Transforming Relationships and Unleashing Results, by The Arbinger Institute. Listen on Libro (6 hours, 1 minute—from the third edition). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy of the fourth edition. (Plus, special thanks to Jim Canning for sending me this book way back when!)

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:

1) The fourth edition of Leadership and Self-Deception includes info on a book club, plus a 10-page group discussion guide. In the second edition, the authors noted that “Many organizations utilize the book in their hiring practices. Prospective employees are required to read the book as part of the application process.” What’s the upside of inspiring applicants to understand and buy into your organization’s culture before they join the team?
2) Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (40 million sold), highly recommends this book. Pop Quiz! Habit 5, from Covey, is: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Now…write down the other six.

Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 16: Keys to Memorable Speaking and Writing
Book #89 of 100: You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard

For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #89 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.

You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard:
The Complete Book of Speaking…in Business and in Life
by Bert Decker

Books #87 through #91 spotlight five memorable books to enrich your speaking and writing competencies. “Communicating is a contact sport,” says Bert Decker. “Your ability to communicate is the single most important skill determining your success in every aspect of your life. You dare not make the mistake of thinking that communication is nothing but dumping information on another person.”
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).

So what is communication? It’s selling. “People buy on emotion and justify with facts,” says Bert Decker. If he’s right—you may need to tune-up your public communication style and skills. An emotional decision isn’t necessarily the wrong decision, says the author, and then he reminds us what counts in public speaking: the 3 V’s. Verbal is seven percent, vocal is 38 percent and visual (what the listener sees) is a whopping 55 percent. Yikes—the sub-conscious impression wins every time. So does likeability.

Song #30 of 45: “The Harder They Come”

Listen to “The Harder They Come," by Jimmy Cliff, Song #30 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Marc Myers notes that "...the springy rhythms of ‘The Harder They Come’ opened the door for a new wave that influenced rock, soul and punk." Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.

Even Brain Surgeons Aren't Smart Enough!

Mark Matson, author of Experiencing The American Dream: How to Invest Your Time, Energy, and Money to Create an Extraordinary Life, warns,“People can read a few articles, watch some videos, and suddenly think they can engineer a portfolio that will help them consistently beat the market, sadly to find out their genius as a brain surgeon did not translate to investing success.” Read my review. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.