Pails in Comparison

Part 2 of 2: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift

PIC No. 97: 
• Title: There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift
• Author: Kevin Evers
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (April 8, 2025, 304 pages)
• Management Bucket #2 of 20: The Customer Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 97 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Part 2 of 2: Listen in on Our Conversation About Taylor Swift & Harvard Business Review!

In my “Part 1” review of this fascinating book, I asked leaders and readers if they would prefer to read a business book jammed with marketplace insights (incremental innovation, differentiation, “a PR dumpster fire,” and more) . . . or would they prefer to read about a singer/songwriter on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List?

The Good News: You can read about both in just one book chronicling “The Creative Genius of Taylor Swift.”

And more Good News: This week, Malia Yim and Paul Palmer joined me for a fast-moving conversation about the book and what we can learn from the author, Kevin Evers, a senior writer for Harvard Business Review. And along the way, using examples from Taylor Swift’s amazing career, we get a peek at more than 25 references to fascinating articles in Harvard Business Review (see below).

Join us on YouTube for this really fun conversation about the book, There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift. (Reminder: Read “Part 1 of 2” of my review here.)


Enjoy this fast-moving conversation with Malia Kim, Paul Palmer, and John Pearson as we discuss the hot-off-the-press book from Harvard Business Review Press, There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, by Kevin Evers. (And yes—some of us go down very interesting rabbit trails in pursuit of knowledge and coolness!)

For more, read the “Part 1 of 2” review posted on April 11, 2025, over at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Learn more about five major themes (and numerous other insights) including:
   1. Blind Spots
   2. Differentiation
   3. Premature Core Abandonment
   4. Adjacent Markets (Target’s flop in Canada!)
   5. Taylor Swift—The Startup!

In Part 1, I noted that Kevin Evers, the author of this stunning book about Taylor Swift, comments on the singer/songwriter’s insights about the customer and strategy. Plus, the book has more than 25 references to articles from Harvard Business Review—so you can go even deeper.) Below are just 10 of the HBR articles mentioned. Enjoy!

#1. HBR article: “Blue Ocean Strategy,” by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. “Competing in overcrowded industries is no way to sustain high performance. The real opportunity is to create blue oceans of uncontested market space.”

#2. HBR article: “The Great Repeatable Business Model,” by Chris Zook and James Allen. “Differentiation is the essence of strategy, the prime source of competitive advantages.”

#3. HBR article: “When Growth Stalls,” by Matthew S. Olson, Derek van Bever, and Seth Verry. “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.”

#4. HBR article: “Why Target's Canadian Expansion Failed,” by Denise Dahlhoff. Should you follow Taylor Swift’s lead and venture into what business leaders call “adjacent markets”—or not?

#5. HBR article: “Your Customers’ ‘Jobs to Be Done,’” by Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, and David S. Duncan. “Is innovation inherently a hit-or-miss endeavor? Not if you understand why customers make the choices they do.”

#6. HBR article: “Three Leadership Skills That Count,” by Morten T. Hansen (featured in HBR’s “Decision Making and Problem Solving” category).

#7. HBR article: “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” by John P. Kotter. “Leaders who successfully transform businesses do eight things right (and they do them in the right order).”

#8. HBR article: “Reputation and Its Risks,” by Robert G. Eccles, Scott C. Newquist and Roland Schatz. Re: The “reputation-reality gap.” In the chapter, “Castles Crumbled,” Evers notes this: “To some it seemed that Swift was bending the truth.”

BONUS! Read these two new HBR articles also!

#9. HBR article: "Taylor Swift and the Strategic Genius of the Eras Tour," by Kevin Evers (Dec. 6, 2024).

#10. HBR article: "The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift," by Kevin Evers (March–April 2025 issue of HBR).


PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Customer Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] The Goal: A Business Graphic Novel (2017), by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Dwight Jon Zimmerman (Editor), and Dean Motter (Illustrator). (Read my review.)

[  ] From Impressed to Obsessed: 12 Principles for Turning Customers and Employees into Lifelong Fans, by Jon Picoult. (Read my review.)

[  ] Winning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers, by Fred Reichheld with Darci Darnell and Maureen Burns. (Read my review.)

[  ] For fun (and more music!), visit “Johnny Be Good”—our 45-blog series on 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.)

[  ] 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!"). (Read my review.)

[  ] Beyond Disruption: Innovate and Achieve Growth without Displacing Industries, Companies, or Jobs, by W. Chan Kim and Renée A. Mauborgne. (Read my review.)

[  ] OK…one more HBR article! One of my favorites: “How CEOs Manage Time,” by Harvard Business School prof Michael E. Porter and Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria. (Read my review.)

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. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews.

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In

PIC No. 96: 
• Title: Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In
• Authors: Robert Bordone and Joel Salinas, M.D.
• Publisher: Harper Business (March 18, 2025, 400 pages)
• Management Bucket #7 of 20: The People Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 96 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Set Up 5 Chairs!

OK, be honest. You already know someone on your team (or in your family) who should read this book, right? Not so fast, the authors warn!

Here’s your wake-up call:

“The hard truth is
that conflict isn’t the problem.
We are.”

Oh, my. The co-authors of Conflict Resilience (their term) leverage their faculty years at Harvard Law School (Robert Bordone) and Harvard Medical School (Joel Salinas, M.D.) to deliver a powerful book (“a toolkit”) for negotiating conflicts and disagreements. The big idea: we must rethink our relationship with conflict.

Sound familiar? “…your heart races, your breath shortens, your muscles tighten.” Maybe “if certain conflict situations trigger especially painful negative signals for you (like high-stakes disagreements with your boss, spouse, or parent), chances are your brain will make it all too easy for you to react by choosing your go-to option among the five F’s:
   • FIGHT (combative overcompensation or counterattacking)
   • FLIGHT (avoidance)
   • FREEZE (stonewalling or experiencing feelings of disconnection with your body or surroundings, known as depersonalization, dissociation, and derealization)
   • FAWN (placating or inappropriate yielding)
   • FESTER (numbing or suppressing, often with substances that in excess are highly destructive or deadly).”

Here’s the problem. The “Five F’s” are not helpful. We must, instead, think about our thinking. “We find ourselves in a culture and society that sees conflict as poisonous and to be avoided or ‘winner-takes-all.’ We often live and work in environments—families, social circles, schools, churches, organizations—that paint conflict in a negative and destructive light.” And as Dr. Salinas, a behavioral neurologist and clinical scientist, notes—our brains are part of the problem.

Trust me. When you read this book, you’ll replay those personal and hurtful conflict experiences in your own life. Lightbulbs will come on. They’ll spotlight what you did—what they did—and what might have been.

