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!”
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:
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.”)
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.
“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.
Comments