Issue No. 572 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting highlights a comprehensive—but very fun to read—book on attitude. This book has lists! Oh, my—the lists! And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 550 book reviews, and click here for my video review of Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI.
Bad attitude? Think you have problems? Listen to the song, “Murphy and the Bricks,” and learn why Murphy won’t be at work tomorrow! (LOL!)
Attitude Listology!
Just published today, here’s a book with practical steps (and numerous lists) for growing a positive attitude. Yikes! I know at least a dozen friends who should read this! But then—as the author writes, “Double yikes!” and “Triple yikes!”—I, too, looked in the attitude mirror. I hope you’ll read this very relevant and very unique book:
Phillips doesn’t waste your time with filler in this important book. On pages 9 to 11, you’ll find the “Attitude Evaluation Scale” and I double dare you to assess your attitude using the 30 statements. (Oh…if only my friends would submit to this exercise!) Rate yourself on a scale of 10 (High/Positive) to 1 (Low/Negative). Examples:
#3. My attitude while driving demands a rating of …
#6. My attitude toward facing change would register a …
#10. My ability to deal with conflict would rate a score of …
#20. My tendency toward a negative spirit and negative comments deserves a …
#30. If I was suddenly ushered into the presence of God, He might give me an attitude rating of …
See what I mean? Your friends and your family members need to read this book! And triple yikes…it goes without saying—both you and I need to read this book. At least thrice.
Bob Phillips sprinkles convicting quotations about attitude throughout the book:
• John C. Maxwell: “Circumstances do not make you what you are. They reveal what you are.”
• Zig Ziglar: “Attitude improvement is much like bathing. It is something we recommend you do every day!”
• Tim Wright: “Our attitude is our personal boomerang to the world—whatever we throw out will come back to us.”
The book’s 26 short chapters address the wide, wide world of all-things-attitude. (I had no idea!) Chapters include: Attitude and Career. Attitude and Habits. Attitude and Gratitude (this will preach!). Attitude and Anger (now he’s meddling—with two chapters!). Other attitude pairings include Attitude and Complexity, Self-Image, Depression, Habits, Adversity, Forgiveness, and more.
WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK. Chapter 14, “Attitude and Career,” includes 10 pages of general questions, work-related questions, lists to rank order (“You prefer a work situation with…” and “You get the most job satisfaction from…”), plus relational questions, personal questions, and spiritual questions. Then there’s this bonus: “26 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making Major Decisions.” (Example: “In one sentence, what is the issue or decision you’re facing right now?”) Fabulous questions!
MASTER LISTOLOGIST. The lists! Oh, my…the lists are phenomenal! I thought of calling this review, “Listography” but then I discovered it’s the name of a table game! Did you know you can order a “listography” journaling book? My opinion: Bob Phillips is a Master Listologist. My favorite lists:
• Attitude Issues (48 topics). Phillips quotes Charles Kettering: “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.”
• Bad Attitude Triggers (62 triggers). Oh, my—he’s been around us. Triggers include: Monday mornings, indecisive people, grouchy people, constant complainers, people who tailgate, other people being late, and 56 more!
• Bad Attitude Busters (30 complaints and 30 push-backs!). My favorite: “I struggle with impatience. How do I develop more patience?” Push-back: “Ask God to bring you more problems. You don’t need patience when you’re problem-free.”
Bob Phillips is a licensed marriage and family counselor and a New York Times bestselling author of over 130 books (not a typo!). He is the cofounder of the Pointman Leadership Institute. In this book, he shares numerous stories from in-the-trenches, including his years as executive director of Hume Lake Christian Camps (where one father threatened to deck him!). I’ve reviewed several of his books including:
• 101 Leadership Insights: Practical Tools, Tips, and Techniques for New and Seasoned Leaders (read my review)
• Overcoming Conflict (read my review)
• And a very helpful book on the four social styles, How to Deal With Annoying People: What to Do When You Can’t Avoid Them (read my review)
Attitude Is a Choice includes a helpful new idea (at least for me) on the four social styles (Analytical, Driver, Amiable, Expressive). In the chapter, “Attitude and Temperament,” Phillips assigns homework. Using a three-by-five-inch index card, write down five “positive” descriptors of your social style on one side, and then five “negative” descriptors on the other side. Carry the index card with you for three weeks and set an alarm to remind you to look at the card at least three times a day. (Triple yikes—for those negative descriptors!)