Peter Drucker preached that “Fortunately or unfortunately, the one predictable thing in any organization is the crisis. That always comes.” It’s not if you’ll have a crisis, but when.” So, should you, and your team members and board members, read this book? Absolutely.

I made 144 notes (I counted them) while reading and digesting Conflict Resilience. With 400 pages (nine chapters and 343 pages, plus notes)—what kept me reading? Here’s a short list: original thinking (backed by brain science), humorous anticipation by the authors of my push-backs, the authors’ transparency, and the in-the-trenches real-life conflict stories. (We’ve been there!) Examples:

• NITPICKER! Robert Bordone (he calls himself “Bob” in the book) joined a volunteer advisory board and “because of his legal background and his expertise in negotiation and process design, he was quick to point out various ways in which the board was eschewing due diligence for the sake of efficiency and harmony.” He became known as a “troublemaker” and “legalistic nitpicker!” (Sound familiar?)

• BBO. “Carmen—a mindless apologizer” (whose default response when in conflict was to say, “I’m sorry”) learned to break bad habits with the “BBO” (the bigger, better offer)—using a “brain science hack.”

• MIRROR. Should Gustavo, a member of his church’s vestry, raise issues about the new rector’s leadership approach? He asked Bob to coach him and they identified six “sides” of Gustavo that he had never thought about. (That’s part of the “mirror” exercise—brilliant!)

Great books deliver great labels and I will use the following descriptive and helpful trio in the years ahead. In Chapter 4, “Embracing Your Negotiation Within: The Self as the Starting Point for Conflict Resilience,” the authors share a simple process for “managing the negotiation within a little easier” which offers both “personal and professional benefits in how you handle conflict and manage across-the table negotiation.” It’s memorable: Mirror Work, Chair Work, and Table Work.

• MIRROR WORK. When we look in the mirror, “we’ve found that distorted self-images, like circus mirrors, can easily replace the image we see of ourselves.” The authors add, “Because of our tendency to evaluate, judge, and criticize certain internal narratives and stories, we end up with a distorted self-image.” The biggest fuel for “circus mirrors?” Shame.


When we look in the mirror, “we’ve found that distorted self-images, like circus mirrors, can easily replace the image we see of ourselves.”

• CHAIR WORK. When you’ve done your mirror work, “If you identify five different sides of yourself, we recommend you set up five chairs in a room. If two or three sides, then two or three chairs.” (The examples will convince you to do this.) Yet… “While separating out the voices by putting them into individual chairs may seem hokey or gimmicky, our own experience is that the physicality of the exercise is part of what forces a reckoning that will set you up for the table work to follow.”

• TABLE WORK. “Table work is the place where we initiate the hard work of representing ourselves in the real world, the hard work of bringing the internal conflict to the table with our counterparties—whether they be a fiancé, a boss, or the imposing members of a school board.” This section notes common pitfalls and “rookie errors.”

Yikes. I may circle back and write a second review after I’ve (hopefully) survived a few more conflicts down the road—using the wisdom and pragmatic insights from this book. But before wrapping this up, here are a few more teasers:

• WARRING SIBLINGS! Why process matters—“whether you are trying to build conflict resilience in your workplace, in your home, in your church, or with your significant other.” (Example: When Bob coaches families on dividing an estate “among warring siblings”—or whether to “withdraw a parent’s life-sustaining medical care in exchange for comfort-oriented palliative care at the end of life.”)
• BEST PRACTICES. In Chapter 7, “Setting the Table: Design a Conflict-Resilient Process,” Bordone and Salinas share five “Best Practices in the Room Where It Happens,” including #5, “Be Raggedy.” They write, “The invitation to ‘be raggedy’ allows participants to ask for an extra measure of grace from others when they are trying to express a viewpoint.”
• LET’S MAKE A DEAL. Also in Chapter 7, the authors spotlight five building blocks for making a deal, including tips on effective brainstorming. And yes, they anticipated our gut responses! “For many of us who spend hours and hours of our work lives in meetings, the mere mention of the word brainstorm is apt to trigger an internal eye roll and a loud voice that says, ‘Ugh. Another hour of my life gone down the drain!'”
• BATNA. Taking a page from the book, Getting to Yes, you’ll learn how to consider alternatives and criteria using the “BATNA” best course of action: “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.” (I could have used this dozens of times at work and at home.)

FINALLY. Noting that several decades ago, “emotional intelligence” would never have been listed “as a required professional competency in a job description,” the authors are hopeful that—in the future, maybe by 2035 or 2050—“conflict resilience” will also be a required professional competency for most leadership positions. Wow—that would be spectacular!

In Chapter 9, “Building Culture,” the authors list five interview questions related to conflict tolerance, interest appraisal, deep listening, effective assertion, and creative process design. Each question includes a “competency rating” from one 1 to 5. Example: Under deep listening, this would score a 1: “The candidate exhibited close-mindedness or an inability to genuinely engage with opposing viewpoints.”

This chapter, alone, is worth the price of the book.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the People Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, by Ken Sande. (Read my review.)

[  ] Emotional Intelligence 2.0 (The World’s Most Popular Emotional Intelligence Test), by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. (Read my review.)

[  ] Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection, by Christian van Nieuwerburgh and Robert Biswas-Diener (March 25, 2025). (Order from Amazon and watch for my review.)

[  ] How to Get Along with Anyone: The Playbook for Predicting and Preventing Conflict at Work and at Home (Feb. 18, 2025), by John Eliot and Jim Guinn. (Order from Amazon and watch for my review.)

[  ] Overcoming Conflict: How to Deal with Difficult People and Situations, by Bob Phillips. (Read my review.)

[  ] Why We Argue and How to Stop: A Therapist’s Guide to Navigating Disagreements, Managing Emotions, and Creating Healthier Relationships, by Jerry Manney. (Read my review.)

[  ] Daily Wisdom for Peacemaking: A 365-Day Devotional, by Brian Noble. (Order from Amazon.)

[  ] 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 recently named this book one of “Five Best: Books on Negotiation.”

To order from Amazon, click on the title for Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In, by Robert Bordone and Joel Salinas, M.D. Listen on Libro (13 hours, 14 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews.

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI

PIC No. 95: 
• Title: Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI
• Authors: Mark Abraham and David C. Edelman
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (Oct. 15, 2024, 288 pages)
• Management Bucket #11 of 20: The Donor Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 95 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

STOP Annoying Your Donors and Non-Donors!

This will be my shortest review of a book ever (and I’ll explain why).

