Issue No. 596 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting spotlights a brilliant new book that takes a two-year MBA program and simplifies it into a 12-week deep dive—while featuring a food truck with grilled cheese sandwiches! Tasty! Plus, click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for almost 600 book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Interviewology: The New Science of Interviewing. Bonus! Listen to “You Really Got Me,” by The Kinks, in our new toe-tapping blog, Johnny Be Good, spotlighting 45 songs from yesteryear.
Brilliant! Take a two-year MBA program and simplify it into a 12-week deep dive—and then feature a case study on a food truck with grilled cheese sandwiches! Tasty!
Here are three options for learning the skills you, and other team members, need to lead your organization or business:
• Option #1: Invest two years and earn an MBA. (Pricey and who has the time?)
• Option #2: Do a 12-week deep dive into the new book, The 12-Week MBA.
• Option #3: Invest 12 weeks in the online program, The 12-Week MBA.
Before you decide, read the four chapters on decision-making in this fantastic new book—just published this month. (But wait…then you’ll have made the decision! Good decision!) Every team needs this book:
Learn the Skills You Need to Lead in Business Today
by Bjorn Billhardt and Nathan Kracklauer
The authors of The 12-Week MBA just gave away the store from their 12-week online sessions. This new book covers the basics of a two-year MBA degree: The Numbers and The People. And get this: depending on your prior experience, they give you permission to skim and/or skip any of the 20 chapters. (I tried, but I couldn’t skip any.)
I made over 50 notes in the front of my book and could easily write three long reviews—but then you’d miss the joy of the journey. This is a perfect book to highlight in your weekly staff meetings over the next 12 weeks. Eight teasers:
#1. FUNNY FOOTNOTES. The authors, the brains behind The 12-Week MBA online program, are hilarious! In a footnote on page 14 explaining “sales,” “revenue,” and the UK term, “turnover,” they add, “Unless you’re a poet, having many words for the same concept is not terribly helpful. But there you have it. We don’t make the rules; we just report ‘em.”
Brilliant! That LOL footnote hooked me into reading EVERY footnote in this 352-page book. Honest. And there’s plenty more laughs to come.
#2. FOOD TRUCK & GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES. Also brilliant—when discussing profitability and the profit and loss statement of a business, we’re introduced to “a food truck specializing in grilled cheese sandwiches.” In the chapter on risk, we meet Ingrid, a potential investor in the food truck business. “The Investor Perspective: Outcomes and Probabilities” (will Ingrid make any money?) includes a helpful chart with four levels of risk: Likely, Decent odds, Unlikely, and “Pigs will fly.” (I could have used the "pigs" line in board meetings!)
#3. THE MBA LIGHTBULB QUIZ. “Jokes about the value of MBAs are a dime a dozen,” write Billhardt and Kracklauer. They note a Harvard MBA prof’s “tongue-in-cheek performance” while discussing the shocking relationship between hiring MBAs and business failures. Then the authors ask, “How many MBAs do you need to screw in a lightbulb?” Answer: “One. She holds it firmly and the universe revolves around her.”
They add, “The book’s premise is that you can acquire the essential skills and knowledge to ‘administer a business’ at lower cost and in less time. The teachings of a traditional MBA program aren’t fluff. But in an age where disruption is the only constant, it is difficult for the MBA to keep up.” Example: “By the time the latest best practices on how to use social media marketing make it into an MBA curriculum, they are already outdated.”
I had to google this note: “The case studies about marketing you’ll work through in the traditional MBA? They’re based on marketing channels as passé as Friendster.”
Note: The closest I’ve ever come to an MBA is contributing my two-page “weekly report” form to the Harvard Business School case study, “Willow Creek Community Church (A),” prepared by James Mellado (MBA, 1991). Mellado followed me as president of Willow Creek Association (now GLN). He is now CEO of Compassion International. (Visit the Meetings Bucket for the updated weekly report template.)
#4. NUMBERS & PEOPLE. “Part I: The Numbers” features 10 chapters: Value, Profitability, Growth, Risk, The Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Basics, Cash Flow and Working Capital, Cost Structures, Valuation Foundations, and Creating Value.
If you’re not a numbers person (or you already know this stuff), maybe begin reading in "Part II: The People." I bounced around after first reading Chapter 11, “Joy and Frustration.” The authors admit, “As a species, we’ve thrown ourselves at each other’s mercy. It’s exhilarating and terrifying.” The other chapters include: Trust and Expectations, Adventures in Feedback, Engagement and Motivation, Leadership (their view is refreshing!), Collective Action and Decision-Making, Defining the Decision, Deliberating and Executing, and the Power of Dissent.
The final short chapter, “Embracing Responsibility,” launches with the page-turning story (and result) of the April 9, 2017, United Airlines fiasco when a bloodied 69-year-old doctor was manhandled off his flight. Oscar Munoz was United’s CEO then and just weeks before had been given PRWeek’s Communicator of the Year award! (Read my review of his 2023 book, Turnaround Time.)
#5. LUMPY CASH FLOWS! One measure of a great book for me—are there any fresh and tasty words and phrases to add to my leadership lexicon? Yes, yes and yes! Here’s a taste:
• “Lumpy cash flows,” anxiety over debt: “the heebie-jeebies,” and “accounting buckets” (I like that!).
• “The razor blade model” of cost structures (for more on razor blades, see the review of the song, “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks).
• “In what is called, charmingly, the Högertrafikomläggningen, Sweden switched from driving on the left side of the road to the right side.”