Phillips lists 14 negative descriptors for the “Driver” style (that’s me). I picked five and now this Top-5 list is in my pocket—an excellent reminder of how the other three social styles might view me. ("75% think you're nuts!" Read more.)
Don’t skip a page in this well-worth-your-time book. See especially:
• 35 pages on “The Bible’s Attitude on Over 270 Topics” with hundreds of Bible references from A to Z (Anger to Zeal).
• “If you think you have a problem, read The Bricklayer’s Story…” (See pages 103-104. Hilarious! Or view this video.)
• Take the “Self-Esteem and Self-Image Inventory” (71 positive and negative traits).
• Learn why you are a Zamboni!
• Consider 12 monthly exercises, such as “Smile Month” and “Reading Month.” (I may skip “Exercise Month.”)
Finally, if you preach, speak, give talks, or lead weekly staff meetings, you’ll leverage the pithy quotations from Henri Nouwen, Anne Lamont, C.S. Lewis, Jack Canfield, François Fénelon, Tim Keller, the Cheshire Cat, and others. Three of my favorites:
Socrates: “If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.”
Lou Holtz: “Don’t tell your problems to people. Eighty percent don’t care and the other twenty percent are glad you have them.”
G.K. Chesterton: “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Attitude Is a Choice―So Pick a Good One: Practical Steps to a Positive Outlook, by Bob Phillips. And thanks to the author for sending me a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) Bob Phillips suggests a response when someone exhibits a bad attitude, such as: “Things aren’t going right for me.” Your push-back: “Should I bring balloons to your pity party?” (LOL!) Check out the other 29 “Bad Attitude Busters.” For our discussion: How do you discern whether to show empathy or a good sense of humor?
2) Inhis chapter, “Attitude and Forgiveness,” Phillips quotes Anne Lamott: “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” Triple yikes! Is it possible that maybe just one chapter in Attitude Is a Choice just might contain enough nudges and/or convicting insights to merit reading this book?
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 7: The Contrarian Thinkers
Book #42 of 100: Stop Setting Goals
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #42 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
Stop Setting Goals
If You Would Rather Solve Problems
by Bobb Biehl
Books #41 through #45 spotlight five unique authors I’ve labeled “Contrarian Thinkers.” Bobb Biehl, a consultant’s consultant, opened the eyes of this goal-setting zealot (me) to a second reality in just one sentence: “When I work on problems, I come in early and leave late. When I work on goals, I come in late and leave early.”
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: Stop Setting Goals
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).
Are you a goal-setter or a problem-solver? (How about your direct reports?) Do you embrace the challenge of marketing a new product line (goal setting) or do you prefer improving the profitability of an existing product (problem solving)? Goal-setters, Biehl says, talk about goals and dreams, new hills to climb, and golden opportunities. Problem-solvers talk about problems and realities, following through on the commitments already made last year, maximizing and controlling, and overcoming roadblocks.
Note: For more on problem solving, read my reviews of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs and Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen.
What? You’ve never heard of XQ? Welcome to the club! Soren Kaplan, author of Experiential Intelligence: Harness the Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs, defines XQ as “…the combination of mindsets, abilities, and know-how gained from your unique life experience that empowers you to achieve your goals.” Click here to read my review. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.
The 4 Big Mistakes Board Seminars:
Sept. 29: San Diego
Oct. 12: Irvine, CA
The Barnabas Groups in San Diego and Orange County are hosting seminars for nonprofit CEOs and board members. On Oct. 12, John Pearson and Mike Pate will present "The 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board: How Leaders Enrich Their Ministry Results Through God-Honoring Governance.” Contact TBG/OC for more info about the Oct. 12 seminar. John is also presenting the seminar on Sept. 29 in San Diego for TBG/San Diego. Can’t attend? Order the 107-page workbook from Amazon.
____________________________________________________
PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. Bob Phillips asks a probing question in his book, Attitude Is a Choice. “What energizes you about your work?” Do you know this about each team member? See the 10 pages of career-related questions in Chapter 14, “Attitude and Career.” Need more resources? Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
____________________________________
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.
Comments