If you’re a board member, volunteer, staff member,
or CEO of a nonprofit organization, heed these three words: READ THIS BOOK!

And 16 more words: After you read this book, please, please, please:
CUSTOMIZE your direct mail and online gift solicitations!

There. That’s my review. But stick with me. This blog may be more like a rant (and I apologize in advance). But finally…here’s a book that explains what I was feeling. With all of the customization, personalization, and segmentation software available today—why do nonprofit organizations still overburden the U.S. Postal Service (and my mailbox) with general, boring, and generic appeals for my money? I won’t even mention the emails. (Please…JUST STOP IT!)

On page 52 in my book, Mastering the Management Buckets, I include what I thought was an eye-catching graphic:



Alec! What’s the deal? Did you skip page 52—or just ignore it? Or, as you confess—are you just “lazy and incompetent” and more? (I know. Harsh!)

The thing is—there’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 Personalized. Read the preface and you’ll be immediately hooked with David Edelman’s stunning story about purchasing solar panels:

“One direct-mail piece, however, caught my eye. It was from a company called Sungevity, and was addressed to me personally. On the outer envelope a message noted ‘We've checked out your house and determined that you could convert at least 25 percent of your energy consumption to solar. A personal URL inside will explain it all.’

Edelman adds, “I opened the envelope, entered the URL on my laptop, and was immediately taken to an aerial Google Earth image of my house with solar panels superimposed on the roof. Beside the image was running text explaining how many panels could fit on my roof and how much energy they would likely generate over the course of a year, given our house’s location, orientation, tree cover, and roof pitch. Using our house's square footage (pulled from Zillow), Sungevity then estimated our annual energy consumption and calculated a ballpark percentage of our household energy use that could shift to solar.”

It gets even better! You must read this at your next fundraising team meeting.

This reminded me of two blogs I wrote for ECFA 10 years ago. Sadly—per the emails and direct mail pieces still clogging my inbox and mailbox—not much has changed. Please…read these, read Personalized, and commit to customizing your asks. Here are just four fundraising mistakes (out of 10) from those blogs:

10 Fundraising Mistakes That Are Easy to Fix: 1 to 5 (Part 1 of 2)
MISTAKE #1: Donor letters that thank every person for their faithful giving—when, in fact, the letter is also sent to non-donors! (Easy Fix: segment your list into donors and non-donors.)

MISTAKE #4: When Mary Smith receives an appeal letter, or a thank you letter, addressed to “Dear Mrs. Smith,” but the CEO calls her by her first name, “Mary,” it’s one more indication that there is a sloppy, undisciplined development approach. (Easy Fix: customize every donor record. Good software will help you do this.)

10 Fundraising Mistakes That Are Easy to Fix: 6 to 10 (Part 2 of 2)
MISTAKE #6: Asking major givers for minor gifts. One size doesn’t fit all. In fact, Mark Dillon believes most ministries have four distinct segments of donors. If so, each segment should be challenged to give at an appropriate, but differing level:
• The Gifted Giver (2-5% of givers)
• The Thoughtful Giver (15-25% of givers)
• The Casual Giver (35-50% of givers)
• The Reluctant Giver (perhaps 33% of givers)

MISTAKE #9: Short letter? Long letter? Wrong question! Roger Ebert, the movie critic, famously said, “No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough.” Ditto board meetings and donor letters. My wife reads every donor letter from one of her favorite organizations—because the letter is well-written, inspiring, interesting, and packed with Kingdom impact. While focused on human crises, the letter never manipulates. She will frequently insist I read the letter. Most other letters (short or long) are tragically boring. Those have a short path: mailbox to waste basket.

Thanks for letting me rant a bit. I’ll close with this true story. 

Last month, I received the generic “Summary of Total 2024 Giving” from an organization we previously appreciated. The “Dear John” letter began: “Thank you so much for your support of [organization name]. According to our records, your total tax-deductible giving for the year 2024 is: $ 0.00.”

Before this letter (aka another lazy communiqué), I’ve never been thanked for NOT giving! Oh, my. I may send Personalized to the CEO.

Please read Personalized. Per the authors, “This book distills the learnings from our work accelerating the personalization, retail media, and AI efforts of hundreds of iconic brands, including the likes of Starbucks, Home Depot, and Google.”

While the book is not targeted to fundraising in the nonprofit space—you’re smart enough to make relevant applications. (For example: don’t thank me for giving to your organization, if I’m not a donor!)

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Donor Bucket, the Customer Bucket, and the Strategy Bucket—plus other buckets/core competencies.

[  ] Giving & Getting in the Kingdom: A Field Guide, by R. Mark Dillon (Read my review.)
[  ] The Third Conversion, by R. Scott Rodin (Read my review.)
[  ] Development 101: Building a Comprehensive Development Program on Biblical Values, by John R. Frank and R. Scott Rodin (Read my review.)
[  ] Joy Giving: Practical Wisdom from the First Christians and the Global Church, by Cameron Doolittle (Read my review.)
[  ] Converted: The Data-Driven Way to Win Customers' Hearts, by Neil Hoyne (Read my review.)
 
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, by Mark Abraham and David C. Edelman. Listen on Libro (8 hours, 12 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews.

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Mistakes Leaders Make

PIC No. 94 (16 books on mistake-making!):
• 1 of 16: Mistakes Leaders Make
• Author: Dave Kraft
• Publisher: Crossway (Sept. 30, 2012, 128 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket


Welcome to Issue No. 94 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Read At Least One "Mistake" Book Every Year!

The introduction to Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned, by yours truly and our son, Jason, features a 2021 “Q&A With Son & Pearson.”

Jason: So, Dad…you wrote a book during the COVID marathon. Way to go, but how are you coming on cleaning out the garage?

John: LOL. The garage is my next project. But, yes, this book project was an excellent distraction from the COVID news. And—wow—I’ve learned so much about mistake-making.

Jason: I noticed. And—wow—back at you…you’ve made a lot of mistakes in your career! I’ve made my mistakes too—but I missed the memo about highlighting them in a book! And why only 25 chapters? Are you saving the best mistakes for your next book?

John: Bingo! Several friends (actually, former friends) have suggested this book should have at least 200 chapters for my Top-200 mistakes. They’re probably right. As you know, your Mom (aka Joanne) was my cheerleader for this book. She also believes that leaders are readers—and kept asking me if every chapter truly connected the dots between the mistake and a book.

Jason: Explain that. Is that the big idea in the book?

John: Yes. Every chapter (mistake) follows these three bumper sticker points:
1) Here’s a mistake I made in my leadership and management years.
2) If I had only read a book on that topic, maybe I could have avoided the mistake.
3) Here’s what I learned from that mistake. (You can read the book and avoid this mistake.)