• “The Fist of Five” method for quick feedback, and understanding your team's eight intrinsic motivators. (Warning: “If your takeaway is that management is all about playing employee’s motivators like piano keys, we’ll have done you and your team a disservice.”)
View this 2-minute video about The 12-Week MBA online program from Abilitie.
#6. PROFESSOR HARD ASPHALT. Here are a few memorable lines that jumped out at me:
• In one of the best chapters I’ve ever read on the art of giving feedback, the authors caution about the technique in the “feedback sandwich.” They write, “’People don’t like being techniqued’ is how one of our collaborators put it.”
• “Nobody learns how to ride a bike by attending a lecture. Cycling 101 is taught by Professor Hard Asphalt.”
• In the “Valuation Foundations” chapter, the one-third page footnote is a must-read: “We can’t help but share the following rant, placed in a footnote for your convenience.” It concludes, “Tellingly, in 2017, macroeconomics was not part of the economics curriculum of an interdisciplinary masters program at a top German research university where one of us studied. As one economics professor teaching the program explained (paraphrasing), ‘We’re not really sure what to teach anymore.’”
• In the chapter, “Creating Value,” the authors share a pro tip: “If your pet project doesn’t show a positive NPV [net present value], just say ‘it’s strategic.’ Kidding. Mostly.”
#7. TWO-PIZZA RULE. Written to be referenced often, The 12-Week MBA includes an 18-page glossary. See Patrick Lencioni’s “first team, second team” definition, and Amazon’s “two-pizza rule” for team meetings. Almost 10 pages of tempting notes are followed by an 11-page bibliography. You’ll be familiar with some titles—and other titles will bust your book bucket. (Don’t tell my wife!)
The authors credit dozens of management gurus including Ken Blanchard, Clayton Christensen, Jim Collins, Stephen M.R. Covey (The Speed of Trust), Gallup, Kouzes and Posner, Patrick Lencioni, and Roger Martin. (I’ve linked to some of my favorite titles.)
#8. LOUSY AT PRAISE. In Chapter 13, “Adventures in Feedback,” coauthor Nathan Kracklauer transparently admits to “fumbles with feedback” and that he “learned something about himself and about setting expectations.” The chapter notes, “From then on, when Nate hired a new employee, he would set expectations about feedback: ‘I am the world champion when it comes to giving corrective feedback. I’m lousy at delivering praise. Because I have to make an effort to praise, it may come across as insincere. It’s a personal failing that I hope you will help me overcome.” (This reminded me of Marshall Goldsmith’s suggestion that team leaders prepare a “Memo to Staff: How to Handle Me.”)
The authors remind us that “there are far more management positions than there are people with elite MBA credentials to fill them.” So…what’s it gonna be for you and the people you hire? Two years and saddled with debt for a traditional MBA? Or…read this book with your team and/or enroll in the online 12-week program?
To order from Amazon, click on the title for The 12-Week MBA: Learn the Skills You Need to Lead in Business Today, by Bjorn Billhardt and Nathan Kracklauer. Listen on Libro (8 hours, 31 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) The Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 16, 2024, that “A push by some companies to eliminate degree requirements has opened the door to more candidates.” Yet, the article adds, “IBM, Delta and others have dropped college degree requirements but old hiring habits are hard to break.” Question: What degree requirements at our organization should be reviewed—and why? (Read more in The 12-Week MBA.)
2) Back in 2006, I reviewed the book, The Minister’s MBA: Essential Business Tools for Maximum Ministry Success, by George S. Babbes and Michael Zigarelli. If you lead a nonprofit organization or a church, you’ll appreciate this 162-page book segmented into three semesters. Question: Who will read the helpful chapter on strategy—and report back at our next weekly staff meeting?
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 12: Historical & Political Commentary (U.S.)
Book #66 of 100: The Prince of Darkness
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #66 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
The Prince of Darkness:
50 Years Reporting in Washington
by Robert D. Novak
Books #66 through #70 spotlight five fascinating books on U.S. politics and more. Robert Novak (1931-2009) comments on Reagan, “I came to understand that the presidency is a leadership position that has very little to do with management.” On Bob Dole: “Dole was a hopeless micromanager, inappropriate for a presidential candidate and indeed for a president.” Ross Perot and Jimmy Carter fared no better on the management-o-meter.
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: The Prince of Darkness
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).
If you’re over 50, you’ll be amazed and alarmed at the political background info and revelations. (He names names and doesn’t hold back on his strong, conservative opinions.) If you’re under 50, I’d humbly suggest this be required reading—because it’s possible you’ve missed the all-important context that only a 50-year in-the-trenches reporter/commentator can deliver. Though written in 2007, the book immediately sheds light—and context—on the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign (and ditto in 2024!).
Song #7 of 45
"You Really Got Me”
Surprisingly, we received an unsolicited review of "You Really Got Me," song by the Kinks. Read what "Production Guy" had to say about church "stages" and Song #7 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Read the review. Reminder: Guest bloggers invited! More info here.
A Presbyterian Pastor's Journey to Catholicism
What are you reading during Lent? Here’s a poignant account of a Presbyterian pastor’s journey to Catholicism. His wife joined in four years later. Read my review of Rome Sweet Home, by Scott and Kimberly Hahn. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.
PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. Are you still using "Friendster-type" tools (see above) in 2024? Are you using AI? Read anything? Before you toss yesterday's tools for the uncertainty of today's fads, check in with us. We're leveraging AI in amazing ways. Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social). And check out our new company, FiveHive Studios.
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