Jason: Come on, man! It can’t be that easy! Just read a book—and you’ll avoid a mistake?

[NOTE: Read Mastering Mistake-Making to learn my full answer to Jason’s convicting question. But now in this blog in 2025, I’m way behind (my mistake) on suggesting more books to help you fine-tune your mistake-making competencies. Read on.]

As I confess in Mastering Mistake-Making, I was fearful of making mistakes in my early leadership years—even though I made many. But I learned later to jump into the mistake pool with both feet—cannonball style—and then learn from the mistakes. I’m praying that this book (and others) will inspire you to also do some laps in your pool’s mistake lane.

INSIGHTS FROM THE MISTAKE-MAKING LITERATURE

My recommendation: Read at least one mistake book every year! Here are some options for you. We’ll start with a book recommended by Patrick Lencioni, who wrote: “The lessons in Mistakes Leaders Make are timeless, and this book should be required reading for every ministry leader. Keep it on your desk and read it at least once a year.”

[  ] Mistakes Leaders Make, by Dave Kraft (Crossway, Sept. 30, 2012, 128 pages) - Order from Amazon.



Across 10 short and convicting chapters, the author calls out the “blind spots” of leaders. The format is brilliant: “CCC is not a real church but a composite of churches I have worked with in 43 years of ministry. Although the church is fictitious, the mistakes are not.”

Kraft highlights eight ministry leaders (Norm, Jim, Suzie, Bob the elder, and others) and spotlights 10 mistakes these leaders made over a five- to 10-year period. After comparing King Saul to King David and studying 1 Samuel 13-15, Kraft also notes that King Saul “could very well be the poster child for mistakes leaders make.”

Don’t skip Chapter 4: “Allowing Pleasing People to Replace Pleasing God,” or Chapter 8, “Allowing Perennially Hurting People to Replace Potential Hungry Leaders.” He begins Chapter 8 with this: “Without a doubt this chapter will be the most controversial and receive the most push back.”

[  ] *The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, by Hans Finzel (David C Cook, Oct. 1, 2007, 224 pages) - Order from Amazon.



Finzel quotes Mario Andretti: “If everything seems under control, you are not going fast enough.” From the “Dirty Delegation” chapter: “Nothing frustrates those who work for you more than sloppy delegation with too many strings attached.” Bonus Book! Read my review of Finzel’s book, The Power of Passion in Leadership: Lead From Your Heart, Not Just Your Head.

[  ] The Book of Mistakes, by Corinna Luyken (Rocky Pond Books, April 18, 2017, 56 pages)



When this book by a first-time author/illustrator landed on The Wall Street Journal business book bestseller list in 2018, I immediately ordered it. This gorgeously-illustrated coffee table-perfect children’s book will also inspire the big “kids” on your team. Read my review which includes one of my classic mistakes: why a national committee’s full day’s work landed in the hotel dumpster!

Note: My review of the above book also mentions five other books (and links) on mistake-making including:
   •The Power of Moments (my 2017 book-of-the-year), by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, notes the dinner table question from Spanx founder Sara Blakely’s dad: “What did you guys fail at this week?”
   • Johnson & Johnson’s Robert Wood "General" Johnson II proclaimed, “If I wasn’t making mistakes, I wasn’t making decisions.” Tom Peters highlights another mistake-tolerant company that fired a cannon to celebrate (not condemn) whopper mistakes. Read more: In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies, by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr. (Read my review.) 
   • In the book, What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management, Jeffrey Pfeffer champions IDEO’s belief that “failing early and failing often is better than failing once, failing at the end, and failing big.” (Read my review.)
   • And Jim Collins reminded us about “First Bullets, Then Cannonballs.” He says that discipline and creativity will push you to test, test, test—with low risk bullets, then re-calibrate, fire another low risk bullet, more re-calibration—then when the empirical side of creativity has honed in on the target—let the cannonball rip! Collins has six bullet points (sorry) on “The Dangerous Lure of Uncalibrated Cannonballs.” Brilliant. Read my review: Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen.
   • And speaking of little bets, giving freedom for mistake-making is a 180-degree shift from what the profs taught us. Peter Sims quotes Sir Ken Robinson, “We are educating people out of their creativity.” Most management approaches are all about reducing errors and risk—not giving license to having a good whack at a half-baked idea. “Goodness, this is God’s money we’re wasting!” Read more: Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries, by Peter Sims. 

[   ] The Top 10 Leadership Conversations in the Bible: Practical Insights From Extensive Research on Over 1,000 Biblical Leaders, by Steve Moore (nexleader, Sept. 20, 2017, 208 pages) - Read my review.



The chapter on risk is convicting. Referencing Luke 19, Moore cautions about “the consequences of risk-averse discipleship.” And stop-and-reflect on this quote from Larry Osborne: “The journey to accidental Phariseeism begins with a blind spot, not a sin spot.”

[   ]  *101 Biggest Mistakes Managers Make and How to Avoid Them, by Mary Albright and Clay Carr (Penguin Publishing Group, Jan. 9, 1997, 336 pages)



There’s something for everyone in this book, including Mistake #2-7, “Not allowing workers to make their own mistakes.” (Order from Amazon.)

[   ] *The Book of Mistakes: 9 Secrets to Creating a Successful Future, by Skip Prichard (Center Street, Jan. 8, 2019, 191 pages) – Order from Amazon.



With significant endorsements (Michael Hyatt, Ken Blanchard, and Stephen M.R. Covey), you’ll share Mistake #4 with everyone you’re coaching: “Surrounding Yourself with the Wrong People.” Prichard writes: “Replace naysayers, doubters, and energy drainers with encouragers, winners, and motivators.”

[   ] *Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) Third Edition: Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts, by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson (Mariner Books, Aug. 4, 2020, 464 pages) - Order from Amazon.



An “Amazon Best Business Book of 2008,” The Wall Street Journal wrote, “Anecdote rich . . . A ramble through the evasive tactics we employ when we've done something wrong and don't want to face up to it . . . By turns entertaining, illuminating, and—when you recognize yourself in the stories it tells—mortifying.”

[   ] *Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes, by Sydney Finkelstein (Penguin Publishing Group, May 25, 2004, 336 pages) - Order from Amazon.



Warren Bennis called this “a landmark book.” The Wall Street Journal called it “required reading not just for executives but for investors as well.” You’ll likely read Chapter 9 first: “Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful People: The Personal Qualities of Leaders Who Preside over Major Business Failures.”

[   ] *4th Quarter Fumbles: Keys to Finishing Strong, by Glenn K. Gunderson Jr. with Kathy Gisi Wimbish (Xulon Press, Jan. 5, 2017, 162 pages) - Order from Amazon.



Glenn Gunderson knows his way around a pulpit and he generously shares his research on almost a dozen Biblical characters: Saul, David, Solomon, Asa, Joash, Jehoshaphat, Amaziah, Hezekiah, Josiah, Uzziah, and Manasseh. The book is endorsed by John Jackson, president of William Jessup University. Also kudos from Grant Thorne, former Green Bay Packers strength and conditioning coach, and now Director of Sport Science for the Tennessee Titans.

Pop Quiz! Name 10 or more “Famous Fumbles.” Gunderson lists his favorite 16 and you’ll love his list: Milli Vannilli, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (and two other husbands!), The Berlin Wall, Edsel, The Titanic, Elvis Presley and “Glenn Gunderson’s hair!”

[   ] Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned (The 10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson. (Download the 25 mistakes here.) - Visit the mistakes webpage to order from Amazon.



-------------------------------
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS!
10 Minutes For Lifelong Learning With Your Team

#1. Fess up time! Describe one of your biggest mistakes—and what you learned.
#2. Should our team be more intentional about reading the mistake-making literature? Why?
#3. In Call Sign Chaos (my 2019 book-of-the-year), Jim Mattis writes, “…every time I made a mistake—and I made many—the Marines promoted me.” What should we learn from this?
#4. So…what “mistake” book will you read this year?

*Watch for my reviews at the Pails in Comparison Blog or John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. 

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

The Courage Gap: Five Steps to Braver Action

PIC No. 93: 
• Title: The Courage Gap: 5 Steps to Braver Action
• Author: Margie Warrell, PhD
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (Jan. 28, 2025, 168 pages)
• Management Bucket #8 of 20: The Culture Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 93 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

7,000 Steps @ $1.40 Per Day!

The author of The Courage Gap writes, “Facing the truth without diluting it down is your admission price to genuine freedom.” That’s good.

LOL! I was only 40 pages into this important book, and I thought: “I can think of five people already who should read this book.”

Then author Margie Warrell nailed me! “As you read this, you may be thinking, Oh boy, So-and-So needs to read this. They're totally blind to their blindness! Maybe so, but consider that maybe not everything you've been telling yourself is true either.”

(Gulp.) So…I continued to read this short and convicting book (also for what I could learn). Guarantee: if you read it—you’ll recommend it to colleagues, friends, teens, grandkids (and maybe your CEO).

Step 1: “Focus on What You Want, Not on What You Fear” is the first of five steps in this very thought-provoking journey towards courage. (Hopefully, it’s also action-provoking). Do you—or someone you’re coaching—need to close the “courage gap?” Well-researched, and often very transparent, the author notes this practical contrarian insight:

“One study asked people to walk 7,000 steps a day for six months. Some were paid $1.40 for each day they achieved the goal; others lost $1.40 each day they failed to walk. The second group hit their target 50 percent more often.” The author quotes Daniel Kahneman, “We hate to lose more than we love to win.”

Organized by five steps (no chapters), the other four steps include:
Step 2: Rescript What’s Kept You Scared or Too Safe
Step 3: Breathe in Courage
Step 4: Step into Discomfort
Step 5: Find the Treasure When You Trip

COURAGE QUIZ. Order the book and you’ll have access to these “Courage Gap” resources:
• The Courage Quiz (online assessment)
• The Courage Gap Workbook (free download)
• Videos, eNews, and the Live Brave podcast (listen here to Steps 1 and 2 from the book)

I’m thinking this book (just 126 pages, plus the foreword by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, notes, and study questions) really needs two reviews. (Stay tuned.) A few snippets:

COURAGE DEFINED: “… we've all had moments when we've silently debated whether to speak up or stay silent, whether to put ourselves ‘out there’ or toe the line. Our fear creates the gap between thought and action, between what we know is the right thing to do and what we actually do. It takes courage to close it.”

Tragic. The author weaves the story of Alex, a Navy SEAL, in and out of these five bravery steps. (Brilliant approach.) He confesses the torment of not speaking up—which resulted in the loss of a team member’s life. It takes guts to speak up. What if you don’t have the guts?

“The greatest limit to your future
is not that you do not know what you should do.
Rather, it is that you are not willing to do what you know.”

Step 1: “Focus on What You Want, Not on What You Fear”
• You’ll be shocked at the role that fear plays in your life. “The smarter we think we are, the more cunningly our fears work in the background.”
• “Fear is the most used word in the Bible racking up a whole 365 mentions.”
• “Your greatest source of stress will never come from hard work or courageous action, but from the lack of it.” Warrell lists six sources, including “From the feedback you did not give and accountability you did not manage.”

Step 2: Rescript What’s Kept You Scared or Too Safe
• “Your brain is Teflon for good and Velcro for bad.”
• “There’s an adage in therapy that what makes us hysterical is historical.”

Step 3: Breathe in Courage
• On the importance of posture (really!), Warrell quotes legendary coach John Wooden, “It’s not how tall you are, but how tall you play.”
• Who do you hang out with? “…set up ‘courage rails’ with courage crushers who tread on dreams, dwell on the potential downsides, and second guess your every move.”
• The author quotes habits guru James Clear, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

Step 4: Step into Discomfort
• Read about the author’s “one-brave-minute” rule and why she wimped out in a hotel lobby, but later (after praying) took her own advice and got a response from the White House!
• “Never discount the hidden and delayed timidity tax you pay when you don’t risk stepping forward.”
• “Courage is a muscle. You have to put in the reps and ‘train the brave’ within you.”

Step 5: Find the Treasure When You Trip
You will trip. You will fail. You will make mistakes. But there's help. I love this book! Two buckets:
• Bucket 1: You will try and fail to get your desired result.
• Bucket 2: You will fail to try.
• Warrell says we must own our “flawsomeness” (not a typo, she says) and forgive ourselves about being the “rough draft of the person you’re on your way to becoming.”
• That requires grace and she quotes Philip Yancey, “Grace, like water, always flows to the lowest part.”

Did I mention there might be a second review? There’s way too much good stuff here...like the story about Dale, a member of his church’s governing board. The church was in decline, but the “strong personality” pastor could be very defensive. Dale had a courage gap. Then the author asked Dale a probing question: “What kind of steward do you want to be?” She recommends three key questions to “focus on what you want, not what you fear.”
   • What kind of person am I?
   • What kind of situation is this?
   • What would a person like me do in a situation like this?

Trust me—this is just one gem in a treasure trove of wisdom, insight (lots of humor), and potentially life-changing next steps for you and the people you care about.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Culture Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] Leaders: Myth and Reality, by General Stanley McChrystal (US Army, Retired), Jeff Eggers, and Jason Mangone. (Read my review.)

[  ] Leading Me: Eight Practices for a Christian Leader's Most Important Assignment, by Steve A. Brown. (Read my review.)

[  ] The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy, by Jordan Grumet, MD. (Read my review.)

[  ] Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World, by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) - (Read my review.)

[  ] Coach Wooden One-on-One: Inspiring Conversations on Purpose, Passion and the Pursuit of Success, by Coach John Wooden and Jay Carty. (Read my review.)

[  ] Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World, by Ginni Rometty. (Read my review.)

[  ] Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned (The 10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson. (Read more.) Note: Margie Warrell’s book on courage mentions the New Zealand “Haka” ritual. Read my less-than-courageous response to that experience in front of 900 people in Auckland! LOL!
 
To order from Amazon, click on the title for The Courage Gap: 5 Steps to Braver Action, by Margie Warrell, PhD. Listen on Libro (4 hours, 35 minutes). For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Books on Purpose: A Short List

PIC No. 92: 
• Title: The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy 
• Author: Jordan Grumet, MD
• Publisher: Harriman House (Jan. 7, 2025, 230 pages)
• Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 92 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

The Crisis: What is my life's purpose? These books will help you.

If you read my review of the new book, The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy, by Jordan Grumet, MD, you'll see this question:

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?) Below is a short list of books on “purpose” so you can “delegate” your reading to other team members.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Crisis Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. (I could have slotted this book in any one of six other buckets!)

[  ] You on Purpose: Discover Your Calling and Create the Life You Were Meant to Live, by Dr. Stephanie Shackelford and Bill Denzel. (Order from Amazon.)

[  ] 5: Where Will You Be Five Years from Today? by Dan Zadra. (Read my review.)

[  ] Your 168: Finding Purpose and Satisfaction in a Values-Based Life, by Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr. (Order from Amazon.)

[  ] Leading with Heart: Five Conversations That Unlock Creativity, Purpose, and Results, by John Baird and Edward Sullivan. (Read my review.)

[  ] Dynamic Drive: The Purpose-Fueled Formula for Sustainable Success, by Molly Fletcher. (Read my review.)

[  ] Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward, by Dr. Henry Cloud. (Read my review. This was my 2011 book-of-the-year.)

[  ] Listen to My Life : Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story Wall Chart, by Sibyl Towner and Sharon Swing. (Read my review in the 2nd article.)
   • Order from Amazon.
   • Visit the website.

[  ] “Drucker Mondays Blog” on the book, A Year With Peter Drucker. (See the commentary on purpose by Steve Brown on Week 45.)

[   ] The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren. (Order from Amazon.)

[  ] Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations, by Ron Shaich, founder and former CEO of Panera Bread. (Read my review.)

[  ] See also this Wall Street Journal article (Jan. 3, 2025) about Ron Shaich, founder and former CEO of Panera Bread: “It’s Called a Premortem—and It’s the Most Productive Thing You’ll Do All Year. Forget about making a New Year’s resolution. Have you tried imagining your deathbed?” by Ben Cohen.

[  ] Oh God, I’m Dying! How God Redeems Pain for Our Good and for His Glory, by Terry Powell and Mark Smith (Read my review.)

[  ] Finishing Well, by Ron Cline. (Read my review.)
 
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. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

The Seattle Times Published My “News Release!”

PIC No. 91: 


This Nov. 19, 1978, column in The Seattle Times featured John Pearson's "news release" about the 10th anniversary of his first date with Joanne!

Welcome to Issue No. 91 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

The Seattle Times Published My “News Release!”

In my previous blog, I paid tribute to President Jimmy Carter (1924-2024), our 39th U.S. President, who served a four-year term from 1977 to 1981. (See my short review of the book, Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.)

Now in this blog, here’s a story about the Carter family from 1978 and my journalistic outrage!

While serving as executive director of SAMBICA in Bellevue, Wash., I noticed a front-page story about Chip Carter, the son of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. The Seattle Times thought Chip’s separation from his wife, Caron, was newsworthy. I disagreed and wrote to the paper’s ombudsman.

Amazingly, the following column, "Did separation of Chip and Caron Carter rate Page 1?", appeared in the Sunday edition of The Seattle Times, on Nov. 19, 1978. It was written by Don Brazier, the assistant managing editor and “Ombudsman of The Times.” Enjoy!

“November 13 must have been a dry day for news,” John Pearson of Bellevue wrote. “Whose decision was it to run Chip and Caron Carter’s separation on Page 1?

“When you find out, please pass along the enclosed news release. I'm confident it has as much merit as the marital problems of the president's son.

“I'm sure lots of folks enjoyed getting the latest dirt from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., but why does it qualify for Page 1?”

Dick Pryne, acting news editor, put the story on Page 1 because the president's family is newsworthy.

Press critics say news people are not tuned in to readers. Judge for yourself on the basis of a quick poll in our newsroom (the first 10 I saw), a bank and a convenience store.

The question: “Did Chip and Caron deserve Page 1 play?”

Newsroom: 7 no, 3 yes. Bank employees: 16 no, 1 yes. Store customers: 4 no, 2 yes.

Last New Year's Day, I polled seven Times editors on another Page 1 story to which a reader objected: the President's pastor and marriage counselor being sued for divorce. The editors disagreed, as editors often do.

Oh, yes: Pearson's “handout,” for release November 16, being used three days late:

“John and Joanne Pearson, Walt Pearson's son and daughter-in-law, are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their first date today.

“Pearson and his bride of over 9 years announced they plan to stay married and go for at least another 10 years.

“No reason was given for their unwillingness to seek a separation. However, informed sources reported it probably dates back to their first date—an inexpensive but happy encounter at a church dinner in Northbrook, Ill.

“Our marriage doesn't make any headlines,” said Pearson, “but that's the secret of our success.”

Even more fun than reading the article in the Sunday edition was leaving the newspaper open to that page on our kitchen table back in 1978. I had not told Joanne about my letter to the ombudsman. (Reminder: back then you needed a typewriter, paper, envelope, and a stamp to make your voice heard.) After she read the column, Joanne, uncharacteristically was at a loss for words. Fun!

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Remembering this story reminded me of several other must-read books (and more) in the Book Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies.

[  ] Listen to Chip Carter’s poignant tribute to his father, Jimmy Carter, at the family service on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 (8 minutes), at the Carter Center in Atlanta. View the full service (37 minutes), including music by the Morehouse College Glee Club.

[  ] Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations, by Ron Shaich, founder and former CEO of Panera Bread (Harvard Business Review Press). (Read my review.)

[  ] Bonus! Read Ben Cohen’s Jan. 3, 2025, column in The Wall Street Journal about Ron Shaich (see above)—and his “premortem” annual exercise. “It’s Called a Premortem—and It’s the Most Productive Thing You’ll Do All Year. Forget about making a New Year’s resolution. Have you tried imagining your deathbed?”

[  ] Inside Out: Real Change is Possible If You're Willing to Start From the Inside Out, by Larry Crabb. (Order from Amazon.)

[  ] How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon. (Read my review.)

[  ] Marriage: Its Foundation, Theology, and Mission in a Changing World. Note: the editors include: Curt Hamner, John Trent, Rebekah J. Byrd, Eric L. Johnson, and Erik Thoennes. (Order from Amazon.)

[  ] Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer's Guide to Telling Your Story, by James R. Hagerty. (Read my review.)


To order from Amazon, click on the title for Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Jimmy Carter (1924-2024)

PIC No. 90: 
• Title: Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life
• Authors: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
• Publisher: Random House (May 12, 1987, 198 pages)
• Management Bucket #12 of 20: The Volunteer Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 90 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Jimmy: 13 weeks on NYT bestseller list
Rosalynn: 18 weeks!

We lost a very special person on Dec. 29, 2024. After lying in state at the U.S. Capitol, President Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) will be laid to rest in Plains, Georgia, following the national funeral service at Washington National Cathedral on January 9, 2025. Rest in peace, Mr. President.

Listen to Chip Carter’s poignant tribute to his father, Jimmy Carter, at the family service on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 (8 minutes), at the Carter Center in Atlanta. View the full service (37 minutes), including music by the Morehouse College Glee Club.

No one needs my commentary on Jimmy Carter, who served as U.S. President from 1977 to 1981, but the goodness of our 39th Commander-in-Chief prompted this blog—and called to mind a 1978 connection with the Carter family. (See PIC #91.)

I remember reading Everything to Gain, when it was first published in 1987. Back then, I appreciated the dozens of details that further described the humanity and humility of Jimmy Carter. Now in 2025, paging through this special book—I was blessed again:

• Oh, my. When the Carters returned to Plains, Georgia, after four years in the White House (and previously as Georgia’s governor), Jimmy was just 56 and Rosalyn was 53. (When President Biden exits on Jan. 20, 2025, he will be 82.)
• They wrote this wonderful book jointly, but also featured paragraphs in their own voices—designated with a large “J” or “R.” Brilliant!
• The Carters noted, “We have completely different writing styles and work habits, and surprisingly often we have found we did not feel the same way about an event or had conflicting recollections about what actually took place.” (You’ll love their enthusiasm about their new word processors!) Their offices were in different areas of their home and eventually Rosalynn needed a "Do Not Disturb" sign every morning on her door!

I’m recommending this book to anyone thinking about retirement. I have many friends who have “retired” and some who won’t admit to being retired. One friend told me that he’s flunked retirement several times. The Carters were amazingly transparent about life in Plains—including the ups and downs.

Their home in Plains had not been lived in for 10 years and their family business, handled by a blind trust, was practically bankrupt. Their daughter, Amy (then high school-age), announced she was a city girl—not a country girl! Tourists stopped by and wanted to meet them. Welcome home, Mr. President!

And get this: Rosalynn was consumed by their “incomprehensive political defeat” to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election—although Reagan’s name is not mentioned in the first part of the book. She was adamant that they should run again in 1984—and even more adamant that they would win. (Imagine—anyone thinking they could win a second term—four years later!)

Jimmy Carter exemplified all that is good about the Volunteer Bucket, especially his work with Habitat For Humanity.

I cataloged this book in the “Volunteer Bucket,” of course, because of the Carters’ well-known volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity. They write, “Of all the activities we have undertaken since leaving the White House, it is certainly one of the most inspiring.”

And this is hilarious! Both Jimmy and Rosalyn wrote their own books prior to this co-authored 1987 book. Rosalynn teased Jimmy: “My book was number one on the New York Times best-seller list; he always had Jane Fonda’s exercise book and Megatrends ahead of his. And mine was on the list for eighteen weeks; his was on for thirteen!”

I hope you’ll read the book—but I also wanted to share a personal story about the Carter family from 1978. Read it here at Pails in Comparison #91.


PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Volunteer Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies. 

[  ] Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump, by Tevi Troy. (Read my two reviews here.)

[  ] Roar: Into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It's Too Late), by Michael Clinton (Read my review.)

[  ] The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, by Chris Whipple. (Read my two reviews.)

[  ] The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duff. (Read my review.)

[  ] Behind Closed Doors: In the Room With Reagan & Nixon, by Ken Khachigian (July 23, 2024). (Read my review.)

[  ] The Power and The Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry, by Tevi Troy (Aug. 20, 2024). (Read my review.) Note: click here to read Tevi Troy's Dec. 30, 2024, column, "Jimmy Carter's Legacy."
 
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2025. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

2 Christmas Songs

PIC No. 89: 
• Song: "Christmas 1915"
• Musicians: Celtic Thunder



Welcome to Issue No. 89 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books (and songs!)—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.

Merry Christmas!

Oh, my!

During this Christmas season, each morning I read the background on a Christmas hymn from The One Year Book of Hymns: 365 Devotions Based on Popular Hymns (read my review). Then I find an interesting rendition of the hymn on YouTube. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this morning ritual for 18 months—and I’ll continue to savor this routine in 2025.

So while listening to the hymn-of-the-day for December 13, “The Friendly Beasts” (more on that one below), I was delighted to find a Christmas song I had never heard: 

Christmas 1915
sung by Celtic Thunder

Warning! This is a very sad song, but I know you’ll appreciate the artistry, the Christmas message, and the reminder of why the Prince of Peace came. The song begins:

1915 on Christmas Day
On the western front the guns all died away
And lying in the mud on bags of sand
We heard a German sing from no man's land

Written by Cormac MacConnell, an Irish writer, you can read more here about the inspiration for the song that has been covered by many artists. While I appreciate Celtic Thunder’s song and video, MacConnell prefers the Irish singer, Jerry Lynch.

Writing for the Irish Central, he notes, “… I am more proud of my ‘Christmas in the Trenches 1915’ than anything else I have written in my entire life. It came from some creative place that I will never ever get to again. It was a gift of some kind from Above.”

(Note: I’ve noticed that sentiment by many of the songwriters in our blog featuring the 45 songs from Anatomy of a Song, by Marc Myers. Visit Johnny Be Good. And for more on this theme, read my review of the documentary, “It All Begins With a Song.”)

Here's the poignant chorus for "Christmas 1915," sung by these young Irishmen:

Silent night, no cannons roar
A king is born of peace for evermore
All's calm, all's bright
All brothers hand in hand
In 19 and 15 in no man's land

Oh, my. We pray for peace on earth.

Note: To learn more about 1914-1915, read the Dec. 20, 2024, article by Richard Snow in The Wall Street Journal, "Remembering the World War I Christmas Truce. The close of 1914 brought a momentary pause in the grinding trench warfare. Carols were sung and games briefly replaced gunfire." Snow recommends several books.


• Song: "The Friendly Beasts"
• Musicians: Brian Stokes Mitchell with The Tabernacle Choir

If…you need something more whimsical this Christmas season, you will enjoy viewing and singing along to “The Friendly Beasts,” performed by actor/singer Brian Stokes Mitchell, with The Tabernacle Choir as backup!


You’ll love this! View Brian Stokes Mitchell sing “The Friendly Beasts” on YouTube (7 min.).

Your kids and grandkids will also enjoy this—but you might then hear the sounds of donkeys, cows, sheep, and doves all Christmas Day!

NEED MORE WHIMSY? Here's a BONUS SONG!

Enjoy Ray Stevens and his animal friends here: "Mary and Joseph and the Baby and Me" (4 minutes).

Merry Christmas!

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Listening to these Christmas songs reminded me of several other books, blogs, and creative endeavors from other gifted creators.

[  ] The One Year Book of Hymns: 365 Devotions Based on Popular Hymns (read my review).

[  ] Documentary film: “It All Begins With a Song.” (Read my review.)

[  ] Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers (Read my review.)

[  ] Blog: Johnny Be Good (read the color commentaries by dozens of guest bloggers for this weekly blog in 2024 featuring the 45 songs from the book, Anatomy of a Song)

[  ] Creators: From Chaucer and Durer to Picasso and Disney, by Paul Johnson (Read my review.)

[  ] Count Zinzendorf and the Spirit of the Moravians, by Paul Wemmer (Read my review.)

For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2024. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.

Leadership Lessons from The Spy and the Traitor

PIC No. 88: 
• Title: The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
• Author: Ben Macintyre
• Publisher: Crown (reprint edition, Aug. 6, 2019, 384 pages)
• Management Bucket #17 of 20: The Operations Bucket



Welcome to Issue No. 88 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.
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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. Note: the last four minutes are a summary of the first 12 minutes.
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No way! I would never read a “fun” book and then ask AI to give me “10 Leadership Lessons!”

In my review of The Spy and the Traitor, I asked two 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? I would never ask AI to suggest “10 Leadership and Management Lessons from the book, The Spy and the Traitor,” by Ben Macintyre.

LOL! I saved you time. Here’s what I asked ChatGPT:

Please suggest 10 leadership lessons that can be gleaned from the book, "The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War," by Ben Macintyre.

Here’s the response from ChatGPT:
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Ben Macintyre's book, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, recounts the remarkable true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB officer who became a British double agent during the Cold War. While the book focuses on espionage, it provides insightful lessons on leadership, trust, and decision-making under pressure. Here are 10 leadership lessons that can be gleaned from the story:

1. Trust Is the Foundation of Great Relationships
    • Gordievsky's success as a double agent depended on deep trust between him and MI6. Leaders must cultivate trust with their teams by demonstrating integrity and consistency.

2. Adaptability Is Key to Thriving in Complex Environments
    • Gordievsky operated in high-stakes, ever-changing situations. Leaders should remain flexible and open to adjusting strategies to navigate uncertainty effectively.

3. The Power of Vision and Purpose
    • Gordievsky believed in the higher purpose of exposing KGB corruption and advancing freedom. Leaders who inspire others with a clear and meaningful vision can motivate people to overcome significant challenges.

4. Courage Under Pressure
    • Gordievsky's work involved immense personal risk. Leaders must demonstrate courage to make tough decisions, especially when the stakes are high.

5. The Importance of Emotional Intelligence
    • Gordievsky read people and situations with remarkable precision. Leadership often requires understanding others' motivations, fears, and ambitions to build rapport and influence outcomes.

6. Preparation and Attention to Detail
    • The meticulous planning of Gordievsky’s extraction operation (Operation Pimlico) highlights the value of preparation. Leaders who plan carefully are better equipped to handle crises.

7. Collaboration Is Essential for Success
    • Gordievsky’s story underscores the importance of teamwork, as MI6 operatives worked together to protect him. Leaders should foster collaboration to achieve common goals.

8. Cultural Intelligence Enhances Influence
    • Gordievsky understood the cultures of both the KGB and MI6, which allowed him to navigate both worlds effectively. Leaders should develop cultural awareness to build bridges and avoid misunderstandings.

9. Loyalty Can Be a Double-Edged Sword
    • Gordievsky’s disillusionment with the KGB stemmed from its betrayal of his ideals. Leaders must ensure their loyalty is to ethical principles rather than blind allegiance to an organization or individual.

10. Resilience in the Face of Adversity
    • Despite immense pressure and danger, Gordievsky persevered. Leadership requires resilience to overcome setbacks and inspire others to stay the course.

These lessons, drawn from Gordievsky’s extraordinary life, can be applied in both personal leadership journeys and organizational settings, reminding leaders of the importance of integrity, courage, and adaptability.
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Note: Now here's the real and human John Pearson with a final question:
What leadership lessons would you add to this list from AI?

 

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Operations Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies.

[  ] Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Read my review.)

[  ] Hitler in the Crosshairs: A GI’s Story of Courage and Faith, by John Woodbridge and Maurice Possley. (Read my review.)

[  ] Rumsfeld’s Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life, by Donald Rumsfeld. (Read my review.)

[  ] Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, by Ben Macintyre. (Read my review.)

[  ] See also the reviews of five books in “Part 14: Leadership & Management at War,” in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books, by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.

[  ] In the classic 1949 film, Twelve O’Clock High, Gregory Peck plays an Air Force general tasked with rejuvenating an exhausted and demoralized bomber group in World War II. (Read my review.)

[  ] The Reckoning: A Novel, by John Grisham (Read my review.)

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). For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. 

© 2024. John Pearson Associates. All rights reserved.
Pails in Comparison is posted every once in a while. 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. By subscribing to Your Weekly Staff Meeting, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Typepad.com’s privacy policy here.